We spent a week in Cambodia, flying in and out of Siem Reap with a three day side trip to the capital, Phnom Penh, which we reached by bus. Phnom Penh not the most exciting of capital cities, but I’m a history nerd, so always intrigued to visit places I learned about in history classes. ‘Dark tourism‘ may not be to everyone’s taste, but I believe it’s important to learn about our past. So I would recommend visiting some of the sites linked with Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime. In addition, the opulent Royal Palace is a must-see.
How to get to Phnom Penh
Obviously, you can fly to Phnom Penh, which is home to the country’s largest airport. But as most people visit Cambodia primarily to see Angkor Wat and the other temples in that region, we chose to make Siem Reap our base, with a short side trip to the capital.
Although we took a return bus trip to Phnom Penh and flew out of Siem Reap, our daughter took a one way bus to the capital and flew out of Phnom Penh. The former worked out cheaper (and meant we could leave most of our luggage in Siem Reap), while the latter took less time. Either are doable – it’s just a case of personal preference. If time is of the essence, or you’re feeling flush, you can also fly between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.
If you do choose to fly, Phnom Penh International Airport is located 7 miles west of the city. There is a bus that goes to the airport – Line No 3, with tickets costing around $0.50). However, most tourists opt to get around by the ubiquitous tuk tuks. An airport tuk tuk should cost around $9. Grab is another popular option.
We travelled to Phnom Penh with Giant Ibis. They offer 3-4 buses a day departing in the morning, or late evening for the overnight service. It’s quite a long journey; the 200 mile trip took us 6-7 hours each way including all the stops. Tickets cost $17 during the day, or $19 for the night bus. This price includes complimentary pick up from certain hotels.
Getting Around Phnom Penh
We stayed close to Royal Palace and National Museum, so visited those on foot. For the other destinations, we hired a taxi for a half day and the driver took us the The Killing Fields and Genocide Museum and waited for us. There are cheaper alternatives (the hop on hop off half day tour costs $15) , but as there were three of us, we opted for a taxi.
Where to stay in Phnom Penh
We stayed at the Plantation Urban Resort & Spa. It’s a beautiful hotel built around a garden courtyard – like a calm oasis in the middle of a bustling city. It’s also very conveniently located. Our colonial style room overlooked a huge pool surrounded by greenery. It was most welcome after the heat of the city. Phnom Penh is very hot and humid, so if you can afford it, I would definitely recommend splurging a little and choosing a hotel with a pool!
Phnom Penh in 3 Days Itinerary
| Day 1 | Bus to Phnom Penh Accommodation – Plantation Urban Resort & Spa Dinner at Panorama Mekong |
| Day 2 | The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum The Royal Palace Dinner at Khmer River House |
| Day 3 | National Museum of Cambodia Walk along The Mekong Bus to Siem Reap |
Phnom Penh Day 1
Bus to Phnom Penh
It seemed like a good idea at the time; a six hour bus trip from Siem Reap to the capital, Phnom Penh. It’s only 199 miles, so that’s an average of 33 mph. The old man and I reach the bus terminal. It’s rather chaotic. Our daughter has booked the complimentary pick up service and is nowhere to be seen, finally arriving a couple of minutes before the bus is due to depart.
We are late leaving; some American kid has his ticket on his phone which he forgot to charge. Then we have to make an unscheduled stop after a few miles; the American kid needs to pee and can’t wait. It’s going to be a long day.
The road is less rural than I’d expected; it’s lined with townships for most of the route. And litter – lots and lots of litter. The verges are thick with plastic bags and bottles.
After six hours, three scheduled stops at service stations and two unscheduled stops (Mr ‘I need to pee’ demands to be dropped off when we passed a brewery), we reach our destination.
We take a Tuk tuk to the hotel. We climb in, but the driver has parked over a tree root and can’t push the Tuk tuk back onto the road, so we have to get out again. Still no success, so we have to help push. Then he asks me to stand in the middle of the busy road and stop the traffic so he can reverse.
Accommodation – Plantation Urban Resort & Spa
We make it to our hotel, Plantation Urban Resort & Spa. But are face with guests making a run for the door, followed by staff. They are spraying insecticide round the pool. After a brief wait outside, we are issued with masks and allowed to check in. (Ironically, when I visited in 2018, this was the first time I’d ever worn a face mask – little did I know what the next few years had in store!)
