Our Cambodia trip planning fell during the most depressing month of the European winter - January. 

The excitement of Christmas long gone, and nothing but weeks and weeks of bleak grey skies and rain ahead of us, it should be of little surprise that it was the stunning little islands off the south coast of Cambodia which sparked the greatest amount of excitement in our hearts. We would of course have been excited to travel to Cambodia at any time of year, but throw in the fact that it would allow us to smugly escape the dreary British winter for a literal castaway island made us positively giddy to get away.

However, islands in south east Asia (and the travellers which flock towards them in their thousands) come with a bit of a reputation. And though we are by no means averse to the odd midnight bonfire dance on the beach with a strong cocktail in hand, places which sell themselves solely on their full-moon parties, get-pissed-for-next-to-nothing deals, or hook-up potential don’t really appeal to us. Instead, we wanted a laid-back island where we could have a holiday within our Cambodia adventure. A place where both backpackers and older travellers come together to chill out, and savour the privilege of sharing a perfect palm-tree, traffic-free paradise. 

Based on our travel style, we felt that the larger and more popular island of Koh Rong wouldn’t be our cup of tea (and we were to visit it later in the trip anyway), but the lesser known, lesser visited Koh Rong Samloem looked to be flawless; after spending nearly a week there discovering its best beaches, swimming in its wonderfully clear waters, and sipping cheap cocktails under the stars, we have zero regrets about that choice. Its infrastructure, facilities, and popularity may have developed quite a bit in the last few years* (and will probably only continue to go in that direction), but it offered up exactly what we were hoping for from our Cambodian island experience. 

So, if you’re wondering whether a few days or longer on little Koh Rong Samloem is worth including in your own Cambodia itinerary (spoiler alert - it definitely is!), this the post for you.

In our traveller’s guide to Koh Rong Samloem, we’ve shared our personal advice on where to stay + eat, tips on the best beaches and things to do on the island, a few essential things to know before you visit, typical prices, plus a clear overview on how to get to Koh Rong Samloem from mainland Cambodia. 

Note // You might find the island spelled as Koh Rong Samloem, Koh Rong Sanloem, or Koh Rong Samlon in various articles - even booking.com calls it Sanloem! As far as we’re concerned though, it’s Samloem, and that’s what we’ll refer to it as throughout this post!