Cambodia

Entry is straightforward: the official e-visa at evisa.gov.kh costs US$30 all-in (the old separate processing fee was folded in from January 2025), issued by email in a few days; visa-on-arrival at airports and land borders is US$30 cash plus a passport photo. A free e-Arrival form (arrival.gov.kh) covers immigration and customs. Passport valid six months.

The everyday reality is money: the US dollar is the working currency, with prices quoted in dollars and the riel used only as change below a dollar.

Use only evisa.gov.kh for the visa and arrival.gov.kh for the free e-Arrival form — a cluster of copycat sites overcharge for both, and anything demanding a fee for the e-Arrival form is a scam. Carry clean, unmarked small US bills: torn or scribbled notes are routinely refused, and small notes are what you’ll spend.

Angkor Wat and the vast Angkor Archaeological Park outside Siem Reap are a UNESCO World Heritage wonder and the centrepiece of any trip. The famous sunrise over Angkor Wat draws the crowds; beyond it, Bayon (the serene face-towers) and Ta Prohm (swallowed by strangler figs) are the highlights among dozens of temples.

Buy the Angkor Pass only from the official Angkor Enterprise, carry a scarf or sarong for the dress code, and hire a tuk-tuk for the day to string the temples together.

Buy the pass at the official Angkor Enterprise ticket centre (or its website), never from a tout or a “cheaper” seller — those are fakes that get you turned away. Carry something to cover shoulders and knees, which is required to climb the upper level of Angkor Wat, and start before dawn if you want the sunrise without fighting for a spot.

Phnom Penh, the capital, has its elegant side — the gilded Royal Palace, the riverfront, the National Museum — but the reason it stays with people is the sober Khmer Rouge history. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21), a school turned torture prison, and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek south of the city document the regime that ruled 1975–79 and killed some 1.7–2 million Cambodians.

It’s grim but essential context for understanding the country — most visitors give it a focused, respectful day.

Visit Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek with the audio guides and a clear head — they’re harrowing, and best done as a single, unhurried morning rather than squeezed between other sights. They’re not optional colour; they’re the context for modern Cambodia, and a sombre counterpoint to Angkor’s splendour.

Cambodia’s coast is the decompress at the end of a temple-and-history trip. Skip Sihanoukville — a wave of Chinese-backed casino building left it overbuilt and largely avoided — except as the jumping-off point for the islands: Koh Rong and the quieter Koh Rong Sanloem, with their powder beaches.

Inland of the coast, the laid-back south around Kampot (famous pepper, river sunsets) and Kep (the crab market) is the gentler alternative — slow, cheap and low-key.

• Beach time after the templesSkipSihanoukville’s casino sprawlGoKoh Rong or Koh Rong Sanloem by boat
• A laid-back riverside baseSkipthe big townsGoKampot — pepper farms and river sunsets
• Seafood and quietSkipresort stripsGoKep — the famous crab market

Treat Sihanoukville as a transit point, not a destination — the casino development changed it beyond recognition, and the beaches worth the trip are on Koh Rong Sanloem (calmer) or Koh Rong. For a no-beach but charming south, Kampot and Kep deliver pepper, crab and river life at a fraction of the fuss.

Within Siem Reap and the temples, a hired tuk-tuk (or the PassApp app) is the standard, cheap way around. Between cities, the roads have improved and Giant Ibis is the reliable bus, but the 45-minute flight beats the long Siem Reap–Phnom Penh bus.

Two brand-new airports have opened — Techo International near Phnom Penh (2025) and the Siem Reap-Angkor airport (2023) — but the latter sits ~45–50 km from town, a longer, pricier transfer than the old in-town airport. You drive on the right; boats serve the islands.

Factor the new Siem Reap-Angkor airport’s distance (~45–50 km, ~1h15) into arrival timing — it’s much further out than the old airport, so pre-arrange a transfer (~US$25–35). For the temples, hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day rather than per-trip; it’s cheap and he’ll wait and route you efficiently around Angkor.

Time a visit to the cool, dry window of November to February — the most comfortable for exploring Angkor at dawn. March to May is brutally hot; the May–October monsoon brings afternoon rain, greener landscapes and fewer crowds (with some muddy rural roads).

The season also reshapes the Tonlé Sap: the great lake swells in the wet months and contracts in the dry, so the famous floating villages look very different depending on when you come.

Cambodia is cheap — among the most affordable countries in Asia — and runs on the US dollar, with the riel only as small change. The practical rules: carry clean, small US bills (damaged notes are refused), use cash for most things, and save cards for hotels and nicer restaurants.

One slow shift to note: the National Bank is phasing small US notes out to promote the riel, so you’ll increasingly get change in riel — which is fine, just not something you can take home.

Withdraw and carry crisp, small-denomination US dollars, and don’t accept torn notes as change (you won’t be able to spend them). Tipping isn’t traditional but is increasingly appreciated in tourism (~10% for guides, drivers and restaurants); the bigger budget lines are the Angkor pass and any flights, not day-to-day costs.

Cambodia is a devout Theravada Buddhist country, its temples and saffron-robed monks central to daily life — so cover shoulders and knees at wats, remove shoes and hats, and never touch a monk or point your feet at a Buddha image. The people are famously gentle and welcoming, and the main annoyances for visitors are petty scams and touts around the temples and transport.

The one genuine hazard is the landmine and UXO legacy: Cambodia remains heavily mine-affected, so in remote and border areas stay on marked paths. It slots naturally into a wider Indochina trip with Vietnam, Thailand or Laos.

Respect the two things that matter most: temple dress and etiquette (a scarf solves the dress code) and staying on marked paths in rural or border areas, where unexploded ordnance is still a real risk. The “cheaper ticket” and gem/tour scams around Angkor and Phnom Penh are the common hustle — polite firmness handles them.