Planning to visit Kep with kids? This guide to Kep covers how to get there, what to do in Kep, where to eat – and drink – and where to stay.

Kep is a lovely spot for families and children, as a weekend trip or a loop with the riverside town of Kampot and island time at Koh Rong Samloem.

Read our best things to do in Siem Reap and how we get around Cambodia. If you like to have a guidebook in hand we suggest the Lonely Planet guide to Cambodia.

Make sure to get your VPN before you leave for your travels to protect your data and give you access to all the shows and sites you want from home. Read why here. 

About Kep:

Kep-Sur-Mer was once the playground of Cambodia’s elite. Diplomats, government officials and French movie stars would gather here in fancy villas and enjoy the coast and the cooler climate of the mountains. Tragically, when the Khmer Rouge advanced upon the town it either sent the locals to the country or murdered them and Kep-Sur-Mer never recovered. There are many traces of its magic though, and boutique hotels and stores are reclaiming the elegance of French Colonial Cambodia.

Kep is now mostly known for its fresh and delicious blue crab, caught every day, shipped off to the best restaurants in Phnom Penh and sold in the Kep Crab Markets.

Visit Kep to explore and relax and watch the world go by – novice monks collecting alms in the morning, tuk tuk drivers waiting for a fare, families coming to the beach for the day. Visit the Kep Crab Markets, Kampot pepper farms and hike in the national park. Explore deserted villas, swim, eat and take the ferry over to Rabbit Island…there is so much to do here and like everywhere in Cambodia the people are lovely and friendly. Enjoy!

How to get there:

There are so many ways to get around Cambodia. It has good bus options – Giant Ibis is our favourite, and you can book bus tickets online. The trip is about three hours from Phnom Penh, but you can get buses from all over the country. You can go to Kep or Kampot, and from Kampot you can grab a tuk tuk for a 30 minute ride to Kep which should cost around $15. Read more about getting around Cambodia here.

The train from Phnom Penh also arrives in Kampot. It takes around four hours from Phnom Penh and is a lovely ride through rice paddies, small villages and manually raised and lowered boom gates along the railway tracks. You can sit in the doorways (our fave) and watch for hours as you pass temples, paddies, families, cattle, mountains and just stunning landscapes. The trains are very well kept, seats are comfy and the toilets are clean and have paper. Our ticket only cost $7 US each way and while the train doesn’t run every day, it does a weekend return that’s perfect for a mini-break. You can find the timetable here.

You can also hire a private driver. We’ve used a driver to get from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and it cost $60, so it shouldn’t be more than that. It’s a more expensive option but you have the luxury of stopping when you want and getting there a little faster.

A nice route is to travel from Phnom Penh to Kampot and Kep and then over to the Koh Rong Islands (we love Lazy Beach on Koh Rong Samloem). You can then travel back to Phnom Penh or explore further.

Where to stay:

There are lots of accommodation options in Kep, and many are in the national park with views out over the green forest. Since we were at a seaside town we chose to stay opposite the beach at The Beach House. It’s a fabulous little Kep hotel with a great restaurant – that made the best Khmer chicken curry I’ve ever had! It’s right opposite Kep beach, it has a lovely swimming pool and the rooms are clean and tidy. There is a little coffee shop just up the road too (hooray) that made me a lovely mocha. Tuk tuk drivers hang down near the beach or near the small set of shops just a few minutes up the road. The hotel will also call you a tuk tuk if you prefer!

Check out The Beach House Kep
Take a look at accommodation options in Kep

A weekend in Kep – what to do:

There is so much to do here in Kep but it’s also the perfect place to rest and relax. You can hire a tuk tuk driver for about $20 for the day and drive around like we did – our driver was so lovely, he has a big comfy chariot style tuk tuk and his number is 092724664. Em and I thought his name was Tua but I’m not so sure. Anyway you can book him or find drivers down near the beach or your hotel can organise one for you…Enjoy!

