Sihanoukville Cambodia - Paradise Lost

Updated: February, 2017

I was guiding a tourist through SE Asia during high season and Cambodia was on the list. During my explanations of what he will see and where we would go, I painted a picture of my prior visits to Sihanoukville and having been to Sihanoukville many times in the past, I was always greeted with the dynamics as described below in the original review, however, things have changed a lot and not for the better of Sihanoukville much less western tourists.

The beaches are still beautiful.  The locals still very friendly but the tourists now coming to Sihanoukville have changed drastically and it is the "new" tourists that have turned a once lovely place to visit into a not so lovely place.

For the most part, the Russians that would be there are gone now, not a particularly bad thing overall. But the western tourists are now disappearing as well, especially at the primary beaches.

The reason for this new dynamic comes from one source.  "The Chinese Have Arrived".

This influx of Chinese tourists is being driven by the Chinese tour groups which have always been present in Siem Reap, yet in years past they confined their tourism to Angkor Wat but not any more. The tour operators have expanded their tours to now include Sihanoukville.

With the wealth boom in China, these newly rich Chinese have purchased a lot of property including land and hotels that were once owned by the Cambodians, and from my investigations, this activity of selling Sihanoukville to the Chinese is growing.

There are now casinos in the city, my count was at least 7 but that number was growing.  New "duty free" shops that cater to the Chinese are on the rise and having been in a few, I was astounded by the pricing of goods for sale.

The once very popular and lively areas of the two main tourist beaches of Serendipity and Ocheuteal are now basically dead zones. Where there would be tourist from around the world in years past, few could be seen now.

Why is this, one would think that with the Chinese coming they would be at these beaches but the explanation is very simple.  There is a description of Chinese tourists called "zero dollar" tourists. This means that the tour company in China books everything including accommodations and no matter where the Chinese go as "zero dollar" tourists, the result is the same.  They sleep in hotels geared toward the Chinese tourist.  They eat at restaurants geared toward Chinese tourists.  They shop in locations geared toward Chinese tourist.  Basically, they do not add to the economy of where they visit unless it is shopping for high value luxury gifts. Speaking to the local shop and restaurant owners, the answer was the same, they did not like the Chinese tourists very much!

Many of the western style beach restaurants on Serendipity and Ocheuteal beaches that were started by western ex-pats have been either closed or sold. These owners see what is taking place and are deciding it is now time to sell and leave.

I have traveled China extensively and witnessed the Chinese tourists in many other countries and my observations of them is the same.  Individually in China they can be hard do handle but put them in a tour group, they are rude, noisy and demanding.  They will spit on the ground near your feet and have no real concept of what it means to be a good tourist.

In years past, the once very peaceful Otres beach was the get away place if you wanted solitude and to some degree it remains that way now, but not much longer.  The Cambodians have sold land and buildings to the Chinese in the Otres beach area with future development plans. Once these new hotels and possibly restaurants are constructed, the tour groups will be at Otres beach as well.

Offshore the island of Koh Rong has also undergone a massive change.  Newly built hotels, fast boats to the island and tourist going there by the hundreds each day. This change is due mostly to the Cambodian military which controls these islands. Koh Rong island is fast becoming a hot spot and is in danger of being over built and congested. Watching the tourists line up at the jetty awaiting their fast boat, I noted that the majority of tourists seemed to be western, however, I fear that this too will change over time as the Chinese will eventually make their way to this once vacant and isolated island.

To conclude this update review, the Sihanoukville of past years is gone. There is still a window of opportunity to visit before the "New Chinese Normal" takes over but this window will be open for a few years only.  I am certain that western tourists will still come but not in the same numbers of earlier years.

If Cambodia is on your list of countries to visit and Sihanoukville is one of your stops, be prepared for what I have detailed above. Go sooner than later.

Original review below written in 2011.

Cambodia as a travel destination is and can be a wonderful location with the most visited place being the temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap.

That being said, there also exists along the southern coastal areas of the country a location which is truly a unique and beautiful spot.  It is one of the few remaining places in SE Asia where the tourist development has not reached the levels of its counterparts and can still offer good value.

Serendipity Beach

The city of Sihanoukville, which in some ways is overlooked by many tourists visiting the country, is blessed with an atmosphere and lifestyle that can truly be considered a paradise.

Click the photo for a larger view.

The once sleepy fishing village has grown into a world class destination with its diverse and excellent range of accommodations from the inexpensive guesthouses to the expensive hotels and resorts. For accommodations see the post Cambodia - In & Out on this blog.

The city of Sihanoukville has grown into a flourishing and dynamic tourist hub for travelers from around the world to visit the many beautiful beaches, lounge in front of the beach side café’s and enjoy a peaceful atmosphere while enjoying the early evening BBQ dinners offered by most all of the beach side restaurants.

Most western travelers arrive in Sihanoukville from either Siem Reap or Phnom Penh having already arrived in Cambodia to see the ruins of Siem Reap or Phnom Penh for a bit of city life and the “killing fields” experience. There are of course those young travelers who arrive from surrounding countries and there are the older tourists coming in directly from various European cities to escape the cold weather.

Many travelers will spend only a few nights here as they all seem to be heading toward other locations on their list of stops while in SE Asia.

Sihanoukville consists of the downtown area which is about two kilometers away from the main beach areas of Serendipity and Ocheuteal.

The beaches are beautiful white sand and kept very clean with respect to trash and rubbish. For the most part, the area of the two main tourist beaches of Serendipity and Ocheuteal comprise the bulk of bars, restaurant and accommodations.

