3.68/5
770 reviews
Photo by Daniel Bernard via Unsplash

Siem Reap

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pub

street

locals

food

nice

tuk

angkor

wat

pretty

plenty

good

country

wifi

village

walk

night

coworking

Siem Reap is a relaxed and affordable city with a strong sense of local community. The internet is fast and reliable, and mobile data is both cheap and effective. Many digital nomads find it a comfortable place to live and work for weeks at a time. The nightlife on Pub Street, variety of food options, and modern co-working spaces make daily living convenient. Roads are newly developed and include dedicated cycle lanes, which makes the city easy to explore by bike or on foot.

Locals are generally friendly and relaxed, and the city has retained its cultural identity, with local ownership of many businesses. However, multiple visitors noted that many interactions with locals can feel transactional, with repetitive sales pitches for tuk tuks, massages, drugs, and other services. This commercial focus has left some travelers feeling unwelcome or seen only as customers.

The highlight of the area is undoubtedly Angkor Wat, with other nearby attractions like the circus, lotus farm, and Apopo rat project providing additional points of interest. Still, some feel that Siem Reap lacks depth beyond its main sites and isn't ideal for longer stays unless you're content with a slower pace. Overall, it's a charming but tourist-centric destination.

AI-generated summary of reviews
1 year ago

Loved Siem Reap. So much history and very laid back vibe. Beautiful people and affordable food and stays. Nice roads and coworking spaces. I could stay here for a month without boredom, pub street is great for nightlife and nightmarkets are plenty. Reminds me of a cleaner Chiang Mai

1 year ago

The worst place that I've been to in Asia (& I've been to quite a few).

Every interaction with a local is a sales pitch for something. Tuk tuk, massage, weed, food, prostitution, you name it. People look at you as a customer and nothing else. This is very different in other countries in South East Asia. I've had plenty of authentic, non-sales-pitchy interactions with locals in Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines or Thailand. None of that here.

It feels like this place only exists to extract as much money from foreigners as possible. Come here if you want to see Angkor Wat. But even there the entry fee (37 USD) is greedy compared to temples in other countries.

Hard pass.

3 years ago

Agree with the people below plus would say Cambodia and Siem Reap are wonderful places to visit if you like super friendly locals, amazing food and an easygoing lifestyle.
There are a bunch of expats here, and a lot them are involved in social projects. If you're looking to do something good beyond experiencing a country, it's a good place to start.
WiFi is totally usable everywhere. Mobile data is cheap and fast.
Siem Reap has tons of options for food and drinks. It's very easy to get around or foot/bike now because they built a new, fit for purpose road with a CYCLE LANE all along the river.
I disagree that's there's not much to do - there's plenty in and around the city. The circus for me is a must-see. Angkor Wat is obviously amazing - take a bicycle because you get more out of it. Definitely go and see Apopo - they train rats to find landmines and it's such a good initiative. I liked the lotus farm too.

Places to stay - would recommend the Bygone. You could easily live there for a month. The owners are super chilled and friendly. They're also using the business to support charity so totally worthwhile.

4 years ago

I like Siem Reap, I like Cambodia. The whole city here has a "Large Village" feel. Wi-Fi here is pretty decent and a lot more stable than other places in the region I have tried, meaning connections won't always randomly drop. The whole country of Cambodia feels like it's a country heading in the right direction. I walk around, I see shops and eateries that have actual local Cambodian/Khmer people inside them enjoying them. I walk around, yeah, I'm getting random solicits for a ride but no one is overly pushy, "no" is accepted as an answer for the first time. It's manageable and I am not having things shoved in my face every 5 minutes pressured to buy stuff. I can walk and relax and not be so guarded. I also when I sit down at a place, notably pub street, workers here don't appear desperate or anxious, they all seem relaxed and when not serving people are visibly joking and smiling.

Even in a western facing area like pub street, locals are in the bars and restaurants and every place is owned by a local, makes me feel like money I spend here is being used to improve the local's every day living.

A week even seems a little much as after a few temples, having a night on Pub Street, and Angkor Wat being the highlight of any trip here, Siem Reap doesn't have much to see otherwise. It's a nice village feel, locals seem pretty relaxed and chill, which is fine for chilling and working for a week, maybe two if I really don't feel like doing much and staying in. I'd love to come back to Cambodia and see their capitol city of Phnom Penh at a later date.

4 years ago

Siem Riep has a nice suburb feeling. At first sight it seems there's not much to do besides Angkor Wat and Pub Street, but you can go swimming, do bicycle tours, floating village day trip...

