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Sihanouk Ville town sits in the center of a
small peninsula that juts into the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand.
Several beaches of fine pearl-white sand line the shore around the
peninsula, all easily accessible from the town, each separated from the
other as much by character as the rocky headlands between. The main
beaches are lined with thatch roofed beach bars and seafood shacks
offering cold drinks, umbrellas and chairs, seafood BBQ, evening parties
and water sports. Ochheuteal and Serendipity Beaches are the most
popular and the busiest with plenty of nearby hotels, guesthouses, bars
and restaurants. On the other side of town, Victory Beach at the base of
Victory Hill is also popular but not as busy, offering a somewhat more
tranquil atmosphere. Budget bungalows and guesthouses sit on the side of
the hill and the beach sports seafood shacks, chairs, umbrellas and even
a nightclub. Otres Beach is similar to Ochheuteal but far less touristed
and has a much more relaxed.
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A message
from M'Lop Tapang and ChildSafe...
When on the
beaches of Sihanoukville you will meet many children. Please
remember that buying from the children on the beaches or
street keeps them on the beaches or street. As long as they
make an income their parents will send them out to work.
They are vulnerable to abuse and they are not safe. The
hours they work prevent them from attending Khmer school. No
formal education will perpetuate the cycle of poverty that
most of their families are in. Instead please let Cambodian
social workers do their job effectively by not encouraging
children to stay on the beach by giving food, gifts, money
or buying from them.
If you see a child in danger, call the ChildSafe 24 hour
hotline on 012-478100 managed by a team of English
speaking Khmer social workers from M'Lop Tapang program for
street children. Thanks for being a ChildSafe
tourist!
www.childsafe-cambodia.org |
 Ochheuteal and
Serendipity Beaches
(map
of Ochheuteal Beach)
Ochheuteal Beach
is by far the most popular and tour-isted beach in Sihanouk Ville.
Ochh-euteal is long (3km), sandy and narrow, with ‘Serendipity Beach’ at
the arcing northern end, a development project at the southern half, and
a cluster of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants stretching along the
mid-section. On the beach, shack-style seafood restaurants and bars line
more than a kilometer of the sand’s edge from ‘Serendipity Beach’ to the
development project. Many of the beach bars are open into Ochheuteal
Beach is by far the most popular and touristed beach in Sihanouk Ville.
Ochheuteal is long (3km), sandy and narrow, with ‘Serendipity Beach’ at
the arcing northern end, a development project at the southern half, and
a cluster of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants stretching along the
mid-section. Ochheuteal is the beach to come for sun, surf, seafood and
nightlife.
On the beach, shack-style seafood restaurants and bars line more than a
kilometer of the sand's edge from Serendipity Beach to the project. They
offer umbrellas and beach chairs, all have full bars, cold drinks and
most have food, especially seafood barbeque. Just off the beach, in the
early evening, several roadside BBQ restaurants get going along Preah
Lumhei Phumin Street (23 Tola Street). All offer fresh seafood skewers,
grilled meats, poultry and lots more. And for nightlife on Ochheuteal,
many of the beach bars are open into the late night and and a few throw
regular beach parties. And just off the beach the bars on the road to
Serendipity beach and the Gold Lions Plaza near Golden Sand Hotel are
usually open late into the night.
The Ochheuteal area has a good selection of near-beach accommodations
ranging from mid-priced hotels ($25-$80) through small hotels ($10-$30)
and budget guesthouses ($3-$12), most located along the three roads
paralleling the beach (more densely at the northwest end) and along the
road from the Golden Lion Traffic Circle to Serendipity Beach. The
mid-section of Ochheuteal is the busiest part of the beach. The roads
behind offer a pretty even mix of mid-range and budget hotels and
guesthouses. A few bungalows and rooms are also tucked up amongst the
headlands at either end.
At Ochheuteal’s extreme northern end, the area commonly known as
‘Serendipity Beach’ has bungalows and guesthouse rooms right on the sand
as well as amongst the rocks on the hill overlooking the ocean.
.
 Victory Beach
(map of Victory Beach area and
Weather Station Hill)
The Victory Beaches
are two long beaches divided by a rocky point and a small hill,
so named for the Victory Monument that sits in the boulevard
park near the midpoint. Different section of the beach called
different names. The southern section is known as ‘Hawaii
Beach.’ The northern section near Victory Monument is called as
‘Victory Beach’ and is the most popular area with travelers. The
sands at the port end (northern end) of the beach are called
‘Port Beach’ and ‘New Beach.’
The section known as ‘Victory
Beach’ sits at the base of the popular Victory Hill (Weather
Station Hill). Victory is a nice little beach, only a few
hundred meters long but wide at points, offering a variety of
beachside services and one of the best sunset views in town. The
distinctive Airport Club, sits near the entrance to the beach.
Next to the Airport Club, top-end boats for hire operate off of
the pier. Check the bulletin board at the dock for boating
information. A few meters north along the beach several little
beachside seafood shacks are clustered together at the sand’s
edge. All offer the usual beach chairs and umbrellas, inner
tubes, cold drinks, seafood barbeque, Cambodian food and even
some western dishes. Farther north along Victory the beach
narrows and two or three upscale oceanside seafood restaurants
hug the water’s edge including the long popular Chhner Molop
Chrey.
Above Victory Beach,
Victory Hill (a.k.a.
