The history of Sihanoukville goes back only as far as 1955 when the area known as kampong Som. In August of that year, a French/Cambodia construction team cut a base camp into the unoccupied jungle where the Hawaii Sea view Restaurant now sits. They laid the groundwork for the construction of the new Port of Kampong Som. Prior to 1954, Indochina (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) was a single political unit under French jurisdiction. During this period, Cambodia maintained international sea trade via the Mekong River. But the dissolution of French Indochina in1954 meant the Mekong delta reverted to the control of Vietnam. Seeking unfettered access to the ocean, plans were made to construct a new ocean port. Kampong Som was selected for water depth ease of access.

This Cambodian pristine resort offers an exceptional preserved natural environment. The tropical beach with clear water and glittering white sand is naturally decorated by splendid rock formations. The warm and tranquil water is perfect for swimming, sun-bathing or just relaxing after tiring sight seeing. Sihanouk Ville also has good views, clean fresh air and mouth-watering-seafood. Tourists can take water taxis to the nearby islands for diving, snorkeling, and game fishing. And make a day trip by boat to the National Parks which conserve some of the most important mangrove eco-system of the region. Beaches that line the west contour of the city from north to south are Victory Beach, Lamherkay Beach, Koh Pos Beach, Independence Beach, Sokha Beach, Serendipity Beach, Occheuteal Beach and Otres Beach. The most popular beaches are Occheuteal, Sokha, Independence and Victory. All of the main beaches are lined with little beach bars and restaurants offering cold drinks, beach umbrellas and chairs, seafood BBQ, evening parties, water sports and more.

Sokha Beach

Occupying all of Sokha Beach, the Sokha Beach Resort offers luxury accommodation, restaurants, bars, water sports, and lots more. Sokha Beach is open to the general public as well as guests of the resort. Sokha is a beautiful beach, about one kilometer long crescent of sand and comparatively wide so that there is plenty of sand left during high tide. The fine white sand is perfectly groomed these days, but the beach is fairly quiet by comparison to nearby Ochheuteal and Serendipity. There are no little seafood shacks on Sokha like the other beaches but a series of grass umbrellas, gazebos and beach

Ochheuteal and Serendipity Beaches

Occheuteal Beach, known as ‘UNTAC Beach’ in the early 1990s, is a long, sandy and narrow strip of beach lined with Casuarina trees, grass umbrellas, rental chairs and little drink huts. It’s the busiest and the most popular beach in Sihanouk Ville. Many huts were bulldozed by the government to make way for a supposed new resort. This have raised concerns with human rights organizations. The northern section has become known as Serendipity Beach and is a popular beach with western tourists, noted for small guesthouse rooms right on the beach. A few, such as Chiva Shack, Chaimoy and Bar Ru, are open into the late night and throw regular beach parties and BBQ’s.The Ochheuteal area has a good selection of beach venues ranging from mid-range hotels through budget guesthouses, most along the three roads that run parallel to the beach. In the early evening, several roadside BBQ restaurants set up along 23 Tola Road a block off of the beach offering fresh seafood skewers, grilled meats, poultry and lots more.

Independence Beach 

Independence Beach is located next to Sokha Beach on its west.The Beach gets its name from the the 7-storey The Independence Boutique Resort and Spa (formerly the Independence Hotel) sitting top the rocky point at the north end of the beach.  This beach offers a good stretch of clean sand. At the northern end of the beach is The Independence Boutique Resort and Spa and Koh Pos Beach with a tiny island only 800m off the coast. Koh Pos is known for its rock strewn shoreline.

Victory Beach

Victory beach is situated at the furthest north of the peninsula of Sihanouk Ville and it is really two long beaches divided by a rocky point and a small hill. It was the original backpacker beach and still popular with budget travelers. At the northern end of the beach is located the deep sea port. Apart from white sand and blue sea, this beach offers a good spot to enjoy the sunset.
The southern section is known as ‘Hawaii Beach’ (also ‘Lemkeray Beach’ and ‘King’s Beach’) The northern section near Weather Station Hill is known as ‘Victory Beach’ and at the port end of the beach, ‘Port Beach’ and ‘ New Beach.’ It is the place where a French/ Cambodian construction team laid groundwork for the construction of the new Port of Kampong Som during 1950s. At this beach, you can hire a boat to nearby islands.

