Sihanoukville

Ships dock close to the Victory Beach area, although passengers are sometimes tendered.

Most vessels reach port early in the morning. Complimentary buses carry passengers downtown, to the beach or to one of the Wats, before the ship departs in the evening.

Sihanoukville's cruise terminal is about 10-15 minutes by car from downtown. Tuk-tuks and taxis wait readily outside to carry passengers into town.

Take a printable map ashore.

Sihanoukville, or Krong Preah Seihanu, was formerly Kompong Som and is familiarly called Snookyville or even Snooky. This seaside town contains Cambodia's best-known beaches.

Cambodia is best known as an occasional detour to Angkor Wat, the famous northern temple, while travelling to or from Thailand. That is changing as Sihanoukville, the country's one and only beach resort, is revitalised. In the south, it is part resort, part backpacker hangout, part working port and entirely a big city.

As Cambodia's only beach-resort community, Sihanoukville's sporting life centres firmly on the sea, with snorkelling, fishing, scuba diving, swimming, sea kayaking and sailing. The most common problem is theft from beaches while visitors swim, often by drug addicts or children. Beachfront guest-houses can arrange most activities. Alternatively, you could hire a moto, or motorcycle taxi, for a tour; this is perhaps the most dangerous activity.

Time is usually limited during a Sihanoukville call. As is typical, most passengers spend the period from early morning to evening touring, eating, swimming and touring again before returning to the ship. Many also choose to go aboard for lunch around noon or 1pm, the hottest part of the day.

There are numerous ways to travel around, but the town's principal transport is the Tuk-tuk. These roofed carts have cushioned seats for up to 4 people and are pulled by a motorcycle. Journeys around town usually cost one or two dollars per person. Visitors also use bicycles, electric bicycles, motorcycles, Jeeps and cars, or walk.

The town itself has little to see. Wat Leu, or Wat Chhnothean, offers spectacular views across almost the entire city and beautiful sunset panoramas from a peaceful wooded hilltop 1.5km north-west of the city centre, beside three red-and-white radio telecom towers.

A private taxi for the day costs US$30 to US$40.

Angkor Wat is at least 7 hours away by road. Some ships arrange overnight journeys that rejoin the vessel at another port. These are very expensive!

Ream National Park lies about 18 km from downtown Sihanoukville. Boat and safari tours explore its 21,000 hectares of terrestrial and marine habitat, home to some 155 species. These include the rare mouse deer and pangolin, and the very rare freshwater white dolphin, which appears only from December through February.

As a developing resort, Sihanoukville has not yet experienced a full-scale retail invasion, which can be considered positive. Its authenticity remains, so some energy and curiosity can still uncover something distinctive. In Cambodia, incidentally, everything is a bargain.

The markets are not within walking distance and are actually quite far away. With bargaining, however, a tuk-tuk into town should cost no more than a few dollars.

Khmer food is often described as Thai cuisine without the heat. Ingredients tend towards locally caught seafood, and you should be able to find a good meal simply by walking among the many beachside food stalls and sampling their dishes. Cambodia is very inexpensive, so feel free to try plenty.

The U.S. dollar is one of Cambodia's two official currencies; the other is the Cambodian riel. Moneychangers are abundant, so compare rates but inspect every bill, because even a small tear makes a U.S. dollar unusable. Use U.S. dollars for large purchases and riels for small ones. Many ATMs are available around town.

Approximately 1 USD is equivalent to 4000 Riel.

Khmer is the official language.

In markets, most Khmers know enough English to complete a basic purchase. Many vendors instead enter figures into calculators and show the screen to communicate the price.

Many cafés give customers free WiFi, while some guesthouses and many hotels provide internet access. Many now have Wi-Fi, some of it free.