Koh Kong, Cambodia: travel guide
Cambodia's southwestern frontier town on the Kah Bpow river, and the gateway to the Cardamom Mountains — the largest remaining wilderness in mainland Southeast Asia. Boats run upriver to the Tatai waterfall and out to the mangrove channels of Peam Krasop; Koh Kong Krau, the country's second-largest island, is a day's sail offshore. Thin on infrastructure and still mostly a Thai border crossing, which is exactly why the forest is intact.
- Country
- Cambodia
- Currency
- KHR
- Time zone
- Asia/Phnom_Penh
Top places to visit in Koh Kong
Peam Krasop Mangrove Boardwalk
Nature · 4.4 rating · about 1.5 h
A concrete walkway on stilts running out through the mangroves of Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary to a suspension bridge and an observation tower over the estuary. The sanctuary protects one of the largest intact mangrove systems in…
Pak Khlong Beach
Beach · 4.3 rating · about 2 h
Koh Kong town's own beach, a few kilometres southwest along the coast road — a long grey-sand strip facing the Gulf of Thailand, with a handful of beach bars and bungalows and almost nobody on it. The sunsets are the reason to come.
Koh Kong Market
Market · 4.1 rating · about 1 h
The town's central market, and the most useful hour in Koh Kong — Cardamom forest produce, river fish and Thai goods carried over the Cham Yeam border, all in one block. Busiest early; the food stalls at the back are where the town eats…
Tatai Bridge
Viewpoint · 4.3 rating · about 0.5 h
The National Road 48 crossing of the Tatai river, and the jumping-off point for the whole Cardamom river trade — boats to the waterfall, to the river lodges and into the mangroves all leave from beneath it. The view upriver into the…
Tatai Waterfall
Waterfall · 4.6 rating · about 2 h
A wide, stepped cascade on the Tatai river, reached by longtail boat from the NR48 bridge or on foot in the dry season. Deep plunge pools below the falls are swimmable; the flow, and the access, change completely between the wet and dry…
Koh Kong Krau Third Beach
Beach · 4.3 rating · about 2 h
The longest of the seven west-facing beaches on Koh Kong Krau — a wide arc of pale sand backed by casuarina and jungle, with no development behind it. The usual lunch and swim stop on a day boat from Koh Kong town.
Samotheararam Pagoda (Wat Pak Khlong)
Temple · 4.4 rating · about 0.8 h
The pagoda of Pak Khlong village, a short ride southwest of town near the beach — a working monastery with painted vihara walls and a quiet seaward courtyard, and the one piece of built heritage on Koh Kong's coast road.
Koh Kong Island (Koh Kong Krau)
Nature · 4.4 rating · about 6 h
Cambodia's second-largest island, an hour and a half offshore by boat and almost entirely undeveloped — seven beaches along its western shore, a freshwater waterfall inland, and no road, no pier and no grid electricity. Day trips run from…
Koh Kong Bridge
Viewpoint · 4.5 rating · about 0.5 h
The 1.9 km crossing of the Kaoh Pao river on the road to the Thai border — the longest bridge in Cambodia when it opened, and the structure that ended Koh Kong's isolation by ferry. Walkable, and the best vantage point over the estuary and…
Where to stay in Koh Kong
Hotels
- Young Wild and Free - beach bar restaurant and bungalows
- De Zee HOTEL
- MK BOUTIQUE
- Soho Villa & Resort
- 99 Guesthouse
- Mangrove Sanctuary Resort
Getting around
- Boat main way to get around
Seeded from the curated primary_local_modes array; per-city parameters not yet researched.
- Scooter Rental main way to get around
Seeded from the curated primary_local_modes array; per-city parameters not yet researched.
- Tuktuk main way to get around
Seeded from the curated primary_local_modes array; per-city parameters not yet researched.
- Walking
Every city has walking. 2.5 km ceiling is a placeholder default, not a researched per-city figure -- Singapore is sheltered and air-conditioned, Bangkok often has no pavement.
Best time to visit Koh Kong
- May 34°C · moderate · MoWRAM/WMO WWIS 1982-2024 normal for May: 479.9 mm over 23 rain days (national station Koh Kong (WMO WWIS city id 3640), 0.74 km from the stored city centre). Sea: mean significant wave height 0.36 m (90th pct 0.76 m) at the 11.45N 102.92E model cell, hourly series 2022-2025 (4 complete years), https://marine-api.open-meteo.com/v1/marine?latitude=11.45&longitude=102.92&start_date=2022-01-01&end_date=2025-12-31&hourly=wave_height&timezone=UTC .
- Jun 33°C · moderate · MoWRAM/WMO WWIS 1982-2024 normal for June: 561.5 mm over 26 rain days (national station Koh Kong (WMO WWIS city id 3640), 0.74 km from the stored city centre). Sea: mean significant wave height 0.61 m (90th pct 1.10 m) at the 11.45N 102.92E model cell, hourly series 2022-2025 (4 complete years), https://marine-api.open-meteo.com/v1/marine?latitude=11.45&longitude=102.92&start_date=2022-01-01&end_date=2025-12-31&hourly=wave_height&timezone=UTC .
- Jul 32°C · moderate · MoWRAM/WMO WWIS 1982-2024 normal for July: 567.3 mm over 29 rain days (national station Koh Kong (WMO WWIS city id 3640), 0.74 km from the stored city centre). Sea: mean significant wave height 0.79 m (90th pct 1.36 m) at the 11.45N 102.92E model cell, hourly series 2022-2025 (4 complete years), https://marine-api.open-meteo.com/v1/marine?latitude=11.45&longitude=102.92&start_date=2022-01-01&end_date=2025-12-31&hourly=wave_height&timezone=UTC .
- Aug 32°C · moderate · MoWRAM/WMO WWIS 1982-2024 normal for August: 592.4 mm over 25 rain days (national station Koh Kong (WMO WWIS city id 3640), 0.74 km from the stored city centre). Sea: mean significant wave height 0.64 m (90th pct 1.06 m) at the 11.45N 102.92E model cell, hourly series 2022-2025 (4 complete years), https://marine-api.open-meteo.com/v1/marine?latitude=11.45&longitude=102.92&start_date=2022-01-01&end_date=2025-12-31&hourly=wave_height&timezone=UTC .
- Sep 32°C · moderate · MoWRAM/WMO WWIS 1982-2024 normal for September: 489.7 mm over 28 rain days (national station Koh Kong (WMO WWIS city id 3640), 0.74 km from the stored city centre). Sea: mean significant wave height 0.73 m (90th pct 1.36 m) at the 11.45N 102.92E model cell, hourly series 2022-2025 (4 complete years), https://marine-api.open-meteo.com/v1/marine?latitude=11.45&longitude=102.92&start_date=2022-01-01&end_date=2025-12-31&hourly=wave_height&timezone=UTC .
- Oct 31°C · moderate · MoWRAM/WMO WWIS 1982-2024 normal for October: 319.5 mm over 26 rain days (national station Koh Kong (WMO WWIS city id 3640), 0.74 km from the stored city centre). Sea: mean significant wave height 0.22 m (90th pct 0.54 m) at the 11.45N 102.92E model cell, hourly series 2022-2025 (4 complete years), https://marine-api.open-meteo.com/v1/marine?latitude=11.45&longitude=102.92&start_date=2022-01-01&end_date=2025-12-31&hourly=wave_height&timezone=UTC .