Cambodia
Koh Rong
Cambodia's beach island in two halves - all-night fire shows at one end, four empty kilometres of sand at the other.
Koh Rong is Cambodia's second-largest island, 78 sq km of jungle ringed by seven bays and around 28 beaches, a short boat ride off the Sihanoukville coast. Sok San Beach runs for miles of white sand down the west side and Long Set Beach holds a clear four kilometres on the east, with the whole surrounding sea inside Koh Rong National Marine Park, Cambodia's first. The island splits sharply in two: one loud backpacker village, and long empty sand everywhere else.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
Khmer
Currency
KHR
Timezone
UTC+7
Why you'll love Koh Rong
The beaches Twenty-eight of them across seven bays - Long Set runs a clear four kilometres and Sok San goes on for miles, so twenty minutes on foot usually buys you an empty stretch.
Glowing water Bioluminescent plankton light the shallows off the northern beaches on moonless nights, and night-swim boat trips go for around USD 5 a head.
Split personality One village is fire shows and house music until sunrise; forty minutes up the sand it is fishing hamlets, cashew and coconut plantations and jungle.
The marine park The water sits inside Koh Rong National Marine Park, Cambodia's first, with snorkelling straight off the boat and reef within swimming distance of several bays.
Best time to visit
Dec-Mar
28-29° days
10.716° N, 103.247° E
UTC+7 · Asia/Phnom Penh
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Weather & when to go to Koh Rong
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Dec-Mar
Watch for Jul-Oct typhoons risk · Jul-Oct monsoon flooding risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Koh Rong
Jul-Oct is the southwest monsoon - heavy rain, crossings rough enough to cancel ferries for days, and rubbish washing up on the sand; room rates drop hard if you will gamble on it.
Top things to do in Koh Rong
-
Long Set Beach (4K Beach) - the island's cleanest 4km of sand
scenic nature wildlife 👍 PopularA 20 minute walk east of Koh Touch and a different island entirely: four kilometres of squeaky white sand with only a handful of low-key places on it, so you can walk twenty minutes and see nobody. Ferries also drop directly here, and it is the best swimming water on the east coast.
-
Bioluminescent plankton - swim in water that lights up as you move
nature wildlife adventure ⭐ Highly recommendedNight boats leave Koh Touch around 7pm for roughly USD 5-12 per person, or pay about USD 17 for the afternoon combo that adds snorkelling, fishing and sunset before the plankton stop. Go on a moonless night and get away from beach lights; it works year-round but boats stay in on choppy nights.
-
Sok San (Long Beach) - the 7km sweep where Survivor was filmed
scenic adventure 👍 PopularThe island's west coast is one continuous 7km beach, backed by a resort strip at the south end and a working fishing village at the north. Season 32 of Survivor was shot here. At the north end the Blob Jump launches you 4-6m off a tower onto an inflatable in the sea for about USD 3.
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Lonely Beach and Palm Beach - the roadless north coast
off beaten path scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedThe far north is where people go when Koh Touch wears thin. Palm Beach is all leaning coconut palms with Speed Ferry Cambodia stopping three times a day; Lonely Beach next door is a 40-60 minute jungle walk from the road and has a single rustic resort from around USD 30-50 a night. No shops, no wifi, bring what you need.
-
Koh Touch to Sok San jungle trek - cross the island on foot
hiking adventureThe classic Koh Rong walk: roughly 50-60 minutes on a jungle trail from the main beach over the spine of the island and out onto Long Beach. Go in the morning, take more water than you think, and expect mud and leeches after rain. Boats back cost a few dollars if your legs are done.
-
Prek Ta Sok mangrove community - kayak the creek or walk the boardwalk
nature wildlife off beaten pathA 40 hectare community mangrove reserve set up in 2021, kept plastic-free by the villagers who run it. Entry is about USD 2 and a kayak around USD 10; the paddle out to the sea swing is flat and easy, and there is a wooden walkway through the trees if you would rather stay dry.
-
High Point Rope Park - zipline the canopy above Koh Touch
adventureZiplines, rope bridges and treetop obstacle courses strung through the jungle at the south end of Koh Touch beach, towards Police Beach. Around USD 25 in low season and USD 35 in high season, and the last platforms come out over the water.
-
Snorkel trip around the island's reefs and offshore rocks
adventure nature wildlifeHalf-day boat snorkels run about USD 15 and full days with lunch around USD 25 with operators like Adventure Adam out of Koh Touch. Expect parrotfish, stingrays and the occasional turtle rather than dramatic coral. Water is clearest from December to April; wet-season trips get cancelled on rough days.
