Want to know the best or cheapest ways to get to Koh Rong Samloem from Sihanoukville (or Phnom Penh)?
Our personal guide for travellers has all the information you'll need to plan the trip, including a clear break down of the various boat options, advice on how to buy tickets in advance, and shares several important tips to avoid mistakes along the way.
For our first week in Cambodia, we decided to spend nearly a week on the beautiful small island of Koh Rong Samloem.
Located 20 kms off the south west coast, it offers up everything a traveller could hope for from a paradise island - palm trees, clear blue waters, cheap cocktails, white sand beaches, and the opportunity to get away from it all for a few days.
If you've made that decision too, or are contemplating it at the moment, then this post will give you a clear breakdown on how to travel by ferry from Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Samloem, including advice on buying tickets online and the right pier for your accommodation.
All Roads Lead to Sihanoukville
There is only one way to Koh Rong Samloem, and that is via a 1-2 hour ferry from Sihanoukville. This large port city was once a destination in and of itself, but uncontrolled development and Chinese influence and money has caused it to suffer much controversy in the last few years.
Unfortunately, this means that Sihanoukville is no longer a place for travellers, becoming somewhere that every visitor to the islands simply has to pass through.
The city is easy to reach from every main touristic destination in Cambodia, and you can opt for one of the three below transport options:
Bus
Phnom Penh - Sihanoukville | 5 to 6 hours (228 kms) | $9 per person
Kampot - Sihanoukville | 2.5 - 3.5 hours (100 kms) | $7 per person
Siem Reap - Sihanoukville | 12 hours (530 kms) | $15-25 per person
Battambang - Sihanoukville | 12 - 14 hours (500 kms) | $18-25 per person
For buses in Cambodia, we recommend you view companies, schedules, and book tickets online in advance on BookMeBus or Camboticket. The route to Sihanoukville is a popular, well-trodden one for travellers, so booking at least a day in advance is a good idea.
Due to the journey times and delays involved with travelling by bus to Sihanoukville from Siem Reap and Battambang clashing with the ferry timetables, you may have to spend the night in the city before taking the first ferry the following morning. If that’s the case, then the Onederz Hostel (hostelworld | booking.com) has excellent recent reviews and is only five minutes walk from the ferry terminal.
The Aristocrat Residence is one of few hotels in the city without horrendous ratings and reviews and is also only a few minutes from the Sihanoukville ferry terminal, so would be fine for the night for those of you who prefer hotels.
Private Taxi
For a quicker journey time plus extra comfort and convenience, various companies offer private taxi services from Phnom Penh, Kampot, and even Siem Reap.
You can find prices and make a booking online here.
Flight
We prefer to travel overland as much as possible, but for those of you who are in Cambodia for two weeks, a 50 minute flight from Siem Reap is a viable option too. Several local airlines run the daily direct flight route to Sihanouk International Airport, travel time is an hour.
Alternatively, if you're travelling in south-east Asia, you may have the option to fly direct to Sihanoukville as it operates several routes from Thailand, China, and Vietnam.
If you do fly from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, note that Sihanouk International Airport (Google Maps) is 25 kms from the ferry terminal and so it's best to take a official taxi ($20) or a tuk-tuk ($10) direct between the two once you arrive.
Train
This option only opened up in 2016, but may be a nice experience in and of itself (we haven’t done it however so can’t personally recommend one way or the other). The train from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville has a limited schedule, with one train on Fridays (15.00 departure) and Saturday (07.00) and two on Sundays (07.00 + 16.00 departures). Travel time is 7.5 - 8.5 hours, with tickets costing only $7.
You can find schedules and book tickets on the Royal Railway Cambodia website.
Know Your Stop on Koh Rong Samloem
It's a 60-90 minute ferry to Koh Rong Samloem from Sihanoukville, and there are frequent daily departures in the morning and afternoon (until 4 pm).
However, the most important thing to do before booking your ticket and getting on any ferry to Koh Rong Samloem is to know exactly which island, which beach, and which pier you need to disembark at.
Firstly, Koh Rong Samloem is a different island to Koh Rong, so you don't want to get them mixed up as several ferries stop at both islands and some only stop at one.
Secondly, it's really important to know that there are two main ferry stops on Koh Rong Samloem and every ferry is not guaranteed to stop at each.
The Koh Rong Samloem ferry stops are:
Saracen Bay |
With the most beautiful stretch of white sand beach, it's the most popular destination on Koh Rong Samloem and has the majority of hotels and hostels. It also has the most frequent ferry arrivals from the mainland.
There are two piers on Saracen Bay - the busier Orchid Pier which is next to most of the restaurants and accommodations, and what we've called 'Eastern Saracen Pier', which is down the quieter side of the bay and used only by Cambodia Island Speed Ferry.
If you get off at one pier and your accommodation is by the other, it's just going to involve a 10-15 minute walk along the sand (which is one of many reasons why Cambodia is much better travelled with a backpack rather than a suitcase!)
M'Pai Bay |
A much less developed, more backpacker hippy enclave of Koh Rong Samloem, which some people will adore it and some people will hate (we explain why in our Koh Rong Samloem travel guide (LINK)).
It has fewer daily ferry arrivals from Sihanoukville, but there will be a departure which suits your travel plans. Note that it may sometimes be spelled M'Pay Bay or referred to as 23 Beach Pier or 23 Village Beach Pier on ferry ticket sites.
Private Bays & Beaches |
Lastly, several hostels and laid-back resorts on Koh Rong Samloem are situated on different bays or beaches, and only accessible with a private boat transfer from Saracen Bay. This includes:
The wonderful Sunset Beach which is home to Huba Huba hostel and Robinson Bungalows.
