Cambodia?

[pelan-pelan]

Much advance planning, but 2020 will see a tour of Cambodia. I know there are dive operations in the Sihanoukville area.

Does anyone have any comments about dive operations anywhere on the Cambodian coast?

 

[Wingy]

I haven't dived in Cambodia for about 6 years but the few dives I did were just OK in comparison to say Indo and pretty much like typical Thai dive sites.

Koh Rong island dive centre do Koh Rong, Koh Rong Samloem and Koh Koun island sites (Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem are different islands so make sure you pay the ferryman enough to get dropped at the right one) and were really lovely as is Koh Rong itself - a nice respite from the madness of Snooky. I stayed on Koh Rong for 3 days basically doing nothing but diving and sleeping but their website shows there is now a zip line and a few extra things to do topside.

Scuba diving and courses Koh Rong Island Dive Center

I have also heard good feedback on Scubanation who are based on Siahnookville.

Hope this helps

 

[pelan-pelan]

Thanks Wingy - always good for Asian info. I already had picked up on Scubanation. Things change so quickly in places like Cambodia - all it needs is for a new dive op to open up, or an established one to get sold off to someone who thinks running a dive centre is a doddle.

I know Sihanookville is not countryside-scenery-central, but that's what you expect from a city in SE Asia. We will be in Cambodia for a tour of the country rather than diving. It will be a bonus to the trip - diving is a matter of keeping your eyes open and enjoying whatever is there.

 

[Wingy]

Thanks Pelan-Pelan. You are so very right about rapid changes and I have to say dodgy Chinese and Russian "investments and developments" are a huge concern - hence I googled before I responded to make sure both shops were still being run by the same people. I heard Scubanation is Aussie owned which gives me a bit of faith in them

I did exactly what you're doing - a look around the country and where there be diving why not? If you need any info on where to go (and where not to go!) happy to help. I also keep in contact with a couple of drivers in PP and Siem Reap who are trustworthy. If your planning allows there are some amazingly beautiful off the tourist trail towns like Kep (buy black pepper if you get to Kep) and the Cardamon mountains are really worth seeing if you can get there.

Enjoy

 

[Centrals]

Make sure you leap across to Laos before the dodgy money from china destroyed the country.
Why would anyone wants to invest money on gambling in one of the poorest state(communist) in SE Asia?

 

[pelan-pelan]

Wingy, thanks. Oddly enough I had got Kep and the Cardamom Mts in my mind. I might well come back to you about the drivers. We like to get off the tourist trail - in fact you only seem to need to go 50 yards off and it's like it's not there.
I need to do some more research on Sihanoukville. What's there, and what are the opportunities for getting out.

Anyone know what the trains (if any) and buses are like?

 

[Wingy]

Oddly enough, I googled the Cardamons to see if it had gotten any easier to get there - I bought a very dodgy motorbike and rode there as there was not a lot of tourism there and found that it's now far far easier and there are a couple of trekking companies and a few Eco lodges up there (I stayed with a local family who weren't expecting guests but got one when the dodgy bike broke down). Cambodian buses between towns are generally very good.
The roads have all been upgraded with those Chinese dollars so the twice daily bus from Snooky to Koh Kong which is your jump off point for the Cardamons at $13 is a very doable 4.5 Cambodian hours trip. If you're spontaneous when you get to Kong find the roundabout in the centre of the town and ask at Fat Sams Bar for guides and accomodation.
The new floating Eco camp is quite upmarket taking camping/glamping to new levels giving you the opportunity to hopefully see the humpback Dolphins. Cambodia Hotels, Best hotels In Cambodia, Best Hotels In Asia
WildlifeAlliance have an animal release station which also looks awesome Wildlife Release - Koh Kong
This Cambodian Govt website has enough info to keep you reading until 2020
The Official Site for Tourism of Cambodia

Re Sihanoukville - casinos, airport, skyscrapers, nightlife, sex tourism and scams seem to have boomed with all those Chinese dollars (I personally have never liked Snooky for that reason) but there is a beach just out of Snooky City called Otres that Id choose over a central Snooky hotel. Hope this helps and thank you for making me want to go back tommorow
If you need a translator I'm available - I know nine words in Khmer lol.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Yes, now I am impatient to go there, but it will have to wait til 2020. Many thanks for the answers and particularly for the info re Sihanoukville. I don't mind crowded, dusty, noisy, traffic-snarled SE Asian towns, but don't need casinos, scams and (currently) sex tourism.

 

[Asanoth]

Hello, we are going to Cambodia in February and are thinking of doing some diving. This is part of a longer sabbatical(= no income) trip, therefore budget is of concern: Meaning especially that we would like to dive at either very cheap or very special (and only slightly expensive) sites. Later we might go to Borneo and-or Indonesia, so we might just as well save money for there - but it might turn out we do not go.
I find mixed opinions on Cambodia: From "zero life 3m visibility" to "it's amazing, you need to go there". We dove in the Phillipines (Anilao, Balicasag, Moalboal, Mactan - the latter two were not very special because of the Odette, except for sardines and some fish schools in Olango) and Ko Lanta in Thailand - in general we enjoyed both. I saw some videos of night dives with octopi and seahorses (Cambodia), which is something we would very much enjoy even if there are no corals and turtles and so on...

Does anyone have any recent experience with Cambodia and possibly tips on dive sites - where to go and what to avoid?
Thank you .

 

[Asanoth]

Bump.