Sihanoukville: Cambodia’s largest coastal city.
Sihanoukville is on the southern coast of Cambodia, home to Cambodia’s only seaport on the Gulf of Thailand. Founded relatively recently in 1964 specifically for the deep water port. Now popular as a tourist destination due to its many beaches and tropical climate.
Named after the retired King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, Sihanoukville has become a top attraction for tourists visiting Cambodia, as well as residents looking for a vacation. This was put down in 1994 when three Western backpackers were kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge and later killed. Sihanoukville has since bounced back and now entertains nearly 1,000,000 tourists each year.
Sihanoukville also supports an international airport with a troubled history: Following an accident in the Cardamom Mountains in 2007, the airport remains ready for service but no flights are scheduled. The plan was for the airport to encourage visitors to other major attractions, such as the Angkor temples in Siem Reap, to enjoy a beach holiday on Cambodia’s southern coast.
The deep-water commercial seaport is located on the northern peninsula of Sihanoukville, with several tropical islands and beaches to the west and south. The other beaches are located on the western and southern edges of the peninsula.
The most popular beach in Sihanoukville is Occheuteal Beach, which is lined with casuarina trees, sporting many thatched-roof cabanas with lazy chairs offering cold drinks and refreshments. The north end of Occheuteal Beach, naturally part of the beach itself, has been dubbed Serendipity Beach, where you can find many of the same thatched-roof huts, as well as backpacker accommodation and a few mid-range bungalows. .
The southern end of Occheuteal Beach is largely deserted, awaiting large resort development, progress of which has been very slow following a failed attempt to build a golf course on the land. Around the promontory at the southern end of Occheuteal Beach is a similar and mostly deserted Otres Beach: although previously devoid of visitors, Otres Beach is now home to some backpacker accommodation and is promoted as a place for adventure sports, such as sailing and paragliding.
Sihanoukville’s main beach is the private Sokha Beach, a beautiful, well-maintained stretch of beach belonging to the Sokha hotel chain owned by Cambodian oil magnate Kem Sokha. Non-guests may be disappointed if they wish to visit Sokha Beach, as hotel guards may deny access; however, visitors can park in the hotel parking lot and walk to the beach without being seen.
Independence Beach is a pebble beach west of Sokha Beach and south of Victory Beach: many open-air restaurants line this beach, which is very popular with Khmer locals. Just north of Independence Beach is the small, rocky beach of Koh Pos with the island of Koh Pos just 800m offshore. The northernmost beach in Sihanoukville is Victory Beach, which is located directly south of Sihanoukville Harbour. Another small beach called Lemherkey Beach is located at the southern end of Victory Beach. This is where construction began in the 1950s on the new port of Kompong Som. You can charter boats from here to nearby islands.
Tourists can easily visit the dozen islands off the coast of Sihanoukville. Most remain undeveloped, however overnight accommodation is available on Koh Russei, also known as Bamboo Island. Many companies in Sihanoukville offer trips and tours to Bamboo Island.
Sihanoukville is also known as Kompong Som and Krong Preah Selhanu, and is often referred to as Snookyville or even Snooky to expatriate residents.
Cambodia’s national beer, Angkor Beer, built its first brewery in Sihanoukville. The famous Independence Hotel claimed to host Jacqueline Kennedy on her 1967 tour of Cambodia, but in 1970 Prince Sihanouk was overthrown in a coup by the Khmer Rouge as Cambodia descended into civil war. At that time Sihanoukville was renamed Kompong Som and still retains this name to some extent. During the Khmer Rouge era, the Independence Hotel was used as target practice, and following the mistaken hijacking of a US freighter, the port was heavily bombed by the US Air Force.
Despite Pol Pot’s fall, the road from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh remained in a sorry state and was well known for banditry. This has changed dramatically in the last 10 years with the improvement of the roads from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and the eradication of all hostilities.
Sihanoukville has since been dubbed by the New York Times “Asia’s Next Trendsetting Beach” and this is justified by endless construction, with new hotels popping up weekly and a growing population of expat residents walking around enjoying themselves. of the sun. .
The famous pro-independence hotel which was used as a shooting range for the Khmer Rouge and whose pool was used as a mass grave, has been restored as one of Sihanoukville’s luxury hotels, however a new pool has been dug and filled the old one. in.
Sihanoukville is definitely worth a visit if you plan to travel to or through Cambodia. The beaches are relaxing for everyone, and there is always something to do if you feel like it.