Koh Rong Sanloem 🇰🇭 Travel Tips and Food Guide | M’Pai Bay, Hike to Clear Water Bay, Saracen Bay

Koh Rong Sanloem 🇰🇭 Travel Tips and Food Guide | M’Pai Bay, Hike to Clear Water Bay, Saracen Bay

We’re John and Lisa and we’re spending 
70 days eating our way across Asia. After our 3-day food tour of Phnom Penh, 
we took a bus to Sihanoukville port, before setting sail for the Cambodian islands, 
starting off at the magical Koh Rong Sanloem. We’d be spending four nights on the island, including New Year’s Eve, before moving 
on to the neighboring island, Koh Rong. This was one of the parts of our trip that we’ve been looking forward to the most. 
And honestly, it didn’t disappoint. But we’ll be sharing our honest views 
on the islands, both good and bad, as well as eating everything in sight, As usual. If you enjoy our content and you want to see more, we’d really appreciate it if you could like 
this video and subscribe to the channel. Last time you saw us, we’d just got off the 
giant Ibis bus at Sihanoukville Ferry Terminal. We were heading to M’Pai Bay Pier in 
Koh Rong Sanloem. And we knew that only two of the many boat companies here 
operate that route, GTVC and BUVA Sea. We headed straight for the GTVC 
office and booked tickets for the next crossing, which was at 2:00 p.m. The ticket office is air conditioned 
and had a friendly dog in there, but after a while, we moved on 
to their pier-side waiting room. There’s a big 7-Eleven at the ferry port, which 
is handy, but be aware that it’s cash only. It’s a lot better stocked than any 
shop you’ll find on the islands, though, so if you want to buy anything 
to take with you, now’s the time. On that subject, it’s worth 
pointing out that there are no ATMs on either of the Koh Rong Islands. So, carry plenty of USD or Riel with you and don’t 
expect everywhere to take card payments either. Right, we’re finally on the boat. It 
should be leaving in a couple of minutes. There’s not a lot of information about 
pier numbers. They give you a peer number, but there’s no numbers on the 
piers. So, you have to listen. So, you have to be vigilant for when 
the boats come and go and ask them where they’re going. Then you will eventually 
get pointed in the right direction. It seems very full at the moment but I 
think they have an overspill boat as well, because there seems to be one that goes to Koh 
Rong, one that goes to Sanloem and a spare one. And we’re going to Sanloem! Yes we are! Approximately 40 minutes later we arrived at 
M’Pai Bay. Koh Rong Sanloem is the smaller, and for now at least, the less 
developed of the two islands. An M’Pai Bay is the only proper village here, with 
a handful of independent cafes and restaurants, which sounded far more appealing to us than swanky 
resorts. It’s also a lot easier on the wallet. The one thing Empire Bay possibly 
lacks is a really good beach, but that’s not a problem if you’re staying 
here, as you’ll see if you carry on watching. So, we walked from Empire Bay to M’Pai 
Plankton Beach. Not far at all. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes. A leisurely stroll. Look at 
it. It’s amazing. And hardly anyone here as well. Yeah. It’s great that there’s such 
good beach so close to the town. Nice long beach there. Yeah, it’s really long. Plankton Beach is an excellent swimming 
spot and a perfect place to relax, with plenty of shade and hardly 
any people even in peak season. The water was also lovely and 
warm and actually very clean, but there was quite a bit of plastic around 
at the back of the beach. More on that later. That time again, dinner. We are in a restaurant 
called Macondo. It’s a guest house as well, but the menu is very appealing 
because they’ve got dumplings. We got this 12 dumpling starter. And then we’ve got rice bowls coming – braised pork 
and another which is tofu and mushroom. You thought that it had been literally days since 
we’d had any dumplings and Chinese food. So… Well, why not? Well… now I’m seeing them, 
I’m very glad about it, too. Do you want to try one? Let’s try one. Which ones are these? Sichuan, I think. Let’s save them. I’ll Go 
with one of the pleated ones. Yeah, this is pork, I think. Pork and cabbage. I’m going to try one of these then. I’ll try not to drip soy sauce all over myself. I went for beef and pepper. 
Very nice. Yeah, spicy. Good flavor and a little 
bit of spice. Well seasoned. Yeah, good. I like the wrapper, too. 
It’s got a little chew to it. Well, we ate all those dumplings in about 
30 seconds. So, that’s how good they were. I really liked those dumplings. They’re 
all different as well. If you you come to Koh Rong Sanloem, M’Pai Bay, 
you definitely have to come here. Yeah. Yeah. Really delicious. This is the vegan rice bowl. It’s a tofu and 
shiitake mushroom. It’s very nice, actually. Yeah. It looks like there’s a bit of a 
sauce in there as well. Seasoning sauce. Yeah. Tasty. I mean, with the way they’ve cut up the 
tofu, it almost looks like meat anyway. I wouldn’t even really know that it 
was necessarily a vegetarian dish. Definitely not. It could be chicken or pork. Yeah. That’s the braised pork. That is really nice. Yeah, it’s got a lot of flavor in there. I’m getting the Sichuan pepper in it again. Yeah, it’s got some a little bit heat to it, but 
it’s not overpowering. There’s a lot of spices in there. So, yeah. Yeah, really happy with it.
Tasty! The food was all really good. That’s the 