I don't have best social skill, but in Siem Reap it was so easy to make new friends. Locals and tourists!

I've worked at Garage Society Coworking Space. Pretty nice place.

I don't understand the cons of slow internet. I've bought an LTE 4G Sim card for 10 USD with 10 GB. There's also free and mostly fast wifi at almost every cafe, restaurant, bar and hotel.

And about cost of lining: I've met some locals. First local was a single mom with 3 kids living 10 minutes away from pub street by tuk tuk. She is spending only 100 USD for 1 room studio apartment including water and power and 50 USD for food for her and the kids (I've been at her home). Second local was another girl who earned 120 USD per month by working at a hotel. So 400 USD cost of living for a local is waaay too high as it is mentioned here.

And night life is pretty awesome (at least it was before Covid 19). Bars and clubs everywhere at pub street and really crowded every night in high seasons. Temple Bar was awesome.

6 years ago

✅ Fast internet

✅ Friendly people

✅ Affordable

✅ Relaxed atmosphere

✅ Walkable and bike-friendly

✅ Plenty of food and drink options

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ LGBTQ+ friendly

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Overly tourist-focused interactions

❌ Limited activities beyond main attractions

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ No democracy

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Difficult to do business

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ 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)

3086°
warm

3290°
hot

41106°
scorching

46115°
scorching

45113°
scorching

39102°
hot

48118°
scorching

3697°
hot

39102°
hot

3799°
hot

3086°
warm

Real (median)

2882°
very warm

3086°
very warm

3492°
hot

3290°
hot

3492°
hot

3290°
hot

3086°
very warm

3391°
hot

2984°
very warm

3086°
very warm

2882°
very warm

Humidity

nice
62%

nice
57%

nice
63%

sweaty
71%

sweaty
76%

sweaty
82%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
84%

sweaty
90%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
81%

nice
68%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
1mm

dry
10mm

dry
34mm

rainy
100mm

rainy
151mm

rainy
95mm

rainy
143mm

rainy
188mm

rainy
254mm

rainy
263mm

rainy
67mm

dry
16mm

Cloud

pockets
41%

pockets
24%

pockets
29%

cloudy
76%

cloudy
82%

cloudy
87%

cloudy
89%

overcast
91%

overcast
92%

cloudy
83%

cloudy
60%

cloudy
59%

Air quality

bad
127 US AQI

okay
90 US AQI

okay
80 US AQI

okay
62 US AQI

okay
56 US AQI

okay
57 US AQI

okay
59 US AQI

okay
62 US AQI

okay
63 US AQI

okay
91 US AQI

okay
79 US AQI

bad
114 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

Remote workers

4,238 people

4,292 people

4,338 people

2,288 people

1,886 people

2,100 people

1,846 people

1,800 people

2,050 people

1,960 people

4,600 people

4,457 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

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

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

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$861 / mo

12 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 39° 102° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 57 😷

✈️29min

$1,700 / mo

33 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 7° 45° 8° 47° AQI 143 😷

✈️13h

$8,866 / mo

22 Mbps

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 58 😷

✈️34min

$1,448 / mo

14 Mbps

San Francisco, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 34° 93° 29° 84° Some AC 🥵 AQI 42

✈️1h

$1,499 / mo

🌇 Also went here289 people

Hanoi

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

Indonesia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 37° 99° 30° 85° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 74 😷

✈️4h

$1,971 / mo

🌇 Also went here274 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.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.68/5 (Rank #105) 770 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍9 liked it 👎1 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,211 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 17 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Too hot: 31°C88°F (feels 39°C102°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 76%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 18 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 63 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Bad
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Okay
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Low
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Bad
💰 Income level*	Very poor: $239 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Cambodia
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	17 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 31°C 88°F + 🥵 Sweaty (76%) = feels 39°C 102°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 18 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 63 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Grab
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10,000 KHR in USD	USD 2.45
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	KHR 1,000,000 = USD 245
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	Angkor HUB
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
🦷 Fluoride added	🚫 No fluoride added
♻️ Return rate	6% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	2,337,600 visitors
📸 Tourists now	44,800 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	350,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$2,872 / year
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 81% 👱‍♀️ 19%
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Asia
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Vietnam

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,211 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$914 / month
💵 Cost of living for couple	$1,735 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$1,564 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$447 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$338 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,835 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$331 / month
🏠 Median home price	$24,009
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$16 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$60 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$147 / month
🍛 Dinner	$2
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$1
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$4,386 / year
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$3 / trip

Siem Reap

1,200 remote workers in Siem Reap now, of which 2+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

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