A Budget Travel Guide To
KOH RONG
A Budget Guide To Koh Rong
Koh Rong is a beautiful tropical island located off the shores of Cambodia. It attracts many visitors every year for its beautiful pristine waters and laid back atmosphere.
This is my budget travel guide to Koh Rong!!!
Tropical islands and islands within South East Asia in general tend to be more expensive compared to other destinations as they cater largely towards tourists. The hotels, restaurants, facilities are all built to attract tourists hence you may think that everything is priced just for tourists.
In this article I’ll share with you my experiences travelling Koh Rong as a budget traveller including everything from accommodation to food and activities. I loved Koh Rong so much that I ended up spending nearly a month all together on this beautiful island!
Check out my Essential Packlist when travelling to Koh Rong!
Is Koh Rong Budget/Backpacker Friendly?
You might be wondering “can you travel around Koh Rong on a budget”?
The answer is 100% yes! I’ve personally backpacked across both Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem for combined nearly a month and from my experience, Koh Rong has something to offer to everyone no matter the budget. There are plenty of hostels and budget friendly accommodation options you can find on the island and a variety of activities on offer to suit just about anyone.
Here I’ll delve into what realistically you can expect if you choose to budget travel around Koh Rong. I will also go over a realistic budget breakdown of what you can expect in terms of accommodation, food, activities and transportation.
If you are travelling from Siem Reap to Koh Rong check out my guide on travelling this route here:
High Season Cost vs Low Season Cost
Now, during the months between December to February I would say it is the high season as it is the most popular time for people to visit Cambodia.
The weather also around this time is absolutely stunning with temperatures being not too hot and the conditions being relatively dry.
Something to consider if you are a budget conscious traveller is that this period is also the most expensive in terms of accommodation. Having stayed in both high season and low season, the prices during high season can easily be double compared to what you can get during low season.
Prices on accommodation is what is most affected and is something to consider when deciding to travel to Koh Rong. Other expenses such as food, drinks and activities don’t seem to be affected too much between the high and low season.
A Budget Breakdown
Now then let’s get into the budget breakdown for travelling Koh Rong.
In this section I’ll cover what you can expect to pay for accommodation, food, activities and any other expenses that can come up.
I’ll also break down the prices between Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem where possible and also share with you some of my other expenses that accrued whilst spending time on this beautiful island.
Accommodation
Since I was backpacking across Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem at this time, my experience with accommodation was largely with hostels. Before I go into the budget breakdown for hostels, one thing to note is that generally the hostels on Koh Rong are not the greatest.
I’m not saying they are bad, some are actually pretty good, however some things to know is that usually there is a lot of sand everywhere from people not washing off and just walking around. The quality of the hostels also aren’t the greatest compared to hostels on the mainland however I didn’t find any of this to be a big issue.
Something to know about me is that I’ll sleep comfortably on a rock! I’m just saying I’m the type to not get fussed about how nice or luxurious a place is, I just try to appreciate all the places I go for what they are. I think the best way to approach it is to have loose expectations and be able to adjust to any situation. Plus you’re on a tropical island, you’ll be spending most of the time on the beach anyways.
Since accommodation prices are most affected by high season and low season costs I’ll cover both parts separately and divided into accommodation prices on Koh Rong and on Koh Rong Samloem.
High Season Accommodation Cost
Koh Rong
Generally most of the hostels are very similar in price. Expect to pay around $12-$15 USD during the high season.
Some accommodations I’d recommend are:
- Onederz Koh Rong
- Mad Monkey
- Cozy Beach Hostel
Also note the best hostels sell out at least a few days prior so to be safe I highly recommend booking a week in advance to get the accommodation you like.
Koh Rong Samloem
On Koh Rong Sanloem, the accommodation options are usually much more affordable compared to Koh Rong. Hostels around here would be more closer to around $7-$10 USD per night.
Some accommodations I’d recommend are:
- Onederz Koh Rong Samloem
- The Big Easy Koh Rong Samloem
Low Season Accommodation Cost
Koh Rong
Now during low season, off the peak months are the best in terms of accommodation costs. On Koh Rong you can expect to pay around $6-$7 USD for hostels.
Some accommodations I’d recommend are:
- Onederz Koh Rong
- Mad Monkey
- Cozy Beach Hostel
Koh Rong Samloem
During the low season, you can expect to pay around $5 for accommodation. That’s so good!
