Things to do in Battambang
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Battambang
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months. Coolest mornings, clear skies, minimal rain and the rice harvest turning gold.
Hot season, 35 degrees and rising. Climbs become morning only, with Khmer New Year in mid April.
The green turn. Rains arrive, rice is planted and prices soften as the boutique tier opens up.
Wet season. Lushest landscapes and fullest rivers, with muddy lanes and afternoon downpours.
What's on
- Khmer Food Fair 29-31 December
Year end fair showcasing nearly 100 regional dishes, with boat races and New Year celebrations.
- Khmer New Year mid-April
Chaul Chnam Thmey, also called Sangkran Battambang, with temple visits and water splashing by the riverside.
- Tin Tinou International Circus Festival June
Held in Battambang in June on Phare home turf. Dates vary by year, so check Phare channels.
- Pchum Ben September/October
Ancestor festival by lunar calendar. Pagodas fill at dawn with food offerings and some businesses empty.
- Bon Om Touk (Water Festival) November
Boat racing on the Sangker River as the season turns.
Best things to do in Battambang
Phare Ponleu Selpak
Cambodia's celebrated circus, with acrobatics and storytelling by students of a non profit arts school.
Phnom Sampeau
Hilltop pagoda, the Killing Cave memorial and views over the rice plain in one signature half day.
Bamboo Train
The original norry ride rattles through fields and villages on a bamboo platform for about an hour.
Psar Nath
Art Deco market hall anchoring a walk through French colonial shophouses on the west bank.
Romcheik 5 Artspace
A former ice factory turned contemporary art museum, with a permanent collection and a garden cafe.
Wat Banan
An 11th century hilltop temple with five towers, reached by about 365 steps, and often near empty.
Wat Ek Phnom
An 11th century ruined temple beside a huge seated Buddha, best paired with the river road north.
Coconut Lyly Cooking Class
A small market led cooking class from a family restaurant famed for traditional Khmer dishes.
Where to stay in Battambang
West bank centre, Streets 1 to 3
first trip, all-round base
Walk to the main restaurants, cafes, colonial loop, market and riverfront without a vehicle.
Wat Kor Village
calm and character, couples and second visits
Traditional houses, orchards and the river, trading walk to dinner for quiet, gardens and pools.
South and east bank garden resort belt
families wanting a resort feel
Larger grounds and bigger pools a few minutes out, still only ten minutes by tuk tuk from Street 2.
Think twice about
- National Road 5 highway strip
Truck motels and karaoke bars with no pavements, heavy traffic and a noisy, dusty night.
- Around the bus stations and old train station at night
Poorly lit and largely deserted after dark. Stay a few streets into the centre instead.
- Isolated rural homestays well beyond Wat Kor
Unlit lanes, loose dogs and no passing tuk tuks, with no walk home option if you are out late without a driver.
Best restaurants in Battambang
Jaan Bai Restaurant
A social enterprise restaurant cooking seasonal Khmer and Southeast Asian dishes with a modern touch.
Lotus Terrace
The special occasion Khmer table at Maisons Wat Kor, built on its garden and local markets.
Bar Ang
A small, highly rated Cambodian restaurant cooking authentic Khmer dishes with unusual care.
Coconut Lyly Restaurant
A family restaurant for well executed traditional Khmer food in generous portions.
Smokin' Pot Restaurant
Fish amok and beef lok lak cooked on clay pots, the evening counterpart to the famed cooking class.
Nary Kitchen
The dependable classic restaurant and cooking school, famous for fish amok for a decade.
Kinyei Cafe
An employee owned social enterprise serving specialty coffee, breakfasts and house cakes.
Cafe Eden
The expat and visitor living room, with all day food, brunch, coffee and river views.
Best bars in Battambang
Vintage Wine Bar Mezze
The city's best wine and mezze evening, on Street 2.5.
Miss Wong Battambang
Cocktails in a colonial shophouse setting, a small and early bar scene highlight.
THE PLACE Rooftop Bar
A cheap, social sunset beer on the hostel rooftop in the centre.
Outdoor things to do in Battambang
Soksabike Tours
Guided countryside rides into family workshops making rice paper, rice wine and bamboo sticky rice.
Bike Town Cambodia
A half day kayak paddle down the Sangker River from Ksach Poy back into Battambang.
Phnom Sampeau
Walking the hill on foot links the pagodas, Killing Cave and viewpoints before the bats at dusk.
Wat Kor Village
Self guided cycling loops to Wat Kor, the river roads and Ek Phnom on flat, forgiving roads.
Battambang to Siem Reap Boat
A wet season slow boat through floating villages and flooded forest to Siem Reap, six to nine hours.
Battambang Minigolf
A cheap, beer in hand mini golf hour near Wat Kor, the city's only golf listing of any kind.
Best hotels in Battambang
Maisons Wat Kor
Traditional Khmer timber houses around a saltwater pool and garden, with the city's finest Khmer table.
Bambu Hotel
A colonial inspired boutique hotel with a pool, bar and a restaurant praised for Cambodian dishes.
La Villa Battambang
A restored 1930s French colonial villa with seven historic rooms, Art Deco furniture and a saltwater pool.
Classy Hotel & Spa
The reliable full service option, a larger modern hotel with two restaurants, a pool and a spa.
Moloppor Villa
A villa hotel with pool, restaurant and bar that punches well above its price.
THE PLACE Hostel & Rooftop Bar
Dorms and privates in the centre with a rooftop bar that is a genuine traveller meeting place.
Royal Hotel
A big, plain, air conditioned cheap hotel that typifies the dependable central guesthouse tier.
Is Battambang expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | KHR 142,300 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | KHR 304,900 a person |
| Splurge | KHR 731,800 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Phare Ponleu Selpak: weeks ahead
- Coconut Lyly Cooking Class: a few days ahead
- Smokin' Pot Cooking Class: a few days ahead
- Nary Kitchen Cooking Class: a few days ahead
- Soksabike Tours: a few days ahead
- Bike Town Cambodia: a few days ahead
- Battambang to Siem Reap Boat: a few days ahead
- Maisons Wat Kor: weeks ahead
- Book Phare tickets as soon as dates are fixed in December to February, when specific nights sell out.
- Book Maisons Wat Kor, La Villa and Bambu early in high season. The boutique tier has very few rooms.
- Book Soksabike and cooking classes a day ahead, two in high season. Both run small groups.
Is Battambang safe?
- Keep bags on the floor of tuk tuks and phones away from the kerb. Petty theft is the main risk.
- Roads are the main hazard. Look both ways and avoid unlit rural roads at night.
- Stay on established paths in the countryside because of unexploded ordnance. Do not pick up metal objects.
- Carry water and electrolytes against heat. Serious medical cases go to Siem Reap, Phnom Penh or Thailand.
- Do not feed the monkeys at Sampeau or carry food visibly around them.
Battambang travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The short near town bamboo train sold at the bus station is not the original rural ride at Ou Sraoloeu.
- Bus station drivers work on commission from specific guesthouses. You owe no one your booking.
- Separate small fees at Sampeau for hill entry, the cave and the moto up are generally legitimate.
- Do not climb Banan or Sampeau at midday in March and April. Schedule climbs early or late.
- The winery is worth it for the story, not the tasting notes.
Getting around Battambang: public transport and more
- Walk, cycle or tuk tuk in the flat, compact centre. Short hops cost about 1 to 2 dollars.
- Download PassApp and Grab before you arrive. Cash in riel is still king for street tuk tuks.
- Agree a full tuk tuk itinerary and price in dollars before setting off, including waiting and the return.
Who Battambang suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Battambang your trip
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