In the Digital Nomad City Ratings series, I review the cities where I was working as a digital nomad. The possible ratings are 0 (awful) to 10 (exceptionally wow). The ratings are of course exclusively based on my personal experience and preferences. These may be different for other people, but besides the ratings, I will share my experiences and a detailed description, so this will hopefully be helpful for you too.
A few notes on the not necessarily self-evident categories and their ratings:
Internet: I don’t need very fast internet, but I need continuous connection.
Prices: I am a budget traveller. People who earn higher salaries may have a very different perspective on costs.
Walkability (a standard point in almost all digital nomad listings – you will understand why when you start your digital nomad life) How easy/comfortable/safe/interesting is it to walk about/stroll in the city
Infrastructure: Are there sufficient and good quality services like hospitals, malls, possibilities to arrange official matters, pharmacies, trains, buses etc?
Sights & Surroundings: Options to visit places of interest nearby, especially if staying for a longer time in the city.
Visa: Can you stay in the country without a visa? If so, how long? If not, how easy is it to get a visa and/or extend it? Can you arrange this in the given city?
Overall Impression: I needed this extra category because even if everything is fine in a given city, you may feel something is not right, and you wouldn’t like to stay very long. Or the other way round: it may lack famous sights and infrastructure, but you still love the place.
Time spent in Siem Reap:
1.5 months
Overall score:
8.6
1. Introduction
Siem Reap has long been a favourite for digital nomads, and I also found it one of the most enjoyable cities to spend a longer time in. I first visited Siem Reap back in 2014, and I only returned ten years later in 2024. Siem Reap, together with lots of other places in Cambodia, has seen a lot of development during this ten years. So much so, that I could hardly believe what I saw when I returned. In 2014, the city had lots of dirt roads – in fact, National Road number 1 from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City was also a dirt road. Now, the dirt roads are (mostly) gone, and Siem Reap looks a well developed, modern city, with a lot of entertainment options, a nice riverside, and an excellent cuisine.
2. Internet: 7
I was staying in a guesthouse, which of course had free wifi. This was slow-ish sometimes, but I only noticed it when I wanted to upload/download large files, and I also noticed some lags with online videos. There was also a period of more than one day when they said there was a problem with the service, and during this time, connection was very poor. I also had my mobile data of course, but that was also generally rather slow. Still I was able to do my job online, so everything was fine basically. All the cafés and restaurants, whether small or more elegant (i.e. expensive), also had free wifi for guests, sometimes better than my hotel wifi, and definitely always much better and faster than my mobile data.
3. Prices: 10
Cambodia is famous for using two currencies interchangeably: the local, official currency is the Cambodia riel, but US dollars are equally used anywhere and everywhere. ATMs will ask you if you want to withdraw USD or KHR (Cambodian riels). They may quote prices in either one of these, or both. 1 USD equals 4000 KHR for everyone, disregarding any official exchange rate. In supermarkets and official looking shops though, they do use the current exchange rate.
Tourists are advised to bring cash in USD, but you as a digital nomad are unlikely to be able to do so. This means you will have to use the local ATMs, which charge shamefully high fees. I once paid 9 dollars for one ATM use, but then I got a tip to use BRED bank, which only charges 4 dollars. Add to that your own bank fees (Wise also charged me quite a bit, since I was over the monthly limit). Try to withdraw as much as you can with one ATM use – BRED ATMs allow you to withdraw as much as 2k dollars in one go.
Siem Reap is a very affordable place even for digital nomads from the less lucky countries of the world, like myself. For the hotel room, I eventually paid 14 USD per night (after some haggling). You can get a plate of food in any of the numerous smaller restaurants in town for 2 dollars, and you will only pay 3 or 4 dollars for more expensive items on the menu.
Tuktuk prices are more than reasonable. When I arrived from the airport (the ne airport is very far, the bus costs USD 8) in the city centre, I still had to use a tuktuk to my hotel. I was already prepared for some hard haggling (which I hate doing), but the driver’s very first offer, even before he knew where I was going, was “one dollar”. Now that is a price you can hardly try to haggle down to anything. If you want to hire a tuktuk for an Angkor trip, it will cost you 20-25 USD.
The small shops and the markets in the city centre are a different category though. They will shamelessly quote you prices that they themselves are ashamed of, I think. I wanted to buy underwear, and when they said 8 dollars for one with a rather bad quality, I angrily walked away. They started shouting six dollars, five dollars, four dollars – but since even three dollars would’ve been too much, I never replied, and then found a shop with a Russian owner, who said 2,5 dollars, and there was no haggling done. I was stupid enough though, to buy a shit quality backpack (a medium sized one for day trips) for USD 15, which I regret to this day, and I can’t wait for its zippers to stop working so that could buy a new, better one.
4. People & communication: 8
I found Siem Reap people to be some of the most friendly and helpful folk in South East Asia. Of course, the above mentioned shop owners may be an exception – that is something you can expect everywhere else. I had good conversations with tuktuk drivers (without actually using their services, just passing by), with cafe staff and random people. Not everyone speaks English though, and even the ones who do, may only be “proficient” in their own professional context, but it is not difficult to find the ones who can have a meaningful conversation in English either.
5. Sights and things to do, entertainment: 10
When it comes to Siem Reap sights, the very first thing that comes to mind is, of course, Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples, which is actually the sight that drew me to South East Asia in the first place, more than ten years ago. I write about it in a separate post.
