Cambodia With Kids
Visiting Cambodia with kids was an amazing experience of highlights, bucket-list ticks and a few lows.
I loved Cambodia for the Angkor Temples, the friendly people and the beautiful accommodation. For the tuk-tuk drivers, the cultural opportunities, the lemon-grass and ginger tea and the wonderful surprises. Open arms welcomed our kids everywhere, which we loved!
My heart broke for the Khmer people who have a growing problem with plastic rubbish. It was disappointing that the beautiful beaches had pieces of plastic rubbish roll in with each gentle wave. Hopefully a solution is found before the problem becomes widespread.
Information and Inspiration for Your Holiday to Cambodia With Kids
Great Places to Visit on Your Family Holiday to Cambodia
We didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to explore Cambodia with the kids. Although it’s not my favourite country in South East Asia and the beaches didn’t live up to my expectations, something about it cast a spell on me. I would love to return at a slower place, visit some smaller towns, try some more food and re-visit the Angkor Temples.
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is Cambodia’s bustling capital and has everything you expect in a South East Asia capital. Despite the fact that the streets are a chaos of motorbikes and tuk-tuks who seem to have no thought for pedestrians, strolling around and taking in the sights and sounds was a whole lot of fun.
There’s enough sights to see to allow a few days here and there are plenty of restaurants and accommodation options. Highlights included the Royal Palace, The National Museum, the mighty Mekong and a Tuk-Tuk tour around the local temples.
The Angkor Temples
Visiting the Angkor Temples was everything we dreamed and then a bit more! Most people buy a three day ticket but we only had time for one day and only visited two temples. We need to come back!
When purchasing a temple pass, a photograph is taken and printed on the ticket. If the kids are young enough, they get to be in your photo. Best souvenir ever!
Siem Reap
We had a great time in Siem Reap! As well as visiting the Angkor Temples, we took a boat out onto Tonle Sap Lake and visited a floating village, watched the Cambodian acrobatic circus (no animals), checked out the markets and just explored by foot and tuk-tuk.
Koh Rong Island
When we made our way down to Sihanoukville to take a boat to Koh Rong Island, my heart sank at the amount of rubbish both on the coastline and on the streets. Where we about to spend 6 days on an icky beach? Koh Rong Island turned out to be a lot nicer than Sihanoukville, but there was still rubbish in the water. Just less of it!
I would love to hear what other families experiences are/were as I got the impression the rubbish was a recent problem.
Check out our Cambodia With Kids YouTube clips!
Where to Stay in Cambodia With Kids
We were blessed with outstanding accommodations in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, all of which were incredibly family-friendly.
Accommodation in Phnom Penh for Families
When we first arrived in Phnom Penh, we stayed at the VMansion Boutique Hotel. This hotel is really lovely with spacious rooms, lovely staff, hand-painted wall art and it was really clean. I would stay here again in a heartbeat! Also the food was really great and a lot of things were eco-friendly such as bamboo straws and cups.
We stayed in Phnom Penh again for a couple of night before we flew home and were fortunate enough to experience absolutely luxury and the iconic Raffles service at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal. If you love luxury or you just want to try it out, this hotel is just perfect for families.
The epic kids menu, shallow pool, amazing food and warm welcome all contributed to the positive experience. Raffles was just an amazing experience that I would love to repeat again all over the world!
Accommodation in Siem Reap for Families
We stayed at the new Ibis Styles Hotel in a family suite. This hotel is great value for money! The room featured a swing chair hanging from the ceiling, a second TV for the kids and was pretty spacious. There is an international standard restaurants downstairs and the night market is directly across the road. I will stay here again next time we visit Siem Reap.
Unless I can afford the Raffles Hotel d’Angkor! Now that we’ve experienced the Raffles legendary hospitality I’ve made it my bucket list to stay in them all.
Accommodation on Koh Rong Island for Families
We stayed at the Sok San Beach Resort on Koh Rong Island. The resort has great roomy family chalets which we loved, but getting served at the restaurant was sometimes slow. This was not fun with two kids complaining they were hungry and no other food options available.
The staff did a great job of keeping the grounds clean around the bungalows, but didn’t clean the rubbish from the beach out front.