Otres Beach 

Otres is the next beach south of Ochheuteal and resembles Ochheuteal in many ways - a three kilometer crescent of near white sand facing the southwest. Otres is far less touristed by comparison but is beginning to come into it’s own. There are now several beach shack bars and restaurants along the length of the beach, especially toward the near end, including Cantina Del Mar and the Daiquiri Hut, and a little further up the beach, Otres Nautica offering water sports equipment - boats, Hobie Waves, kayaks, etc. To get there: The road over the hill from Ochheuteal allows easy motorcycle access to Otres but is blocked to cars. By car from Ochheuteal Beach: follow 1 Kanda Street to the end and turn left, cross the bridge and proceed about 1km to the next right turn. Turn and follow the road about 1km to the beach. From downtown, take Omui Street east about 4km to a fork and bear right. At the next opportunity take a left. It is 2km to the beach. It’s a dirt road much of the way which can deteriorate in the wet season.  

Koh Rong

Koh Rong is situated west of the Sihanoukville coast. It offers the fantastic strand of beach on its southwest, stretching about 5 km. It has fresh water resources on the island and a bustling fishing community on the southeast with basic supplies including fresh water, fish and crab.

Koh Rong Samlon

Koh Rong Samlon is a bit smaller than Koh Rong and situated on its south. Beautiful beaches are on the east coast, where a large heart-shaped bay with some shellfish cultivation is located, and on the north shoreline facing Koh Rong.

Koh Tang

Koh Tang is located quite far from the main shoreline of Sihanoukville. Going there needs trippers to stay overnight on board. It offers interesting diving spots most of which are not frequently explored. The island is home to a military outpost and travelers should expect to be boarded by military personnel when out at the island.

Ream Beach

Located in the Ream National Park. Though not untouristed, the Ream Beaches see far fewer visitors than Sihanoukville beaches. Take Route 4 to the Airport road 18km north of town. Turn right, go 9km to the ocean. The beach to the right is long and narrow and frequented more by fishermen than tourists. Behind the beach is a mangrove swamp, which attracts a wide variety of tropical birds. The beaches to the left nearer the Naval Base now have a few vendors selling drinks and renting tubes. There is a small $5 per night guesthouse run by the National Park. Check at the
park HQ opposite the entrance to the airport. 

Ream National Park

It’s a national park of Cambodia located 18 km from Sihanoukville in south-east Cambodia. Established in 1993, when the Cambodian government began to take action to protect many of its threatened areas, encompasses 210 km² including 150 km² of terrestrial and 60 km² of marine habitats. The national park contains beaches, mangrove forests, tropical jungles and over 150 species of bird and is well noted for its monkey population.

Prek Treng Beach

Also known as the ‘Hun Sen Beach,’ the Prek Treng Beach a few kilometers north of town is a long, narrow crescent of sand, a bit rocky in parts, offering comparatively warm shallow waters. Due to Prek Treng’s distance from town and complete lack of services (no guesthouses, restaurants, beach chairs, etc.,) the beach is usually deserted. There is a nearby development project promising a busy future for Prek Treng, but at the moment you can have the beach pretty much to yourself. Just remember to bring drinks and snacks as there are very rarely beach vendors available. To get there follow Hun Sen Beach Drive north a few kilometers past the port area. The beach is on the left just past the first bridge and before you reach the oil port.

Sunset Points

Sihanouk Ville offers several excellent spots to watch sunset. Most people opt for the beaches. Victory is the most ideally oriented beach for sunset. The view from the other beaches is sometimes partially obstructed depending on the time of year. Of the restaurants, Bungalow Village, Chez Claude, Chez Mari-yan, Nika Guesthouse and Mealy Chenda offer some of the best ocean views. Perhaps the best sunset point is at the top of Sihanouk Ville Mountain. The rocks at the top face west offer a beautiful view of the town, port, ocean and islands.