The Best Six Phnom Penh Activities For Budget Travellers

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All information in this post is accurate as of the publishing date, however it is always best to check timetables, pricing, or opening hours before visiting a destination or venue.

The capital of Cambodia! If you find yourself in Phnom Penh, there’s a chance that, like us, you’re using it as a gateway to somewhere else in South East Asia. It is still worth a day or two of your time though. There are a number of things to do in the city, and the good news is it’s very budget friendly. Here are some wonderful Phnom Penh activities to do in the city to keep you entertained, without breaking the bank!

Note: Cambodia uses the US dollar as one of its official currencies. All of the prices used in this blog post are in USD.

Katherine and Krissie wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts standing on a stone pathway in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Around the pathway are low green hedges and behind them is a large pink/orange Cambodian style building with spires and lots of pointed roof bits "The Best Six Phnom Penh Activities For Budget Travellers"

The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda

Royal Palace cost: $10

The Royal Palace is where the king of Cambodia lives and it is a beautiful building!

Silver Pagoda cost: $3 plus an extra $2 to take photos inside

The Silver Pagoda is inside the Royal Palace and also has a small entry fee. If you do choose to go inside the Palace and the Pagoda, remember to wear pants that cover the knees and shirts that cover the arms and shoulders. While these buildings do have entry fees, they’re wonderful to look at from outside too if you’re on a tight budget! You can take some great pictures from the grass outside them for no cost at all!

Krissie walking towards the camera in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The palace is a large yellow, green, orange and black building with a large golden spire in the middle and pointed roof bits. There are also potted plants and a road out the front "The Best Six Phnom Penh Activities For Budget Travellers"
Out the front of the Royal Palace of Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh Night Market

Cost: Free to visit

This market is only open from 5-11pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights so unfortunately we weren’t able to visit. However it would be a great way to experience some local culture and have a look around at the various stalls selling food, local goods, flowers, jewellery and accessories! Also, don’t forget to take cash as most stalls don’t accept card, as is the same with most places in Phnom Penh.

National Museum

Cost: $10 (the grounds are free)

The National Museum of Cambodia is just around the corner from the Royal Palace and is well worth a visit if you can swing the entry fee. We bought tickets on arrival but check out their website here for more information. It holds a variety of artefacts from different areas of the country throughout its history. If you want to avoid paying for activities, no worries! You can walk into the grounds for free and marvel at the beautiful building from the outside.

Katherine looking up at the National Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The museum is pink/orange with a white spire and pointed roof bits. Around the museum are trees and a plant made to look like the body of an elephant, with a little elephant head statue on the front of the bush "The Best Six Phnom Penh Activities For Budget Travellers"
The grounds of the National Museum

Central Market

Cost: Free to visit

If you want to really immerse yourself in the local Cambodian culture, the Central Market is the place to go. It is absolutely bustling with people selling everything from jewellery, flowers and produce and honestly is a bit overwhelming. But it’s worth it even for just a short visit!

Inside the central market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The photo is taken under a large yellow dome with a clock tower and some shop stalls with people standing at them underneath "The Best Six Phnom Penh Activities For Budget Travellers"
Inside the Phnom Penh central market

Sisowath Quay

Cost: Free

This is a beautiful walk along the river that goes past the Royal Palace. It also goes past many shops and cafes and is a really nice place to stroll along if you’ve got a spare hour or two.

Statue of Sihanouk Norodom and the Independence Monument

Cost: Both free

The statue is to commemorate a former king and the monument was built in 1958 to celebrate Cambodias independence from France in 1953. These are located opposite each other and are two mighty looking buildings that are well worth a visit while in Phnom Penh.

A road with motorbikes and cars on it with a large brown monument behind them in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The monument is tiered upwards and looks a bit like an upside down acorn on poles. Next to the monument is the Cambodian flag and some other buildings are further behind the monument  "The Best Six Phnom Penh Activities For Budget Travellers"
The hectic roads around the Independence Monument

Watch our YouTube video on Phnom Penh here to see everything we got up to during our visit to the city:

So there you go! Not too much to do but also enough to keep you interested for a day or two. It’s a very interesting city so if you go, let us know what you thought!

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Our favourite travel planning resources

Flights: Let’s start at the very beginning. When planning a trip our favourite websites to compare flights on are Google Flights and Skyscanner. We then personally prefer to go through the airlines official website to book flights.
Travel Insurance: Once you’ve booked flights, the very next step should be travel insurance. We highly recommend booking travel insurance for every international trip no matter the length, because it’s better to be safe than sorry. For our Australian readers we used Travel Insurance Saver which allowed us to book with only one way flights and were great.
Travel Items: It’s no secret that one of the best travel items is a portable charger. This INIU one has great reviews, is relatively cheap and has 3 spots for chargers so will be perfect to keep your phones alive during those long travel days! Another great item we used was a portable washing line which is perfect for when you don’t have access to a washing machine. And when you do, these laundry sheets are so easy to pack and work amazingly well.
Accommodation: For everywhere we stayed, we booked on either Airbnb or Booking.com. Both websites allow you to filter to only show you places in your budget, and pick from inclusions such as kitchen and laundry so it’s really easy to find exactly what you need!
Travel SIM: We used Airalo e-SIMs for data while overseas and loved them. You download the app, pick the plan you want and install it on your phone in less than 10 minutes. If you’re interested, use our referral code KRISTE3325 to get $3USD off your first purchase.
Tours & Activities: We booked all our day trips and some activities through GetYourGuide. There are so many things to see and do in each city and each one has a rating out of 5 and reviews to help you make your decision.

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