Sihanoukville
Get around
Central Sihanoukville
Distances between the beaches are a little too long to walk comfortably, but getting around is easy, as the roads are wide and bike taxis ( motodop ) are everywhere.
See
The reason to visit Sihanoukville is the beaches . Not as crowded as some of the Thai resorts, but they can be cramped on weekends and holidays. For diving go to one of the nearby islands. The town itself doesn't offer much to see. From north to south, the beaches are:
Victory Beach - south of the commercial port with plenty of budget accommodation nearby on Weather Station Hill.
Independence Beach - also known as '7-chann beach' after the defunct, seven-storey Independence Hotel.
Sokha Beach - all but 100 meters of it reserved for guests of the Sokha Beach Resort.
Ochheuteal Beach - the most popular beach, with many restaurants, bars and food vendors. Pronounced, roughly, "oh-chur-teal". The northern part is called Serendipity Beach , and offers guesthouses right on the beach.
Otres Beach - south of Serendipity, this is the least developed and crowded beach.
Other places of interest include:
Kampong Pier Nup Lok - the old fishing port 2 km north of the commercial port offers some nice views.
Do
Koh Russei (Bamboo Island) - can be reached by private boat for US$5, at the Sunset Cafe on Occidental Beach, ask the owner the night before you want to go, or from the beach near Ream National Park (about 20km east of Sihanoukville). On the island there are 2 sets of huts on either side of the island, both with bar/restaurant and offering 10 basic huts each for US$10-15 per night (early 2008 prices). Bookings though Bar Ru or Coasters Guest houses in Sihanoukville. Despite too much plastic waste around for the pure unspoilt tropical island experience, it is still a wonderful place to relax. Consider bringing some food or water if you are on short budget; prices on the island tend to be about 50% above the average Sihanoukville level.
Scuba diving - there are many islands off the Cambodia coast that have lots of coral and fish. All the dive boats in Cambodia leave from the Sihanoukville port area. There are 2 PADI Dive Centers, 1 SSI Dive Center and instructors from NAUI and CMAS working at smaller dive shops in town. The main scuba diving area is the Koh Rung Group located 14 miles offshore. There is also some shallow diving at Koh Tas 6 miles of shore. The best diving is the overnight trips to the Koh Tang Group, 35 miles from Siahnoukville, where large pelagic are seen regularly, visibility is double what you will find at the close in sites. 2 dive day trips US$59-70, overnight trips US$185-195 all inclusive
Snorkeling - is possible around most of the islands, with the best snorkeling being at the further our islands for visibility, corals and fish. Many restaurants at Serendipity Beach advertise a snorkeling trip for 15$, but most are incapable of properly explaining what their offer includes. Most will boil down to the same trip organized by one of the travel agents which includes (simple) breakfast at the beach, a visit to two snorkeling spots and a 3 hour lunchbreak at Bamboo Island.
Ream National Park - a wonderful mangrove nature reserve about 30 minutes driving from Sihanoukville. Probably the best way is to contact the park rangers by phone and see if they can arrange a guide to show you around in a boat-hiking combi. The organised trips from Sihanoukville can be disappointing, as they sometimes fail to supply a proper guide.
Buy
There are several small shops in the town, plus a standard Cambodian market ('Psaa Leu'). Handicrafts organization Rajana has a branch above the Starfish Cafe.
Several other clothing and souvenir shops are starting to open, both downtown and around the Victory Hill and Ocheteaul area as well.
ATM machines can now be found throughout Snooky. Downtown, ANZ Bank has two and Canadia Bank has one and Acleda Bank has one. There's also one at CCS Hotel and one at the Golden Sands Hotel, Occheuteal Beach.
Eat
Along the beaches there are many food stalls and some restaurants, especially at Ochheuteal beach. Many of them serve grilled seafood with chips for only 3-4$. There are a good many restaurants in town as well. Sihanoukville boasts a surprisingly diverse set of cuisines.
Angelo's Restaurant , Near Golden Sands Hotel, Excellent BBQ (try the ribs!!!) and Greek cuisine.
Happa , Serendipity Beach Rd. Japanese teppanyaki (hot plate) restaurant.
Ku Kai , Serendipity Beach Rd. Japanese restaurant with sashimi (raw fish) and awesome ribs.
La Paillote , tel. +855-12-632347, Victory Beach. French-Khmer cuisine in one of the finest restaurants in the country. Entrees US$5-11.
Monkey Republic . Near the Golden Lions. Favourite dishes are Kekabs, Baracuda (fish) and Chips, Chicken Amok and Some fine gourmet rolls. Prices are reasonable and the portions are big.
Noh Kor Phnom , Occheuteal Beach ( inland, on first road to beach when coming in from town ). Friendly no-frills seafood restaurant with a menu of over two hundred options. Try the steamed sunfish with soybeans and ginger (US$4.25).
