The golden roofs of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh against a clear sky
First-hour guideAsia & Pacific

Phnom Penh: your first hour after landing

You have just landed at Techo International, the new airport about 30 km south of Phnom Penh that replaced the old city airport in September 2025. This guide covers the longer ride in and its real fares, where to sleep from a 1929 grand hotel to a BKK1 hostel pool, the palace and museum first day, and the river, island and memorial days that follow.

By After You Land editorsUpdated Oct 202612 min readPrices checked Oct 2026
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In this guide
Land The short version Quick facts
Settle in Settle in Getting around In the city Where to stay your first nights Where to eat first What to pack
See and do Day trips and more
Know before you go When to go and what it costs Language, visa and entry Safety and health Sources and last verified Related destinations Frequently asked questions
The short version

You just landed in Phnom Penh. The new Techo International (KTI) sits about 30 km south of the centre — an Airalo eSIM live for the ride apps, the 1,500-riel express bus or a Grab car in, crisp dollars in your pocket, and the palace, museum and river days that fill first worth booking ahead through GetYourGuide.

Quick facts

Airport
Techo International (KTI), about 30 km south of the centre Opened 9 September 2025 and replaced the old Phnom Penh International (PNH), which has closed — every flight now uses KTI. Any guide still sending you to PNH is out of date.
Getting in
Airport Express Bus 1,500 riel, Grab car about US$16, 45 to 60 minutes The express bus runs to central stops by Canadia Park. Grab and PassApp cars and tuk-tuks quote the fare in the app before you ride.
Currency
Cambodian riel (KHR) and US dollars side by side, about 4,000 riel to US$1 Prices are often quoted in dollars; small change comes back in riel. Carry crisp, undamaged dollar bills — torn or marked notes can be refused.
Languages
Khmer, with English widely used in hotels, tours and Riverside businesses Drivers and market stalls run on Khmer and prices — the phrase chips below cover the essentials, and a smile plus pointing does the rest.
Time zone
Indochina Time (ICT, UTC+7) all year Cambodia does not change its clocks — The offset never shifts, so flight and bus times stay simple all year.
Emergency
117 police, 119 ambulance, 118 fire Save all three before you land. Phnom Penh also has a tourist police line; hotels will help you reach it and an English-speaking clinic.
Plugs
Types A, C and G sockets, often in the same room, 230 volts The mix means many plugs fit something — carry a universal adapter anyway, because the socket you get is luck.
Tap water
Not safe to drink bottled or filtered water only — Hotels refill bottles from filtered dispensers. Ice in established restaurants and cafes is factory-made and generally fine; brush teeth with bottled water if you are cautious.
Tourist tax
None Cambodia charges no per-night tourist tax — The rate you are quoted is the rate you pay, with taxes inside it. A nightly visitor levy added at checkout is worth questioning.
Best months
November to February dry and the coolest of the year — October is the tail of the rainy season: expect short, heavy afternoon downpours. March to May is the hot season, often over 35°C.

Map

Stays, sights, and landmarks in Phnom Penh — live hotel prices plus the key places from this guide.

Settle in

Touch down at Techo and recalibrate: the airport is now about 30 km south of the city, not ten minutes from Riverside like the old PNH. The ride in takes the best part of an hour.

Set up data before you leave home — an Airalo eSIM loads in minutes, so Grab, PassApp and maps work from the arrivals hall. For a longer Cambodia trip, compare Saily and Yesim.

The arrival checklist, in order:

If a delayed or cancelled flight wrecked the arrival, AirHelp checks whether the airline owes you compensation — worth five minutes.

Getting around

Inside the Central Market, stalls under the great art deco dome

Times are airport to city centre.

