Itineraries for Your Trip to Phnom Penh
3 Days in Phnom Penh for First Timers
Cambodia’s capital may not be a love-at-first-sight city like some others in the country, but after you spend three days in Phnom Penh, I guarantee the city will grow on you. It certainly did for me. I used to come up to the city from my home on Cambodia’s coast as much as possible, seeking out cosmopolitan comforts like good food and beautiful boutiques.
In recent years, the city once known as the Pearl of Asia has undergone some pretty big shifts, too, adding a modern-day metropolis vibe to a city—and a country—that was rocked by one of the world’s most horrendous genocides in the 1970s.
If you only have time for one thing, make it a stroll down Sisowath Quay, preferably at sunset.
Cambodia can be hot and humid, but you must dress modestly when visiting city attractions like the Royal Palace and Wat Phnom.
The more you understand Cambodia'a past, the more you can appreciate its present. While learning about the country’s darker chapters isn’t easy, joining a full-day sightseeing tour to the Royal Palace and Wat Phnom can help take the edge off visiting Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields—all of which have strict dress codes.
Start your second day in Phnom Penh with a cycling tour of Silk Island. A short trip from Cambodia’s capital, Silk Island is known for its rice paddies, stilted houses, and colorful villages, along with its local markets and silk weaving cooperatives.
After a day in the countryside, spend the evening careening around the city on a street food tuk-tuk tour. A great (and safe) way to see the city by night and taste some of the city’s best street eats, some tours even include after-dark visits to the city’s Russian Market (Toul Tom Poung Market) and Kandal Market (Phsar Kandal).
While you could spend your final day on a day trip from Phnom Penh to Cambodia’s old capital, Oudong, there’s also plenty left to see in the city itself. A breakfast street art tour is a fun way to delve into the city’s emerging underground culture before catching up on other places you’ve missed, like the Central Market (Phsar Thmey) and the National Museum of Cambodia.
Enjoy your final evening in the city exploring on an after-dark walking tour, soaking up a sunset at Sisowath Quay, admiring the architecture in the old French Quarter, and checking out the Independence Monument and the Royal Palace by night. Alternatively, you could enjoy a fancy night in the capital with sunset drinks on the riverside, dinner at a high-end restaurant, and cocktails at a rooftop bar.