information about the dumpling classes. We really enjoyed it. We’d 
definitely recommend it. Yeah, we really enjoyed both the rice bowls. But the dumplings were the best. But we 
do love dumplings, don’t we? So… Yeah, exactly. Who doesn’t love dumplings? The only sad thing is when you order 
dumplings and they turn out to being just bought from the cash and carry. 
It’s great when you go somewhere and they’re actually making them 
properly, like this place. We were wondering if is 12 too many? 
The answer is no. 12 is not enough. Get 24! That’s what I’m saying. Maybe, maybe not. Catch you later. For breakfast or lunch, you won’t go 
far wrong with Bong’s, at the beach, near the pier. It’s also a great 
place to grab a beer by the sea, or if you’re a walking stereotype like me, a 
cup of Yorkshire tea 6,000 miles from home. Morning. We’re just setting off on a walk to Clear 
Water Bay. It’s another beach that we’ve seen on Google. Looks pretty nice. Pretty big.
Yeah. We were at Plankton Beach yesterday. It’s just around the headland from there, and the 
walk should take from an hour to hour and a half. It looks on Google Maps like there isn’t a track 
there, but we’ve seen a blog article from 2019. And they reliably tell us that there is. And they 
even put a map on there, which is pretty useful. They do like boat excursions to this beach, so you can go snorkeling there. But 
we’ve decided to go on foot. So, yeah, let’s see how we get on. There’s the start – This is 
uh the bridge out of town. About 10 minutes after leaving M’Pai Bay, we got to Plankton Beach, where 
we’d spent the previous afternoon. It was still early in the day 
and the tide was all the way in, which was about to throw a 
bit of a spanner in the works. Okay, so we made it to the other 
side of this pier, but only just. There’s like a wooden bridge down 
there that’s disintegrated at one end. So, we decided to jump over this sandbank instead. But the problem we have now 
is that the tide is right in. So, we tried to walk a little bit 
of the way, but like it it’s in, all the way around that corner. So…
And there are mangrove trees. We’ve come back to the pier, and we’re 
going to try and find a path through here. There’s some sort of dilapidated resort 
here and we think there’s a way through. So, we haven’t given up yet. We had to abort the first attempt because the 
tide was too high and we couldn’t find the path. So we just sat on the beach for about an 
hour, then went back to the pier area, walked back along the coast 
until we found a small path. But then we had to go back into 
the water and find a second one. You’re going to pass lots of places like 
this, with lots of this rubbish around. And this is really close to 
the shore. It’s in between the shore and sometimes there’s 
a little bit of like swamp water. I don’t think that’s a technical 
term, but it’s my term. So there is kind of a trodden down path, more so than when we’re trying to find 
the first one, which was very overgrown. But this one has given me more hope 
because it’s actually been trodden down. So yeah, let’s see if we can find it. But advice so far – stick close to the 
shoreline and don’t go in high tide. If you see the blue pipe, then 
you know it’s the right way. Plus, this is the only bit of the forest that 
looks like there’s any kind of path. It’s a bit of adventure for us, but looks like 
it should be very rewarding when we get there. Okay, I don’t think we’ve come the right way, but it looks like we are going in the 
right direction, according to maps. This is kind some kind of road. Bring 
plenty of sunscreen, a hat, and water. We’ll write it up in the description, 
but there was a blog I read that said, “Follow the blue pipe. Don’t go up 
or down till you get to the road.” Unfortunately, we did go up at some point, and 
we found this road. It might be a shortcut, but it’s going to be hard to 
get down, I’ll tell you that. But anyway, should be worth 
it. I hope I don’t die!! So, we went over the top of the hill and… yay, we found the half-built complex. 
So, John was right. We didn’t die. Not yet! We didn’t run out of water. But 
if we take the same way back, it’s going to be very steep going down, 
but we’ll tackle that when it comes. So, this is Driftwood Pier, which is basically 
right next to Clear Water Bay. We’ve been past it on a boat a couple of times, and 
it’s just the blot on the landscape. Speaking of which, on the horizon, 
I can see Sihanoukville there. Yeah, there’s Sihanoukville in the distance. 
I’ll try and zoom in, but probably not. Yeah, you can sort of see a land 
mass there. That’s Sihanoukville. Right. I’d better put this 
away before I go arse over tit. Bye-bye. So what actually happened was, this 
building site is live and we had to walk through a live building site with very 
little language, because we had no data. I tried to speak Cantonese to the Chinese 
construction manager there. I was saying waterfront in Cantonese, which he kind 
of understood, and pointed us through. So nobody really batted an eye to 
two foreigners in swimming trunks, walking around in 35° sun, 
who are completely lost. Past their diggers, shifting all that debris. We just walked through a giant clay 
cloud that they were laying down. Uh, so yeah, I definitely 
wouldn’t recommend this route, but we will be reaching the sea in 
approximately three minutes or less. Look, we’re here. There’s a boat there. Yeah.

