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Voykit pocket guide · Cambodia
Kampong Cham
កំពង់ចាម
Give Kampong Cham one night, two at most: the bamboo bridge, Wat Nokor and the Mekong riverfront fill a day, and buses to Phnom Penh run all morning.
Kampong Cham is Cambodia's seventh-largest city and a quiet Mekong provincial capital between Phnom Penh and Kratie. Most travellers pass through on the Phnom Penh–Kratie road; those who stop get a walkable riverfront, an 11th-century temple, a dry-season bamboo bridge to a stilted island, and almost no other tourists. Two nights is enough.
- Country
- Cambodia
- Local name
- កំពង់ចាម
- Best months
- Nov–Mar
- Avoid
- Apr–May (hot, 35 °C+), Sep–Oct (wet-season flooding)Apr–May (hot, 95 °F+), Sep–Oct (wet-season flooding)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- US dollars for hotels, tours and restaurants; riel (KHR, about 4,000 to the dollar) for change and small street purchases.
- Daily spend
- Budget US$20–35 excl. bed · Mid US$35–60 excl. bed · High US$60+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Smart, Cellcard and Metfone sell tourist SIMs at the airports with passport registration; a week of data costs a few dollars.
- Emergency
- Police 117 · Fire 118 · Ambulance 119
- Plugs
- Types A, C, G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US and round European pins; newer hotels have UK-style type G.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Round up or leave US$1–2 where no service charge is added.; Tuk-tuk: Round up; US$2–5 extra for a full Angkor day.; Guide day: US$5–10 per person.; Massage: US$1–2 per hour.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Bottled water everywhere; many hotels have refill stations.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in hotels, restaurants and at the Angkor ticket office and main temples; squat toilets with a hose or scoop on the road. Paper goes in the bin in older places.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or iced coffee | US$0.50–1.50 |
| Noodle soup or rice dish | US$1–2.50 |
| Beer: draught / can at a shop | US$0.50–1 |
| Motodop in town | US$1–2 |
| Bus Kampong Cham → Phnom Penh | US$5–6 |
| Internet café, one hour | 2,500 riel |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- PNH · Phnom Penh International
- About 3–4 h by road; no airport at Kampong Cham
Typical fares
- Bus Kampong Cham → Phnom Penh
- US$5–6, about 3–4 h (check)
- Taxi Kampong Cham → Phnom Penh
- US$10–15 one way (check)
- Motodop to Wat Nokor and Phnom Pros/Srey
- about US$4 (check)
Get around
The centre is walkable. Most sights sit outside town, so you need a motodop (about US$4 for a half-day loop), a tuk-tuk or a rented bicycle from a larger guesthouse. Buses and minibuses stop near the Hwy 7 roundabout by the Mekong bridge.
See and do
Known for
- Bamboo bridge to Koh Paen
- Wat Nokor Bachey
- Mekong riverfront
- Phnom Pros and Phnom Srey
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wat Hanchey | Motodop or tuk-tuk north on Hwy 7, about 25 kmMotodop or tuk-tuk north on Hwy 7, about 16 mi | About 1 h each way |
| Phnom Pros and Phnom Srey | Hwy 7 west about 7 km, then turn right at the hill; bicycle or motodopHwy 7 west about 4.3 mi, then turn right at the hill; bicycle or motodop | About 30 min each way |
| Wat Maha Leap | Across the river, about 20 km; local guide or tuk-tuk driver neededAcross the river, about 12 mi; local guide or tuk-tuk driver needed | About 1 h each way |
| Kratie | Bus from Hwy 7, about 3–4 h | 3–4 h |
Sleep
- Mekong riverfront
- Guesthouses and Western-style restaurants along the water north of the bridge; walkable to the market.
- City centre near the roundabout
- Bus counters and the main market; convenient if you arrive or leave by bus.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | សួស្តីsuostei |
| Thank you | អរគុណaw kohn |
| How much is it? | ថ្លៃប៉ុន្មាន?thlai ponman |
| Too expensive | ថ្លៃពេកthlai pek |
| Where is the toilet? | បង្គន់នៅឯណា?bongkon nov ae na |
| I don't understand | ខ្ញុំមិនយល់ទេkhnhom min yol te |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Sampeah (palms together, slight bow); higher hands for elders and monks; avoid: Firm handshakes with older women
- Head and feet: Keep feet down and pointed away from people and Buddha images; avoid: Touching heads, even children's
- Temples: Shoes and hat off inside, shoulders and knees covered; avoid: Sitting with feet toward the Buddha; women touching monks
- Keeping face: Stay calm and smile when things go wrong; avoid: Shouting or public anger
- Giving and receiving: Use the right hand or both hands; avoid: Tossing money or objects
- Photos: Ask first, especially of monks and at memorials; avoid: Selfies at Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek
Scams and watch-outs
- The bamboo bridge is rebuilt each dry season and washed away in the wet; access to Koh Paen is by boat then.
- Some locals ask walkers for about US$1 to cross the bamboo bridge — more than the local toll.
- The French lookout tower stairs are unsafe and there is a hornet nest at the top.
- Tourist police at Wat Nokor may ask for money; entry from the other side is free.
- Carry enough US dollars or riel: ATMs are few and the last reliable one north is here.
Kampong Cham is calm and low-crime by Cambodian city standards. The real risks are traffic on Hwy 7, unlit roads after dark, wet-season river currents and food hygiene at the market: eat where it is busy and cooked to order.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Kampong Cham yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Bamboo bridge to Koh Paen
- Wat Nokor Bachey
- Mekong riverfront
- Phnom Pros and Phnom Srey
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia: www.tourismcambodia.com/
- OpenStreetMap — Kampong Cham: www.openstreetmap.org/#map=12/11.9933/105.4636
- Wikivoyage: Kampong Cham, revision 5330148 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5330148
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Kampong Chamកំពង់ចាម
ទៅអាសយដ្ឋាននេះ
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Kampong Cham; most are in Phnom Penh (check your own country's listing).
Prices in US dollars; riel comes back as change at about 4,000–4,100 per dollar.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/kampong-cham). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.