Dinner at Panorama Mekong
Our daughter is staying in less salubrious circumstances at the nearby Panorama Mekong. However, it does have a 4th floor bar offering a stunning view across the Mekong River. And sit ells cocktails at £1.35 each, so we join her by the river for drinks and dinner.
It’s a popular area. The riverside footpath is lined with palm trees and packed with walkers and runners. The river is full of boats. As it gets dark, the boats light up and there are red and blue fairy lights on the palm trees, which match the Cambodian flags dotted along the street. It’s a magical sight.
Walking back to our hotel, we pass the Royal Palace, which is also illuminated at night.
Phnom Penh Day 2
The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek
Some may think it a macabre way to spend a day, but I studied history at university, so the first stop on today’s itinerary is a visit to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. In a site a few (around 11) miles out of town, are the mass graves of up to 20,000 victims of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. The hotel arranges taxi hire for the day to take us both here and to our next destination.
An audio tour takes you round the site of the graves whilst providing ample information about this terrible time in Cambodia’s history. Some graves have been excavated, leaving huge dents in the ground, others left untouched, meaning bone fragments, teeth etc are randomly scattered around.
The tour finishes at a Memorial to the victims, which contains over 5000 skulls.
Choeung Ek is open daily betwen 7.30 am and 5.30 pm. Entry costs $6 including the audio tour guide.
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
After this, we move on to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This former school became a prison (named Prison S21) during Pol Pot’s regime. The four main buildings can be visited.
Building A was used for interrogation. Each former classroom contains a bed. Just before the regime was toppled, the final 14 prisoners were tortured to death and left in situ. There is a large photo in each room showing how its final victim was discovered, lying on the bed, covered in blood. You can still see traces of blood on the floor.
Building B contains thousands of mug shots of those who were detained here. There are photos taken when prisoners arrived, plus a gruesome set of photos taken post torture.
Building C houses the mass cells where inmates were shackled to the walls.
Building D displays many of the instruments and methods of torture utilised to make prisoners confess to crimes or give names of CIA/KGB agents. One survivor explains that he’d never even heard of the CIA, yet managed to name over 60 agents under torture.
The museum is open daily between 8 am and 5 pm. Entry for foreigners costs $5.
It’s been a long and draining morning, both emotionally and physically; we have spent four hours walking round the sites with temperatures in the mid 30s. So we return to the hotel and cool off with a swim.
The Royal Palace
Suitably refreshed, we set off to visit The Royal Palace – a huge complex containing many grand buildings.
Most opulent is the Silver Pagoda, which is named for its silver tiled floor.
The palace opens twice daily; between 8 am and 11 am and again between 2 pm and 5 pm. Entry costs $10.
Dinner at Khmer River House
We round off our last evening in Phnom Penh with another round of riverside cocktails followed by dinner at Khmer River House.
Phnom Penh Day 3
It’s our last morning in Phnom Penh. Today, our daughter departs Cambodia, while we catch a bus back to Siem Reap.
National Museum of Cambodia
First, just enough time to visit the National Museum of Cambodia. The museum houses a large collection of Khmer artifacts.
The museum doesn’t have air conditioning, so we only manage an hour before we are so sweaty our clothes are stuck to our bodies and we go in search of cold drinks and a cooling breeze.
The museum is open daily from 8 am until 5 pm. Admission costs $10 for foreigners. Plus an additional $5 if you want an audio tour.
Walk along the Mekong
We round our trip to Phnom Penh off with a walk along the promenade, which runs alongside the mighty Mekong. The prom, which is lined with flags and sculptures is popular place for a stroll. Then it’s time to say goodbye our daughter and begin the long journey back to Siem Reap.
Bus to Siem Reap
We make it back to Siem Reap, despite the kamikaze driving, the dodgy clutch, a torrential downpour and multiple stops to pick up and drop off passengers. It’s an intriguing combination of services; westerners pay in US dollars to be taken on a direct service from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. But Cambodians flag the bus down and get on and off at will without tickets. I’m not sure if this is an official policy of making foreigners subsidise Cambodian travel, or a little sideline run by the crew. Either way, the eight additional stops mean we are 20 minutes late arriving in Siem Reap. This means that the final part of the journey is in the dark; a hair raising experience as there are no street lights and head lights are very much an optional extra.
- Trip Taken: April 2018
- Updated: March 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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