Air: No regular air service.There was Royal Air Camboge, but they went broke.
Train: daily, very slow and cheap.

Minivans: Capitol Guesthouse in Phnom Penh is running daily minivans to Sihanoukville. Departs Phnom Penh at 7:15AM. $3 one way. Discount for round trip ticket. In Sihanoukville contact Capitol Tours on Ekareach in the middle of downtown. The Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh bus departs at 12:30PM.

Share Taxi: Most shared taxis depart Phnom Penh before 10:00AM, though you can still find one into the mid afternoon. R10,000/person. Shared taxis offer a cramped and harrowing 21&Mac218;2-31&Mac218;2-hour ride with 8 or more people stuffed in a compact car. Private taxis run about $20-$25. In Phnom Penh taxis wait at the southwest corner of the Central Market (Phsar Thmey). In Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh bound taxies wait on Street 108.

Ferry to Koh Kong: Departs 12:00 noon daily, near the Port. 30 day Thai Visa available at Hat Lek. Open 7:00 am - 5:00 pm. ferry arrives 4:00 pm at Koh Kong, you have to hurry!

Motorcycle: It is a 230 km, 4-5 hour trip on Route #4. Most cyclists rent 250cc off-road bikes for the trip.
Rent motorcycles at Lucky Lucky Motorcycle on Monivong, near Street 184 in Phnom Penh.

Leaving Phnom Penh, follow Confederation dela Russie (Airport Road) south past the airport and out of town.
At the Route #3/#4 fork just east of Phnom Penh (Chom Chao), bear right.

National Route #4 to Sihanoukville is a paved and smooth, fast, easy, and a relatively dangerous road.
Speeding taxis and reckless lorries are the norm.
Slow down through the villages, watch for errant animals and oblivious children.
By all means wear a helmet and bear in mind that medical help and rescue is non-existent in the countryside.
Stop for a refreshment break at one of the many road side stands at Pich Nil near the half way point.

Koh Kong to/from Sihanoukville by road
Road #48 - the relatively new road from Koh Kong City to its intersection with National Route #4 north of Sihanoukville -has been repaired and is now passable. From the intersection at Route #4, you can proceed south to Sihanoukville or take the Route #3 cutoff to Kampot.
When you cross the border from Thailand, touts for vans to Sihanoukville will immediately approach you, claiming their van is about to leave. Vans only leave when they are full, regardless of tout’s claims to the contrary. Best to choose a van or taxi that is almost full. 5 - 7 hours to Sihanoukville or Kampot. 600 baht. Road conditions on Road #48 deteriorate dramatically during the wet season. Routes #3 and #4 are paved and remain in good condition year round. Many if not most guesthouses in Sihanoukville offer vans to Koh Kong.

From Vietnam
Kha Orm Nor Checkpoint: Chau Doc, Vietnam
Cambodian visas available at the border. Vietnamese visas NOT available at the border
Until recently most travelers that wanted to cross at Chau Doc would proceed to/from the Chau Doc crossing from Phnom Penh via Neak Loung.
There is now a direct overland route to Chau Doc from Kampot by taxi through southern Kampot province. The road is rough in parts and may deteriorate during the wet season, but during the dry season the ride between Chau Doc and Kampot takes about 2-3 hours.
From Kampot a whole taxi costs $21, or $3 each in a local taxi.
Contrary to what they will tell you at the Vietnamese consulate in Sihanoukville, the border crossing at Ha Tien is NOT open to foreigners. And though it looks very appealing and easy on the map, there is no direct route between Cambodia and Phu Quoc (Koh Tral).

Bangkok to Sihanoukville via Koh Kong
The usual route runs from Bangkok to Trat (with some people opting for a detour to Koh Chang), then on to the border crossing at Had Lek where you cross to Koh Kong (Cham Yeam). From Koh Kong, either take the ferry or the road to Sihanoukville. If you intend to take the ferry, take note that it departs Koh Kong at 8:00AM, which means that unless you arrive at Koh Kong just before 8:00AM, you’ll need to spend a night in Koh Kong. Some tour operators on Khao San Rd. in Bangkok are offering nighttime minibuses that leave Khao San at 1AM so that they arrive in Had Lek at 6AM, just before the border opens and two hours before the ferry leaves.

