Koh Rong Sanleom Island: Why You Should Visit Now! (2024)
Dreaming of a true desert island paradise? Somewhere away from reality where there is nothing to do except chill on the beach and sip on a cocktail? Want to wake up in the morning and step right out on to the sand? Then welcome to Koh Rong Sanleom Island in Cambodia. A place where you can switch off and enjoy family life without any distractions at all, except the lure of the waves!
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Where is Koh Rong Sanleom island?
Koh Rong Sanleom Island is just off the coast of Cambodia. There are two main islands in the area that are popular with travellers – Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanleom.
Both have stretches of white sand beaches fringed with palm trees. Koh Rong is the bigger of the two and has much more of a party vibe; there was a noticeably younger and louder crowd boarding the ferry to Koh Rong when we were at the docks!
Kog Rong Sanleom is much smaller and much more laid back. Infrastructure is almost non-existent which means it’s the perfect spot if you REALLY want to get away from it all!
How do you get to Koh Rong Sanleom island?
Ferries and speedboats to both islands run from the unattractive port town of Sihanoukville on Cambodia’s mainland. If you can avoid spending the night in Sihanoukville then do – you can book joint travel tickets from Phnom Penh that include the bus to Sihanoukville and the onward ferry/speedboat out to the islands.
As Koh Rong Sanleom island is pretty small, it’s only speedboats that operate the route. These take around an hour (depending on which stop you get off at once you reach the island).
What’s the best place to stay on Koh Rong Sanleom island?
If you’re specifically looking for a proper off-grid, desert island experience then I would highly recommend making the effort to get over to Sunset Beach. This is on the far side of the island to where the boats drop you and is only accesible by foot. It’s about a 30-40minute hike through the jungle but it is completely and utterly worth the effort. Leave your bags at one of the beach bars/hostels in Saracen Bay and carry only what you need across the island.
The main drop off/departure point for Koh Rong Sanleom island is Saracen Bay to the East. This has a long jetty that makes it an easy stop for the speedboats. At certain times of the year they MAY drop you on the other side of the island at Sunset Beach but you’d have to check this for your specific dates.
Saracen Bay is the biggest tourism hub on the island. But this is by desert island standards. Even here you’re talking about a handful of beachfront hotels/hostels and a couple of restaurants. It’s still pretty sleepy! It does have a gorgeous stretch of white sand beach and the sea is calmer on this side of the island.
But if you opt for the hike across to Sunset Beach you’ll find a real desert island paradise. When we visited there were just four small beachfront hotels, each offering wooden cabins. Two of these had a little restaurant attached with tables out on the sand.
To give you an idea of the vibe here: none of us wore anything on our feet at all for our entire stay. It’s that chilled.
Which hotel did we book on Koh Rong Sanleom island?
We stayed at Robinson’s Bungalows at the far end of Sunset Beach. We visited right at the end of the season in June so had a mixed bag of weather (including a huge tropical storm one night!). But it was still dry and sunny during the day so we could hang out on the massive beach. And there were a total of maybe 10 other people there during our entire four day stay. One two of the days we didn’t see anyone at all on the beach!
Robinson’s Bungalows are a string of wooden cabins strung along the beach. There is a communal deck area overlooking the ocean where they serve drinks and meals. They also have a book exchange and a number of board games here, as well as charging points if you need them. There are also hammocks swaying in the breeze for lounging around in. Plus if you really do need to access the outside world there is Starlink internet. It is a fairly reliable and fast connection but it only works in this decked area (which is actually very nice. This isn’t the place to spend your time scrolling!).
What was our room like and how much did we pay?
We had a family bungalow right on the beachfront. And I mean right on the beach! The veranda out front had unobstructed views out to sea and it was literally a few metres down to the shore. The bungalow was really spacious with two double beds with mosquito nets and plenty of space for bags etc. It also had a bathroom attached with a reliable hot shower. The veranda out front had seating and hammocks and a bowl of freshwater to rinse your feet in when you came off the beach.
The bungalows are rustic but we found them really comfortable. In fact they were much better than I had expected! And I was very pleased that we didn’t have any wildlife inside them at any point during our stay.
We paid £40 per night for the family room sleeping four. This was easily the most expensive place we stayed in Cambodia. But it was right on the beach, so worth it!
Are there sandflies and mosquitoes on Koh Rong Sanleom?
