Things to do in Kampot for 3-day trip
Editor’s note: Below is another article by our favorite traveler, Langda! Check out his recount of his camping experience and suggested things to do in Kampot below.
People say “Work hard and play hard”, and this quote has become one of my favorites. After spending most effort achieving things at work, I rewarded myself with a camping experience at Kampot for 3 days 2 nights along with Small World team and several other new friends. I was inspired by natural and recreational places and activities there and think it would be useful to share my experience of things to do in Kampot, specially to workaholic travelers who are staying in Cambodia and making a plan to escape from Phnom Penh during the weekend. With this article you will learn how to go to Kampot, the things you can do there, and how much budget you should prepare for.
How to go to Kampot from Phnom Penh?
Kampot province is not far from the city. It just takes about 3 hours from Phnom Penh city, which is just a few nap takings to me. We rent a minibus which can put up to 25 people with a professional driver included. The price is about 270$ for our case (3 days and 2 nights). In case, you do not have that much of people, a couple or a group of 5 people, you might consider taking a minivan which is very affordable, between USD 7.00 and 8.00, which you can book online here
First thing to do in Kampot
Our first place to visit was Bokor mountain, formerly known as French colonial hill station resort then a site of a royal home for summer vacation. You can also reach the top of mountain by motor. Besides getting fresh air and catching cloud (fog) experience on the mountain, there are 5-star hotel and casino, Thansur Bokor Highland Resort, there to enjoy. One of the best spot view you should not miss there is to visit Wat Sampov Pram, five (pram in Khmer) rocks represent the ship (sampov).
From the entrance of the temple, keep walking to the right direction, from there you find a spot which is a bit dangerous there since there is no holder protection when you come close to the top; yet it is worth going there because you are able to see the beauty of the green forest in full HD. There are more things to do in Kampot’s Bokor mountain actually.
Sleeping in a tent at Kdark La Tente is one of things to do in Kampot
Next, we headed to our booked accommodation, Kdark La Tente, which is one of the best options I would recommend for a camping experience in Kampot, only if you are not a fan of staying at a fancy guesthouse or hotel. It is just 21km from the town. Personally speaking, I think in order best enjoy the trip in such a beautiful paradise like Kampot is to sleep in a tent and experience the following activities wake up and see the beach while brushing your teeth, play football in an open area, catch the shrimp at night, and openly share your impression to the other fellows around the bonfire at midnight. You are allowed to do all of these things at Kdark La Tente, and it costs only USD 5.00 per person per night. The tent itself can stay up to 3 or 4 (4 people for the big one) people. For reservation, I strongly advise you book ahead for such a demanded place via their Facebook page here.
Visiting Mangrove Community is one of the things to do in Kampot
This is probably one of the must do things in Kampot. For day 2, we went to visit Mangrove Lodge called Trapang Sangke Community. From this visit, we have learned how mangrove life is being threatened by deforestation practiced by rich and powerful people according to the chief of the community. And this has affected the life of the fishermen there which forced them to leave their home for Thailand and Vietnam for better living. Thus, this community is created with the purpose of raising awareness of how important mangrove is to both people and underwater life.
After the sharing session, we were given a chance to experience growing mangrove by ourselves. To do that, we need to buy young mangrove tree which costs 1$ per tree. Also a boat rental, USD 15.00 including return, is needed to go to a growing area. These are provided by the community.
After mangrove planting activities, we crazily threw away dump to one another like in a gun war.
Most exciting place to do in Kampot
After finishing our lunch at the community, we then headed to the Arcadia water park, a place that allow you to best enjoy swimming in Kampot river with the trilled tube and more. These activities should not be missed from your things to do in Kampot. To play those toys, we need to pay USD 5.00 each. Life jacket is provided. And there are 4 different kinds of you-have-the-guts activities such as blob & rope swing, water slide, pontoon and Russian swing. Is there any other things to do in Kampot?
Experiencing Kayak and Paddle boat in Kampot
This is the most popular to do thing in Kampot that you should not miss. The last but not least of our Day 2 was to see the sunset while kayaking. We visited Bopha Prey Guest House, which is located on the other side of the river (Acardia’s). This is a good place as a starting point for kayaking around the river there. We rent a canoe-kayak while some might prefer a paddle boat and drive along the river. Each costs USD 5.00/hour. Besides sea foods, this restaurant also serves finger foods at an affordable price. This was the exhausting day for me because of heavily swimming and kayaking. I know some people might be a bit nervous to try kayaking for the first time but it’s a brilliant experience that you should definitely give it a go. You can check out the article on campingfunzone.com where it goes into the things you need to know before you go to make you feel more prepared!
Try out Zipline across Kampot River
On the third day, which was the day we have to back to Phnom Penh city, we visited River Park, to enjoy experiencing zip lining across the river. It costs USD 6.00 per person. To be honest, I was not impressed by this because the distance of the line is too short for me to notice the best view of the river.
Visiting Kampot Pepper Farm
After that we ended up our trip by visiting Sothy’s pepper farm and having lunch there before leaving Kampot for Phnom Penh. From the farm, we got to see and learn the process from growing, harvesting, and packaging Kampot pepper. During such a hot weather I enjoyed drinking coconut there a lot. Also, the better part is to eat fried crab with Kampot pepper.
Finally, I hope you enjoy reading this article and find it useful to make decision on your trip of what to do in Kampot either for your holiday or a quick escape from the Phnom Penh city at your weekend. Stay tuned for our more articles of other things to do in Kampot.
Going to Kampot?
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