Sihanoukville town is Cambodia’s youngest city. It sprang to life in 1955 when a construction team arrived at what was then known as Kompong Som to begin work on Cambodia’s first and only deep water port. When the port was finished in 1960 the area was renamed Sihanoukville but many Cambodians continue to refer to it as Kompong Som.
The Khmer Rouge kept Sihanoukville largely off-limits to all but the most intrepid travellers for years. But today, with a good road from Phnom Penh and an airport where regular flights operate, Sihanoukville is drawing a steady stream of backpackers along with expatriates down from Phnom Penh for lazy weekends and longer breach breaks.
The town of SihanoukVille is surrounded on 3 sides by the Bay of Thailand. From the beaches and surrounding hills, many of the country's small islands can be seen. Many of the beaches are filled with grass hut restaurants and bars, some of the beaches are rocky, a couple are big resorts, and some are pure sandy beach. A dozen Islands surround SihanoukVille, and these are fairly unspoiled for the moment. Beaches, forest treks, diving, swimming, and chilling are the main activities here. With an abundance of good accommodation and day trips to take on top of the activities, it is a great place to unwind.
