Before the Khmer Rouge, Kep was Cambodia's glamour resort. In the 1960s, Phnom Penh's elite and visiting foreign dignitaries came here for weekends by the sea — the Gulf of Thailand side, sheltered and warm, with whitewashed villas and shaded terraces. Pol Pot's regime drove everyone out and left the buildings to the jungle. The shells are still there: roofless mansions draped in vines, swimming pools filled with nothing, a bullet-pocked Mercedes in a driveway that locals say once belonged to Pol Pot himself. The Khmer Rouge villa ruins are worth an hour's wander on foot.
The ruins are the reason many people come, and they don't disappoint. But Kep has also built a life around them. The town is small, quiet, and genuinely relaxing. The famous crab market on the waterfront sells fresh blue swimmer crabs cooked with Kampot pepper — one of the great cheap meals in Southeast Asia. Kep National Park behind the town has trails through dense forest to viewpoints over the coast and nearby islands.
A short boat ride from the pier takes you to Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay), a quiet island with sandy beaches and bungalow accommodation — perfect for a day trip or a lazy overnight.
Kep sits about 25 kilometres from Kampot, which makes a natural base if you want more amenities. Many visitors do a half-day or full-day trip from there. The road between them follows the coast past salt flats and pepper plantations.
Getting here is straightforward by minibus from Phnom Penh (around 3–4 hours) or by taxi or motorbike from Kampot. Note that the surrounding countryside was heavily mined during the Khmer Rouge years — stick to marked paths in the national park and don't wander into unfamiliar areas off the road.