The popular backpacker hostel Mad Monkey, which does a pick-up service from Orchid Pier at 10 am, 12.30 pm, 4 pm, or whenever the Speed Ferry arrives, and takes people to its private beach.
Lazy Beach, a chilled-out bungalow resort, which does private boat transfers from Occhheuteal Beach in Sihanoukville at 1 pm, or will pick up bags your from Octopussy Bar on Saracen Bay and you can walk the 25 minute to the resort.
Sandy Beach, which has Sandy Beach Bungalows and Bodega, where a free transfer boat will meet you at Saracen Bay and take you over.
If in doubt, we recommend emailing your accommodation for their advice a few days before you travel so you know what beach + pier to go to, and whether it's best to take a specific ferry service.
Find The Right Ferry to Koh Rong Samloem
All of the ferries from Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Samloem leave from Serendipity Pier in Sihanoukville (Google Maps). You can walk to the pier in 10-15 minutes from various bus terminals in the city, or simply take a tuk-tuk for $2-3.
The travel time from Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Samloem is advertised as 45-60 minutes, but it's more likely to be 60-90 minutes. In fact, once you factor in arriving the pier early, the inevitable Cambodia transport delays, and confusion during the boarding process (trust us), everything's more likely to take about 2 hours.
Several local ferry companies run the route from Sihanoukville to Ko Rong Samloem, offering daily departures. Boats are modern with capacity ranging from 50 passengers in the smaller speedboats to a few hundred in the larger ferries. Schedules for ferries to Koh Rong Samloem are outlined below:
Sihanoukville to Saracen Bay Ferry Departures*
GTVC Speed Boat | 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 4 pm (Orchid Pier)
BUVA Sea | 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm (Orchid Pier)
Speed Ferry Cambodia | 9 am, 10 am, 11.30 am, 1 pm, 4 pm (Orchid Pier)
Island Speed Ferry | 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm (Eastern Saracen)
Romny Tour | 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm (Eastern Saracen)
View timetables and tickets for the Sihanoukville to Saracen Bay ferries on BookMeBus and Camboticket.
Sihanoukville to M'Pai Bay departures*
GTVC Speed Boat | 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 4 pm
BUVA Sea | 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm
Speed Ferry Cambodia | 9 am, 11.30 am, 1.30 pm, 4 pm
Island Speed Ferry | 9 am, 3 pm.
View timetables for the Sihanoukville to M'Pai Bay ferry here and here.
As you'll note, some boats do stop at both terminals on Koh Rong Samloem - several will also include earlier stops at Koh Rong.
In terms of baggage, you're allowed up to 20 kgs with one large bag and one small bag per passenger (though we didn't see any checks on baggage or weight). Luggage will either be piled up together in one section of the boat or stored away for the journey and dished out at the pier in Koh Rong Sanloem. As ever, keep your day pack & valuables with you.
We found our journeys to be very smooth and pretty comfortable (except from the first one where the boat was overbooked and we didn’t have a seat for most of it), so don’t worry too much about conditions or sea-sickness.
* These departures times are accurate as of February 2020, but should be used as a guide only as they are subject to change. Let us know if there are any major changes and we will update the post!
Buy Your Koh Rong Samloem Ferry Tickets
Tickets for any ferry to any stop on Koh Rong Samloem are $12 per person one-way, or $22 for an open return ticket. You have three options to buy them:
1 ) Buy your tickets in person at Serendipity ferry terminal, where most of the companies have official vendors at the pier entrance. However, it’s highly recommended to book your Koh Rong Samloem ferry ticket in advance of your journey.
2 ) Purchase a ticket in advance via the specific ferry company website. However, this makes it difficult to view all services and schedules for your trip, and there are often payment issues.
3 ) Buy your ferry ticket from either BookMeBus or CamboTicket, two online platforms which show all Koh Rong Samloem ferry schedules from the above companies and allow you to compare, book, and pay online. You then receive your mobile ferry ticket over e-mail and can just print this out at your hostel (most ferry companies will however be fine with a mobile version, but it’s always best to check the small print in the email and print it out anyway).
We used BookMeBus to book our bus and ferry tickets in Cambodia and can happily recommend them, but CamboTicket is a good option too.
When booking your Koh Rong Samloem ferry tickets, again please just make sure that you are booking a service to the right place - and definitely not to Koh Rong (a different island) - and ensure that your boat goes to the right beach for your accommodation. The two online platforms mentioned above have a useful function to show the ‘drop off point’ or arrival pier of each ferry so you know exactly if it’s the best option for your journey. Before you board the boat, triple check with the guy when boarding - it can be a little concerning and confusing if the boat stops at Koh Rong first and the majority of people get off!
With open return tickets, you simply have to inform the company's ferry office staff on Koh Rong Samloem one day ahead of your return trip to Sihanoukville which specific boat you want to go on, and they will secure your seat. It’s best to do this early in the morning, and you can only use the ticket for the same ferry company you travelled out with from Sihanoukville. We were able to just tell the reception at our accommodation (the excellent Sara Resort) the morning before and they took care of passing the information onto Buva Sea.
How To Travel from Koh Rong Samloem to Koh Rong
If you want to do some island-hopping, or simply have some day trips from your base in Koh Rong Samloem, it's really easy to do once you're there.
There are a bunch of shuttle taxi boats running between M'Pai Bay and Saracen Bay for $5-6, with departures in the morning and afternoons. Our verrrry slow boat took 45 minutes one-way, then 30 minutes on the return journey. For other beaches on Koh Rong Samloem, it’s more fun just to walk.
And, if everything goes wrong and you get off at the wrong stop on Koh Rong Samloem, you'll be able to find a shuttle boat to transfer you over for $6 or so (depending on how desperate you are).
There are also daily boats between Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem.
