Cambodia Travel Information

Telephone : International Direct Dialing is available to and from Cambodia. Prepaid telephone cards are available in post offices, hotels and supermarkets for public phones around Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The country code for Cambodia is +855; the city code for Phnom Penh is (0) 23, and the city code for Siem Reap is (0) 63.

Post : Airmail to Europe takes four to five days and to the USA one week to ten days.

Mobile Telephone : GSM 900 and 1800 networks cover Phnom Penh and other main cities.
Main network operators include:
Samart (www.hello16-gsm.com)
Cambodia Shinawatra (www.camshin.com) MobilTel (www.mobiltel.com.kh).

Internet : ISPs include CambodiaWeb (www.cambodia-web.net) and Big Pond (www.bigpond.com.kh). Internet cafes are available in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Health & Security
We strongly recommend having a good health insurance and carrying a good first aid kit.  There is a chronic shortage of trained medical help and hospitals.  Therefore, you should avoid treatment in Cambodia.  Evacuation to Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia is recommended.

Vaccinations : The Royal Government of Cambodia does not require you to have any vaccinations except for cholera if you are coming from an infected area. Please consult your doctor for recommended vaccinations.

Malaria : Although the main tourist areas of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh are not malarial, malarial drugs are essential for tourists traveling deeper into provincial Cambodia. The best protection against malaria is to avoid being bitten in the first place: make sure to bring mosquito repellent.  Check with your physician about taking a course of anti-malarials.  If it is considered necessary given your itinerary, you might need to begin before your trip and continue for a time after you return. 

Dengue fever, which is also transmitted by mosquitoes, is often mistaken for malaria.  Its symptoms are severe pain in the joints, high fever, and extreme headache.  Aside from avoiding being bitten altogether (this mosquito is active in daytime and is often a striped variety), there is no prevention available.  Hospital treatment is urgently required.

Food and water : Avoid all water that has not been thoroughly boiled or sterilized. Drink only bottled water. Supposedly, a plant in Phnom Penh makes all of the city’s ice using sterilized water, but to play it safe, avoid any ice. You should not eat any uncooked vegetables and do not eat any fruit that you have not peeled yourself.

Security : Since the end of the Pol Pot Regime, Cambodia is now a relatively safe country to travel in (as with any overseas travel, normal travel precautions still apply). Many of the provinces that were once ‘off-limits’ to foreigners are now safe for travel. 

Mine  & Munitions. During the 1980s Cambodia became the most heavily mined war zone in the world. There were thought to be more than 7 million anti-personnel mines buried around the country. The number of mines has been greatly reduced and tourist areas are mainly mine-free.  You should however stick to the paths and hire a local guide in rural areas. Never touch any artillery shells, bombs, rockets, and mines you may come across. In Vietnam and Laos, these are likely to be twenty years old, but in Cambodia, they may have been put there more recently. Avoid walking through jungle areas, even on paths.