Sihanoukville (Krong Preah Seihanu), formerly Kompong Som and familiarly just Snookyville or even Snooky is a seaside town featuring Cambodia's best-known beaches.

In a land with thousands of years of history, Sihanoukville is a colorful but tragic upstart. A mere fifty years ago, a French-Cambodian construction carved a camp out of the jungle and started building the first deep-sea port of a newly independent Cambodia. Named Sihanoukville in 1964 after the ruling prince of the kingdom, the booming port and its golden beaches soon drew Cambodia's jetsetting elite, spawning the first Angkor Beer brewery and the modernist seven-story Independence Hotel which, claim locals, even played host to Jacqueline Kennedy on her whirlwind tour of Cambodia in 1967.

Alas, the party came to an abrupt end in 1970 when Sihanouk was deposed in a coup and Cambodia descended into civil war. The town – renamed Kompong Som – soon fell on hard times: the victorious Khmer Rouge used the Independence Hotel for target practice and, when they made the mistake of hijacking an American container ship, the port was bombed by the U.S. Air Force. Even after Pol Pot's regime was driven from power, the bumpy highway to the capital was long notorious for banditry and the beaches stayed empty.

Peace returned in 1997 and in the ensuing ten years Sihanoukville has been busy picking up the pieces. First visited only by a few intrepid backpackers, guidebooks still talk of walls pockmarked by bullets, but any signs of war are hard to spot in today's Sihanoukville, whose new symbol seems to be the construction site. After 30 years of housing only ghosts, the Independence Hotel is up and running again, more and more Khmers and expats have settled down to run bars and restaurants, and the buzz of what the New York Times dubbed "Asia's next trendsetting beach" is starting to spread far and wide.

Getting there

By plane

The small Sihanoukville Airport is located 17km to the east of town, on the edge of Ream National Park. However, the airport's only scheduled service, between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville on PMT Air, was suspended after a fatal crash in June 2007. The runway is very slowly being extended and international flights are still not offered as of March 2009 but may be coming soon.

By helicopter

Sokha Helicopters offer a VIP charter service from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. They land at their own private helipad at Sokha Beach Resort. Charter rates start at US$1495 per flight hour plus 10% VAT & 10% SPT. They also have optional package holidays in conjunction with Sokha Beach Resort. Helicopters are modern, French-built Eurocopter Ecureuils with luxury leather seating for 5 passengers. Licensed pilots are from Australia and Europe. Flight time from Phnom Penh is 55 minutes and Siem Reap 1 hour and 40 minutes.

By bus

In 2008, Sihanoukville's bus station was moved about 1 km east from its previous location.

From Phnom Penh: National route 4 from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville is one of Cambodia's best roads. There are regular bus services with Sorya and GST from Phnom Penh (Central Market) which takes about 4 hours at a cost of 16000 Riel, or US$4.50 through a guesthouse. The first bus leaves at 7:15 AM, the last one at 2:30 PM. All buses arrive and depart from the bus station downntown.It's worth reserving the day before or at least a few hours in advance to be sure of a seat. Mekong Express also runs two buses a day for US$6, as does Capitol Guesthouse.

From Koh Kong/Hat Lek (border crossing with Thailand): The road between Koh Kong and Sihanoukville now is paved and generally in good condition, with ferries replaced by bridges, and the trip takes about 5 hours. "Local" and "Tourist" minibuses service this route; they are always jam-packed, and the trip can be uncomfortable. "Local" service price depends on how much space you want (a whole seat, half a seat, or a space on the roof); foreigners can expect to pay around US$6-8. Rith Mony bus co., Bun Thou bus co., and Virak Buntham Express operate daily bus service leaving at 8:30 AM. These are regular air-con buses which offer assigned seats for $6-8. They will also typically have pickup in front of the offices on the main strip in town at 7:30a (at which point they simply drive over to the station to wait until the 8:30 departure time.) You may be offered pickup at your hotel if you book there (usually at a slightly inflated price over what you can get directly at the ticket office.) Sometimes there are buses leaving at 2:00p in the afternoon but the service may be available only with suitable demand and ticket prices may be quite high (around $15.)

By taxi

A chartered taxi from Phnom Penh's Central Market can do the trip in less than three hours and will cost anywhere from US$25-40, depending on the petrol price of the day and how beat up the vehicle is. You can reduce the price by sharing seats, but be warned that Khmers will squeeze as many as eight people into the car, including two in the drivers seat, so most people will need to buy two seats for comfort.

By boat

Boats used to run daily from Koh Kong/Hat Lek (the border crossing with Thailand), taking around 4 hours and costing US$20/700 baht. However, the service was suspended in 2008 and it's unclear if it will resume, since travel by road is now cheaper, safer and just as fast.

Getting around

Distances between the beaches are a little too long to walk comfortably, but getting around is easy, as the roads are wide and bike taxis (motodop) are everywhere. The standard price is US$1 per trip, although expect to haggle at night or if the distance is long. They'll gladly pile on two people and their luggage too. For larger groups, car taxis can be called up by phone (flat US$5 to most places around town) and there are dozens of the ubiquitous tuk-tuks around the new bus station and the accommodation areas. They are some of the most persistent and over-charging drivers in Cambodia.

Another great choice to get around fast and free is to rent a scooter. Haggle a bit and you can get it for US$5 a day, fuel is quite cheap and can be bought at many roadside shacks.

Things to see

The reason to visit Sihanoukville is the beaches. Not as crowded as some of the Thai resorts, but they can be cramped on weekends and holidays. Also visitors should be aware that, like many Southeast Asian beaches, these ones are covered in a lot more rubbish than Western beach-goers are used to. For diving go to one of the nearby islands. The town itself doesn't offer much to see.