Visit the deserted villas

There are hundreds of deserted villas in Kep and its surrounds. I find them incredibly beautiful – they have a sad history and many are overgrown and falling apart – others are maintained by new owners who are waiting for pay day as Chinese investment eats up more of the Khmer land.

One owned by wealthy Khmer and French, these villas were destroyed or deteriorated over time following the arrival of the Khmer Rouge. It’s said that they weren’t completely destroyed as Khmer Rouge officials used some of the villas .

You can explore some of the villas – make sure to stick to the trodden paths and don’t go completely bush just to be safe.

Kep beach

Kep’s main beach is a long curved sandy bay with little waves. Women set up chairs and mats along the esplanade which families and groups of friends hire for the day, it’s a very organised set up. But of course you can just sit on your towel on the sand. Locals hire tyres on the beach and lots of kids float on them in the water. Lots of local families come here to swim at Kep beach and play on the weekend and it’s a nice spot to sit and relax and swim. Street food vendors set up along the road here and there are a few little cafes too.

Sunset is gorgeous!

White lady statue

To the east at the end of a jetty is the statue of  The White Lady who is waiting for the beloved to return from the sea. The white lady is naked, but sometimes people will clothe her to protect her modesty.

The Kep Crab

Just a little further along the esplanade is the magnificent giant Kep Crab! Rising out of the water he is the landmark of Kep and a mandatory photo opportunity.

The Kampot Pepper Farms

Just like Kep is known for its crab, Kampot is famous for its Kampot pepper, and you can easily visit a pepper plantation and farm while you’re in town. We went to Sothy’s where we got an explanation of how the pepper is grown, a tour of a small pepper plantation and of course we then bought pepper at the shop. There was a little restaurant open for lunch, that had we known we would have eaten at (but I was too busy stuffing my face with the best Khmer chicken curry ever at the Beach Hotel). It’s only about 15 minutes away by tuk tuk.

It’s a nice experience and something that should be done while you’re in town. Any tuk tuk driver will be able to take you.

 

The Kep Crab Market

The Kep Crab Market is fascinating and it’s good for kids to see how hard other people work for their livelihood.

Crabs are brought into the market early in the morning and then kept in wooden boxes in the ocean.

If customers are interested in buying the vendor wades out through the water to haul the box of crabs in for inspection. If they’re not sold they go back into the water until another customer comes along.

A little back is the BBQ area where locals cook the fresh seafood and further along are little restaurants. Just the your pick and sit at the waters edge. We had an incredible prawn dish and a pepper crab – each was just $5 US. And the beer was good too!

Samathi Temple and Pagoda, Kep

On the way to the Kampot pepper farm we saw this temple on the side of the mountain and drive up to it. It’s absolutely beautiful and seemed deserted until a monk wandered over to say hello. There are animal statues and huge naga staircases and fabulous views out over the coastline from the top.

Kep Sailing Club

You can’t leave Kep without at least having a drink here at the Kep Sailing Club. It’s a gorgeous waterfront bar and club with delicious cocktails, fabulous seating areas, an old billiard table, a super long jetty and a laid back charm. On Sunday’s they do a mean roast and their bar food is fab also.

The National Park

This gorgeous park has some lovely hikes with beautiful views of the forest and coastline. Take the 8 kilometre loop and enjoy the gorgeous nature. It had been raining when we were there, although we probably should have done it anyway – but you can find out more here. 

Rabbit Island

Scoot on over to this lovely little island only 4 kilometres offshore from Kep in the Gulf of Thailand. With palm tree lined beaches and guesthouses and bungalows, you can go for the day or extend your trip and stay for a while, for pure relaxation, especially after the last ferry of the day has left. The ferry costs around $10 and takes 30 minutes. We haven’t been to this island, however if you are looking for an island adventure of more than a day trip or overnight then Koh Rong Samloem (from Sihanoukville) is one of our faves!

So what are you waiting for? Maybe you’ll spend more than a weekend in Kep – it’s definitely worth it.