Krong Koh Kong
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Krong Koh Kong

Krong Koh Kong

Southwestern Cambodian coastal town between the Cardamom Mountains and Gulf of Thailand, near mangroves and islands.

Krong Koh Kong is a small coastal town in Cambodia's far southwest, tucked between the Cardamom Mountains and the Gulf of Thailand. It sits just 80 km from Thailand's Koh Chang, and the border crossing at Cham Yeam makes it a common entry point for travellers coming overland from the Thai side.

The town itself is quiet and unpolished — a handful of guesthouses, a riverside market, and the long Koh Kong Bridge across the estuary. The real draw is what surrounds it: the largely untouched Cardamom Mountains to the north, the Peam Krasaop mangroves along the coast, and Koh Kong Island offshore, a large and almost empty island with long stretches of white sand. Boat trips to the island, jungle treks into the Cardamoms, and visits to the Tatai waterfall can all be arranged locally. The town is reachable by road from Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh, and from the Thai border at Hat Lek nine kilometres away.

Guide

Eating Out

Koh Kong has a small, simple food scene. Seafood and Khmer-Thai fusion are the strengths — fish, crab, and prawns come in fresh from the boats, and the proximity of Thailand shows in the menu. Several places along the riverfront and on Street 1 have outdoor seating and English menus.

For breakfast and coffee, the cafes around the central market are inexpensive and unpretentious. For dinner, try a barbecued whole fish (trey aing) at one of the river-facing places — about $8 to $12 with rice and beer. Cardamom Tented Camp and the Tatai River lodges all do excellent set-menu dinners if you are staying out of town.

Guide

Getting There

Koh Kong sits at the Cambodian end of the Cham Yeam border crossing with Thailand, 9 kilometres from Hat Lek on the Thai side. From Koh Chang or Trat, a minivan to the border plus a tuk-tuk in town takes around three hours.

From inside Cambodia, the road south from Phnom Penh (about 6 hours by bus) and the road from Sihanoukville (about 4 hours) both arrive at the river bridge. There are no scheduled flights — the small Koh Kong airport handles charters and military traffic only.

Guide

Things to Do

The town itself is a quick walk-through; the reason to be here is the surrounding wilderness — the Cardamoms behind, mangrove estuaries and an empty island in front. Plan at least two full days to do justice to both.

Guide

When to Go

The dry season — late November to April — is the only practical time. The Cardamom Mountains catch some of the heaviest rainfall in mainland Southeast Asia, and the wet season here is genuinely wet: jungle trails become rivers, roads wash out, and many of the river and beach trips simply do not run.

December to February has the most comfortable temperatures (around 25-28 C in the day) and the calmest seas for the boat trip to Koh Kong Island. March and April are hot — well into the high thirties — but still dry, and the waterfalls are at their lowest, which is ideal for swimming.