KOH RONG, CAMBODIA
The gorgeous Koh Rong island offers many accomodations and Coconut Beach Bungalows, where we stayed, is with no doubt one of the best.
White sand, palm trees, crystal clear water, and hospitality cured to the smallest detail.
As any remote and isolated location, to get here you need a couple of stages: from Sihanoukville a ferry takes us to Koh Rong main port, on the west side of the island; but Coconut Beach lies on the opposite side, so we need a private taxi boat, set up by the manager, to reach our destination. The landing, straight in the water, is really spectacular, as you can see here, thanks to my doubtful director skills, even though in unstable conditions…
Preparing to land at Koh Rong Island
Robbie, the manager, is a nice and super kind Cambodian man who speaks a good English; with his sister Pia and other relatives and helpers, he will make our stay very special. He welcomes us open arms and with a big smile. The place offers charming bungalows at the top and much more wilder tents at the bottom.
Coconut Beach Bungalows
We had a tent booked over the internet, a cheaper (15$ a night vs 40$) and also more adventurous option (in other words: we are poor). Being in an exclusive and set apart location, accommodation and bar/restaurant prices are “westernized” and so, comparing to the Cambodian average, quite high. But it is absolutely worth it, we will collect a lot of great memories.
Our tent is brand-new, fixed the morning we arrive, and could host up to 4 people. The two of us fit easily, on a king-size mattress, sea-view, waves sound on the background.
Our home close to the beach
We enjoy meeting new people everyday, everybody welcomes us, gives us advice, makes us feel at home, and after the first day we will be doing the same with new guests.
Best advice we get is to have a bath at around 7 or 8 pm, to attend the astonishing phenomenon of the fluo plancton: with the deepest dark, and the moon still under the horizon, by diving into the sea and waving arms and legs, you can see the plancton emanating lights, like a kind of marine fireflies. It really leaves us speechless, hard to describe!
In addition to the amazing scenery, happiness and friendliness of people all around are a plus: walking by a small fishermen village a couple of miles away, local children run to us, they smile, jump, examinate and play with Ambra’s camera (who fears for its integrity), and they follow us everywhere we go!
Fishermen village
Edo with some cute kids
When we eat or at the beach, we meet boys and girls, couples, solo travellers, young and less younger from all over the world, everybody with their story to tell: questions are always the same (where are you from, how long have you been travelling, where are you going next), anwers are various and exciting.
It’s amazing to feel part of a huge group of travellers and explorers, all with the same will to see new places, know and learn new things. People are literally from every corner of the world: some travel around Southeast Asia only, like us, some (a few) are on a short holiday, some are doing a world tour, and some other have been travelling for more than a year!
Hanging out with everybody at Coconut Beach
Days go by relaxing on the hammocks hanging from the palm trees, cooling down in the crystal clear water, sleeping on the white sand. We do a couple of hikes to nearby beaches and resorts, but nothing compares to Coconut Beach, that we feel with jealousy “ours” at this point. When people from other resorts come to our beach we think “go away!”.
Nights consist in dinners on the wooden terrace among the trees, night baths to see the fluo plancton, bonfires on the beach, playing table and card games, talks and laughs with Robbie and the other guests, letting lanterns fly in the sky… What a life!
Bonfire night at Coconut Beach
We lose time cognition, without phones, no wi-fi connection nor technologies, we talk instead of messaging, we play table games all together rather than playing alone on the phone, it is a really nice sensation that we all should feel at least one week every year, but even more often.
Unfortunately, 5 days have flown quickly, and it’s time for us to leave the island to go back to Sihanoukville, from where a sleeper-bus will take us to Vietnam, specifically to Ho Chi Minh.
It’s almost time to say goodbye to wonderful Cambodia…
Coconut Beach
HOTEL – WHERE TO STAY IN KOH RONG:
- Coconut Beach Bungalows, Koh Rong Island: 15usd/tent, from 40usd/bungalows; wonderful staff, paradise setting beach.
- For more hotel inspiration you can have a look here.
TRANSPORTATION – HOW TO GET TO KOH RONG:
- Ferry boat from Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Island: around 12-14 usd/person for the speedboat, approx 45 minute trip.
| Ferry Sihanoukville - Koh Rong $ 13.68–15.64 45m | |
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- You can pre-book your tickets to travel in Cambodia here:
TRAVEL INSURANCE:
- Never leave home without a reliable travel insurance. Even if you trust yourself, you can’t always trust others. Better safe than sorry! Get your quote here.
