Between 17 April 1975 and early January 1979, the Khmer Rouge, the Democratic Kampuchea regime led by Pol Pot, ruled Cambodia until Vietnamese forces took Phnom Penh and ended it. In that time, an estimated 1.7 to 2.2 million people died, roughly a quarter of the population, from execution, starvation under forced agrarian policy, forced labor, and disease. Two sites in and near Phnom Penh preserve the direct evidence of that period, and most visitors to the city choose to see them.

Seven days gives Phnom Penh’s full core, two proper day trips, and enough time on the coast to make Kampot and Kep worth the drive. Fly into Techo International Airport, 45-75 minutes into the city, and base yourself in Riverside/Daun Penh or BKK1 for the first five nights. Day 1 The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (about $10) at 7:30am, then the National Museum of Cambodia (about $10). Lunch at Friends (215 Street 13), $10-15 per person, evening walk along Sisowath Quay.

Six days covers Phnom Penh properly and adds an overnight run to the coast, long enough to make Kampot and Kep worthwhile rather than a rushed day trip. Fly into Techo International Airport, 45-75 minutes into the city, and base yourself in Riverside/Daun Penh or BKK1 for the first four nights. Day 1 The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (about $10) at 7:30am, dress code enforced at the gate, then the National Museum of Cambodia (about $10) nearby.

Five days lets Phnom Penh’s core sights sit alongside two proper day trips, an island and a highland park, without any single day feeling rushed. Fly into Techo International Airport, 45-75 minutes into the city, and base yourself in Riverside/Daun Penh or BKK1. Day 1 Start at the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (about $10), 7:30am session, dress code enforced at the gate, then the National Museum of Cambodia (about $10) nearby.

Four days gives Phnom Penh’s core sights room to breathe and adds a genuine day trip once the city itself is covered. Fly into Techo International Airport, budget 45-75 minutes into town, and base yourself in Riverside/Daun Penh or BKK1 for the walk to the Palace. Day 1 Open at the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (about $10) for the 7:30am session, dress code enforced at the gate, then the National Museum of Cambodia (about $10) nearby for Khmer and Angkorian art.

Three days covers Phnom Penh’s core sights at a comfortable pace, with room for the markets and riverside that a tighter 2-day trip has to skip. Land at Techo International Airport, allow 45-75 minutes into the city, and this plan works from a Riverside/Daun Penh or BKK1 base. Day 1 Open with the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (about $10) at 7:30am, dress code, shoulders and knees, enforced at the gate, followed by the National Museum of Cambodia (about $10) a short walk away for the country’s best Khmer art collection.

Two days is the honest minimum for Phnom Penh, enough for the Royal Palace, the memorial sites, and the riverside without rushing any of them. Land at the new Techo International Airport, budget 45-75 minutes into the city, and this plan assumes you’re based in Riverside/Daun Penh or BKK1. Day 1 Start at the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (about $10) when it opens at 7:30am, before the heat and the crowds build; the dress code, shoulders and knees covered, is enforced at the gate, so plan your outfit the night before.

The practical side of a Phnom Penh trip has changed recently enough that older advice is worth double-checking. Here’s what actually matters before and during your visit. Entry paperwork Most visitors need an e-visa, filed at evisa.gov.kh, running about $36 total for 30 days; visa on arrival costs about the same. Separately, and easy to miss, Cambodia has required an e-Arrival Card at arrival.gov.kh for every air arrival since January 2025, filed within 7 days before you land.

Phnom Penh is cheap by regional standards across every price bracket, so the question is less about budget than about which of the city’s three main areas fits your trip. Book ahead if you’re arriving around Bon Om Touk in late November, when riverside hotels fill fast. Riverside and Daun Penh The historic core, and the obvious choice if the Royal Palace, the National Museum, and Wat Phnom are your priority: everything is within walking distance, and the riverside promenade is right there for morning and evening walks.

One note before the list: Angkor Wat is not a Phnom Penh photo spot. It’s in Siem Reap, about 300km and 5-6 hours away, a separate trip entirely; if sunrise-over-Angkor shots are the goal, plan for Siem Reap directly rather than expecting to work it into a Phnom Penh visit. Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda Gold roofs, tiered stupas, and manicured gardens make the Palace grounds the most straightforwardly photogenic stop in the city.

Phnom Penh is a dense river city, not a green one, so set expectations accordingly: the natural landscape here is the water, not parkland. The Chaktomuk confluence, where the Mekong, Tonle Sap, and Bassac rivers meet, is genuinely the city’s defining natural feature, and most of what counts as a nature spot works that geography one way or another. Sisowath Quay and the riverfront The promenade running along the Mekong in front of the Royal Palace is Phnom Penh’s default outdoor space: wide, shaded in stretches, and busiest in the early morning and around sunset, when the light over the confluence is at its best.

