Search hotels in Koh Rong Sanloem

This island is truly beautiful, but taking the time to leave the beach and walk into the hills made me deeply sad, as massive road cuts and associated deforestation are carving up the old forests and laying the groundwork for the development to come. With the ghost hotels of Sihanoukville visible on the horizon from the island’s peaks, it’s not hard to see what’s coming for Koh Rong Sanloem.

Great small island with great restaurants and small bars. Best place to fully unwind and relax from the city life or after travelling a few months. The beach is very clean and all the resorts make sure it gets cleaned every day. The water can be crystal clear sometimes and has some good snorkeling spots. There is even places on the island that offer a huge range of food options for vegans.

WARNING! In my review I did forget some important point: On the last two evenings I did stay some hours at the beach on a beach chair. There I did get multiple insect bites - NOT mosquito bites! The next morning these bites were heavily itching and swollen - terrible, not comparable with a normal mosquito bite! Even today - 3 days later (!) it did not change. It is very difficult not to scratch all the time. A mosquito bite itching would be gone longe time already! So I think there are sand flies on this beach So beware NOT to stay on the beach after sunset! Like me you could have a terrible time afterwards! Up to now I have no idea when the bites will heal. I have to go to a doctor when I am back home

This island is on the cusp of becoming a huge tourist destination. Roads are being created, lots of undeveloped land and the beaches are picture perfect. The restaurant bar scene is was good but not crazy. Food was good but pricier than mainland. There is this hummus pizza place next door to Eden hotel that makes the most amazing pizza. Don’t expect expedient service or all of your food. Sometimes ingredients aren’t available. For the amount of people it can manage but if it gets built up. They will need to up their game

I loved the old fashioned basic beach accommodation and natural landscape. I think it is awful that the government has condemned many of the old properties and forced people out. The worst is the enormous road being built. There is no justification for a road that wide and the associated habitat loss. It is a friendly place, very quaint, very relaxing and there is cheap clean accommodation and good affordable food available. The diving is okay: shallow, relaxing, some interesting things to see but poor visibility typical or a fringing reef. The beach BBQs are great. It was difficult to know how much cash to take, but there are several cash out facilities (10% fee). Don't even think about self catering. There will always be one side of the island protected from the wind, but signage on the paths is needed to avoid getting lost. Getting around is tricky with luggage unless your accommodation has a transfer service as apart from the hideous new road and the cross-island tracks you have to walk along the beach.

The beaches were wonderful. The bungalows looked very nice and comfortable. I really like the old fashioned bungalows at the Sarasen beach. The atmosphere on the island is very relaxed. What I didn´t like was that garbage and trash that was all over the waterside, where was no sandy beaches. As there are no roads or paths it´s difficult to walk around in the island, you have to use the boat taxis. I also didn´t like the idea that Cambodian government takes over the land and tears down all the beautiful bungalows and builds something more "fashionable" instead. People will also loose their work in the bungalows.