The Travel Journal
The Coast Journal
Dispatches from Cambodia's islands and shoreline: the places, the light, and the long lunches. A field guide to the coast, not the market.
Featured
Two long reads to begin with, from the two islands everyone asks about first.
Koh Rong Sanloem, and the Case for Doing Nothing
An island that runs on tide and lamplight, where the loudest thing after dark is the water turning over on the sand.
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Koh Rong, the Big Island, Still Mostly Jungle
Twenty-odd beaches, a dirt spine of a path, and a long white western shore the day boats never reach.
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The Cardamoms, the Wild Heart Behind the Coast
Behind the beaches lies one of Southeast Asia's last great rainforests, and a new kind of travel that is helping to save it.
Caves and Karst, Kampot's Hidden Country
Behind the river town, limestone hills rise from the paddies, hiding cave temples, bat-filled caverns and a famous secret lake.
The Salt and the Pepper, Kampot's Two Harvests
A few kilometres apart, two of Cambodia's finest exports come out of the ground and the sea. A short tour of the Kampot flats and hills.
The Crab Baskets, Markets of the Coast
From the crab women of Kep to the night stalls of Kampot, the coast's markets are where its flavours start.
Sihanoukville, the Door to the Islands
The coast's boom town divides opinion, but it remains the gateway, and the quieter beaches around it are worth the stop.
Getting to the Coast, Flights, Roads and the Slow Boat
How the islands and the shore actually connect, and why the last leg, a boat across turquoise water, is the best part.
Angkor, the Other Half of the Journey
The temples and the sea are the two poles of a Cambodian trip. Here is why the coast deserves Angkor as its counterweight.
Phnom Penh, the Gateway and the Pause
Most journeys to the coast begin in the capital. Give it a night, because the river city repays a little of your time.
When to Go, Reading the Coast's Seasons
Dry sun or green monsoon, each has its case. A short, honest guide to timing a trip to the Cambodian coast.
The Table by the Sea, Eating on the Coast
Pepper crab, grilled fish, and amok steamed in banana leaf. The flavours that make this coast worth the trip on their own.
Under the Surface, Diving the Koh Rong Water
A warm, shallow, forgiving sea where many travellers learn to dive, and the reef is quietly recovering.
The Sea That Glows, Cambodia's Living Light
On a moonless night, the water here answers your hand in sparks. A short guide to finding the bioluminescence.
Koh Russey, the Island That Got Polished
Bamboo Island reinvented, where a barefoot backpacker haunt became one of the coast's most elegant escapes, a short boat from Ream.
Koh Sdach, the Islands That Still Fish
A little archipelago off the western coast where the boats are working boats and the welcome is the real thing.
Tatai, a River Running Through the Rainforest
A broad jungle river, a waterfall you can swim beneath, and lodges that float on the water an hour from the coast.
Koh Kong, Where the Cardamoms Meet the Sea
Cambodia's wild western corner, a frontier of rainforest rivers, mangrove estuaries and a coast the crowds have not found.
Bokor, the Hill Station in the Clouds
A cool, misty plateau above Kampot, an abandoned casino, an old church, and the whole coast laid out below.
Rabbit Island, the Slow Boat from Kep
Twenty-five minutes off Kep, a single curve of sand, simple bungalows, and seafood grilled where you sit.
Koh Ta Kiev, the Island That Runs on Candlelight
No roads, little electricity, and a hammock with your name on it, twenty minutes by boat from the mainland.
Ream National Park, Where the Coast Goes Wild
Mangrove channels, birdsong, and a near-empty island, a half-hour from the airport and nothing like it.
Song Saa, and the Private-Island Fantasy
Two tiny islands joined by a footbridge, a marine reserve of their own, and the castaway daydream at the deep end of the archipelago.
Otres, the Quiet End of Sihanoukville
Two long beaches of soft sand and sunset bars, a short drive and a whole world away from the casino lights.
Kep, Kampot, and the Pepper Coast
A river town, a crab market, and the peppercorn that carried this stretch of Cambodian coast into kitchens in Paris.
Experiences
What the world writes about this coast
Short lines from the travel press, in several languages, each linked to its source.