The cost of travelling to Cambodia

When travelling around the world or through Southeast Asia, Cambodia remains one of those Asian countries that travellers absolutely do not want to miss! Why? That was the subject of my first article about the country: visiting the temples of Angkor, those superb wonders and testimony to the power of the Khmer Empire, now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site! In addition to the articles on budget in Thailand and budget in Laos, here I present the travel budget for Cambodia.

In my opinion, the country remains beautiful, very easy and pleasant to visit. The cost of living in Cambodia, compared with neighbouring countries, remains very low. Indeed, it will be very easy to limit your budget, even if you spend a month in Cambodia, for example, as I did.

Other articles will follow about the country, including the best time to visit and more specific articles on destinations in Cambodia, such as Battambang, Kep, Mondolkiri, Phnom Penh, and so on. Everything you need to prepare your trip should eventually be available on our website. After that, between you and me, planning a trip to Cambodia doesn’t require any crazy preparation. Everything is simple and cheap, so you have nothing to worry about.

For people interested in Cambodian culture and history, this will be a fascinating trip. So, what’s on the agenda? Killing Fields, colonial architecture, Cu Chi tunnels and ancient temples!

Like most countries in Southeast Asia, Cambodia is financially very accessible. The biggest expense to include in your travel budget will be the flight from Europe. Apart from that, once there, you can live on next to nothing…

Opinions about the country are quite divided. Personally, it is a country I liked very much and that I was fortunate enough to discover over a whole month. I also tried to stay off the beaten track, so to speak, which allowed me to have some great encounters.

As always, this article will be mainly useful for travellers who want to prepare their trip to Cambodia independently. A large number of agencies, both in Europe and Southeast Asia, offer all-inclusive package holidays to Cambodia and organised tours around the country. For all travellers going around the world or travelling specifically in Asia, especially backpackers, this article should be very useful. One essential piece of information to help you start planning your trip:

I visited Cambodia a few years ago and made a note of all my expenses while I was there. I have updated as many prices as I could in this article to give you today’s prices, including for visits such as the Angkor Wat Temple Pass.

As with a trip to Thailand or Laos, I once again divided the expenses you will incur in Cambodia into five main categories:

1. The cost of going to Cambodia
2. Travelling around Cambodia
3. Places to stay in Cambodia
4. Eating in Cambodia
5. Leisure and other activities in Cambodia

At the end of this article, I will give you a summary of your expected daily expenses when visiting Cambodia. I will also try, as best I can, to give you an idea of the cost of both a 2-week trip and a month-long trip.

However, it is useful to know that in most tourist areas, people pay in dollars (USD). You can withdraw them from ATMs in the cities. Very often, you will pay in dollars and receive your change in Riel. On the Cambodian border, we found quite a few places where traders accepted baht, the Thai currency.

To evaluate your travel budget in Cambodia, the first thing to consider is the cost of getting there. This is certainly the part of the budget that will be the highest, especially if you come from North America.

Of course, everything will depend on where you live. If you live in Europe, quite a few European capitals offer flights to the country’s capital, Phnom Penh. If you are flexible, prices vary from 350/400€ from Paris or London to around 500/600€ from other capitals.

From the major cities of the United States, such as Los Angeles, New York or San Francisco, and again if you are flexible, flights to Cambodia can be found for as low as 400$. From Canada, the cheapest flights start at $500/500 Canadian.

If you are on a low budget, it may be interesting to book a flight to Thailand, Bangkok for example, instead. You can then take a bus or train to get to the Cambodian border very easily…

As with a trip to Laos or Thailand, sleeping in Cambodia is very affordable and will not cost you a fortune as long as you stay in one of the small local guesthouses, similar to youth hostels.

To give you an idea of my accommodation budget in Cambodia over the past month, we slept for an average of $6 per night. In fact, if you are careful about where you sleep and choose “the least expensive”, you can find rooms at around $5/night almost anywhere. For this price, you will have a simple room that is clean and has a fan. Not luxury, but enough for my taste. I admit that the concept of comfort varies quite a bit from one person to another… That makes an average of 4.6€ per night for 2 people. Come on, let’s round it up to a little over 2€ per person for somewhere to sleep. Not too bad, right?

I would say that, for people travelling around Asia on a small budget, for example, you should expect to pay a minimum of 6/7$ per night. Allow $10 to be really sure.

Between 10 and 20$, you can find beautiful double rooms with swimming pools, depending on the location. Paying above $20/25 in Cambodia, I would frankly consider to be “luxury”.

It should be noted that it is also possible to find private accommodation with locals, for example through Airbnb or simply couchsurfing. Here is a selection of accommodation that I know personally, that I have heard about or for which I have received good feedback!

