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Sola

Cambodia for women travelling alone

181,035 km², Mekong River to Cardamom Mountains

Cambodia
Krzysztof Golik / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Cities read
4
Budget
$30 a day
Currency
USD
Best months
November to February
Getting around
Tuk-tuks everywhere, decent bus network between cities, domestic flights for longer routes
Feel
Angkor temple complex, floating villages, riverside towns, tuk-tuk everywhere

01 / 03

The read

Cambodia puts the Khmer Rouge era in front of you as an act of national honesty, and it reshapes how you travel the whole country.

What holds up

  • Buses run by companies like Giant Ibis and Mekong Express connect Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Kampot on air-conditioned coaches with bookable seats; tuk-tuks (motorised open-air carts) and the PassApp ride-hailing app handle city movement without the need to negotiate blindly.
  • English works well enough in tourist areas across all four Sola cities; Siem Reap and Phnom Penh hostels are consistently full of solo women year-round, making the backpacker circuit a ready-made social structure.
  • A local Smart or Metfone SIM gives you 4G data in cities and towns on the main tourist route; mobile speeds have roughly doubled between 2023 and 2025, so maps and transport apps are reliably usable in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and Kampot.

What to weigh

  • Most nationalities need a visa: apply via the official e-visa portal (evisa.gov.kh) at least three to five days before arrival, and separately complete the Cambodia e-Arrival card (arrival.gov.kh) within seven days of your flight, both are required for air arrivals as of January 2025. Automatic tourist visa extensions ended in November 2025, so if you plan to stay beyond 30 days, visit the Immigration Department in Phnom Penh to extend once.
  • November to March is the dry season and the most comfortable window to travel; the May to October wet season brings heavy rain and occasional flooding that can disrupt road trips, particularly on the route to Kampot and the ferry crossing to Koh Rong.

Cambodia sits between Thailand and Vietnam on mainland Southeast Asia. The landscape runs from the Angkor temple complex in the north (built 900 years ago, still standing in jungle) to the Mekong riverfront in Phnom Penh to empty-beach islands in the south. The food is its own thing: fish amok steamed in banana leaf, morning noodle soups, grilled meats on every corner. The history is recent and heavy. Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge killed nearly two million people. That is visible everywhere and understanding it is part of being here. For solo travellers, the main circuit (Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Kampot, Koh Rong) is well-trodden and full of other women doing the same trip. Everything runs on US dollars, including the ATMs.

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Cities

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What to eat

  1. 01

    Amok

    Steamed fish curry mousse with coconut milk, lemongrass, and kroeung paste

    Restaurants in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, the national dish

  2. 02

    Lok Lak

    Stir-fried beef cubes with lime-pepper dipping sauce and a fried egg

    Local restaurants, simple but deeply satisfying

  3. 03

    Num Banh Chok

    Rice noodles with green fish curry sauce, fresh vegetables, and herbs

    Morning markets, this is what locals eat for breakfast