Pim's Restaurant' , Ochheuteal Beach. Western and Cambodian Food. From October BBQ You own Meat, Meat and Fish Fondue and Cheese Fondue. Traditional Cambodian Evenings. 9 Hole Minigolf.
Same Same But Different . On the beach, reasonable food, good price, good staff. Excellent Thai Green Curry. Beware the Happy Pizza, it's very happy...
Drink
The trend on Serendipity Beach is to advertise with permanent 'Happy Hour', which usually implies cocktails for 2 or 2.5$ and draft Anchor beer for as little as 50-75c. The latter is only recommendable if you don't mind drinking it with ice, however, as it is not as cold as it should be.
Captain Morgan , Golden Lions Plaza. Nice looking bar with friendly staff. Excellent food and snacks. Open until very late...
Monkey Republic , Near Serendipity Beach. 75c Draft, Big parties every Thursday. Good pool table. Good tunes selected by UK Dj's.
Star Bar , Located downtown behind Shell gas station. Extremely cold Anchor draft beer (happy hour 50c, rest of the day 75c). Friendly waitresses. Good pool table. Decent kitchen with western oriented menu. Popular Wednesday evening barbecue US$2.
Sleep
Budget
Coasters [4] , Serendipity Beach. One of the older restaurant/hotels on the beach, with older wooden huts (fan only) and newer brick buildings (air-con). Location on the beach is superb, close to nightlife yet quiet, but rooms are extremely basic, plumbing is dodgy (to say the least), restaurant gets mixed reviews and service continues to draw complaints. Reservations also have a habit of being meaningless, as the owners have a habit of giving the rooms away to whoever is there first. Rates from US$8 (fan) to US$60 (beachside air-con), which fairly expensive for what you get, especially compared to other accommodation around town.
Malibu Beach Hotel , Serendipity Beach. Another one of the older stalwarts, now encroached on both sides by noisy nightclubs. From town centre, go straight through the roundabout with the lions, continue to the top of the hill and then follow the rocky track downhill, rather than remaining on the road. At the bottom of that, turn right, the Malibu Beach Hotel is the first on the left. Rooms with air-con US$30 including breakfast, plus some cheaper options. There have been a couple reports of theft, from the rooms and from the safe.
Malibu Beach Bungalows , Sokha Beach. A branch of Malibu Beach Hotel, and better in all respects except one: the location has a good beach, but is inconvenient for anything else.
Seaside Hotel , Ochheuteal Beach. 100 meters from beach. Rooms with air-con and hot water shower US$30-60, with breakfast.
Tranquility Guesthouse, Serendipity Beach. Rooms with fan or air-con and cold/hot water shower, private bathroom, cable TV US$10-35. Tel. +855 (0) 16 463 492
Splurge
Independence Hotel , Street 2 Thnou, Sangkat No 03 , +855-3494-3300 . Dating back to 1962, this was once, in the hotel's own words, the "most luxurious and elitist accommodation" in town. After decades of neglect, a Chinese group set to repairing the damage, reopening the hotel in December 2007. A modernist concrete seven-story block, it's not all that much to look at, but it's a fitting symbol of the town's resurgence. Pool, private beach, restaurants, spa coming soon. US$110 .
Sokha Beach Resort , Tel: +855-34 935-999. Fax: +855-34 935-888. The only international-class beach resort in the country, and good for temporarily forgetting that you are, in fact, in Cambodia. Very bland and a bit rough around the edges, but the beach is gorgeous and hassle-free, and the resort is family-friendly with kiddie pools and playgrounds. All restaurants at the resort, though, are badly overpriced. Rooms from US$100/night up.
Stay healthy
Medical services in Sihanoukville are very limited and basic. The best Medical service is offered by the CT Clinic. This is the only one trusted by Expats who live in Sihanoukville. The public hospital should be avoided at all costs, as it is terrible. In case of major trouble evacuation is necessary.
Contact
Sihanoukville area code is 034.
Internet
There are many Internet cafes in Sihanoukville, some guesthouses and many hotels offer the facility. The best is Ana Internet in the town centre between ANZ bank and The Orange Mini Mart. They can also book flights and renew visas there.
Post
The new main Post Office is now near the Victory Park on the left hand side of the road as you go to Victory Hill. There is also a branch at the market downtown, but here you can only leave your postcards during office hours as it does not feature an outdoor mailbox.
Embassies.
The Vietnamese consulate on Ekareach Street issues 30 day tourist visas on a same-day basis. As of April 2008, the cost was US$27 for Cambodians, US$35 for foreigners. The opening times are 10am-12pm and 2pm to 4pm Monday to Saturday.
Get out
Bokor National Park - an abandoned French hill station near Kampot which was a popular destination in the 1920s
Kampot
Kep
Koh Kong
Ream National Park - 18 km to the north, tours through the more than 20,000 hectares of coastal mangrove forest and interesting fauna can be arranged everywhere in Sihanoukville .