-
Eat your way around Koh Touch and Sok San village
foodBeachfront charcoal BBQs of fish, squid and prawns are the island staple. Beyond that: the soup shack near the main pier for about USD 1 of Khmer chicken soup, MaLoop Cafe for beef lok lak and acai bowls, Jungle Bar and Kitchen for pizza and a cold beer, and The Chill in Sok San village for a plate over the water. Village meals still run around USD 2.
-
Koh Touch after dark - fire shows and beach bars
nightlife music 👍 PopularThe nightlife is concentrated on Koh Touch beach now, with nightly fire shows and buckets at places like Funky Beach Club and Nest Beach Club. Set expectations honestly: the famous all-night Police Beach raves stopped with Covid and have not come back, so the beach south of the pier sits largely derelict.
Best areas to stay in Koh Rong
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Koh Touch Village
Backpackers and partiers $Loud backpacker strip beside the pier
Explore hotels in Koh Touch Village →
Long Set Beach (4K Beach)
First-time visitors $$Long white-sand strand, walkable to the village
Explore hotels in Long Set Beach (4K Beach) →
Sok San Beach
Families and couples $$Seven-km beach with fishing village and resorts
Explore hotels in Sok San Beach →
Lonely Beach
Digital detoxers $$Off-grid north-coast cove, one rustic resort
Explore hotels in Lonely Beach →
Coconut Beach (Daem Thkov)
Quiet budget travellers $Quiet bay beside a working fishing village
Explore hotels in Coconut Beach (Daem Thkov) →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Koh Rong
Getting to & around Koh Rong
Getting there
Fly into Sihanouk International (KOS), 18 km by tuk-tuk to the Sihanoukville pier, then a 45-55 min speedboat to Koh Touch.
Flight
Sihanouk International Airport (KOS)
KOS sits about 18 km east of Sihanoukville and the island is a sea crossing beyond it. A tuk-tuk to the ferry pier is USD 10-15 (about 25 min), an airport taxi USD 20-25, or the airport shuttle bus USD 4 into central Sihanoukville with a short tuk-tuk on from there. From the pier it is 45-55 min on a fast ferry to Koh Touch, USD 13-17 one way. Check in 30 min before departure and never cut it fine on arrival day: nothing sails after dark, so the last boat goes around 17:00-17:30.
Ferry
Koh Touch pier, Koh Rong
The arrival that matters. Five fast-ferry operators work the Sihanoukville run - Speed Ferry Cambodia, Buva Sea, GTVC, Island Speed Ferry and Angkor Speed Ferry - at USD 13-17 one way or USD 22-27 return, crossing in 45-55 min. Roughly seven sailings a day, first out about 08:00 and last about 17:00. Most leave from the Autonomous Port, a few from Ochheuteal (Serendipity) pier, so check which pier your ticket names rather than assuming. Book ahead in the dry months through BookMeBus, CamboTicket or 12Go.
Ferry
Long Set, Sok San, Coconut and Palm beaches
Buva Sea, Speed Ferry Cambodia, GTVC and Island Speed Ferry also sail direct to beaches other than the main village, USD 25-30 return and 45-90 min depending where you fall in the stop order. Worth the extra if your bungalow is not in Koh Touch, because the alternative on arrival is a boat taxi or a sweaty jungle walk with your bag.
Coach
Sihanoukville bus offices, 10-15 min walk from Ochheuteal pier
Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville takes 5-6 hr, USD 4-6 on an economy bus or USD 8-10 VIP, then about USD 3 by tuk-tuk to the pier. Take a morning departure: miss the last ferry and you are sleeping in Sihanoukville.
Train
Sihanoukville railway station
Royal Railway runs Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville Friday to Monday only, about 6.5 hr for around USD 7, air-conditioned and pleasant but routinely 30-60 min late. Add a tuk-tuk to the pier and do not book a same-day ferry with a tight margin.
Drive
Ochheuteal (Serendipity) pier
A private car from Phnom Penh is about USD 60 and roughly 4 hr door to pier, which makes sense for two or three people with a booked sailing to catch.
Getting around
Walking
Koh Touch village is one sandy strip, 10 min end to end; everything beyond it needs a boat or a track.
Free
Shuttle boat between beaches
Fixed-schedule hops out of Koh Touch to Sok San and the other beaches, arranged at the pier.
USD 6
Boat taxi to Long Set Beach
Local longtail from the Koh Touch pier, 10-15 min up the east coast.
USD 5-10
Private longtail charter
Takes about 10 people and is the only way to string several far beaches together in one go.