Airport Express Bus

Runs 05:30 to 23:30, about every 15 minutes, to Canadia Park and central stops; pay in riel on board — dollars are not accepted and no change is given; luggage space on board

1,500 riel (about US$0.40)about 60 min

Grab or PassApp tuk-tuk

Grab and PassApp both quote the fare in the app before you ride; open-air and weather-exposed on a 30 km run, so it suits dry weather and light bags; meet at the app pick-up point and check the plate

about US$7.50about 50 min

Grab car

The standard car on Grab or PassApp from the airport pick-up point; the price is quoted before you ride and swings with demand and rain; air-conditioned and door to door

about US$16about 45 min

Taxi or pre-booked transfer

Licensed taxis wait outside arrivals; agree the fare before you ride, or pre-book a transfer and be met with a name board — ignore anyone offering rides inside the hall

about US$30about 45 min

A Cathay Pacific jet on the Hong Kong to Techo International run above the clouds

Phnom Penh runs on tuk-tuks and ride apps: the centre is flat and walkable in pieces, but distances, heat and traffic make the remorque — a carriage pulled by a motorbike — the default hop. The airport run is longer than it used to be. The rides in from KTI:

Choose the express bus with light bags and daylight to spare; choose a car late at night or in a downpour. In town, Grab and PassApp tuk-tuks cost US$1 to US$3 a hop and end every fare argument before it starts.

Prefer to be met? A Kiwitaxi transfer or a Welcome Pickups driver puts a name board in arrivals at a fixed price. Driving yourself is not recommended in Phnom Penh traffic; if you are renting for the provinces, price it on AutoEurope first.

In the city

Start at the Royal Palace, still the king's residence, where the Throne Hall and the Silver Pagoda — named for its floor of silver tiles — sit in manicured grounds on the riverfront (US$10, knees and shoulders covered). Next door, the National Museum holds the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture in a red sandstone building around a courtyard garden (US$10).

Climb Wat Phnom, the hilltop pagoda the city is named for (US$1), then walk the Sisowath Quay riverfront as it cools. Browse the Central Market, the great art deco dome of 1937, and the Russian Market for silk, silver and carvings.

Do this: Visit Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek in the morning, with the audio guide. The former S-21 prison (US$5) and the Killing Fields memorial about 15 km south (US$3) document the Khmer Rouge genocide of 1975 to 1979 plainly and without spectacle. Allow half a day, go quietly, and do not rush it. Skip the shooting ranges sometimes offered on the way back — they sit badly beside the memorials.

Browse GetYourGuide for guided city days, and compare Klook when stacking activities.

After you land in Phnom Penh: Bookable experiences

Where to stay your first nights

Raffles Hotel Le Royal.
Splurge

Raffles Hotel Le Royal.

Best for the grand-hotel splurge — the 1929 colonial landmark by Wat Phnom, gardens and two pools

Sleep at the city's grand address on Monivong Boulevard by Wat Phnom — the 1929 white colonial hotel, all gardens, two pools and the storied Elephant Bar. Book it for the fullest version of old Phnom Penh polish, a ten-minute ride from Riverside.

Check prices →
Okay Boutique Hotel.
Mid-range

Okay Boutique Hotel.

Best for a boutique mid-range base steps from the Royal Palace, with a rooftop pool

Stay at #174, Street 19z, steps from the Royal Palace and the National Museum — Khmer-styled rooms around a rooftop pool, in the quiet streets behind the palace quarter. Book it for a boutique base where the headline sights are a walk, not a ride.

Check prices →
Mad Monkey Phnom Penh.
Budget

Mad Monkey Phnom Penh.

Best for social budget beds in BKK1 — dorms and privates around a pool, events nightly

Bed down at No. 30-32, Street 242 in BKK1 — dorms and private rooms around a pool and bar, nightly events and a daily S-21 and Killing Fields tour from the desk. Book it for the social version of budget Phnom Penh.

Check prices →

Base on Riverside or in BKK1 on a first visit. Riverside (Sisowath Quay and the streets behind it) puts the palace, museum and riverfront on foot, with the liveliest evening strip. BKK1, the expat quarter south of the centre, is calmer and cafe-dense, a short tuk-tuk ride from everything.

Book ahead for November to February, when the cool season fills the city. Confirm the quoted total is the total — there is no per-night tourist tax to add.

Where to eat first

Cooked dishes and curries laid out at a Phnom Penh market stall

Eat Khmer on day one. Start with fish amok — the national dish, a gentle coconut curry steamed in banana leaf — then kuy teav, the pork-and-seafood noodle soup Phnom Penh eats for breakfast, and beef lok lak with its lime-and-pepper dip. Three first stops:

The stalls of the Central Market food court.

Graze the cooked-food ring under the dome at lunch — amok, lok lak and noodle soups at local prices, ordered by pointing and paid in riel and small dollars.

A Riverside terrace on Sisowath Quay.

Eat facing the Tonle Sap at sunset, when the quay fills with walkers and the tour boats light up. Menus run Khmer and international; the view is the point.

Street 240 and the BKK1 cafes.

Graze the palace-quarter lane of boutiques and small restaurants, then cross to BKK1 for the city's densest run of cafes and bakeries. Start early; kitchens close sooner than bars.

For food tours and cooking classes, browse the Phnom Penh listings on GetYourGuide and book a slot for your first free evening.

Day trips and more

Three days out cover the capital's hardest history, its river and its island countryside. Carry water and a hat — none of the three offers much shade.

The memorial stupa at Choeung Ek, the Killing Fields outside Phnom Penh

The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Four hours with a guide and hotel pickup: Choeung Ek's memorial stupa and mass graves first, then the S-21 prison museum back in the city, where the cells and prisoner photographs are preserved as evidence. Entry fees are extra (US$3 and US$5). Rated 4.9 from recent reviews, from about US$19. Check availability →

A cruise boat on the river in front of the Phnom Penh riverfront

Sunset cruise with free-flow drinks and a BBQ buffet

Ninety minutes on the Tonle Sap and Mekong with a tuk-tuk pickup: stilt houses, fishing boats and the Royal Palace sliding past as the skyline lights up, a BBQ buffet and cold drinks on board. Rated 4.4 from recent reviews, from about US$9. Check availability →

Colourful silk thread woven on a traditional wooden loom

Silk Island by bike, e-bike or tuk-tuk

Four to eight hours on Koh Dach: cycle orchard lanes and market gardens, watch silk woven on wooden looms under stilt houses, and stop at a family tofu-skin workshop. Small group with pickup, rated 4.8 from recent reviews, from about US$35. Check availability →

Leave a spare day for Oudong, the former royal capital of stupas on a hill about 40 km north, an easy private-car day from the city.

When to go and what it costs

The Phnom Penh skyline along a broad avenue, the Vattanac tower rising behind

November to February is the sweet spot: dry, breezy and the coolest months, with evenings you can walk in. October ends the rains — expect a hard afternoon downpour most days. March to May builds to real heat, and the June to September monsoon rains fall in bursts rather than all day.

Budget in dollars; the riel follows at about 4,000 to US$1 (October 2026). A tuk-tuk hop is US$1 to US$3 by app; a market lunch US$2 to US$4; a palace or museum ticket US$10; a sunset cruise from about US$9.

A backpacker in a dorm, on market lunches and app tuk-tuks: US$30 to US$45 a day. Mid-range — a boutique room, terrace dinners, a guided day: US$80 to US$130 a day. A splurge day with the grand hotel and private tours passes US$250.

What to pack

Tap items to check them off — your list is saved on this device.

Pack for heat, downpours and temple dress codes — shoulders and knees covered at the palace and pagodas. This is the full list:

Add the Phnom Penh extras: a universal adapter for the A, C and G socket mix, a light scarf or sarong that turns shorts into palace-legal dress, and small crisp dollar bills plus a riel float for markets and the airport bus.

Language, visa and entry

! Check visa requirements before you fly

Wat Phnom and its green hill from above, the city spread around it

Khmer runs the city, warmly and at speed. Greet with a small sampeah — palms together, a slight bow — and expect drivers and stallholders to negotiate prices with a smile and a calculator passed back and forth. English works in hotels, tour offices and Riverside businesses, and fades in the markets.

Four phrases do most of the work:

Suos deyhelloArkounthank youSom tohexcuse meThlai ponman?how much is it?

Sort two separate things before you fly. First, the Cambodia e-Arrival form: free, mandatory for air arrivals, filed online at arrival.gov.kh or in the official app within seven days before landing — it replaces the paper immigration, customs and health cards, and is not a visa. Second, the visa itself: most visitors, US citizens included, need one. The tourist visa costs US$30 for 30 days, bought on arrival in cash with a passport photo, or applied for ahead as an eVisa at evisa.gov.kh allow three business days. It extends once for 30 more days. Your passport needs six months of validity.

Safety and health

Use app rides, and agree every other fare before you move

Grab and PassApp quote the price up front and log the driver — the safest way across the city. With a street tuk-tuk, settle the fare, in dollars or riel, before you climb in, and keep small notes so change is never the argument.

Guard your bag and phone against snatch-and-ride theft

The classic Phnom Penh crime is a motorbike passenger grabbing a bag or phone from a tuk-tuk or a pavement table. Sit inside the carriage, wear the strap across your body on the building side of the pavement, and keep the phone off the table edge.

Drink bottled or filtered water, and pace the heat

Tap water is not safe to drink. The midday sun is fierce even in the cool season: do the exposed sights early, rest over lunch, and treat a headache in the heat as a stop signal. For anything serious, dial 119 for an ambulance.

Carry crisp dollars and expect the riel dance

Shops price in dollars, price in riel and give change in a mix of both — check the notes you are handed, refuse torn or marked bills (you will struggle to pass them on), and change money at banks and licensed exchangers, never on the street.

Phnom Penh questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

The new airport, the two forms and the two currencies, in short.

Airport and transfers against September 2025 KTI launch reporting; entry against the official e-Arrival portal and 2026 visa reporting; emergency numbers against GOV.UK Cambodia advice and the Tourism Ministry hotline notice.

Techo International (KTI) replaced PNH in September 2025 and sits about 30 km south of the centre. The Airport Express Bus costs 1,500 riel (about US$0.40) to central stops, 05:30 to 23:30; a Grab car runs about US$16 and a tuk-tuk about US$7.50 — 45 to 60 minutes depending on traffic.

Two separate steps. The Cambodia e-Arrival form is free and mandatory for air arrivals — file it at arrival.gov.kh within seven days before landing and keep the QR code. The visa is separate: a 30-day tourist visa costs US$30, bought on arrival in cash with a passport photo, or applied for ahead as an eVisa at evisa.gov.kh.

Riverside for a first night — the palace, museum and riverfront on foot, and the liveliest evening strip. BKK1 for a calmer, cafe-dense expat quarter a short tuk-tuk ride from the sights. Both are 45 to 60 minutes from KTI by car.

Both. US dollars are priced and accepted everywhere, at about 4,000 riel to US$1, and small change comes back in riel. Carry crisp, undamaged dollar bills — torn or marked notes can be refused — and keep a small riel float for markets and the airport bus.

November to February: dry, breezy and the coolest of the year. October is the tail of the rainy season, with short, heavy afternoon downpours. March to May is hot, often over 35°C, and the June to September monsoon falls in bursts.

With normal city care, yes. The real risks are bag and phone snatching by passing motorbikes and petty scams around the tourist strip. Use Grab or PassApp rides, keep bags strapped across your body, and keep phones off pavement table edges.

Fares move with traffic and fuel — the ride app quote and the airport desk always win.

Phnom Penh, in your pocket

Landing soon? Get the printable PDF — ticket links, the airport transport cheat sheet, our 3 restaurant picks with maps, and the packing checklist. Everything above, formatted for your phone.

Sources and last verified

Airport against launch coverage: Techo International (KTI) opened 9 September 2025, about 30 km south, replacing the closed Phnom Penh International (PNH); the Airport Express Bus fare of 1,500 riel, hours 05:30 to 23:30 and central stops, and Grab launch estimates (car about US$16, tuk-tuk about US$7.50). Entry against the official e-Arrival portal (arrival.gov.kh — free, mandatory for air arrivals, within seven days) and 2026 visa reporting: tourist visa US$30 on arrival or eVisa, 30 days. Emergency numbers against GOV.UK Cambodia travel advice and the Tourism Ministry hotline notice (police 117, ambulance 119, fire 118). Site fees against operator listings opened October 2026: Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda US$10, National Museum US$10, Tuol Sleng US$5, Choeung Ek US$3, Wat Phnom US$1. Tourist tax: none — no per-night visitor levy in Cambodia. GetYourGuide hub and product pages opened and read October 2026 (Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng, sunset cruise, Silk Island bike tour). Expedia returned HTTP 429 rate limits during this build, so hotel URLs are empty pending the browser confirmation pass. Photo credits as in the guide data. Last verified October 2026.

Phnom Penh guide Check hotel prices

Affiliate disclosure: hotel names, transfers, experiences, and products linked in this guide may earn After You Land a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and times were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — confirm before you book.