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Voykit pocket guide · Cambodia
Kampong Cham
កំពង់ចាម
Give Kampong Cham one night, two at most: the bamboo bridge, Wat Nokor and the Mekong riverfront fill a day, and buses to Phnom Penh run all morning.
Kampong Cham is Cambodia's seventh-largest city and a quiet Mekong provincial capital between Phnom Penh and Kratie. Most travellers pass through on the Phnom Penh–Kratie road; those who stop get a walkable riverfront, an 11th-century temple, a dry-season bamboo bridge to a stilted island, and almost no other tourists. Two nights is enough.
- Country
- Cambodia
- Local name
- កំពង់ចាម
- Best months
- Nov–Mar
- Avoid
- Apr–May (hot, 35 °C (95 °F)+), Sep–Oct (wet-season flooding)Apr–May (hot, 95 °F (35 °C)+), Sep–Oct (wet-season flooding)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
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$20–35 excl. bed · Mid US$35–60 excl. bed · High US$60+ 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 |
|---|---|
| Coffee or iced coffee | US$0.50–1.50 |
| Noodle soup or rice dish | US$1–2.50 |
| Beer: draught / can at a shop | US$0.50–1 |
| Motodop in town | US$1–2 |
| Bus Kampong Cham → Phnom Penh | US$5–6 |
| Internet café, one hour | 2,500 riel |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- PNH · Phnom Penh International
- About 3–4 h by road; no airport at Kampong Cham
Typical fares
- Bus Kampong Cham → Phnom Penh
- US$5–6, about 3–4 h (check)
- Taxi Kampong Cham → Phnom Penh
- US$10–15 one way (check)
- Motodop to Wat Nokor and Phnom Pros/Srey
- about US$4 (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The centre is walkable. Most sights sit outside town, so you need a motodop (about US$4 for a half-day loop), a tuk-tuk or a rented bicycle from a larger guesthouse. Buses and minibuses stop near the Hwy 7 roundabout by the Mekong bridge.
See and do
Known for
- Bamboo bridge to Koh Paen
- Wat Nokor Bachey
- Mekong riverfront
- Phnom Pros and Phnom Srey
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wat Hanchey | Motodop or tuk-tuk north on Hwy 7, about 25 km (16 mi)Motodop or tuk-tuk north on Hwy 7, about 16 mi (25 km) | About 1 h each way |
| Phnom Pros and Phnom Srey | Hwy 7 west about 7 km (4.3 mi), then turn right at the hill; bicycle or motodopHwy 7 west about 4.3 mi (7 km), then turn right at the hill; bicycle or motodop | About 30 min each way |
| Wat Maha Leap | Across the river, about 20 km (12 mi); local guide or tuk-tuk driver neededAcross the river, about 12 mi (20 km); local guide or tuk-tuk driver needed | About 1 h each way |
| Kratie | Bus from Hwy 7, about 3–4 h | 3–4 h |
Sleep
- Mekong riverfront
- Guesthouses and Western-style restaurants along the water north of the bridge; walkable to the market.
- City centre near the roundabout
- Bus counters and the main market; convenient if you arrive or leave by bus.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | សួស្តីsuostei |
| Thank you | អរគុណaw kohn |
| How much is it? | ថ្លៃប៉ុន្មាន?thlai ponman |
| Too expensive | ថ្លៃពេកthlai pek |
| Where is the toilet? | បង្គន់នៅឯណា?bongkon nov ae na |
| I don't understand | ខ្ញុំមិនយល់ទេkhnhom min yol 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
- The bamboo bridge is rebuilt each dry season and washed away in the wet; access to Koh Paen is by boat then.
- Some locals ask walkers for about US$1 to cross the bamboo bridge — more than the local toll.
- The French lookout tower stairs are unsafe and there is a hornet nest at the top.
- Tourist police at Wat Nokor may ask for money; entry from the other side is free.
- Carry enough US dollars or riel: ATMs are few and the last reliable one north is here.
Kampong Cham is calm and low-crime by Cambodian city standards. The real risks are traffic on Hwy 7, unlit roads after dark, wet-season river currents and food hygiene at the market: eat where it is busy and cooked to order.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Kampong Cham yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Bamboo bridge to Koh Paen
- Wat Nokor Bachey
- Mekong riverfront
- Phnom Pros and Phnom Srey
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 — Kampong Cham: www.openstreetmap.org/#map=12/11.9933/105.4636
- Wikivoyage: Kampong Cham, revision 5330148 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5330148
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Kampong Chamកំពង់ចាម
ទៅអាសយដ្ឋាននេះ
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Kampong Cham; most are in Phnom Penh (check your own country's listing).
Prices in US dollars; riel comes back as change at about 4,000–4,100 per dollar.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/kampong-cham). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.