Mhm. We’re here. What we’re going to do 
now is go directly to that boat and find out when it goes back and where 
it goes to and how much. Wish us luck. Look, there’s no one here. We made it 
and it’s all ours. Where is everyone? This is our reward. It may not have 
gone as smoothly as we hoped, but look, we are literally the only people on the beach. The boat by the pier is uh out of commission. 
We went and found a lady there and I asked her, but she just uh shook her head. 
So, looks like we’re going to be finding our own way back again. 
It’s all part of the adventure. Clearwater Bay, Koh Rong Sanloem. 
Look at it. Just look at it. There’s no one on this beach apart 
from myself and Lisa. And just look at the water! Clear water. Wow – I 
can really see why it got it’s name. It’s unbelievable. Just look at that. As for the sand, we found some similar to this on Phu Quoc. It’s so white. It’s 
almost like looks like snow. And when you walk on it, it’s 
crispy. It’s like fresh snow. Just look at that. Look at the color of that sand. Honestly, in a few years, I hate to say it, 
but there’s going to be a five-star hotel here. And uh it’s not going to be empty like 
this – because this is a hidden gem. Once we shook off the nagging feeling that we 
might never make it off that dirt track through the jungle, we were rewarded with a magical 
few hours on a beautiful deserted beach. Was it worth it? Yes, of course. It was 
one of the highlights of our whole trip. This is where you want to come, 
my friends. This is what you want. So, we took a different route up. We went 
directly through the far side of the resort, then went through a little village for the 
construction workers and their families. This is the back of it that we’re 
coming out of here. There is actually a little shop where you can buy some 
water. So, we bought a large bottle, just to stop us from dying on 
the way back, which is good. It’s a different route out, but hopefully it’s a little easier. Everyone just 
pointed us in this direction. We’ll have to see if we have to do any giant 
downhills or anything out of the ordinary, because the way up was certainly a little steep. And yeah, the workers village was 
certainly less terrifying than the actual construction site. There were some 
aggressive dogs… well not aggressive, but barky dogs. And some 
very large flying beetles. Yeah. So don’t worry about the beetles, just 
the dogs. Don’t look at them. Don’t stop. And keep your hands by your side. Put your hands in your pockets. 
Don’t keep your arms out. Yeah, keep your arms in. That’s our uh dog advice. And now I’m going to uh come out of this section pretty quickly 
because I think there are some bugs. Bye. Okay, so we followed the path out of 
the workers village and it led to this, which is just the other side of the headland, 
and you can see the water on this side now. So it’s quite a woody path. But I think much preferable 
to the way that we came, which was like a big dirty construction road. I’m going to pass this to him… A big dirty construction road… 
and it was massively hot. And very dusty, with that lingering sense that 
we might not actually make it to the other side. Oh, we almost didn’t except we had 
to ask the workers to let us through. Yeah, if that had been a building 
site in the US or the UK, there’s no way they would have let us past. We’d have been going right back to the beginning, 
and that would have been a very, very sad video. Yeah. But hey, we made it out 
the other side and we kind of almost found the way back using the 
path we should’ve used all along. Maybe. Yeah, maybe. The biggest obstacle we encountered on 
the way back was this broken-down bridge. Luckily though, we were able to scramble 
