Sihanoukville Roads and Streets

• Ekareach Street: The main street of the town. It runs from near the port through the town center to Golden Lions roundabout near the Ochheuteal Beach.

• NR4: Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville are connected by the National Road 4. The road has been built especially for the transport of merchandise between the capital and the port by heavy trucks and containers. It has three toll stations along. However, it is considered the most dangerous road of Cambodia due to several traffic accidents and little control by authorities.

• NR3: It connects Sihanoukville with Kampot province. The road joins the NR4 at Prey Nob district. It is paved and in a relatively good condition, but poor in traffic signs. Cambodia has not control over cattle and it walks freely over the roads.

• NR48: It connects Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh with Koh Kong Province, at the southwest of Cambodia. The road joins also the Thai-Cambodian border. There used to be several ferry crossings over the rivers along the route but nowadays they have been replaced by bridges.

Streets in Sihanoukville downtown are mostly in a good condition. However, the traffic in the city does not follow rules and the enforcement of international norms is poor. Cambodia follows the right-hand traffic. There is an over abundance of motorbikes due to the lack of bus urban transportation and taxis. The city is considered unsafe for driving: drivers of motorbikes do not use helmets, use any lane of the street, most of them do not use mirrors and it is used to see motorbikes with more than two passengers or drive by children and underage persons. In 2008 the government ordered the enforcement of the use of helmets wide the country, but the norm is not yet followed.

The city does not have public transportation system. Therefore, there is an informal urban transportation in motor-taxis (moto-dups) and tuk-tuks. That urban system of transportation has no control from authorities, and anybody can become a motor-taxi or tuk-tuk driver in Sihanoukville. As a consequence, there is no control in the prices for services. Foreign visitors are recommended to confirm prices before using any of those services and ask advice from tourist agencies and hotels.

Sihanoukville Economy

The economy of Sihanoukville is based primarily in its port for import and exports to the national economy. It has also an oil container port and cargo facilities.

Other activities in the economy of the province include fishing, aquaculture, agriculture, mining, oil, factories (frozen shrimp processing, garment and Angkor Beer), real estate and tourism.

In the last years the increasing of tourism has improved the construction of hotels and tourism infrastructures in the province. Foreign and national investment has been proven by the presence of newcomers to the city.

Sihanoukville Islands

There are more than a dozen islands off the coast of Sihanoukville for tourists to hop around. Only some of them have been so far developed for overnight stays. Many guesthouses, travel agencies and restaurants on Ochheuteal and Serendipity beaches offer trips and packages to some of these islands.

• Koh Russei: Also known as the Bamboo Island. This medium sized island is located a few kilometers out from Otres Beach or Ream. There is a small navy base and some beach bungalows.

• Koh Rong: It is situated west of the Sihanoukville coast. It offers the fantastic strand of beach on its southwest, stretching about 5 kilometres (3 mi). It has fresh water resources on the island and a bustling fishing community on the southeast with basic supplies including fresh water, fish and crab.

• Koh Rong Samlon: It is a bit smaller than Koh Rong and situated on its south. Beautiful beaches are on the east coast, where a large heart-shaped bay with some shellfish cultivation is located, and on the north shoreline facing Koh Rong. The marine life around Koh Rong Samloem is very diverse and offers some amazing diving.

• Koh Tang: It is located quite far from the main shoreline of Sihanoukville. Going there requires trippers to stay overnight on board. It offers interesting diving spots most of which are not frequently explored. The island is home to a military outpost and travelers should expect to be boarded by military personnel when out at the island.

• Koh Pos: Also known as Morakot Island or Snake Island. This island is 800 metres (2,625 ft) off of Victory Beach. It is under development by Russian investors to become a luxury holiday destination.It was linked to the mainland with a bridge in July 2011. The bridge is not currently open for traffic.

• Koh Dek Koul: This small private island is 7 kilometres (4 mi) off from Victory Beach. The luxurious Russian owned Mirax Resort is located on this island.

Sihanoukville Beaches

• Occheuteal Beach and Serendipity Beach: Occheuteal Beach is a long and narrow strip of beach lined with Casuarina trees, grass umbrellas, rental chairs and little drink huts as well as bigger restaurants and night-time party spots. The northern section has become known as Serendipity Beach and is a popular beach with western tourists, noted for small guesthouse rooms right on the beach. Aside from these guest houses on the beach there are around 30 beach huts serving good value meals and a wide selection of drinks. The sustainability of the Occheuteal beach was a primary consideration of various stakeholders, which brought about the development of a tourism development and management plan in 2005.

• Otres Beach: Beyond a small headland at the south end of Ochheuteal is the similar Otres Beach.

• Sokha Beach: Sokha Beach is located just west of Serendipity Beach. This beach is privately owned by Sokha Beach Hotel, the first five-star luxury beach hotel in Cambodia. It provides many facilities with a wide white sandy beach, but hotel guards may prevent visitors who are not guests from going on to the beach.

• Independence Beach: Independence Beach is located next to Sokha Beach on its west. The beach was named after the old Independence Hotel. This beach offers a good stretch of clean sand. Situated at the northern end of the beach is Independence Hotel and Koh Pos Beach with a tiny island only 800m off the coast. Koh Pos is known for its rock strewn shoreline.

• Victory Beach: Victory beach is situated at the furthest north of the peninsula of Sihanoukville. It was the original backpacker beach and is still popular with budget travelers. At the northern end of the beach is located the deep sea port. Apart from white sand and blue sea, this beach offers a good spot to enjoy the sunset.

At the south end of Victory Beach is another small strand of sand called Lamherkey Beach. It is the place where a French/ Cambodian construction team laid groundwork for the construction of the new Port of Kampong Som during the 1950s. At this beach, you can hire a boat to nearby islands.