Some accommodations I’d recommend are:
- Onederz Koh Rong Samloem
- The Big Easy Koh Rong Samloem
Food
Food!
Arguably the most important part of any travel! The price of food is generally unaffected by high or low travel seasons. There are also many different choices available from local Khmer cuisine to mexican, western food and also beachside BBQs.
Khmer food is generally cheapest ranging from between $3-$5 USD and is phenomenal. Other cuisines and restaurants, you can expect prices to be between $6-$10 USD.
Maybe because at this point I hadn’t really eaten any food outside of the country I was travelling in, but the steaks, burgers and tacos (typically not foods I’d recommend when all the way in Cambodia), were absolutely spot on!!!
If you are alright with spending just as much on one meal as you did on your accommodation I highly recommend exploring all the food options available on the island. Even though the island is small there are many restaurants available and depending on what you want to eat and how much you want to spend, there is something for everyone.
Koh Rong Beach BBQ
When you are in Koh Rong or Koh Rong Samloem, during the high season many hostels will have dinner BBQ’s. I highly recommend trying at least once. The food is incredibly fresh, local and always cooked to order.
Depending where you go you can expect the BBQ to cost between $6-$12 USD depending on what you choose. I stuck to the fish options since we were on an island and many of the locals make a living off fishing so the fish were to be incredibly fresh. I had the barracuda steaks and I think it was a whole grilled snapper and let me tell you it was so good and fresh tasting.
Combined with the island atmosphere and at times fire shows, it was the perfect way to spend an evening on Koh Rong.
Activities
Some popular activities to try:
- Snorkelling
- Bike rent
- Boat trip
I’ll just quickly go over activities. In general unless you want to do privately offered activities, everything is super cheap and affordable.
Snorkelling
The best thing to do in my opinion is to go snorkelling at the many spots around the island. Usually you can find snorkelling gear for around $1 – $2 dollars and I find that most accommodations, bars and restaurants offer snorkelling gear. So, go ask around!
For my time on Koh Rong, I found that Koh Rong Sanleom had the better and more accessible snorkelling spots so if your tight on time or want to schedule your activities, I’d save snorkelling for Koh Rong Samloem.
Boat Tour
Another popular activity on the island is to do a boat tour. Boat tours are on every day and are available to book on both Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem. They offer a range of activities and often include snorkelling, fishing, bbq, sunset views and night time plankton swimming.
They only cost around $15 – $18 and are a super fun, super affordable way to see a little bit of everything. If you are planning on going to Koh Rong, don’t skip the boat tours!
Rent a Bike
If you’re down for a bit of an unsupervised and adventurous activity, rent a bike for a day and explore Koh Rong.
There are a bunch of hidden gems across the island that are only accessible if you have your own transport option. Head over to the mangroves or a secluded beach. Simply feeling free and exploring is the best thing that I think you can do on a bike.
If you’re really feeling it, rent a bike and go stay on another beach for a night or 2 just to see a different side of Koh Rong. Some great places to see and visit are Coconut Beach, Sok San Beach and Pagoda Beach.
Bike rentals are also really affordable, often only costing around $12 – $15 per day including fuel!
Recommended Daily Budget
Koh Rong and experiencing that island life doesn’t have to be expensive and can be done on a budget.
For my time on Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem, I ended up averaging around $35 including everything from accommodation, food, travel and activities. This definitely was on the lower side as I didn’t really splurge too much.
I would say budgeting around $35 – $50 daily would be ideal if you are travelling on a budget. Of course some days you may sky rocket way over and others well below but I think budgeting around this amount should be more than sufficient.
Sample Budget per day
Here, I’ll give a sample budget of how you might spend your money on a day in Koh Rong. Of course this is just a rough guideline to how you may want to plan around your budget.
Day 1
- Accommodation: $15
- Food and drinks: $10
- Snorkelling gear: $2
- Koh Rong boat tour: $15
Total: $42
(note, some days would be higher and some days would definitely be lower)
Final Thoughts
Koh Rong is a must visit if you are planning a visit to Cambodia. No matter your budget Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem has something to offer everyone. I hope my budget guide to Koh Rong has been helpful towards your travelling goals!
Safe travels!