Kampot and Kep
A Slow French Colonial River Town Famed For Its Peppercorns, With Old Shophouses, A Sunset River And Bokor Hill Nearby, And Next To It Kep, A Crab Market And Seaside Resort Built In The 1960s, Then Ruined And Partly Restored. A Relaxed Stop Between Phnom Penh And The Coast · Kampot, Kampot
Kampot is a slow river town about 150 km south of Phnom Penh, known for the pepper grown on the farms around it and for its French colonial shophouses along the water. The pace is relaxed: people stroll the riverfront, cycle out to the farms, and take a sunset cruise on the river. In the durian season the fruit is sold on every corner, usually around May and June. Bokor Hill, with its abandoned hilltop casino and church, rises behind the town as a ghost-town day trip, but it is a nearby outing, not part of the town. Kep, about 25 km away, was a seaside resort of the 1960s, then ruined and partly restored. Its crab market, the Kep National Park trail and boats to Rabbit Island are the draws. Phnom Penh is about 3 hours away by minibus, and the Vietnam border at Ha Tien is about 50 km from Kep. Eating is easy: crab at Kep, river cafes in Kampot and market noodles at dawn. The mood is slow, with little nightlife and few crowds outside the dry-season weekends. It suits a two to three night stop.
Kampot riverside old town and Kep seaside, about 150 km south of Phnom Penh on the road to the Vietnamese border, Kampot, Kampot, Cambodia
The town is open all day and the riverfront promenade is FREE to walk at any hour. Shops and cafes open from morning to evening, and the old market is busiest at dawn. Pepper farms open for visits in the daytime, usually by arrangement, and some are CLOSED on certain days or in the wet season. The Kep crab market works from early morning to evening, with the best catch before midday. Kep National Park trail is FREE or has a small gate fee and is best in the morning. The Bokor road and ruins are CLOSED at times for weather or works. Rabbit Island boats run in the day, and some are CLOSED in rough weather. Sunset cruises leave in the late afternoon.