Where to stay in Cambodia

Cambodia is cheap even by regional standards, and the money buys more in Siem Reap than anywhere else in the country.

• Hostel dorm - USD 5 to USD 8. In Siem Reap the competition pushes it lower still.
• Private guesthouse room - USD 15 to USD 25, usually with air conditioning and often with a pool.
• Comfortable hotel - USD 30 to USD 60, which in Siem Reap buys a garden, a pool and breakfast.
• Book the first two nights only. Walk-in rates are frequently below the online price outside the December to February peak.

Where to stay

• Siem Reap: the streets around Wat Bo and the river are quieter and greener than Pub Street, and still a ten minute tuk-tuk from it. Most places arrange temple transport.
• Phnom Penh: Boeung Keng Kang (BKK1) is the leafy, walkable district with the restaurants and cafes. The riverside is livelier and noisier, and is also where bag snatching concentrates.
• Kampot and Kep are the calm southern alternative, and Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem are the islands most people actually want when they say Sihanoukville.

Two practical points

• Do not hand over your passport as a deposit. Some guesthouses still ask. Offer a photocopy or a photo of the data page instead, which is normally accepted without argument. You need the passport itself for SIM registration and any domestic flight.
• Sihanoukville is not the beach town it was. It was rebuilt as a casino city and much of it is a construction site with a poor safety record; the UK and other governments single it out in their advice. The islands offshore are unaffected and are where the beaches are - most visitors now transit the town and go straight to the ferry.