The Beaches of Sihanoukville:
Sihanoukville town sits in the center of a small peninsula that juts into the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Several fine white sand beaches, easily accessible from the town, line the coast around the peninsula. All of the main beaches are lined with grass umbrellas, and drink and snack vendors. But each beach still has its own unique appeal, separated from each other as much by character as the rocky points between.

Occheuteal Beach: The best beach with the best variety of hotels and restaurants. The beaches with the most hotel and restaurant facilities are Ochheuteal and Serendipity. Some of the town’s best hotels and bungalows are on Ochheuteal Street just 50 meters off the ocean. One block off the beach road, on 23 Tola Street, there are the mid-range Golden Sand, Holiday Hotel, Orchidee GH as well as a couple budget places. ‘Serendipity Beach’, at the north end of Ochheuteal, is offering an increasing number of budget and mid-range beachside bungalows.

Serendipity Beach: At Ochheuteal’s extreme northern end, the area popularly known as ‘Serendipity Beach’ is the only beach in Sihanoukville to offer bungalows and guesthouse rooms right on the sand. Over the past couple of years ‘Serendip-ity’s’ popularity has grown exponentially, as have the number of bungalows, hotels, and restaurants. The beach now offers several mid-range and budget places including Coasters’, and Cloud 9’s well-known bungalows, Uncle Bob’s 24-hour restaurant and budget rooms, and Eden Bar’s budget and mid-range rooms and popular beachfront bar. There are also places popping up between ‘Serendipity’ and the Golden Lion Traffic Circle such as Endless Summer and Mick and Craig’s Sanctuary Bar and Guesthouse. To get to ‘Serendipity Beach’ follow Ekareach Street straight through the Golden Lion Traffic Circle, and up and over the hill.

Occupying all of Sokha Beach, the new Sokha Beach Resort, Sihanouk-ville’s first full resort complex, is offering upscale accommodation, restaurants, water sports, and more. Sokha Beach is about 1 kilometer long and comparatively wide so that there is plenty of sand left during high tide. It is perfectly groomed these days, fairly quiet by comparison to Ochheuteal, and is open to the general public as well as guests of the resort.

Independence Beach gets its name from the deserted hulk of the 7-storey Independence Hotel at the north end. Locals call this beach ‘otel bram-pul chann (hotel 7-stories). It is labeled ‘7-Chann Beach’ on the in-town street sign. Independence is more than a kilometer long, but the sandy area is quite narrow, making the beach best when the tide is low. The beach is wider and more touristed toward the northwest end, near a small fresh water lake (which is the source of the town’s fresh water and is rumored to contain crocodiles). At the other end is the beach’s only hotel, Sea Breeze. Grass umbrellas and drink vendors now line the beach from end to end but Independence is still much less frequented than other beaches. The road up to the old Independence Hotel is often frequented by a small troop of Rhesus monkeys but is currently closed while the hotel undergoes renovation.

At over two kilometers, Victory Beach is quite long, but like Independence Beach, the sandy area is narrow, making low tide the best time. Victory is really two beaches divided by a rocky point and a small hill. The southern beach is sometimes referred to as ‘King’s Beach,’ ‘South Channel Beach’, or ‘Lamherkay Beach’, but ‘Hawaii Beach’ seems to be catching on as the appellation of choice. Like the other major beaches, southern Victory is now lined with umbrellas and little drink huts, though not as densely as Ochheuteal. There are a few boats on the beach that take tourists out to the nearby islands for a fee.
Victory Beach north of the rocky point is a park at one end and a port at the other. It is a great place to watch sunset and the big ships come and go from the port. Chney Molop Chhrey seafood restaurant is right on the beach and the Holiday Palace Casino and Hotel is on the beach road.

