The Best of Cambodia & Laos

Planning Your Trip
to Cambodia
With the vast increase in tourism over the last few years, Cambodia is
becoming a country that is easy to get around with good facilities. Paperwork has been
simplified (you can even get your tourist visa online), and the old image of a difficult
country where roughing it was obligatory is now outdated. Buses now go everywhere,
when less than a decade ago you traveled by pickup with reinforced suspension over
potholed dusty roads. New hotels pop up everywhere, cellphone coverage gets ever better,
and minimarts and ATMs are becoming the norm in towns. McDonald’s has yet to
arrive, but that may be just a question of time. All this doesn’t mean that Cambodia is
always a breeze—some roads are still bad, and Phnom Penh is chaotic and can be
intimidating. This chapter provides plenty of resources and tips for plotting your Cambodia
adventure.
Located 10 to 13 degrees north of the
Equator, like most of Southeast Asia,
Cambodia varies from warm to very hot
throughout the whole year. There are four
annual seasons: cool and dry between
November and February; hot and dry
between March and May; hot and wet
between June and August; and cool and
wet between September and early November.
The best time to visit is the cool season,
when the weather usually benefits
from a pleasant dry heat and the countryside
is still green from the rains. As February
turns into March, the heat begins to
build until April and May, when it can be
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quite oppressive and uncomfortable. In
May and June, the rains come and bring a
measure of relief. It rarely rains all day, and
mostly it will rain for an hour or two in
the afternoon or evening. By early September,
the heat begins to dissipate and the
evenings are cooler. Through October, the
frequency of the showers slows and the
humidity starts to lower. Although the wet
season is low season for tourism throughout
most of the region, visiting at that
time does have its advantages. It is when
the Angkor complex is at its most beautiful,
the vegetation is lush, and the crowds
are relatively thin.
Average Temperatures & Rainfall (in.) in Phnom Penh
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Temp. (°F) 79 81 83 85 84 83 83 83 82 81 80 78
Temp. (°C) 26 27 23 29 29 28 28 28 28 27 27 26
Rainfall (in.) 0.3 0.4 1.4 3.1 5.7 5.8 6 6.1 8.9 9.9 5.5 1.7
Note that these numbers are daily averages, so expect temperatures to climb significantly
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