Honest framing first: Phnom Penh sits on flat river delta land, and the city itself has no hiking trails to speak of. If proper hiking is what you’re after, you’ll need to leave the city, and the options within reach are modest rather than dramatic. Here’s what’s actually there. Kirirom National Park: the real option About 100-120km southwest of the city, 2-3 hours by road, Kirirom is the closest place with anything resembling genuine hiking.

Phnom Penh’s headline sights, the Royal Palace, the National Museum, the memorial sites, cover most first-time visits. These five are the stops that don’t make the standard list, but reward the time if you have an extra afternoon. Wat Ounalom Phnom Penh’s Buddhist headquarters, seat of the Supreme Patriarch, sits quietly on the riverside a short walk from the Royal Palace, and most visitors walk right past it toward the more famous Wat Phnom.

Cambodia’s festival calendar follows the lunar year, so exact dates shift annually; check current dates before booking around any of these. Three events dominate Phnom Penh’s year, and each one is worth planning a trip around, or, just as often, planning around. Bon Om Touk (Water Festival) The biggest event on the city’s calendar, Bon Om Touk marks the reversal of the Tonle Sap’s current at the end of the rainy season.

Cambodian food gets overshadowed by its neighbors, but Phnom Penh is a genuinely good place to eat, and cheap by regional standards. The city’s two national dishes anchor most menus: fish amok (amok trey), a coconut fish curry steamed in a banana leaf, and nom banh chok, cold rice vermicelli under a green fish curry, traditionally a breakfast dish. Either one is a fair introduction to Khmer cooking. Breakfast and street food Bai sach chrouk, grilled pork over broken rice, is the classic Phnom Penh breakfast, sold from stalls until around 10am and rarely after.

Phnom Penh’s own sights are honestly done in about 2-3 days, so once the Royal Palace and the memorial sites are behind you, a day trip is the better use of extra time. One trap to clear up first: Angkor Wat is not a Phnom Penh day trip. Siem Reap is about 300km and 5-6 hours away by road (or a short flight), a separate multi-day destination in its own right.

Phnom Penh sits where the Mekong, Tonle Sap, and Bassac rivers meet at the Chaktomuk confluence, and that geography still shapes the city: the Royal Palace and most hotels sit along the riverside, while the harder history is a short tuk-tuk ride south. Most travelers give the capital about 2-3 days, usually paired with Siem Reap or the south coast on a wider Cambodia trip. That’s an honest amount of time for a city this size, not a compromise.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Phnom Penh sits at the Chaktomuk confluence, the point where the Mekong, Tonle Sap, and Bassac rivers meet, and that river geography is still the shape of the city today: the riverside is where the Royal Palace, the National Museum, and most visitors’ hotels sit, while the harder history is a short tuk-tuk ride south.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Seven days is honestly more than Phnom Penh’s own sights can fill, so this version spends the first five days on the city and its closest day trips, then hands days six and seven to an overnight on the coast.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Six days is honestly beyond Phnom Penh’s own marquee list, so this version fills days four through six with day trips rather than pretending the city itself has more to offer. With less time, drop to the 5-day plan ; with more, the 7-day version swaps the final day trip for an overnight to the coast.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Five days is honestly where Phnom Penh’s own city core runs out of marquee sights, so this version leans on two day trips to fill days four and five rather than inventing more central stops.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Four days covers Phnom Penh’s city core in full and adds room for one day trip. This version sends day four to Koh Dach (Silk Island), the closest and easiest option; swap it for Oudong, the former royal capital about 40km northwest, if hilltop stupas interest you more than silk weaving.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Three days is the first-timer sweet spot for Phnom Penh: two days for the Palace and the memorials, plus a third for the markets and the riverside. With less time, drop day three and use the 2-day plan ; with more, the 4-day version adds a Koh Dach day trip on top of this same spine.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Two days covers Phnom Penh’s essentials and nothing more: the Royal Palace and National Museum on day one, then a deliberately unhurried day two for Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek. This isn’t a light itinerary emotionally, and it isn’t meant to be rushed alongside sightseeing elsewhere.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Phnom Penh’s core fits comfortably into two days: the Royal Palace, National Museum, and Wat Phnom on day one, then a deliberately sober day two for Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek, the two Khmer Rouge memorial sites most visitors come to see.