USD 25 per boat short hop, USD 100 full day
Jungle track to Long Set Beach
20-45 min over roots and rock from Koh Touch, slick and muddy for hours after rain.
Free
Cross-island trek to Sok San
1.5-2 hr of steep, sweaty jungle with scrambling near the far end; carry water, there is nothing en route.
Free
Motorbike hire
A few concrete lanes near Koh Touch only - the island has no road network, which is the whole point of it.
USD 10-15 per day
Day trips from Koh Rong
Sok San Beach (Long Beach)
Full dayEmpty west-coast strand
Koh Rong's big one: 7 km of white sand running north from Sok San fishing village, with a handful of resorts and long stretches where you will see nobody. Most people boat one way and walk the other. A small lagoon and a wet-season waterfall sit about five minutes into the jungle behind the village.
Getting there
ferry | walk
USD 6 shuttle boat from Koh Touch, a 50 min direct ferry, or a 1.5-2 hr jungle trek
Long Set Beach (4K Beach)
Half dayQuiet east-coast beach
The nearest escape from the Koh Touch party strip, a long pale curve with a few bungalow places and almost no noise. It is also the easiest beach for bioluminescent plankton after dark, because the village lights do not reach it.
Getting there
walk | ferry
20-45 min on the jungle track from Koh Touch, or 10 min by boat taxi
Koh Rong Sanloem
Full dayNeighbouring island
The calmer sister island and a genuinely different day out: the sheltered arc of Saracen Bay, the fishing hamlet at M'Pai Bay, and a 45 min jungle path across to Lazy Beach and Sunset Beach. Ask your operator whether your Koh Rong return ticket covers the hop back, as most will but not all.
Getting there
ferry
20-40 min by inter-island ferry transfer from Koh Touch
Koh Koun snorkelling trip
Full dayReef snorkelling island
The standard island-hopping loop: snorkelling off the Koh Koun conservation island, a village stop at M'Pai Bay and a sunset fire on the sand. Boats leave Koh Touch daily - Ankounamatata at USD 20, Adventure Adam and The Islander at USD 25 - and the cheapest local boats run USD 10 without the lunch.
Getting there
tour | ferry
Longtail tour boat from Koh Touch, roughly 12:00 to 20:00
Bioluminescent plankton swim
Half dayNight plankton swim
Boats run out to the dark beaches on moonless nights and you swim in water that flares blue-green as you move. Strictly weather-dependent: choppy seas in the wet months cancel it more often than not, and a bright moon kills the effect anyway.
Getting there
tour | ferry
15-20 min by longtail from Koh Touch after dark
Longtail circuit of the island
Full dayFull island boat loop
Charter your own boat and run the coastline: Sok San village, the palm-backed sand towards Lonely Beach, Palm Beach, a slow pass by Song Saa Private Island and the stilt village of Daem Thkov near sunset. Split across a group it undercuts the fixed tours and you pick the stops. Skippers go north or south depending on the swell.
Getting there
tour | ferry
6-8 hr private longtail charter from Koh Touch
A little history of Koh Rong
Koh Rong spent most of its modern history as four fishing villages - Koh Touch, Prek Svay, Daem Thkov and Sok San - on an island the Cambodian navy controlled and most Cambodians never saw. Fishing supported nearly everyone, the state only formalised the island as a commune in 2000, and backpackers did not arrive in numbers until the late 2000s, when a row of cheap bungalows behind Koh Touch beach turned it into the paradise stop on the Cambodia trail.
The arc since has been fast and contested. In 2008 the Royal Group won a 99-year concession to remake the island as a planned resort destination, and the years since have brought Cambodia's first marine national park, a concrete road pushed across the interior, upmarket resorts on the western bays and a grid power link to the mainland. Koh Touch still runs on hostels and beach bars, but the island around it is being rebuilt fast enough that most guidebook descriptions are a year or two out of date.
The navy administers Koh Rong and the waters within five miles of it; the four villages live on fishing and outside visitors are rare.
The Royal Group is granted a 99-year concession to develop Koh Rong as a planned resort island, with the master plan approved the same year.
Two back-to-back seasons of the US series Survivor are filmed on the island, one of them titled Kaoh Rong, putting Sok San's sand on international television.
Koh Rong Marine National Park is declared, Cambodia's first marine protected park.
Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem are reorganised as Koh Rong town, split off from Sihanoukville, with a resident population of roughly 4,000.
Work begins on a 70 km concrete road network linking the villages and the far beaches, ending the boat-only era for much of the island.
