Backpacking in SihanoukVille, Cambodia 2011.

SihanoukVille's Backpacking scene continues to grow and expand in 2011.

 Utopia has opened up the Box nightclub, next to the new swimming pool.  The Box opens up at 10PM and rocks all night.

A companion to The Monkey Republic,  The Big Easy opened up across from Utopia on Serendipity Beach.


Victory Hill is still booming, and Sakal Bungalows also has a swimming pool, 50 cent beer (but it's gone up to 62 cents), and a 24 hour bar.

There's lots of opportunities for handing out flyers to pay for your food and beer around town.  At Utopia, you even get a free room (or a least a free dorm bed).

Nice rooms for $5 with a private bathroom are all over town.  You can even get a room for a month for $50 at several places.

You can rent a motorcycle for $5 a day to get around ($60/month), use a motodup (motorcycle taxi) for as little as 25 cents, or just walk.

Backpacking in SihanoukVille, Cambodia. 2010.

Backpacking in SihanoukVille, Cambodia is taking off. 

The biggest news us that after 3 years of planning and design, construction, and testing, Utopia has finished their swimming pool.  You can find more than 100 people there every night (late).  They join the prestidigious Sakal Bungalows as the only backpacker places in town with swimming pools.

Of course Ocheteaul and Otres beaches, still have free rooms (or a least a bed) on the beach.  Otres even has tents on the beach for a dollar or two.

Victory hill is still booming as a Backpacker destination, and Victory beach has turned into one of the nicest beaches in town.

Monkey Republic, near Serendipity Beach is still a favorite, and is filled every night.

Backpacking in SihanoukVille, Cambodia. Rainy Season 2009

Backpacking this year in SihanoukVille, Cambodia has be a blast for thousands of tourists during the rainy season.



July was one of the busiest months ever here in SihanoukVille, while August was very quiet.

Many tourists ended up in beach shacks, eating and drinking and watching the rain, gambling at the casinos, watching movies (and playing games) on the big screen, and touring around in the rain.

The traditional hotspots, Monkey Republic to Utopia on Beach Road on Serendipity Beach, and Victory Hill have had a lot of new businesses open in the last few months, with many more on the way.

There's even talk that Utopia will finish their swimming pool before 2010 to welcome Mark back.

This Winter, tourist numbers should be up about 15% over last year, according to statistics on the SihanoukVille website. That's not the greatest for here, but we'll take it.