Weather Station Hill) offers a variety of guesthouses,
restaurants and bars. Several budget places and guesthouses dot
the side of the Hill overlooking the ocean, offering some of the
town’s best ocean sunset views. The very top of hill is one of
Sihanouk Ville’s nightlife hotspots. The hilltop main road is
lined with hostess bars, sport bars, clubs and a few
restaurants. Come evening the bars come to life, some staying
open well into the early morning
‘Hawaii Beach’ is also known as ‘King’s Beach,’ ‘South Channel
Beach’ and ‘Lamherkay Beach.’ Like the other major beaches,
Hawaii Beach is lined with umbrellas and chairs and little beach
shack bars and seafood restaurants, though nowhere near as
densely as Ochheuteal. It’s also less crowded than Ochheuteal
and tends to be much more popular with the locals than tourists.
Come the weekend, Hawaii can get quite busy with holidayers down
from Phnom Penh. Access the beach from the small road at the
curve in the road at the southern end of the Victory Beaches.
 Otres Beach
Otres Beach
is the next beach south of Ochheuteal Beach and resembles
Ochheuteal in many ways - a three kilometer crescent of white
sand facing the southwest. But Otres is far less developed and
touristed than Ochheuteal, offering a more leisurely, relaxed
atmosphere. Otres caught the eye of Forbes in 2010, listed
amongst the year’s Top 22 Beaches in Asia. Though much of
central portion of the beach was recently closed for a
development project, long stretches remain open at the near and
far ends and retain that same laid back Otres feel. In fact some
of the businesses that were evicted for the project have
relocated up or down the beach.
A dozen or so beachshack-style bars and restaurants stretch
along a kilometer of sand at the near end and there are a few
newly built guesthouses /bungalows across the beachfront road 20
meters from the water. And a few beach bars and accommodations
have moved up to the secluded far end of the Otres, along the
beach and even up the river. To get there take the back beach
road around the back of the project and turn toward the beach.
Just follow the bar signs to find the turn.
Most all of the beach restaurants serve seafood and more, but
each place has its own unique flavor. Price and quality of the
rooms and bungalows varies, so shop around for the room that
best suits your budget and requirements. Bear in mind that the
seclusion and lack of development that affords Otres its
tranquil atmosphere also limits some services. After dark it can
be difficult to travel between Otres and town.
To get to Otres: 1) The road from Ochheuteal over the hill
through Queen Hill Resort allows easy motorcycle access but is
blocked to cars and tuk-tuks. 2) By car or tuk-tuk from
Ochheuteal: follow Polaway Street (1 Kanda Street) to the end of
the pavement and turn left, cross the bridge and proceed about
500m to the next right turn. Turn and follow the road about
2.3km to the beach. Rough road. 3) Omui Street from downtown is
paved and in good condition. Follow to the Otres turnoff and
turn left.
 Independence Beach
Independence Beach
draws its name from the historic
Independence Hotel that sits atop the headland at the north end,
often called ‘otel pram-pul chann (‘hotel 7-storeys’) by the locals.
Independence is better than a kilometer long, but more than half is
closed for a development project. A long slice at the north end and a
small corner at the south end remain open to the public. At the northern
end, a 500 meter strip of sandy beach and groomed park is open to the
public and now sports near a dozen beach front BBQ huts offering beach
chairs, umbrellas and tubes. Good place to escape the crowds of
Ochheuteal.
At the southern end of Independence, near
Sasha Guesthouse and
Holiday Palace, a small corner of beach is still accessible to
the public.
The small fresh water lake at the north end of the beach serves as the
source and reservoir of Sihanouk Ville's fresh water. On the road past
the northern end behind Independence Hotel, monkeys (macaques) often
congregate and beg for food, especially in the late afternoon.
 Sokha Beach
Occupying all of
Sokha Beach, the Sokha
Beach Resort offers beachside luxury accommodation. The beach is
open to the general public as well as guests of the resort. Sokha is a
beautiful beach, a crescent of sand about one kilometer long and
comparatively wide so that there is plenty of sand left during high
tide. The fine off-white sand is perfectly groomed these days, but the
beach is fairly quiet by comparison to nearby Ochheuteal and
Serendipity, frequented primarily but Sokha resort guests. There aren’t
any little seafood shacks on Sokha like the other beaches but a series
of gazebos and upscale beach bars/restaurants run by the Sokha Beach
Resort
Other Beaches
These ‘other’ beaches are outside of the town area and are frequented more by fishermen than tourists, though this is slowly changing. Road conditions can be challenging, especially in the wet season.
 Ream Beach
Ream
Beach is long and narrow, sitting at the edge of Preah Sihanouk
(‘Ream’) National Park
more than 20km from town. Ream Beach is long and narrow, sitting at the
edge of Preah Sihanouk (‘Ream’) National Park
more than 20km from town. The beach is fairly untouristed - far from
town and of very average quality. The road toward Naval Base offers a
nice little oceanside drive and parts are lined with water’s edge
seafood shacks and a thin beach. Ream Beach Guesthouse (097-72784510)
sits at the sand’s edge. Take Route 4 18km north to the Airport road
18km north. Turn right, 9km to the ocean
Prek Treng Beach
Also known as the ‘Hun Sen Beach,’ the Prek Treng Beach a few kilometers
north of town is a long, narrow crescent of sand, a bit rocky in parts,
offering comparatively warm shallow waters. Due to Prek Treng’s distance
from town and complete lack of services (no guesthouses, restaurants,
beach chairs, etc.,) the beach is usually deserted. There is a nearby
development project promising a busy future for Prek Treng, but at the
moment you can have the beach pretty much to yourself. Just remember to
bring drinks and snacks as there are very rarely beach vendors
available. To get there follow Hun Sen Beach Drive north a few
kilometers past the port area. The beach is on the left just past the
first bridge and before you reach the oil port.
Last updated 11/11 |