The buildings along the beach are all open air, constructed of local materials with palm thatch for the roofing and sides.  Each will have their own set of seating out in front on the beach mostly consisting of either lounge, barrel chairs or both.  Of course there are plentiful sun umbrellas to accompany the chairs for those who wish to just lounge in the shade enjoying the view while reading a good book.

Otres Beach

To the south of S & O beaches is Otres beach which is a short 30 minute walk or tuk-tuk ride away.  This beach is a crescent shape with little in the way of restaurants or available seating but in some cases is preferred because it is away from the constant harassment of the local vendors wanting to sell you their goods or services.  You can find sail boarding here but it is very limited and during high season it seems that the wind conditions are not the best for this activity especially if you are an experienced boarder and are looking for a more aggressive experience.

One observation is the great number of beggars which come to ask for money.  In a lot of cases these individuals all have some sort of physical malady, mostly missing limbs and in one case you will witness a man being pushed along the beach walkway in his hospital bed.

Another observation is the amount of English language that most Cambodians speak here.  For the most part this ability to speak English has not come from any education system but instead out of necessity by speaking with the tourists.

The activities available here are limited in some sense.  One can do day trips to two different areas of islands, there is a day trip to one national park about 20 kilometers south of the city, scuba diving and PADI certification are available as well as snorkeling some of the reefs in the islands.

Sun Tours Boat

The two day trips going to the islands vary in cost and location.  One tour is about $12-$15 US dollars and goes to the islands to the south of the beach while the other tour is $25 US dollars and goes to the islands to the north which is in a supposedly protected marine park that was established many years ago.

Sihanoukville is also the main beach destination for the Cambodian people who have money, mostly coming from Phnom Penh.  I was told that during the high season the Cambodian tourist comprise about 70 percent of the visitors here and having spent one month observing and compiling data for this article, I can say that this estimate is probably correct.

As with many other places in SE Asia you will find a number of ex-pats who live in Sihanoukville for one reason or another.  Some just live here because it is relatively inexpensive while others have opened a business.

There are two very vibrant markets, the day market where the traveler can find just about any thing one could want or the night market which is smaller in size and offers less in the way of goods but is still worthy of a visit.

In the downtown area one will find the larger day market which houses the wet market, vendor stalls selling all sort of goods, vegetable vendors as well as some jewelry vendors.  You can find just about anything you could need from clothing to electronics.  A lot of the banks are also located in the downtown area for currency exchange and there are plenty of ATM machines in Sihanoukville as well. It must be noted that most ATM machines will charge a fee from $3-5 US dollars with the exception of one bank, Canadia Bank which spits out your money without a service fee.

The central business district is not that large but includes a number of good super markets offering a wide variety of goods which of course include products for the western visitor requirements.  It seems that the taxing structure is good for imported as well as domestic items but one can find good imported wines and cigs for a very reasonable cost as well as spirits.

In many cases the bars, restaurant and hotels/guesthouses are owned by foreigners or foreigners with Cambodian partners and cater in large part to the now ever increasing western tourist who are discovering one of SE Asia’s last best kept secrets.

High season begins around the end of October and lasts through March when the monsoon rains start anew and during this time one can expect beautiful sunny days, cool ocean breezes, with white cotton clouds, ocean water temperatures which are warm and pleasant.

The main tourist beaches of Serendipity and Ocheuteal are divided into sections, one of which caters to mostly foreign tourist while the other section caters mostly to the Cambodian tourists who come here from all parts of the country but mostly from the Capitol. It is uniquely interesting to note that the names of the western oriented restaurants and bars are just that, names, however, for the Cambodian tourists, each different restaurant or bar does not have a “name” but a number such as 777 or something else numerical. I believe these are based on lucky numbers in the Asian culture.

The local population as well as the Cambodian tourists who flock here in high season are exceptionally friendly and inviting people.  The Cambodian children here for the most part can always be seen with a smile on their faces and love for the foreign tourist to take their photos.

As for diving and snorkel activities as well as PADI courses, it is the writers opinion that there are better locations in the world to do these courses, however, I do not wish to portray or say that someone can not find taking PADI courses here a totally bad thing, it is just that the reef systems have been damaged to such a degree from over-fishing that outside of the actual PADI course, nature has been raped here and for one hoping to see beautiful corals in abundance, especially for someone such as myself who has visited many other parts of the world, it could possibly be a disappointment depending on your individual expectations.

I have noted that the costs for PADI courses are very much the same as other places in the world so there is no real cost advantage of doing PADI courses in Cambodia as opposed to other parts of the world.

If however you are determined to dive here or take a PADI course, then there are about three places that can provide the diving and instruction courses.  I normally will not endorse any one particular business but in this case I am making an exception.

My endorsement is based on one criterion.  How much a business puts back into the local community and what benefits if provides to the area as a whole.  One such dive center named Island Divers is such an organization.

Island Divers is located near the round about near the golden lions. The owner, Paul, has been highly active in marine conservation projects around the islands and also operates a volunteer program which has become very important in protecting and restoring the reefs after decades of fishing by Thai and Cambodian fishing vessels who drag the reef with their large nets.

Their volunteer program has also benefitted one local island village located on Koh Rung Samloem in areas of water resources, schooling and preservation of the village life in the threat of tourism expansion projects.  The volunteer program is accessed through the Island Divers web site or this direct link to MCC (Marine Conservation Cambodia). Click this link for the map of islands around Sihanoukville.

To sum up, Sihanoukville is worth a visit for some wonderful beaches, great sea food, friendly locals, sun, relaxation, pubs and down time before heading to other destinations.

Travel Safe, Travel Happy