Essential Things you Won't Want to Forget when
Visiting Koh Rong
Essential Things you Won’t Want to Forget when Visiting Koh Rong
Koh Rong is a beautiful tropical island located off the sunny coasts of Cambodia. It is truly the perfect place to just relax, unwind and enjoy nature.
If I’m being honest, there’s no other tropical island I’d rather be on than Koh Rong. There’s a little bit of everything here for everyone whether you enjoy snorkelling and paddle boarding or if you enjoy the downtime of just laying by the beach lazily.
Everyone knows what needs to be packed when going on a tropical holiday, like swimmers, sunglasses, snorkelling gear and what not but I’ve compiled a list of items that may be overlooked in terms of their importance.
In this post, I’ll share with you my essential pack list when planning a getaway to Koh Rong.
If you are planning a trip to Koh Rong, check out some of my other posts about Koh Rong:
Essentials Packlist
Below is a quick list of the items I recommend you don’t forget. Some items you might be thinking, “well that’s obvious’ but if you’re curious why I’m outlining these items have a further read below.
Essential things you won’t want to forget when visiting Koh Rong:
- Sunscreen (exxy on island!)
- Cash
- Snacks (limited options available)
- Insect repellent
- Motion sickness tablets
Sunscreen
Like on many island destinations, having sunscreen is a must to protect your skin from the hot tropical sun. Koh Rong is no different in that the sun can get scorching hot. Of course this is dependent on the season when you are visiting but sunscreen will always be needed.
You might be wondering why I’ve included this on my list as it seems like such an obvious choice but the reason I have it on my list is that you should (if you can) always pack sunscreen before you visit rather than trying to buy it on the island.
If you just rock up and want to buy sunscreen, expect to pay a hefty price especially relative to how much it is on the mainland. I recommend if you are a last minute planner to buy some sunscreen at the 7/11 at the ferry dock before you make your way to Koh Rong.
Make sure you pack your sunscreen!
Cash
Like in most of Cambodia, cash is king. Nowadays many more places are starting to accept cards, however the majority of the island is heavily reliant on cash.
Make sure to bring adequate cash with you to the island as there are no atms available on the island for you to cash out.
Atm services
There are atm services around on the island however they usually charge an exuberant 10% surcharge!!! So make sure to bring adequate cash, enough to cover for your whole time in Koh Rong. Depending on what type of budget and traveller you are I’d say anywhere between $40-$80 (USD) per day would be more than sufficient for your time in Koh Rong.
Snacks/Fruit
There aren’t many places on the island to buy snacks and even harder to find places that sell fresh fruit (at a decent price).
There are some small shops that do sell snacks and what not however they are considerably more expensive than from the mainland and with limited selection. Before heading to Koh Rong, I’d stock up on your favourite snacks and stash it in my bag.
Insect Repellent
Bring Bring Bring! If there’s an absolute (absolute!) thing you must bring to Koh Rong is insect repellent! And bring some strong stuff!
I cannot tell you enough that the bugs on this island are going to make your life miserable if you don’t bring any sort of insect repellent. Due to its tropical climate, expect to get bitten all year around. During night expect there to be mosquitoes around wherever you go.
Sand Flies
By far the worst thing however are the sand flies!!!
These pesky little critters will bite regardless of what time of day and in my opinion they are about 10 times worse than mosquitoes. Sand flies bites for me were far more irritating than mosquitoes and left a nasty scar.
At one point my whole body seemed to be covered with sand fly bites. I can assure you from first hand experience that you will want to avoid the sand flies, so bring some insect repellent with you and put it on always! You can find insect repellent on the island however I would still suggest buying them prior to visiting the island.
Motion Sickness Tablets
I would highly advise to come prepared with some motion sickness tablets for the speed ferry to Koh Rong. Ferries to and from Koh Rong and Shanoukville run every day irrespective of the weather.
Hence, at times you will be travelling during rough sea conditions. Although the ride is relatively short you don’t necessarily want to risk being motion sick on the ride. I recommend packing some motion sickness tablets as they are one item that you’d rather have and not need, rather than need but don’t have.
Final Thoughts
In this post I’ve highlighted some of the items you won’t want to forget when planning your trip to Koh Rong. Koh Rong is such a beautiful island and I think bringing these items with you will definitely help make Koh Rong a lasting experience and a highlight to your time in Cambodia!