What Koh Rong costs
Per person, per day
Shoestring
$20–35 USD /day
≈$20–35 USD
A tent or dorm bed on Koh Toch runs USD 5-15, local noodles and curries start at USD 3, draft beer is USD 1-2 and water refills cost 2,000 riel. Guesthouses, boat tickets and beach menus all quote US dollars; riel only appears as change under a dollar. Long-stay backpackers report around USD 23 a day.
Midrange
$50–85 USD /day
≈$50–85 USD
A private room or beach bungalow at USD 20-45, restaurant meals at USD 5-15 and one boat or snorkel trip at USD 10-25. Quoted in US dollars, and noticeably above mainland Cambodia because food, water and fuel arrive by boat. There are effectively no ATMs on the island, so bring dollar cash across from Sihanoukville.
Comfort
$150–300 USD /day
≈$150–300 USD
Air-conditioned resort rooms on Sok San and Long Set beaches start around USD 100, with resort dining carrying a heavy island markup and private boat transfers on top. Everything is priced in US dollars. The Royal Sands villas sit well above this band on their own.
Prices are planning estimates.
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Limited
~8 Mbps
Power
Type A / B / C / F / G
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+855
Typhoons risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Monsoon flooding risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
Mobile network & SIM card
Get an eSIM before you fly
A Cambodia eSIM installs in minutes and works the moment you switch off flight mode. No SIM swap, no roaming bill.
FAQs about Koh Rong
▸ When is the best time to visit Koh Rong?
November to June, with the sweet spot from November to February, when the northeast monsoon flattens the sea, the humidity eases and the boats run to schedule. March to May stays dry but gets properly hot. July to October is the wet season: heavy bursts rather than all-day rain, but choppier crossings and a half-shuttered island. One counterintuitive note - sandflies are worst in the dry months, so the best weather is not the best skin.
▸ How many days should I spend on Koh Rong?
Three to five nights. One night is mostly ferry; two covers Koh Touch and the walk along to Long Set. By the third you can take a boat round to Sok San or Lonely Beach, get out on a plankton trip after dark and still have a day doing nothing. Past five the island's limits show - the same few kitchens, the same stretch of sand - unless you booked a quiet western bay precisely to do nothing at all.
▸ What does the wet season do to the boats?
Ferries from Sihanoukville run year-round and the crossing is short, but from roughly July to October the sea sets the timetable. Sailings get thinned out or cancelled on rough days, September and October worst of all, and the small longtail taxi boats that shuttle you between Koh Rong's beaches only go when the water is calm; night plankton trips are called off on choppy water. Travelling in those months, leave a buffer day on the mainland rather than booking a flight out of Cambodia for the morning after you plan to leave the island.
▸ Is Koh Rong safe, and how bad are the mosquitoes and sandflies?
Safe in the ordinary sense. The real risks are petty theft from open bungalows, messy nights and drink spiking on the Koh Touch strip, and the sea itself, which has no lifeguards and few marked hazards. The bugs are the more common complaint: sandflies favour the quiet, pretty sand, Sok San and the undeveloped beaches especially, and their bites itch for a week or more, far longer than a mosquito's. Cover your ankles at dawn and dusk, use repellent and avoid lying straight on the sand. Dengue is a genuine risk in Cambodia so evening repellent earns its place; malaria is negligible on the islands. Do not drink the tap water.
▸ What are the electricity, water and wifi actually like?
Better than the island's reputation, still not mainland-grade. Koh Touch and the developed beaches now run on effectively 24-hour power off a mainland connection, but outages happen and remote bungalows still lean on generators that can cut overnight - ask before booking if you need a fan until morning. Fresh water is the chronic problem, drawn from wells and desalination, so showers can be brackish and rationed at the far ends of the island. Wifi reaches most places and 4G handles messaging and maps; do not plan on uploading video or taking a work call that matters.
▸ Are there ATMs on Koh Rong, or should I bring cash?
Bring cash. There is no bank ATM on the island, and while a few Koh Touch guesthouses run card terminals that will hand you money, they charge heavily for it and depend on the connection staying up. Withdraw what you need in Sihanoukville or Phnom Penh before you board, bring small notes because nobody can break a large one, and assume bungalows, boat taxis and beach bars are cash only.
▸ Do I need a visa for Cambodia?
Most nationalities do, and it is straightforward: Cambodia issues an e-visa online and a visa on arrival at the international airports and main land borders. Sort it before you head for the coast, because Koh Rong has no immigration of its own - you clear it at Phnom Penh or Sihanoukville and then take the ferry. Check current eligibility, fees and the passport-validity rule on Cambodia's official immigration site before booking, since these change.
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