across the gorge without too much fuss. Then all that was left for us was to wade 
through the water back onto Plankton Beach. Bear in mind that you won’t be 
able to do this at high tide, so check the tide times 
before taking on this hike. We made it back to M’Pai 
Bay just in time for sunset. So, we walked up the dusty hill 
to Viewpoint Bar on the edge of town for some much needed liquid refreshment. Lisa found this place on Google Maps and 
thought the sunset view would be worth the walk. She definitely wasn’t wrong. There’s also a large roof terrace on the 
level above, if the place ever gets crowded. But we had no issues finding a good vantage 
point, and we came here every night. On most paradise islands, you’d be 
paying Western bar prices to enjoy this kind of view. But this place 
was actually really good value. We’d heard good things about Spicy 23, a 
Thai-Khmer fusion restaurant in M’Pai Bay. So, we went to check it out. The place gets really busy, and it’s a good job that we’d already 
had a starter before we arrived… For whatever reason, it’s like 
mega slow here tonight. We’ve been here for about an hour waiting for food. But we’ve finally got this smoked eggplant and 
chicken dish, and we’ve also got the fish amok. Yeah, it’s a good job that we 
decided to have a starter tonight. So, we went and got 12 of the 
dumplings that we had last night. It’s like we knew! Boy, am I glad I made that decision. I’m going to start with a bit of this fish amok. We actually asked for the eggplant to be spicy, but I think they made it the other 
way around, but okay, it’s fine. Sure. It’s fine. Still not spicy, but it is very tasty. It’s because they made the fish spicy instead. 
So, the fish amok’s quite spicy, but nice. I’m all right with it. Yeah. Fine. Right. Better eat this now 
before we get too hungry. Bye. We really enjoyed our meal at Spicy 23, 
even if none of it was that spicy. But if you’re hungry and it’s busy when you arrive, 
consider getting a starter elsewhere first. Morning. We’ve come for a spot of breakfast. This is Sea Pony Cafe. Thank you. Enjoy. We were told they do really good breakfast 
here, and they do their own bagels. So, John’s got the bacon and avocado. 
And I’ve got loaded bacon and egg. Look at that. A bit of yolk 
porn. Is that a thing still? It looks pretty big. Yeah, it’s like a really cool space. They 
have an big coffee menu, too. So there are two types of beans available, and 
a very extensive breakfast menu. They do lunch as well – 
sandwiches, salads, wraps etc. Treat yourself. Why not? The staff were really nice and the 
bagels and coffee were excellent. Put this place on your list. So that’s the main pier there. We’re 
taking a boat today to Saracen Bay. It’s like $5 per person each 
way. And it leaves at 10:30 in the morning and comes back at 5:30 in 
the evening. So we’ll be there all day. Despite its postcard perfect appearance, we 
didn’t quite know what to expect from Saracen Bay. Most of the island’s resorts are there, and 
we’d seen some people say the development is taking its toll, but let’s just say we got 
a very pleasant surprise when we arrived. Right, so we’ve just arrived. This 
is Paradise Pier, Saracen Bay. Looks pretty sweet. The boat 
dropped us here and said, “Be back at 5:00 p.m. So it’s the whole day here.” It’s a supply boat, so they bring us 
over and then they bring supplies back. The boat ride was pretty smooth. 
It wasn’t that long either. 20 minutes or something? 
Maybe. Maybe a bit longer. We were expecting to find a busy beach with 
lots of development and a very touristic feel. And yes, there are plenty of resorts 
here, but you’d mostly never know it, especially at the Paradise Pier end of the beach. The sand is is very nice. White. Crisp. Soft. The water was perfect for swimming, and the trees 