A lot of visitors take a tour to some of the floating villages not very far from Siem Reap, on the Tonle Sap lake. Most of these villages are very touristy, meaning that they are expecting you to buy stuff or “support” locals, but you still get a memorable experience if you decide to visit.
In Siem Reap itself, there are not many famous sights, unless the (in)famous Pub Street is regarded one. Pub Street is full of restaurants and pubs, some of which stay open very late or even all night. I didn’t find them too appealing, but millions of visitors do, so check them out for yourself.
There are a few museums and similar places to visit, including my favourite, the Angkor Artisans Workshop, which is a school where students learn to produce traditional Khmer sculptures and other artifacts. It is a very interesting place, because you actually see how they carve the statues of weave silk materials. Entrance is fee, but a tip is expected if you use the guide.
Pub Street and the surrounding streets are full of restaurants, cafés and even night clubs, some of them with apsara shows. There are apsara theatres a little further out from the centre, which I didn’t visit because all of them (well, both of them) were actually dinner places, and I as a solo traveller, wasn’t interested in having a dinner alone.
6. Walkability: 9
Walking in Siem Reap was a favourite activity for me. It has a small town atmosphere, with not much traffic outside of the rush hours, and you can safely walk anywhere in the centre. They even have walkable pavements, and nice wide promenades along the river, with large trees everywhere, so you can walk in the shade. What’s more, there are a lot of benches where you can sit and do some people watching, read or just have a rest. Add to that the working traffic lights, and you won’t believe you are actually in South East Asia.
Pub Street and a few other streets nearby turn into a walking street every night, but they become very busy at times – be careful and watch your belongings. There are numerous pubs and clubs in the neighbourhood with as many as three gay bars (surprising for a small town like this, isn’t it?).
7. Safety: 10
I found Siem Reap very safe. Although I have just warned you above to watch out for pickpockets, this was only for a general piece of advice useful anywhere with crowds. I never had any problems, and neither have I heard from anyone about any. I am sure solo women travellers will also find the city safe, I have seen quite a few solo women who were probably travelling alone.
Even the roads walking in the streets is safe – unlike cities in Vietnam, for example.
8. Food, self-catering: 10
I didn’t have a kitchen, since I was staying in a usual hotel room, but then, the food in Siem Reap is so delicious and cheap, that I just cannot think of a reason why anyone would want to do self-catering.
For me, Cambodian cuisine is one of the best in the region. You will find small eateries and roadside ad-hoc kitchens as well as simple restaurants and more elegant ones, and the prices will be very reasonable everywhere.
Some of the foods you must try include lok-lak, a beef stew, Cambodian/Khmer curry, and amok, which is a fish stew. These are available at almost every single eatery, and if you are staying longer, which you are, once you are a digital nomad, then it is advisable to try them out at different places. The fish amok, for example, was very different at some of the places, and it was not even comparable to the real amoks I had elsewhere. One favourite of mine was a restaurant called Khmer Taste.
9. Infrastructure and services: 6
Siem Reap is not a large city, so you won’t find large malls or sports centres, but they have everything that satisfies basic needs. Shopping for special items may be difficult. I was looking for a camera shop, because I was interested in buying a (used) lens. I did find one a Google Maps, but when I went there, it turned out to be a very small shop with nothing of interest to me (no lenses at all, for example). Don’t time your specialty shopping for Siem Reap.
I didn’t need to use any medical services – except for the ubiquitous pharmacies -, but a Canadian guy I met had his teeth implants made in Siem Reap and he said he was happy with the service. There are a few hospitals too, but I think it is much better to use such services in Bangkok, unless it is an emergency.
10. Visa: 8
Most visitors will need a visa to enter Cambodia, buy you can buy a visa on arrival. Make sure you have USD cash with you: 30 dollars, or 32 if you don’t have a passport photo with you.
You can extend the regular tourist visa once for another month. The only place you can do that is in Phnom Penh, the capital, but there are dozens of tour agencies in Siem Reap who will be happy to arrange it for you for 50 USD including everything. Be careful which agency you choose, since you will have to hand over your passport and wait a week or so for it to be returned. I used Vann Savath Travel, and I was happy with them. I also used them for an Angkor tour for 20 USD, which was also fine.
You can also request a regular type of visa (not the tourist one) when you arrive, which can be extended for a whole year. I have no experience in this though, but the lady in Vann Savath said it is a rather straightforward matter. I may actually try it myself soon, and if and when I do, I will update this page.
11. Overall impression: 10
Siem Reap is definitely somewhere at the top of my favourite cities list. I was really sorry to leave so soon, only after 6 or so weeks (but I wanted to spend some time in Phnom Penh too, before I had to leave the country). I stayed in a neighbourhood which turned out to be perfect: walking distance from the touristic centre (Pub Street, for example), but far enough to be able to enjoy the quiet evenings or a walk without the crowds of tourists.
12. Practical info
I have written a separate post about visiting Siem Reap, for further information, please see that page.
Check out my other Digital Nomad City Ratings. Some of the latest posts:
Digital Nomad City Ratings: Siem Reap, Cambodia
Digital Nomad City Ratings: Da Nang
Digital Nomad City Ratings: Chiang Mai
Digital Nomad City Ratings: Yogyakarta
Digital Nomad City Ratings: Kandy and Colombo
Digital Nomad City Ratings: Bukittinggi
Digital Nomad City Ratings: Padang
