Sihanoukville is built around its beaches, from Ochheuteal and Serendipity to Otres, Victory, Hawaii and Independence. Offshore, Koh Rong, Cambodia's second largest island, has at least twenty three beaches, mostly white sand, and about forty three kilometres of its coastline is beach. Everything arrives on Koh Rong by boat. Sokha Beach Resort has a private beach with a wide sandy shoreline, while Independence Hotel sits directly behind Independence Beach, with most rooms overlooking the sand.
Take a boat from Sihanoukville to Koh Rong, about twenty five kilometres offshore and part of Koh Rong Marine National Park. Back on the mainland, Ream National Park lies about eighteen kilometres from the city, with mangroves, wetlands and coral reefs. The expressway from Phnom Penh opened in October of 2022. Sokha Beach Resort adds watersports, tennis courts and a fitness centre, while seafood restaurants line the south bank of the Ou Trojak Jet River.
Port construction began in 1955, and the city took its name from former king Norodom Sihanouk. Earlier it was called Kampong Som, often translated as Port of the Moon. The coast had traded through the Funan, Chenla and Khmer Empire periods, later came under French rule, and became its own province in December 2008. Independence Hotel, built in the early 1960s, was Cambodia's first modern beachside hotel. The port is Cambodia's only deep water port.
Ream National Park was established in 1993 and protects mangrove forest, freshwater wetlands, seagrass beds, evergreen forest and beaches. Rhesus monkeys, dugongs, turtles, dolphins, Sarus cranes and pelicans are among its wildlife. It lies in Prey Nob district, on the Gulf of Thailand coast. Koh Rong's coastline runs for sixty one kilometres, with a mostly forested interior and seasonal waterfalls. Koh Rong Marine National Park, set up in 2018, was Cambodia's first marine national park.
Song Saa Private Island is the luxury choice, with twenty seven villas, including overwater villas with private pools, hilltop and beachfront villas, an overwater restaurant and lounge, and a spa on the second of its two islands. Guests arrive by forty five minute speedboat transfer from Sihanoukville. On the mainland, Sokha Beach Resort offers Jasmine Spa and a free form pool leading directly onto its beach. Its 401 rooms have garden or ocean view balconies.
Sihanoukville's seafood comes from local fishing boats, and restaurants along the south bank of the Ou Trojak Jet River serve it fresh. Seafood is the obvious order, with fishing and aquaculture central to local life. Resorts widen the choice. Sokha Beach Resort has two restaurants and three bars, Song Saa Private Island serves guests in an overwater restaurant and lounge, and Independence Hotel lists restaurants among its facilities, a few seconds' walk from Independence Beach.
Song Saa means The Sweethearts, the local name for the two small islands of Koh Ouen and Koh Bong, and its overwater villas each have a private pool, making it a natural choice for couples. On the mainland, Sokha Beach Resort offers a private beach and Jasmine Spa, with three bars and two restaurants on site, while Independence Hotel puts you a few seconds' walk from Independence Beach. Both mainland hotels sit beside a beach.
Families will find space at Sokha Beach Resort, with a free form pool leading onto the beach, tennis courts, watersports and rooms with private balconies. Independence Hotel has an outdoor pool and a free shuttle to the public beach or town. Days out include boat trips to Koh Rong and visits to Ream National Park, home to monkeys, pelicans and dolphins. Independence Beach is a few seconds' walk from Independence Hotel, which has 89 rooms.
Emirates