Things to do

Koh Russei (Bamboo Island) - can be reached by private boat for US$5, at the Sunset Cafe on Occidental Beach, ask the owner the night before you want to go, or from the beach near Ream National Park (about 20km east of Sihanoukville). On the island there are 2 sets of huts on either side of the island, both with bar/restaurant and offering 10 basic huts each for US$10-15 per night (early 2008 prices). Bookings though Koh Ru booking office or Coasters Guest houses in Sihanoukville. This pure unspoilt tropical island experience is a wonderful place to relax. Prices on the island tend to be about 50% above the average Sihanoukville level and their are no banks or Atm's so make sure you take enough money.

Koh Ru Resort (Bamboo Island) This recently refurbished bungalow resort is quite basic with $10 having a shared bathroom but excellent location right on the sand. The resort has its own private beach with no hawkers or vendors to be seen. The owners are in the process of building a dormitory priced at $3 a bed to make the island more accessible to budget travelers. You can book $10 return boat transfers from the Koh Ru booking office two doors away from the Boom Boom Room shop on Serendipity Beach Road.

Scuba diving - there are many islands off the Cambodia coast that have lots of coral and fish. All the dive boats in Cambodia leave from the Sihanoukville port area. There are 2 PADI Dive Centers, 1 SSI Dive Center and instructors from NAUI and CMAS working at smaller dive shops in town. The main scuba diving area is the Koh Rung Group located 14 miles offshore. There is also some shallow diving at Koh Tas 6 miles of shore. The best diving is the overnight trips to the Koh Tang Group, 35 miles from Siahnoukville, where large pelagic are seen regularly, visibility is double what you will find at the close in sites. 2 dive day trips US$59-70, overnight trips US$185-195 all inclusive

Snorkeling - is possible around most of the islands, with the best snorkeling being at the further our islands for visibility, corals and fish. Many restaurants at Serendipity Beach advertise a snorkeling trip for 15$, but most are incapable of properly explaining what their offer includes. Most will boil down to the same trip organized by one of the travel agents which includes (simple) breakfast at the beach, a visit to two snorkeling spots and a 3 hour lunchbreak at Bamboo Island.

Ream National Park - a wonderful mangrove nature reserve about 30 minutes driving from Sihanoukville. Probably the best way is to contact the park rangers by phone and see if they can arrange a guide to show you around in a boat-hiking combi. The organised trips from Sihanoukville can be disappointing, as they sometimes fail to supply a proper guide.

Things to buy

There are several small shops in the town, plus a standard Cambodian market ('Psaa Leu'). Handicrafts organization Rajana has a branch above the Starfish Cafe. Although tourism is growing, don't go expecting large scale tourist markets like Siam Reap, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Phuket. As at November 2008, there is still no tailor.

ATM machines can now be found throughout Snooky. Downtown, ANZ Bank has two and Canadia Bank has one and Acleda Bank has one. There's also one at CCS Hotel and one at the Golden Sands Hotel, Occheuteal Beach.

Eating

Along the beaches there are many food stalls and some restaurants, especially at Ochheuteal beach. Many of them serve grilled seafood with chips for only 3-4$. There are a good many restaurants in town as well. Sihanoukville has a surprisingly diverse set of cuisines.

Drinking

The trend on Serendipity Beach is to advertise with permanent 'Happy Hour', which usually implies cocktails for 2 or 2.5$ and draft Anchor beer for as little as 50-75c. The latter is only recommendable if you don't mind drinking it with ice, however, as it is not as cold as it should be.

Accommodation

Accommodation ranges from basic guest houses on the beach to four-star resorts. There's no shortage of guesthouses and pre-booking is only necessary at peak times such as at New Year.

Budget

Common on some beaches are "free accommodation" options, where budget traveller can get a very basic room for free and pay only for their meals.

Mid-range

Splurge

Independence Hotel, Street 2 Thnou, Sangkat No 03, ? +855-3494-3300, [10]. Opened in 1962 as the town's elite accommodation, followed by decades of neglect. A Chinese group set to repairing the damage, reopening the hotel in December 2007. A modernist concrete seven-story block, it has a great pool and amazing gardens. The best feature is the adjacent clean private beach, in whose restaurant you can loll about in classy white wicker chairs. US$110. edit

Sokha Beach Resort, Sokha Beach, Tel:+855-34 935-999. Fax:+855-34 935-888, [11]. The only international-class beach resort in the country, and good for temporarily forgetting that you are, in fact, in Cambodia. Very bland and a bit rough around the edges, but the beach is gorgeous and hassle-free, and the resort is family-friendly with kiddie pools and playgrounds. All restaurants at the resort, though, are badly overpriced. Rooms from US$100/night up.

Staying healthy

HIV/AIDS is now widespread (more than it previously was in Thailand) in Cambodia, especially among sex workers. Ladies from the girlie bars sometimes get checked, and, while waiting for the results, they're talking quite seriously that maybe one or two of them will be found HIV-positive. Unofficial prevalence among Cambodian sex workers is reported as high as 25% or even more, but who knows really. Anti-retroviral therapy is virtually unavailable to the most of Khmers, so infection will most likely lead this person to death in the next ten years or less. Use a condom, if you're going to take part in such activities.

Internet

There are many Internet cafes in Sihanoukville, some guesthouses and many hotels offer the facility.

Post

The new main Post Office is now near the Victory Park on the left hand side of the road as you go to Victory Hill. There is also a branch at the market downtown, but here you can only leave your postcards during office hours as it does not feature an outdoor mailbox.

Embassies

The Vietnamese consulate on Ekareach Street issues 30 day tourist visas on a same-day basis. As of April 2008, the cost was US$27 for Cambodians, US$35 for foreigners. The opening times are 10AM-12PM and 2PM to 4PM Monday to Saturday.