Sihanoukville

Sihanoukville (ក្រុងព្រះសីហនុ) is Cambodia's port city on the Gulf of Thailand and the mainland gateway to the offshore islands. It grew up around the country's only deep-water harbour, built in the 1950s and now being enlarged again, and for two decades it was the centre of Cambodian beach tourism. A wave of casino and high-rise construction from 2017 onward rebuilt much of the town at speed and cost it the low-key character travellers once came for, and a licence freeze and a series of prosecutions have since left unfinished towers across the skyline. Otres Beach still runs four kilometres of white sand at the southern edge of town, and Ream National Park protects mangrove and coastline to the east. Most visitors pass through for a night, taking one of the frequent fast ferries out to Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem.