Koh Rong Cambodia - Top Picks for Things to Do and to See

Once talking to your friend who just came back from Koh Rong and claims it to be the most thrilling vacation in his life you think rolling your eyes: ‘Ok, yet another far away tropical and exotic island... white sand, blue clear water, typical bag-of-words… So damn boring it is!’

But you’ll feel the difference once you get there yourself, my sceptic friend! In spite of being the most inhabited and well-explored island among other islands of Cambodia is so quiet, that you can hear your heart-beat. It is so frightening beautiful at sunset and the sea sparkles with plankton at night making you feel as if in a magic fairy-tale.

Beaches

Don’t stop reading here; we just have no right to skip the island beaches at the top of our ‘to do list’while being here. It’s a must to have a dip and lie in the sun for at least a quarter of an hour. Koh Rong beaches are quieter than Otres beach, the water is clearer, palm trees are slimmer, and wicker tables and swings by the shore drive you crazy and make feel like in one of those cheezy bounty commercials – nod bad when you’re inside the picture!

Boat trips & kayaking

Another piece of fun is to hire a long-tale or speed boat or rent a kayak and go admire the sea and the island from the water. The vistas are amazing but remember to negotiate the cost of the trip before you commit. Prices fluctuate insignificantly: expect to pay within USD10 for a boat ride from one beach to another both ways (or for a half-an-hour trip); kayaks are offered for USD5 per hour or USD12 per day.

Koh Tok island located off shore of Koh Rong with nothing else but a pagoda on will be an interesting and not too tiresome journey.

There is an abundance of combination tours on offer which normally include both-ways transfer, lunch, snorkelling/ diving/ fishing stops for USD15-20. These tours get back to the island well after sunset and make stops in the open sea to let the passengers have a swim in the luminescent shining water.

Diving

Though the demand for diving tours is high on the island, whenever you go you are likely to hit upon dive centres’ promoters who sometimes are getting really annoying. There are diving tours for licensed divers and diving courses for first-timers, too. There are a lot of diving centres on the island with pop-chart leader Koh Rong Dive Center offering intro dives from USD80 and PADI course starting from USD430. Along with Open Water and Advanced courses they also do Rescue. Inquire at the dive centre directly to find out more.

Tree top adventures

Adrenaline junkies will appreciate High Point Adventure Park, especially recommended for height lovers and extreme seekers. Climbing on treetops like monkeys exhilarates spirit. The program takes about 2 hours, with safety briefing, friendly instructors and free water. Involved activities: flying chair, tightropes, skateboards and numerous zip-lines. All-inclusive packages start from USD25 during low season and up to USD35 in high season.

Mini-zoo

Yet another attraction Koh Rong can boast of is the mini-zoo. The place is improvised by a Russian lady named Olga living in the jungles about 20min. walk from the main pier. She caught all her ‘pets’ by herself and tells very interesting stories about them. After meeting a talking starling, squirrel, iguana, pigeons and lots of snakes Olga will invite you to have a cup of home-made tea of lemon grass and ginger. This interactive excursion takes about 1.5h and costs USD5 and is a must if you have your little ones in tow.

Partying on Koh Rong

We’re sure young-and-wilds will find things to do on Koh Rong without our tips. But take a note that there are Full Moon Party on Fridays and Jungles Party on Saturdays. Join the club, get high with hell-bent mirth, alcohol, happy cookies, mingle, expand your unconscious, make a tattoo after all!

Volunteering

You must be tired of reading by this point but we wanna mention one more thing to be done here. And to our mind, it is really a fine gesture. It’s very simple. We mean participation in voluntary work. There’s a voluntary service organization aka The Friends of Koh Rong. It was founded back in 2013 by several foreigners in order to help aboriginal islanders to adapt to rushing changes caused by flourishing tourism here. They provide Cambodian children with elementary training, crafts, English, arrange clean-up on the beaches and etc.

‘Friends’ have long/ short-term programs. The latter lasts for 2-3 days and involves only cleaning and relevant procedures. As for long-term participants, they are provided with accommodation and meals. Here they usually in lack of English teachers, study programs supervisors, events planners, administrators and etc. You can make this world a little better!