Siem Reap - a city-province in Cambodia, the country’s main seaport and a developing beach resort. It is located 200 km south-west of Phnom Penh on the shores of the Kampongsaom Bay. The urban population is 89 846 people (2008).
The city was founded in the 1950s as a deep-water port. The construction project was sponsored by the French, and the Americans built a highway to the capital. After the overthrow of King Sihanouk, under whom the city was built and after whom it was named, Sihanoukville was renamed Kampongsaom, and then back to Sihanoukville. In the 1990s, the city flourished anew. Foreigners settled here, opening cafés, restaurants, bookstores, and diving centers.
Today Sihanoukville is Cambodia’s main seaside resort, attracting tourists with its clean beaches of white sand, azure water, unspoiled exotic nature, and low prices. The city’s infrastructure is actively developing: new hotels, guesthouses, bars, and restaurants are appearing. But even today, every guest of Sihanoukville will feel comfortable-everything needed for a great vacation and fun pastime is already there. The restaurants here are known for fresh seafood cooked over coals. Tourists’ favorite drink is local beer “Angkor,” which you can try in any bar.
ClimateSihanoukville is located in the tropical climate zone. Throughout the year, it is hot and sunny here, and only on some nights the air temperature can drop to +20 °С. Over the course of the year, the air temperature varies from +25 °С to +38 °С. The temperature of the coastal waters of the Gulf of Siam does not fall below +25 °С.
Over the course of the year, there are two seasons in Sihanoukville-dry and rainy. The best time to visit is the dry season. It lasts from late November until April. During this time, comfortable weather prevails in the city with no precipitation. The rainy season begins in Sihanoukville in May and ends in October. During this period, more than 80% of the annual rainfall falls. At the same time, there is also a significant increase in air temperature. Sometimes the air warms up to more than +40 °С.