that line the beach gave us some much needed shade. It’s fair to say that this was shaping 
up to be one of our best New Year’s Eves ever. After a couple of hours, we stopped 
for some lunch. To be honest, none of the restaurants behind the 
beach looked particularly appealing, but we eventually settled 
on one called the Big Easy. It was simple, but good, and I’d make no 
apologies whatsoever for ordering a club sandwich. 10 out of 10 for the fries, too. So, it’s uh about 400 p.m. 
Time for us to leave soon. As you can see, it’s not really busy. It’s not been busy today, in comparison 
to other touristy beaches. So, that’s really nice. But there is a lot of this sort of dilapidation. Like this old pier. So yeah, Saracen Bay looks 
idyllic at first glance. Crystal clear water, swaying palms, the works. But that’s only part of the story. In early 2023, the Cambodian government 
declared that most the businesses on the island, yep, including the ones that have 
been here for years, were illegal. Apparently, the whole island was leased 
to two mega developers years ago, and now the authorities are 
actually following through. Eviction notices were slapped on resorts. 
Buildings were marked for demolition, and most owners were offered 
no compensation at all. Saracen Bay got hit the hardest. What’s left is a strange mix of paradise 
and abandonment. Dumped rubbish, half-dismantled bungalows, and 
green fencing hiding god knows what. Meanwhile, wide roads are being 
bulldozed through the jungle, just like the one we found on the way to 
Clearwater Bay, showing us what is to come. Quieter spots like M’Pai Bay 
have been spared for now. But how long they’ll stay untouched is anyone’s guess. So, yeah, this may be paradise, 
but it’s changing fast, and not everyone’s invited to what comes next. Plastic pollution is a global problem, but it’s 
heartbreaking to see how widespread it is here. On Plankton Beach, we met a couple spending their 
afternoon picking up rubbish, doing a good thing. But the sad reality, is there’s nowhere for 
it to go. Bags of collected plastic just sit behind the beaches, slowly breaking down into 
microlastics or getting washed back into the sea. And over time, the rubbish 
just builds up all over again. But even with problems like these, we certainly 
wouldn’t be put off from coming here again. The beach is still stunning. Yeah, that’s the thing, right? Look, this is what you come for. Yeah, this is this kind of 
beach is the whole reason why I wanted to come to the Cambodia Islands. It’s amazing…. If you don’t look behind you, if you don’t happen to see any 
plastic, you can say this is beautiful. Everything here is amazing. Find a great section 
of the beach that’s clean. You can go in the sea, it’s perfect, shallow all the way out. 
It’s warm. The sand’s lovely and fine. Really, you can’t get much better for a beach. Obviously, there are the problems that you discussed. But would it 
put me off coming here? No. All that was left for us was to see 
in the new year back in M’Pai Bay, where locals, expats, and travelers all 
had a great night celebrating together. Our trip to Koh Rong Sanloem had been 
unforgettable. But it was time to move on. The next day, we’d be catching a boat 
to its bigger neighbor, Koh Rong… the final stop-off on our Cambodian adventure. Massive thanks for watching and 
don’t forget to hit subscribe. [Laughter] Bigger bigger one for you. They must’ve thought, “He’s 
fat. He can have big one.” Yeah, like give give him the big one. Anyway, it looks quite good. It’s funny whenever I made jokes fat 
jokes about myself here. No one’s said, “no you’re not. Don’t worry.” [Laughs] The honest, Cambodian way.