If you are travelling to Cambodia, transport is one of the things you should know about too. It is important to point out that the country is not very big and that local transport is quite easy to use for travelling from one part of the country to another.

Given the size of the country, I don’t really know many people who have decided to take a domestic flight within Cambodia. For information, the country has 3 airports: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville Airport, on the south coast of the country. The first two offer flights to Europe. Sihanoukville Airport seems to serve only the surrounding countries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam and China, and also provides domestic flights.

It is possible that some tourists who are only coming to see the temples of Angkor, for example, further west in the country, may consider taking a flight from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.

In this case, airfares are between 40 and 60$ for a return flight between the two cities, with a 50-minute flight. It is certainly much shorter than by bus, but between baggage check-in, taking another form of transport to get to the airport, and so on, I’m not sure it is really more advantageous.

This is by far the most common means of transport in Cambodia, for tourists and Cambodians alike. Overall, the buses are well maintained and in better condition than in Laos, for instance. There are often several price ranges, from the most economical to the “luxury bus”, used especially for long distances. As a reminder: 1€ = 4700 Riels.

Here are some ideas of bus prices in Cambodia:

• Phnom Penh – Kep: $6, 5h,
• Phnom Penh – Battambang : 35000 riel, 6h
• Battambang – Siem Reap : 25000 riels, 3h
• Siem Reap – Phnom Penh : 5,5$, 7h
• Phnom Penh – Sen Monorom : 11$, 9h

As you can see, the distances can be quite long, especially if you plan to do some trekking in remote areas like Mondolkiri, around Sen Monorom.

Even though I haven’t used it personally, I know that it is possible to take a train to travel around the country. For tourists, the most famous of these is still the “bamboo train”, a train made out of bamboo that allows you to visit the rice fields of the Angkor region. At a cost of almost $6, it must be said that it gives you a great overview of the region with a rather fun means of transport!

The Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville link seems to have reopened since mid-2016, and the government would like to extend the rail network from Phnom Penh to the Thai border town of Poipet. According to recent information, the train between Battambang and Poipet will be operational. A must if you are in the area.

In some tourist areas, it is possible to rent a 125cc motorcycle, for example, for the day or for several days, usually for 5/6$ per day + fuel. Generally, for a standard scooter, you will rarely be asked for your international driving licence, although I would advise you to have it with you…

The only time I tried travelling by motorcycle in this country was when crossing from Ha Tien, Vietnam, to Kep, and someone was transporting me. I paid $7 for the three-hour motorcycle trip between the two cities.

During your holiday in Cambodia, it is likely that you will take several boat trips, whether to visit the paradise islands in the south of the country, go for a ride on Tonle Sap Lake, or take a short trip along the Mekong at sunset, and so on.

Here are some price ideas:

• Kep -> Ko Tonsay : $9/person/round-trip,
• Boat trip around Kampot at sunset: $5,
• The Battambang – Siem Reap trip on the Tonle Sap: about 25$, 8h.

I didn’t go up that far, but I heard that you could take a nice boat trip around Kratie, on the Mekong River, and enjoy the beautiful beaches along the river.

As in the rest of Southeast Asia, you will find tuk-tuks on almost every street corner. You can use them for tours in the major cities, for example, to go to the beach from your hotel and, of course, to make the famous visit to the Angkor temples. Here are some examples of the prices I paid:

• Visit of the countryside around Battambang for half a day: 17$ for 2 people,
• The Great Tour of Angkor: $10 a day,
• Temples ruins outside Angkor: $25/day (4 people shared),
• Expect $2 to $3 for a short trip in Phnom Penh for example.

It is also possible to rent bicycles in tourist areas. Allow $1 for a standard bike at Angkor, for example. For me, it is the perfect way to discover the most beautiful sites in this country at a leisurely pace, or to go to the white sandy beaches of the islands in the south of the country…

That’s it, I think I’ve covered the country’s transport systems. With this, you should have a good idea of what you’ll need to get around Cambodia. For the train, don’t hesitate to look for more up-to-date information on the opening dates for the Battambang to Phnom Penh line.

Suffice it to say, eating in this country will not break the bank. It is a relatively good and cheap place to eat. For backpackers and those on small budgets, you will find countless small local places selling traditional dishes. Including water, for all meals we expected to spend $6 a day for two people.

