5 Best Apps for Travel to Cambodia
Cambodia is a beautiful and historic country but still one very much in development. The country only recently re-opened its train lines and English is relatively uncommon outside of the major tourist areas like Siem Reap and Angkor. The most challenging part of my stay in Cambodia was overcoming the language barrier because the local Khmer language is difficult to pick up and few foreigners stay in the country long enough to learn it. The second challenge I faced was finding reliable accommodations. There are plenty of hostels and hotels in Cambodia but finding a good quality one at a decent price was difficult. This is where apps can really make a difference. To use them online, consider picking up a cheap SIM Card for Cambodia.
Start with a language phrasebook you can use offline and familiarize yourself with the basics. Use a hostel or hotel booking app with reliable reviews and choose a place likely to help you call a cab or book a tour. Otherwise you can try a self-guided travel guide app or Grab to get around on your own. I wish I could have included more on this list but the market for app in Cambodia is still in its infancy. So instead I recommend checking out Audibles which most of you have already heard of before as its part of Amazon. I included a few of my own favorite audiobooks for those long bus rides.
1. Simply Learn Khmer
I found Khmer to be an extremely difficult language to pick up on the fly. It’s a very “clippy” language that is hard to pronounce unless you have an agile tongue and ears to pick out the subtle differences in sounds. To be honest, I wasn’t there long enough to have enough practice since I spent most of my time around Angkor where English is common.
Of course, Khmer has it’s own writing system unlike Vietnamese that widely adopted the Latin alphabet during the French colonial era. This is where Simply Learn Khmer comes in handy. The app has all the basics which include high quality audio of the pronunciations. With the audio is a Latin-ized version of each word of phrase for you to read.
I’ve recommended the sister apps of this one in my Vietnam and Thailand App Articles. It’s among the best free apps that doesn’t force you to upgrade just for the essentials.
- Price: free, upgrade available
- Alternatives: Khmer!
2. Angkor Wat SmartGuide
Angkor is the biggest tourist attraction in Cambodia and represents over 25% of the country’s economic activity. There are dozens of documentaries on the ancient civilization, books and stunning photography of the temples, including Angkor Wat. This app is no substitute for a professional tour guide but for budget travelers like myself it’s quite good!
The app uses GPS tracking and audio pings to signal when you have arrived at a site in Angkor. Each site has a small written description of the history and important characters like King Jayavarman II while the premium version has the full audio guide of the reading. It’s a wonderful app with a map of the different sites, tour itineraries, navigation tips (all good offline) and tour bookings available through the app (online). This is one app I’d highly consider upgrading to premium because it really is top notch content and this of course is the legendary Angkor Temples.
- Price: Free, premium upgrade $10.99 USD available
- Alternatives: Khmer Temples, Lonely Planet
AirApps Cambodia Travel Guide
Cambodia Travel Guide appears to be an iOS exclusive app. It’s a very detailed travel guide and I was impressed by the scope of the content that includes info on Sightseeing, Hotels, Eating Out, Drinks and Transportation on all the regions in Cambodia, not just Angkor.
But most of all, the app includes up to date safety and health information like the phone numbers of local hospitals and tourist scams occurring in the area. The app is a little awkward to use sometimes. Overall this a great app to have on hand in Cambodia!
- Price: Free
- Alternatives: Khmer Temples, Lonely Planet
3. Hostelworld
In Cambodia Hostelworld has a great selection of cheap accommodations as a solo Traveler. For couples, Guest Houses and hotels are quite popular in Cambodia so using Booking.com will give you a bigger selection.
When my hostel in Guangzhou gave away my bed, they honored their guarantee and refunded my deposit and gave me $50 towards my future bookings… The original booking only cost me $12. They take care of you.
The app focuses on hostels. Of course, single private rooms are often available too. Hostel bunks in Cambodia range from $2 to $15. Check out our 5 hostel essentials for solo travelers article to ensure you are prepared for your stay.
- Price: In-App Bookings
- Alternatives: Booking.com, Agoda.
Trip.com
Trip.com is a great alternative for booking a hostel, guest house or hotel in Cambodia. Trip.com has some really aggressive promotions, discounting hotels 30-50% because they are a relatively new player internationally. Trip.com is actually the international brand of CTrip in China. Due to the large number of tourist from China visiting South Asian countries, Trip.com is becoming increasingly popular.
I compared the prices to Hostelworld and they are the same, but I would check it regularly to snag one of their big sales. Especially if you intend to splurge on a fancy luxury resort in Siem Reap!
4. Grab Driver & Taxi
Grab app and Uber have merged for Southeast Asian countries in April 2018. They have started to transition all drivers over to the Grab app.
Cambodia is less developed than neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, so I wouldn’t expect reliable service yet in the smaller cities. Though,it should be easy enough to find a Grab Car or Taxi in Phnom Penh, Sihoukville and Siem Reap once the Uber drivers are all moved over to Grab.
The base fare usually around 3,000 KHR ($0.75 USD) + 2,000 KHR per Km ($0.50 USD). Motorbikes are cheaper at 1,500 KHR ($0.35 USD) base fare + 1,00 KHR ($0.25 USD) per Km. Min fare charges apply.
The one drawback is that the drivers (Taxi or Car) are expected to call you to confirm the pick up location, obviously most don’t speak English. So picking up a SIM Card for cheap is useful and asking your hostel for help is a good idea too
Bus Bud or 12Go Asia
Busbud is a US based company for all things buses everywhere. It’s really useful in countries like Cambodia where bus companies run different routes.
My recommendation is to search for the tickets and routes on Busbud and purchase them directly at the appropriate counter at bus station to get the best price. But keep in mind picking up your tickets a day or two in advance is always best as some routes are likely to sell out.
Another great website that doesn’t have an App yet is 12Go Asia. They are recommended by Man in Seat61, so you know it’s good!
5. Audibles – Audio Books
After spending a few weeks traveling, taking buses and trains or waiting for hours at the airport, the old itunes or spotify playlist starts to get old. I can only listen to the Eagles, Beach Boys or Red Hot Chili Peppers so many times before tuning it out completely. That’s why I love audiobooks!
The bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap was 6 hours which is enough time to really get into a new novel! Here are some of my favorite book series available on audibles
The narration of the books are now full-blown production with extra sound effects and even rotating narrators for different characters.
- Price: 1 Book Free Trial, pay per audiobook
- Alternatives: Kobo, Audiobooks.com
More Info on Cambodia
Disclaimer: Hostelworld and Trip.com are an affiliated partners, we make a small commission from bookings at no cost to you.
Now, no app in the world is going to help you use the squat toilets in Cambodia. But our article on How Everyone Poops in Asia might just help, a little :). We also created a Quickie Guide for Cambodia with Visa information, daily costs and transportation info, and a list of movies, books & podcasts under Books & Things..
Lastly, consider picking up a SIM Card for use in Cambodia, they are cheap and easy enough to get upon arrival or order online. That way you can use all the apps on the go!