I googled this question OBSESSIVELY before we booked our stay. I am one of those people who gets absolutely eaten alive by things like mosquitos and sandflies. So I was really wary of booking a stay somewhere that would turn out to be very itchy!
Interestingly none of us were bitten once on the beach where we stayed. I did get a few mosquito bites on the hike over to Sunset Beach (it’s quite jungly!). But I was pleasantly surprised that there didn’t really seem to be any biting insects during our stay! There are reports of people really suffering with sandflies on the islands but this wasn’t our experience at all.
Why visit Koh Rong Sanleom island with kids?
If you are craving a digital detox for the whole family then this is definitely the place to do it. Yes, there is a tiny bit of wifi up at the deck area (and some chargers) but the lack of wifi/phone signal anywhere else really does make you feel away from it all. We played loads of card games (and some of the boardgames provided), read a ton of books and spent hours and hours really, properly engaging with the boys. We had sandcastle building competitions, threw ourselves around in the sea and had the time and space for some brilliant (and weird and wonderful!) conversations.
Being on such a deserted beach really felt like it gave the boys the freedom to engage in some brilliant creative play. They had several days just to play outside like kids, without distraction!
Is Koh Rong Sanleom expensive?
Koh Rong Sanleom is incredibly affordable by Western standards. However, if you’re used to mainland Cambodia prices then it will feel more expensive. Bear in mind that absolutely everything has to be shipped over from the mainland, so this, plus the lack of competition between places, pushes the prices up.
As there were no self-catering options at Sunset Beach this did mean that we had to eat out for every meal. We found that most main dishes at either Robinson’s Bungalows or the little restaurant on the beach came in at around $8-10. Which is expensive compared to the rest of Cambodia. Knowing this in advance, we’d planned it in to our budget which helped make it feel like less of a stretch!
What’s the best time to visit Koh Rong Sanleom?
The general consensus is that it’s best to visit the Koh Rong islands between December and March when the weather is sunny but not too humid.
Many of the hotels and restaurants close down during the real off-season between June and August when it rains more often. However we visited in early June (right before they closed – we literally left on the morning they were shutting down) and this had it’s advantages. Namely that there was pretty much noone else there! Plus, whilst we did have one massive storm the rest of the time it was dry and a mix of sunny and cloudy. But definitely fine for spending our time at the beach!
What is there to do on Koh Rong Sanleom island?
There is a quick and easy answer to this – very little! Days are spent playing or swimming in the sea, building sandcastles, reading books in hammocks, sipping fresh juices and cocktails and generally chilling out more than you’ve probably ever chilled out before!
I did find a lovely yoga shala just down the beach (out front of the Sunboo Beach Bungalows). They run classes on some days but for a small donation you can use the mats and the space independently too.
Koh Rong Sanleom Island – the verdict
This really does feel like a place that’s about to change. For all the glorious beaches and super chilled vibe, there is construction work going on (particularly over on Saracen Bay) and they have this year bulldozed a wide stretch of jungle so they can start ferrying tourists to Sunset Beach by tractor. So if you want to visit, the time is definitely now!
We loved our stay just for the pure simplicity of it all. It was the only stop on our travels where we could literally open our bedroom door out on to the sand in the morning, which was priceless.
Top tips for visiting Koh Rong Sanleom Island
- Make sure you drop any larger backpacks off in storage when you get off the boat. It’s a hot and sweaty hike across to Sunset Beach so you want to be carrying as little as possible!
- Pack plenty of books/reading material or if you’re travelling with e-readers make sure you’ve downloaded plenty of stuff before leaving the mainland
- Remember to bring a torch – there’s not much in the way of lighting
- Book one of the beachfront bungalows – being right on the beach is totally worth it!
Planning a trip to South East Asia?
Check out our other posts below for information, tips and reviews of the places we visited as a family of four.
Cambodia’s Koh Rong Santelom island looks like the perfect place to visit for relaxation and fun especially for families. You are lucky you did not experience the sandflies and mosquitoes that can be annoying. 🙂
I am such a magnet for biting insects usually so was very happy not to encounter them!
Wow! Love that you and your family had this time to disconnect and spend time together. I was not familiar with Koh Rong Sanleom, but after working so hard this winter, I’m thinking it’s the place I need to go!
If you need to switch off it’s definitely a great place to do it!
Cambodia is truly a beautiful country, and up there as one of my top three. Interesting to read about your experience on one of the country’s islands.
We absolutely loved Cambodia, and the islands at the end of our stay were such a treat!