Cambodia
A small country with one very large reason to visit, plus a short coast, a slow river town, and a capital still working through its twentieth century.
Cambodia is most travellers’ second stop on a Southeast Asia loop — usually paired with Thailand or Vietnam — and most itineraries are organised around Angkor. Beyond Siem Reap, the country opens up: Phnom Penh on the Mekong, the islands of the Gulf of Thailand, the French colonial river towns of the centre, and the pepper-and-crab coast of the south. Distances are modest, the buses and minivans are cheap, and a week is enough to do more than just the temples. Use the US dollar for everything except small change (which comes in riel); both circulate side by side.
Cities & Regions
When to Go
The dry season runs from November through April and is the high season for the temples and the coast. November to February is the cool-and-dry sweet spot — comfortable temperatures, low humidity, and clear skies for sunrise at Angkor Wat. March and April are dry but extremely hot, often above forty degrees, with the Khmer New Year falling in mid-April. The wet southwest monsoon brings short heavy afternoon downpours from May through October; September and October are the greenest months for the rice paddies and the moats around Angkor, and crowds at the temples thin sharply.