One of Cambodia’s worst kept secrets is Sihanoukville Cambodia’s rapid rise as a major beach resort town in Asia. Many who have been here in the past would smugly say I told you so, as it was apparent to all that this sleepy little seaside town had all the makings long overdue. All it takes is more flights to the now-open Sihanoukville airport; as soon as there is a direct flight from Bangkok; watch out this place is going to blow up!

Three things make Sihanoukville especially attractive and you should take every opportunity to see Sihanoukville now before it is invaded, which will be in the very near future.

A 5-star luxury hotel for less than $100

Sokha Beach Resort is a 5-star luxury beach resort that has its own private beach, a pool the size of a small lake, a staff to guest ratio of 4 to 1, and all the other amenities you’d expect from a 5-star resort. luxury beach resort for less than $100 a night! This price I can assure you will not last long. If your budget is less than $100 a night, there are plenty of other Sihanoukville hotels and guest houses available near the ocean and more are being built at a breakneck pace.

Sihanoukville Islands

The islands have always been the real secret, there aren’t many places in the world where you can go and have so many large undeveloped islands. This will be the area that in the next ten years will see a huge growth spurt similar to what happened in Koa Sumui, Koh Phangan and now Koh Chang, which by the way is the closest island group in Thailand to the Cambodia-Thailand border. . It makes sense that Koh Rung Samleom and Koh Rung will see big things in the next 3-5 years and that the Koh Tang groups due to their isolation, beauty and excellent diving and water sports will be the real Shangri la in the future.

Real money, make money from Riel.

The Cambodian economy is based on the US dollar. What this means to you is ridiculously lower prices compared to many other tourist destinations in Southeast Asia. Thailand is a prime example, as the baht continues to strengthen despite a military junta ruling the country and a major Muslim uprising in the three southern provinces, which has killed more than 2,500 people in just a few years of guerrilla warfare. One of the reasons given for the Junta to take power was to try to control this situation, which, due to the news that did manage to leave the region, is no further from a solution than it was a year ago.

The higher value of Korean, Malaysian, Singaporean, Japanese and Chinese money against the US dollar makes Cambodia even cheaper for regional tourists, with Koreans being the fastest growing sector of the tourism market. And Asian tourists like many of the things on offer in Sihanoukville, including legal gambling and an abundance of very cheap seafood.

You know, I should also mention that despite what the biggest guidebook says, it has a lot of really nice beaches to relax on.