Here are some price ideas you can expect to pay in this country for Cambodian food:

• A bottle of water (2000 riels, or $0.6),
• A rice or noodle dish in a street food place: between 4000 and 6000 riels (1-1.5$) -> double the price in a restaurant,
• A Burger King: $6,
• A fresh fruit juice: $1,
• One portion of white rice/sticky rice: 1000 Riel,
• A packet of breakfast biscuits for the morning: 2000 Riels,

To sum up, if you are careful to avoid tourist restaurants, you can get by for 2/3€ per person per day. It is actually the water that is quite expensive, so to speak, and you will have to drink plenty of it in a country where the temperature doesn’t drop below 30° all day long…

Overall, I found Cambodian cuisine quite good, with a mix of Thai, Vietnamese and French influences. I particularly remember all the soups sold in the streets in the middle of Phnom Penh… a treat for next to nothing…

Finally, the last expense category in Cambodia is the price of activities. As with the rest of my trip to Asia, I didn’t take part in many paid activities…

However, here are some examples of the cost of some activities in the country:

• Visit to the Khmer city of Angkor: $37 for 1 day, $62 for 3 days, $72 for 7 days (2018 price). Even if the site is famous for its mass tourism, you will remain speechless during this grandiose visit, which deserves a few days of your time. There are also some fabulous sites without tourists
• An elephant ride in Sen Monorom (Mondolkiri): $30/person. With a little hindsight, and knowing more about how elephants are treated today, I personally would not do this again…
• Visit of the S21 prison in Phnom Penh: 5$ (Audio guide at 3$/person)
• Entrance to Bokor Park: 2500 riels
• A Mekong river cruise : price with vary a lot from 700 to 1000$ for 3/4 nights.
• Day trip to Koh Rong : 25$

If you are looking for activities to enjoy in this country and want to do things on your own, look at what is offered through package holidays and local travel agencies… Obviously, you will not be able to escape the country’s, and Asia’s, greatest archaeological site: the majestic Angkor sites.

Apart from that, you can simply idle away the time in a small wooden shack on the heavenly beaches in the south of the country, right?

As with the articles about budgets for Thailand and Laos, I will end this article by giving you the figures for the month I spent in Cambodia. However, I need to clarify a few things before I start, because the notion of budget can really vary from one person to another depending on your comfort preferences, habits, wishes, and so on. Whether you are on a one-year trip or a two-week holiday is also very different.

• We spent a month in this country on a travel itinerary of Southeast Asia in economic mode,
• Our average budget for the whole trip was 20$/day/person,
• Being in a relationship, we shared all of our accommodation. Strange, isn’t it ☺. If you are alone, it will cost you more….
• As in neighbouring countries, we very often bargained the prices of tuk-tuks, accommodation, etc.

So here are the average expenses for an entire trip to Cambodia, for two people.

I have to admit that every time I write an article on the budget for a country, I feel a little apprehensive… The budget when travelling in a country is quite variable, and I am not offering a complete guide on what “budget to expect” while in the country. Everyone will determine this according to their wishes, finances, way of travelling, and so on.

Based on my experience of 25 days spent there, living in a very economical way, it is possible to live on only 25$/day for 2 people. To this, you need to add the price of the plane ticket to get you to the country.

I’m going to start with a few figures.

For economical and/or long-distance travellers, you can count about 350$ for plane tickets from the United States and about 13$/day/person, based on my budget in Asia. In total, you will need about 1200$ to spend a month in Cambodia for two people, including plane tickets.

If you prefer to allow for a larger budget, expect 30-40$/day/2 people.

For shorter periods, I recommend a minimum of 2, or even 3 weeks there anyway, including local expenses and excluding tickets, based on my experience:

• 165$ per week for 2 people in economy mode
• 225-275$ if you want to allow for other eventualities,
• 350-400$ if you really want to live it up! Just between us, to spend 60$ a day in Cambodia for two people, you would have to stay in a luxury hotel, or almost, eat in a restaurant 3 times a day and do all the paid activities available….

Finally, the last point that you must take into account if you are on a long trip is insurance. You are sometimes covered with a credit card for 3 months, but for travellers leaving for a year or more, it is quite essential. There are all kinds of international health insurance available to meet your needs depending on your trip. I haven’t made a comparison of the different insurance options for a round-the-world trip, but you can find a lot of information on the various websites out there. Many factors come into play, such as the countries you are travelling through, your age, and so on. Allow between 40 and 70$ per month at the very least!

Well, there you go, I hope this article will help you prepare the budget for your trip to Cambodia. If you are on a world tour, don’t hesitate to check out the article on the cost of travelling to Thailand, as it could also help you understand the cost of living over there.

As for me, I plan to go back on a family trip to Asia, and I would be tempted to revisit Cambodia, particularly those places off the beaten track that I did not have the opportunity to discover during my first trip. I am thinking in particular of the more mountainous region in the northeast of the country.

For those who know the country, what budget did you plan for your stay? In your opinion, when travelling, is the budget the most important factor to take into account?

See you soon and I wish you a good trip!