2.44/5
481 reviews
Photo by allPhoto Bangkok via Unsplash

Phnom Penh

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nice

work

stay

drinking

air

cafes

phone

stayed

cities

relaxed

keeping

budget

water

briefly

kampot

awesome

food

Phnom Penh offers a mix of experiences that appeal to certain types of travelers. The city is generally busy during the day but noticeably calms down by 9pm, giving it a surprisingly relaxed vibe for a capital. Neighborhoods like BKK1 and BKK3 are popular for short stays, with good cafes and coworking options like Suzy Anti-cafe and Workspace1. Internet access was reported as stable and fast when using a local SMART SIM card, which was affordable and included generous data packages.

While it’s busier than other cities in Cambodia, the atmosphere isn’t overwhelming, especially in the evenings. However, visitors should be aware that budget accommodation under $25/night can come with issues like unreliable Wi-Fi, no hot water, or other inconveniences. It’s suggested to invest more in accommodations if planning to stay longer, as comfort seems to scale directly with price. Overall, Phnom Penh rewards travelers who plan ahead and budget accordingly, and it offers a quieter, more manageable pace than other Southeast Asian capitals.

Kampot is also highlighted as a side-trip option, with travelers praising its food scene and active backpacker culture. The city is rebounding post-COVID and may offer alternative vibes compared to Phnom Penh.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Stayed in PP for around 2 months. I would say it appeals to a certain type of person. Unlike capital cities in neighboring countries, I found the vibe to be more relaxed. The city basically shuts down at 9pm. I would say if you want to visit, you should be willing to invest more in accomodations. I tried keeping my budget similar to those in Bangkok and that was my biggest mistake of my stay here. The Airbnbs I booked for around $20-25 a night had very slow wifi, no hot water or no water at all in some cases. If I had raised my budget I think I would have had a more enjoyable experience overall.

2 years ago

Only to PP briefly but I can say it's much, much busier than other cities in Cambodia. Having said that, seemed to calm down about 8/9pm so wasn't so crazy. Nice place to visit and probably much more to do than we saw briefly.

Can say that we really enjoyed Kampot too - awesome food, lots of people. Has a bit more of a Backpacker/ drinking culture than Siem Reap. It's still getting going again after COVID but seems to be coming back to life now.

2 years ago

Pretty cool city, BKK1 and BKK3 are nice areas to stay in. Check out Suzy Anti-cafe and Workspace1 in Factory for neat places to work from. It's a busy city, but lots of great places to eat and hang out. Internet was stable and fast enough overall. I got a SIM from SMART for a few bucks that had 44GB of data for the month, $5 to renew it.

Used "Ask Kim" visa agent to renew my tourist visa for 30 days, super easy to do and friendly.

3 years ago

Phnom Penh has plenty of air conditioned cafes and some co-working spaces, so it's quite possible to get work done. The river front area feels nice and spacious but other than that I didn't find it a particular pleasant city, and wouldn't stay for more a few days.

Kampot, however, 4 hours away by bus, has been one of the best places I've stayed. The atmosphere is great, it's a small town with nice architecture, hip cafes, yoga classes, and a riverfront to stroll along. It's much calmer than anywhere else I've been in Cambodia. I tended to work in open air cafes with a fan in the morning and then go to an air conditioned cafe during the afternoon heat. The only downside I found is that it could feel too relaxed if you need to get a lot of work done.

5 years ago

Best thing about Phnom Penh is its proximity to Kampot.
However, for some reason Kampot is not on Nomadlist.

6 years ago

i LOVE PP. it has a lot to offer and there are a lot of expats doing things other than drinking and imbibing weed. (yes, there are a lot of those people, too.) you do have to be willing to be a self-starter. and you do have to know where to look, and that just takes time. but the food scene is awesome. the culture and history are rich. and it's an easy access point to other locations in SE asia.

PP does have a BIG issue with pickpockets. more than anywhere else i've been in asia. just take extra precautions, and consider having a second (cheap) phone or keeping your phone somehow secured to your body when walking on the street.

6 years ago

I would urge anyone considering Phnom Penh to reconsider.

I've been jumping around South-East Asia for the past year and Phnom Penh has been by far the worst location for a remote worker I've encountered. The internet here is very unreliable. My house has a Fibre connection, but I'm dropping back to a 4G phone hotspot 5+ times per day.

This city is not geared for long-term remote workers. It's a paradise for sexpats and short term backpackers. With a few exception, the activities available here are: Drinking, smoking/eating weed, and talking shit to forigners at a bar.

YMMV.

I cannot wait to leave this place.

6 years ago

✅ Fast internet

✅ Good cafes and coworking spaces

✅ Relaxed vibe

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ LGBTQ+ friendly

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ City shuts down early

❌ Budget accommodations can be poor

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ No democracy

❌ Pretty slow internet

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members really didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Difficult to do business

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are not that great

❌ Roads can be dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not safe for women

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

34°C / 93°F hot

37°C / 99°F hot

39°C / 102°F hot

45°C / 113°F scorching

44°C / 111°F scorching

45°C / 113°F scorching

41°C / 106°F scorching

46°C / 115°F scorching

40°C / 104°F hot

39°C / 102°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

Real (median)

30°C / 86°F
very warm

31°C / 88°F
hot

32°C / 90°F
hot

33°C / 91°F
hot

32°C / 90°F
hot

33°C / 91°F
hot

31°C / 88°F
hot

33°C / 91°F
hot

30°C / 86°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

Humidity

nice
66%

nice
67%

nice
66%

sweaty
77%

sweaty
79%

sweaty
78%

sweaty
81%

sweaty
80%

sweaty
90%

sweaty
88%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
71%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
2mm

dry
9mm

dry
5mm

rainy
99mm

rainy
160mm

rainy
57mm

rainy
151mm

rainy
172mm

rainy
277mm

rainy
235mm

rainy
84mm

dry
29mm

Cloud

pockets
31%

pockets
25%

pockets
45%

cloudy
52%

pockets
47%

cloudy
55%

cloudy
52%

cloudy
58%

cloudy
55%

pockets
49%

pockets
39%

Sun

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

Remote workers

1,187 people

1,150 people

871 people

692 people

840 people

587 people

600 people

527 people

567 people

967 people

862 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Phnom Penh's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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	Staff Machine Learning Engineer @ Warner Music Inc.

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⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 36° 97° 30° 86° 🥵

✈️2h

$4,173 / mo

🌇 Also went here239 people

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.44/5 (Rank #450) 481 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍8 liked it 👎3 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Bad
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,176 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 7Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Too hot: 33°C91°F (feels 43°C109°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 71%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 34 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Okay
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Low
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Bad
💰 Income level*	Very low: $106 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Okay
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Bad
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
👩 Female friendly	Bad
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Cambodia
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	7 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌧 33°C 91°F + 🥵 Sweaty (71%) = feels 43°C 109°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 34 US AQI 🍃 OK
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Grab
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10,000 KHR in USD	USD 2.50
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	KHR 1,000,000 = USD 250
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	Co-lab Cambodia
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Small World Cambodia
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍11% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	3,016,900 visitors
📸 Tourists now	57,819 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	1,500,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$1,270 / year
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 84% 👱‍♀️ 16%
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Phnom Penh Housing
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Vietnam Air
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Air Asia

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,176 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$931 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$1,761 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$503 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$350 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,369 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$475 / month
🏠 Median home price	$36
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$16 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$45 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$141 / month
🍛 Dinner	$4
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	0
👩‍🏫 International school	$0 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	0 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	0 / trip