Otres is the next beach south of Ochheuteal. A single road traces the beach’s 3km to a small river at the far end. Otres is the twin sister of Ochheuteal, but is largely untouristed and often almost completely deserted. There are a few grass umbrellas scattered along the beach, a small restaurant shack near the middle and guesthouses at the near and far ends of the beach. The new Queen’s Hill Resort bungalows sits on the hill side at the near end, overlooking the ocean and beach. Otres village and pagoda sit about 1km off the beach. To get there from Ochheuteal simply follow 1 Kanda Street to the end of Ochheuteal to where in connect with the new bridge and road over the hill to Otres. Or from downtown, take Omui St. southeast about 4km to a fork and turn right. At the next opportunity take a left. It is 2km to the beach.

Though not untouristed, the Ream Beaches see far fewer visitors than Sihanoukville beaches. Located in the Ream National Park. Take Route 4 to the Airport road 18km north of town. Turn right, go 9km to the ocean. The beach to the right is long and narrow and frequented more by fishermen than tourists. Behind the beach is a mangrove swamp, which attracts a wide variety of tropical birds. The beaches to the left nearer the Naval Base now have a few vendors selling drinks and renting tubes. There is a small $5 per night guesthouse run by the National Park. Check at the park HQ opposite the entrance to the airport.

Depot Beaches
lie just off Hun Sen Beach Drive, north of town. Most of the beaches are quite narrow and the water is shallow and can be very warm. Take the Hun Sen Beach Dr. well past the port and look to the left for small beaches.Beach below the hill, is not the most popular Beach in Sihanoukville but is within easy walking distance. Its convenience and excellent view of sunset make it popular with local strollers and travelers from the hill.

Sunset Points
Sihanoukville offers several excellent spots to watch sunset. Most people opt for the beaches. Victory is the most ideally oriented beach for sunset. The view from the other beaches is sometimes partially obstructed depending on the time of year. Of the restaurants, Bungalow Village, Chez Claude, Chez Mari-yan, and Mealy Chenda offer the best vistas. My favorite beach spot is the fishing camp at the base of the hill between north and south Victory beaches (Chhne Kampong Teuk). The fishing boats in the foreground and Snake Island on the horizon can be quite photogenic. Perhaps the best sunset point is at the top of Sihanoukville Mountain. The rocks at the top face west offer a beautiful view of the town, port, ocean and islands.

Visas at Overland Border Crossings
Border crossings with Thailand: A visa is required for most nationalities. Cambodian visas and 30-day Thai transit visas are available at all Thai/Cambodian border crossings. Thai transit visas are free of charge. Other types of Thai visas are not available. The official price for visas are: Tourist visa (Type ‘T’): US$20. Business visa (Type ‘E’): US$25. (Tourist visas can be extended for one month, but only one time. Business visas can be renewed indefinitely.)
At the Poipet and Koh Kong crossings, Cambodian immigration is charging 1000 baht for a tourist visa and 1500 baht for a business visa. Unlike the rest of the country, they often refuse dollars. At current exchange rates, the price in baht is significantly more expensive than the official prices. Some people have had some success paying the official price in dollars by being politely insistent.

Be prepared for minor scams from the Cambodian border guards, especially at Koh Kong and Poipet. Scams include drivers and touts that will insist you need their help to obtain a visa. This is not true. They want to charge an extra fee. The visa process is easy, straightforward and do-it-yourself. Another, the guards may charge 50 baht for a SARS form. The form may in fact be required, but it is also supposed to be free. And yet another, immigration police may try simply overcharging 100-300 baht for the visa. Try asking for a receipt.

On completion it was named Sihanoukville in honour of the King. It blossomed in the 1960's, although Kep was a more popular holiday spot. The Independance Hotel (now empty), an oil depot, a brewery were built, the second phase of port construction was stopped in 1970.
During the late 1960's and early 70's it served as a transit point for weapons for both theAmerican alliance in Vietnam and the anti-American forces.

On May 13, 1975 the Khmer Rouge captured the S.S. Mayaguez, a US container ship.The US engaged the KR forces at Koh Tang, a nearby island. They met fierce resistance and suffered heavy losses. Aamerican bombers hit the Naval base at Ream, warehouses at the Port, the airfield, the train yard and the oil refinery. Theship was released on May 15, during the battle.