Country Information
Location: Southeast Asia
Capital: Phnom Penh
Population: 15 million
Currency: Cambodian Riel but mainly they use USD
Language: Khmer
Main Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Hello: Susaday
Thank you: Aw-koon
Dates in the country
Climate
Climate and Seasons in Cambodia. Cambodia has a tropical climate with warm temperatures throughout the year. There are two seasons in Cambodia. The northeast monsoon season runs from December through April, bringing sunny, dry weather especially in January and February.
Public Holidays
- January 1st New Year’s day
- January 7th Victory over Genocide day
- February 22nd Meak Bochea Day
- March 8th International women’s day
- April 13th – 15th Khmer New year
- May 1st Labour Day
- May 13th King Sihamonis Birthday
- May 20th Visaka Bochea
- May 24th Royal Ploughing Ceremony
- June 1st International Children’s Day
- June 18th King’s mother birthday
- September 24th constitution day
- October 11th – 13th Pchum Ben festival
- October 15th King Father Commemoration
- October 23rd Paris Peace agreement
- November 9th Independence Day
- November 13th – 15th Water festival
- December 10th Human rights Day
VISA
- Application on arrival for Tourist visa 30 days
- Business visa 60 days to help with Russian visa application apply before hand (know as E-Class)
- Visa Application form
- Passport with 6 months validity
- 1 recent photograph
- Visa fee $30 USD (Single entry)
- Supporting documents
- If you get your visa at a land border crossing in Cambodia, you can expect to pay between $1 and $20 in “fees.”
- More infomration: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cambodia/entry-requirements
Medical
Vaccines advised:
- Tetanus
- Rabies
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Japanese Encephalitis
- Malaria tablets advised for the whole time in Cambodia.
Rules of the Road
Driving in Cambodia, every driver must have a Cambodian driver license including foreign visitors, foreigners may be requested to take a driving test. In some cases a valid driver license from a home country may be sufficient. In spite of the fact that an International driving permit is not recognised in Cambodia, it is recommended to have an International driving permit as an additional identification document.
To apply for a Cambodian driver license, foreign drivers have two ways:
- Applying for driver license examination (like all Cambodians);
- Exchanging their national driving permits for Cambodian driver licenses; in this case, their Cambodian driver licenses are valid for one year.
- To obtain the Cambodian driver license, a foreign driver must give:
- Copy of passport
- Copy valid entry visa
- 3 photos in the passport size
- National driver license and a translation if driver license is not in English or French
- The main road traffic rules:
- Traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road.
- The minimum driving age to drive a vehicle is 18 years and a motorcycle is 16.
- It is only permitted to drive on the left-hand side when overtaking or stopping.
- Drivers and front seat passengers must wear seatbelts.
- It is not required to drive with headlights on during daylight, except for visibility is impaired by heavy rain or fog.
- In towns with lighting from street lamps, using the high beam is not permitted.
- The speed limit in built-up areas for motorbikes is 30 km/h, for cars 40 km/h. Outside of the built up areas, the maximum speed limit for bikes and cars is 90 km/h. The speed limit for trucks is 60 km/h; if a truck is pulling a trailer, the speed limit is 50 km/h. On motorway, the maximum speed in tows is 60 km/h and 100 km/h outside towns.
- The permitted blood alcohol level is 0.05%.
- It is not permitted to stop at the pedestrian crossing.
- While driving, driver may use a cell phone equipped by hands-free system. Using mobile phones without hands-free equipment is prohibited when driving.
- If a traffic sign shows that a right turn is allowed, it is permitted to turn right at red lights.
- Buses always have right of way and at the bus stops, all drivers must slow down and stop if it is necessary to allow the buses to move in or out.
- At the roundabout, drivers who are already going anticlockwise round have priority.
- Drivers must give way to police vehicles, military vehicles, military police vehicles, fire engines, and ambulances if they use their horns or sirens and special flashing lights.
- Vehicles may be parked along roads on the right-hand side in the same direction as traffic flows. On one way roads, cars can be parked on both sides.
- It is not permitted to park vehicles within 5 meters of junctions on normal roads and within 10 meters of junctions on main boulevards and any roads outside of towns.
- Parking is not permitted at the entrances or exits of public buildings and private house.
- It is not permitted to leave vehicles on public roads for longer than 72 hours.
- Pedestrians always have a right of way even if there is not a pedestrian crossing so drivers must stop to allow pedestrians to cross a road safely.
- Drivers are permitted to sound their horns to inform other road users about danger at daytime only. Sounding horns is prohibited in built-up areas after midnight.
Additional information:
- Most roads in Cambodia are in a poor condition.
- Further to a driver license, each foreign driver should have passport with him/her always when driving.
- Foreign visitors are advised against driving outside of cities after dark as roads are dark and many cars, cycles, and bicycles drive at night without lights.
- If a traffic police officer wants to stop a car, he raises his right hand up (or sometimes both) with his palm opened straight towards a vehicle. At night, the traffic police use red light sticks.
Carnet:
- Legally no required but at times borders will ask for it
Places to Visit
- Siem reap – Angkor Wat
- Phnom penh – capital
- Sihanoukville province – beaches
- Battambang – caves, temples
- Tonte sap – lakes, rivers
- Bokor Hill station – abandoned French colonial buildings
- Poipet – casinos
- Kampong cham – temples, nightlife
- Ream National Park
- Vivachey National Park
- Kirirom national park
- Kep National park
- Phnom Tamao Wildlife rescue centre
Route
A detailed route showing where we went overlanding and exploring. We jotted down the routes we travelled on a physical map which travelled with us from Australia to the UK, then transferred this to a digital form using Google Maps (KML and GeoRSS Layers)
These are exact appropriations, maps differ between brands and converting from paper to digital may lose some details in translation. This should still show in great detail our route.


