Choosing a Mekong river cruise
Ports · Cambodia
Phnom Penh, from the river
Cambodia's capital is the end of the three- and four-night cruises from Saigon and a stop of a day or so on every longer one. Ships tie up on the riverfront in the city centre, which makes it the easiest place on the Mekong to step off a ship and into a city.
At a glance
Sources: Pandaw — Saigon to Phnom Penh product PDF (new for 2026); Vietnam Airlines travel guide — Phnom Penh airport; Hang Chau Tourist (operator); Royal Embassy of Cambodia, Washington DC — FAQ · checked .
What the city is, for a cruise passenger
For a cruise, Phnom Penh is a hinge. Short cruises end here; long ones stop here for a day before turning up the Tonle Sap river or continuing up the Mekong to Kampong Cham. Pandaw's 2026 itinerary docks at Sisowath Quay in the city centre, which means you can walk off the ship into the city without a transfer. It also means Pandaw does not include one: you arrange your own car from the quay.
If you have a free afternoon in the city, the Royal Palace is the sight most visitors ask about. One guide lists it as open daily from 07:30 to 11:00 and 14:00 to 17:00; check hours and the entry fee before you go, because the fee we found looked out of date.
Sources: Pandaw — Saigon to Phnom Penh product PDF (new for 2026); Asia for Visitors — Royal Palace (undated) · checked .
How many nights
If your cruise ends here, one night lets you see the city in an afternoon and a morning before flying or driving on to Siem Reap. Two nights give you a full day. If you are on a longer ship, the ship's own day in Phnom Penh may cover what you want, and you need no hotel night at all.
Going the other way, a night in Phnom Penh before boarding a downstream cruise can help, because your flight and the ship's boarding time have to line up.
When to go
For a cruise, the season that matters here is the water, not the weather. Ships reach Phnom Penh from the delta all year; the low-water months from about December to July affect the stretch above the city, to the Tonle Sap lake, rather than the run from Vietnam. In October and November high water can close low bridges into Chau Doc on the Vietnamese side, which changes a stop but not the arrival.
| Months | Water on the routes through Phnom Penh | Source |
|---|---|---|
| About December to July | Low water: ships cannot reach the Tonle Sap lake; Aqua flies guests on to Siem Reap | Aqua; Pandaw |
| About August to November | High water: ships can cross the lake towards Siem Reap | Pandaw; Aqua (from mid-August) |
| October to November | Possible bridge closures into Chau Doc on the way up | Pandaw |
The water page sets out how each operator defines the seasons.
Sources: Aqua Expeditions — Mekong river cruise; Pandaw — The Classic Mekong guide, 4 May 2026; Pandaw — Saigon to Phnom Penh product PDF (new for 2026) · checked .
Getting there and away
By ship
On a Saigon to Phnom Penh cruise of three or four nights, or as a stop on a Saigon to Siem Reap ship.
By speedboat from Chau Doc
Hang Chau runs a daily boat from Chau Doc at 07:00, arriving at about 13:30, and back from Phnom Penh at 12:30, arriving at about 18:30. It is the natural continuation of a two-night delta cruise that ends at Chau Doc.
By air
According to Vietnam Airlines' travel guide, Phnom Penh's commercial flights were to move to the new Techo International Airport on 9 September 2025, with the old Pochentong airport (PNH) ending commercial service the day before. Check which airport your ticket names.
On to Siem Reap
By air, or by road. Siem Reap's airport, opened in October 2023, is about 50 km east of the town, roughly an hour and a quarter by car.
Sources: Hang Chau Tourist (operator); Vietnam Airlines travel guide — Phnom Penh airport; Siemreap.net — Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport, updated 10 Oct 2026 · checked .
Costs on the ground
| Item | Cost | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Speedboat Chau Doc → Phnom Penh | VND 1,640,000 per passenger | Hang Chau, fares June 2026–June 2027 |
| Speedboat Phnom Penh → Chau Doc | VND 1,580,000 per passenger | Hang Chau, fares June 2026–June 2027 |
| Cambodian tourist visa on arrival | About USD 30; confirm | Wikipedia (fee); embassy for the rule |
| Angkor Pass, if you continue | USD 37 one day, USD 62 three days, USD 72 seven days | Angkor Enterprise |
We have not found a current official source for city sight entry fees, so we do not quote them.
Sources: Hang Chau Tourist (operator); Wikipedia — Visa policy of Cambodia (fee only, unconfirmed); Royal Embassy of Cambodia, Washington DC — FAQ; Angkor Enterprise — available tickets · checked .
Gallery
When to skip it
- As a hotel stop if you are on a longer ship: the ship's day here covers the city.
- If you fly in and out of Saigon and only want the delta; a delta boat never comes this far.
- As a base for Angkor: Siem Reap is a flight or a road journey away.
Cruises that use Phnom Penh
Ending here: Saigon to Phnom Penh, 3 to 4 nights. Passing through: Saigon to Siem Reap, 7 nights. Reached by speedboat after two nights in the delta to Chau Doc.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Does the ship provide a transfer from the quay?
It depends on the operator. Pandaw's 2026 itinerary says there are no transfers in Phnom Penh because the ship docks in the city centre. Aqua includes shared transfers between its meeting points and the ship.
Which airport do we fly from?
Techo International, which Vietnam Airlines' guide gives as taking over Phnom Penh's commercial flights from 9 September 2025. Check your ticket.
Can we get a Cambodian visa when the ship crosses the border?
Cambodian embassies list visas on arrival at the Kaam Samnor river checkpoint; the e-visa is not listed there. Confirm the rule for your passport.
How do we get from Phnom Penh to Angkor?
By air or by road. Siem Reap's airport is about 50 km from the town, about an hour and a quarter by car.
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Tell us which cruise you are weighing up
A month, how many are travelling and whether you lean towards a delta boat or a ship into Cambodia are enough to start. We reply by email with the boats that sail your dates and the fares their operators show that day.