Things to do in Kampong Cham
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kampong Cham
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, cool and dry, with the bamboo bridge rebuilt and island lanes firm.
Hot season, sightseeing at dawn and dusk, with the bridge usually surviving into May or June.
Worst months, peak rain and high Mekong, no bamboo bridge and muddy rural roads.
Khmer New Year fills buses and pagodas and closes some businesses.
Pchum Ben brings dawn pagoda offerings, homeward travel and reduced staffing.
Bon Om Touk marks the end of the rains with boat racing at provincial scale on the riverfront.
What's on
- Khmer New Year (Choul Chnam Thmey) 14 to 16 April
Cambodia biggest holiday, with pagoda visits, traditional games and water throwing around the wats and riverfront.
- Pchum Ben 15 days culminating around early October
Ancestors festival of dawn food offerings at pagodas including Wat Nokor and Wat Hanchey.
- Bon Om Touk (Water Festival) 23 to 25 November in 2026 in Phnom Penh
National water festival marking the end of the rains, marked at provincial scale on the Kampong Cham riverfront.
- Meak Bochea Full moon in February
Buddhist holy day with evening processions and candlelit wats, witnessed quietly at Wat Hanchey and Wat Nokor.
- Visak Bochea Full moon in May
Buddhist holy day observed with evening ceremonies at local pagodas.
Best things to do in Kampong Cham
Wat Nokor Bachey
An Angkorian temple with a living modern pagoda built inside its ancient walls, quiet and untouristed.
Ko Paen Bamboo Bridge
A seasonal bamboo bridge rebuilt each dry season, rattling underfoot as you cross the Mekong to Koh Paen.
Phnom Srey and Phnom Pros
Twin legend hills with pagodas, Buddhas and floodplain views, plus a sobering Khmer Rouge memorial at Phnom Pros.
Wat Hanchey
A hilltop monastery with pre Angkorian roots and one of the finest Mekong viewpoints in the province.
Kampong Cham Riverside Park
The town living room at sunset, where local families stroll, exercise and snack along the Mekong promenade.
The French Tower
A French colonial lighthouse across the Kizuna Bridge, free to climb for the best view back over the town.
Kampong Cham Market
A working provincial market of produce, river fish and food stalls, best in the morning.
Wat Maha Leap
One of Cambodia last surviving wooden pagodas, reached by a scenic boat ride south of town.
Where to stay in Kampong Cham
Riverfront
first visit, walking base
Walk to the promenade, market, boats and most restaurants, with every town hotel on or near the Mekong.
Han Chey
retreat stay, pool and views
One hilltop resort near Wat Hanchey for quiet, gardens and Mekong views, a long tuk tuk ride from town.
Chiro Village and Koh Paen
homestays, cyclists, slow travel
Village homestays and island bungalows with family meals and early nights, across the water from town.
Think twice about
- Out of town highway and bus station strip
Not dangerous, but a couple of kilometres from the riverfront and not walkable to meals or sights, especially after a late arrival.
Best restaurants in Kampong Cham
Smile Restaurant
The town top table, an NGO training restaurant serving Khmer and Western dishes by the Mekong.
Moon River Restaurant
A small family run guesthouse kitchen near the promenade, turning out Khmer staples at guesthouse prices.
Hao An Restaurant
A local and NGO favourite for Chinese and Khmer dishes ordered to share, with air conditioned rooms upstairs.
LBN Asian Restaurant
The hotel restaurant and sky bar of LBN, the closest thing in town to an occasion dinner at sunset.
Bamboo Cafe
The town best supported cafe, a bamboo built coffee shop for early starts and light Cambodian meals.
Kampong Cham Night Market
Evening street food stalls by the central market, best navigated by eating where the local queue is longest.
Ly Ly BBQ
A family Khmer barbecue and hotpot spot where you grill at the table under an open roof by the river.
K2 Seafood Buffet Restaurant
A seafood led buffet and group dinner option, the local splurge for feeding everyone at once.
Outdoor things to do in Kampong Cham
Koh Paen Island
A flat, car free island to cycle for a day, through farms, stilt villages, pagodas and a river beach.
Chup Rubber Plantation
Immense rows of rubber trees at Cambodia historic plantation heartland, best early when tappers are working.
Prey Chung Kran Weaving Village
A riverside village where looms sit under almost every stilt house, weaving some of Cambodia best kramas.
Mekong River
A sunset boat run past the Kizuna Bridge, the French Tower and Koh Paen shore as fishing boats come in.
Kampi
A deep Mekong pool near Kratie where Irrawaddy dolphins are watched from small boats at sunrise.
Best hotels in Kampong Cham
LBN Asian Hotel
The best hotel in town, with big Mekong view rooms and a rooftop sky bar for sundowners.
Hanchey Bamboo Resort
A social enterprise bamboo resort on the Han Chey hill, with a pool, gardens and sweeping Mekong views.
Monorom VIP Hotel
A large riverfront hotel with spacious balcony rooms, the main alternative when LBN is full.
Moon River Guest House
A clean, friendly riverfront guesthouse singled out for its food, at a fraction of hotel prices.
Mekong Bamboo Hut
Basic bamboo bungalows on Koh Paen with family dinners and hammock atmosphere, made for slow island days.
OBT Chiro Village Homestay
A community homestay across the river funding local education, loved for its meals and common area.
Is Kampong Cham expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | KHR 81,200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | KHR 182,700 a person |
| Splurge | KHR 365,400 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Wat Maha Leap: a few days ahead
- Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village: a few days ahead
- Prey Chung Kran Weaving Village: a few days ahead
- Mekong River: a few days ahead
- Kampi: a few days ahead
- Hanchey Bamboo Resort: a few days ahead
- Mekong Bamboo Hut: a few days ahead
- OBT Chiro Village Homestay: a few days ahead
- Book Hanchey Bamboo Resort and OBT Chiro ahead on Cambodian public holiday weekends.
- Message the Cheung Kok guide a day ahead and arrange a Wat Maha Leap boat the day before.
- Book buses days ahead for Khmer New Year and Pchum Ben, when staff travel home and services thin out.
Is Kampong Cham safe?
- Keep food hidden from monkeys at Phnom Pros and give the troop a wide berth.
- Skip the French Tower climb in rain or with vertigo, and never swim in the Mekong currents.
- Be off rural roads by bicycle or moto before dark, and use repellent at dusk by the river.
Kampong Cham travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Confirm what the Wat Nokor ticket includes before paying, as foreigner pricing is inconsistently explained.
- Do not make the French Tower a standalone trip, and do not day trip from Phnom Penh without sleeping here.
- Treat Kampong Cham cheese, cooking class and in town dolphin claims in resold itineraries with suspicion.
Getting around Kampong Cham: public transport and more
- Walk the compact centre and riverfront, and use tuk tuks at 1 to 3 dollars for in town rides.
- Rent bicycles at 3 to 5 dollars a day and motorbikes at 8 to 12 dollars a day for Koh Paen and rural excursions.
- Agree tuk tuk price, stops and waiting time before moving, and use day buses only for intercity travel.
- Carry small USD notes and riel for tolls, stalls and tuk tuks, and get cash in the centre before island trips.
Who Kampong Cham suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Kampong Cham your trip
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