We a fantastic few days on the Cambodian island paradise of Koh Rong Sanloem — in search of perfect beaches, tasty food, and maybe a bit of peace and quiet.

We arrived from Sihanoukville ferry terminal, where we caught a GTVC boat to M’Pai Bay. After a quick look around the village, we headed to Plankton Beach for a swim and some late afternoon sun.

Dinner on night one? Excellent dumplings and rice bowls at Macondo — a proper surprise.

On day two, we grabbed breakfast at Bong’s in M’Pai Bay, then attempted the hike to Clear Water Bay. What followed included a high tide delay, a blog-recommended route we ignored, a “shortcut” over a steep hill in 35°C heat, and — naturally — a live construction site. (Shoutout to Lisa for negotiating with the Cantonese-speaking site manager.)

Clear Water Bay itself was stunning — pure white sand and water so clear it looked Photoshopped.

Here’s the blog we saw with information on the route: https://lost-abroad.com/get-to-clear-water-bay/

But bear in mind that the development is fast moving. Check the maps in our video (because they are, at least, recent. But be prepared to adapt to complete this hike while the construction is ongoing.

We took the actual trail back, caught sunset at View Point Bar, and had dinner at Spicy 23 — a solid Khmer-Thai fusion spot.

On New Year’s Eve, we started with bagels and coffee at Seapony Café, then headed to Saracen Bay via boat. While the beach is gorgeous, we also show what’s hidden behind the green site fencing — abandoned resorts and piles of rubbish. We discuss evictions, development, and plastic pollution on the island — and why it still deserves a visit.

We wrapped up the trip seeing in the new year with locals, travellers, and expats at M’Pai Bay.

Next stop: Koh Rong — the final stop in our Cambodian adventure.

🏝️ Places of Interest & Beaches

• M’Pai Bay
https://maps.app.goo.gl/QYyhiLVqXqwxVZ1N8
• Plankton Beach
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3uQRVMQohztCbPM67
• Clear Water Bay
https://maps.app.goo.gl/nDhTeJhedT1DYBoG9
• Saracen Bay
https://maps.app.goo.gl/uvKJ3k25mmyyvCLs5

🍽️ Food, Bars & Cafés

• Macondo
https://maps.app.goo.gl/VtLjwHUuPx8dLGpEA
• Bong’s Guesthouse & Café
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jFjqFpexrs5gj9rPA
• View Point Bar
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Eo9VcSRd7j9KzMif7
• Spicy 23
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ghcNisxip9oVWLkM8
• Seapony Café
https://maps.app.goo.gl/yX3qQVYf9nfxai8x9
• The Big Easy
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KdzY7dfaGUe1q5Ps5

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro
00:42 – Sihanoukville Ferry Terminal
02:36 – First impressions of the M’Pai Bay
03:09 – Plankton Beach
04:11 – Dumplings & rice bowls at Macondo
07:07 – Breakfast at Bong’s
07:21– The hike to Clear Water Bay
10:11 – The construction site “shortcut”
11:40 – Arrival at Driftwoor Pier
12:42 – Clear Water Bay
14:28 – Taking the proper trail back
17:06 – Sunset at View Point Bar
17:58 – Khmer-Thai fusion dinner at Spicy 23
19:28 – NYE breakfast at Seapony
20:39 – Boat to Saracen Bay
22:29 – Lunch at The Big Easy
22:54 – The downside of tourism development
24:56 – Final thoughts on the Island
25:44 – New Year’s Eve in M’Pai Bay

#KohRongSanloem
#CambodiaTravel
#IslandLife
#ClearWaterBay
#BeachAdventure