In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.
Voykit pocket guide · Cambodia
Stung Treng
ស្ទឹងត្រែង
Stay one night, not three: walk the riverfront at sunset, then move on to Kratie or cross to Laos. Two nights only if you charter a boat.
Stung Treng is a small Mekong town in northeast Cambodia and the last sizeable stop before the Laos border at Nong Nok Khiene. Almost everyone here is in transit between Kratie, Banlung and the 4000 Islands. There is one real sight — the river at sunrise and sunset — plus a weaving workshop and boat trips on the Sekong and Mekong. Plan a single night, or two if you want a river day.
- Country
- Cambodia
- Local name
- ស្ទឹងត្រែង
- Best months
- Nov–Mar
- Avoid
- Apr–May (hottest), Sep–Oct (wet, road and boat delays)
- Stay
- 1 night
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$20–30 excl. bed · Mid US$30–50 excl. bed · High US$50+ 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 |
|---|---|
| Noodle soup | US$1–3 |
| Khmer rice dish at a market restaurant | 3,000–8,000 riel |
| Draught beer or a can | US$0.50–1.50 |
| Guesthouse room, small | from US$3 (check) |
| Motodop ride in town | 2,000–4,000 riel |
| Bus to Kratie / to Phnom Penh | US$3 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- REP · Siem Reap–Angkor International
- No useful flights here; most travellers arrive overland by bus from Phnom Penh, Kratie or Banlung.
Typical fares
- Bus Stung Treng → Kratie
- about US$3, 2.5–5 h depending on season (check)
- Bus Stung Treng → Phnom Penh
- US$10–15, morning departure (check)
- Motodop in town
- 2,000–4,000 riel
Get around
The town is walkable end to end in about 20 minutes. For sights outside it, hire a motodop for a few thousand riel, or arrange a boat through your guesthouse. There is no useful local bus.
See and do
Known for
- Mekong and Sekong riverfront
- Nong Nok Khiene border crossing to Laos
- Irrawaddy dolphin pools nearby
- Weaving co-operative
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kratie | Bus or minibus on paved Highway 7 | 4–5 h (longer in the wet season) |
| Banlung | Bus or shared minibus east on Highway 78 | 3–4 h |
| 4000 Islands / Don Det, Laos | Minibus to Nong Nok Khiene, cross on foot, Lao minibus onward | 3–5 h plus border time |
| Mekong dolphin pools | Chartered boat or motodop from town | Half day |
Sleep
- Riverfront and the street behind it
- Guesthouses and restaurants within a 5-minute walk of the water; the only area worth booking.
- Market area
- Bank, money changers and bus pick-ups; a few minutes inland from the river.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | សួស្តីsuostei |
| Thank you | អរគុណaw kohn |
| How much is it? | ថ្លៃប៉ុន្មាន?thlai ponman |
| Where is the toilet? | បង្គន់នៅឯណា?bongkon nov ae na |
| I don't want to change money | ខ្ញុំមិនចង់ប្តូរលុយទេkhnhom min chong bdaur luy 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
- Money changers at the bus changeover push Lao kip at bad rates with claims that USD is unusable in Laos; it is not.
- No scheduled public transport runs only to the border: buy a through ticket or expect to walk about 4 km on the Lao side to Voeng Kham.
- Minibus drivers have been known to drop passengers at the border crossing; confirm your onward leg before you pay.
- Highway 7 north toward Laos has long unpaved stretches; top up fuel when you can.
- Bring a passport photo and small US dollar notes for the Lao visa on arrival.
A quiet town with little street crime; the real risks are the border road, night driving and river boats without life jackets. Keep valuables out of sight at the bus changeover and refuse the kip hard-sell.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Stung Treng yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Mekong and Sekong riverfront
- Nong Nok Khiene border crossing to Laos
- Irrawaddy dolphin pools nearby
- Weaving co-operative
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 — Stung Treng: www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2200396
- Wikivoyage: Stung Treng, revision 5219684 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5219684
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Stung Trengស្ទឹងត្រែង
ទៅអាសយដ្ឋាននេះ
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in town; the nearest are in Phnom Penh. Consular help for most nationalities means a trip to the capital.
Carry small US dollar notes and riel for change; the ATM near the market is the only reliable cash source.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/stung-treng). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.