Svay Rieng

• Prey Ba Sak: This is the biggest attraction in the area; a recreational area just a few miles outside town with a hillside setting and a temple.

Svey Rieng shares its tropical climate with the rest of Cambodia; a ‘dry season’ that lasts from November to May and a ‘rainy season’ that runs from June to October. Temperatures are relatively constant (i.e. hot) throughout the year but humidity can vary.

There are times of the year that are noticeably cooler (Dec-Jan) or hotter (March-May), and as is normal for a monsoon climate, times when heavy rain is nearly constant (Aug-Oct). Svey Rieng is fine to visit during most of the year, though the hottest months from March to May can be too hot for comfort.

Humidity and rainfall may vary through the year, but Svey Rieng is typically hot. Few visitors will experience something they would call cool. Temperatures in the day range throughout the year from above 100°F in the early afternoon to around 70°F at night.

The hottest time of the year in Svey Rieng is toward the end of the dry season, when daytime temperatures can be dangerously hot. During the wet season, although copious amounts of rain are dumped on Svey Rieng with monotonous regularity, rainstorms and thunderstorms often last just one or two hours in the afternoon.

While monsoon rains may provide respite from the intense Cambodian sun, torrential rains wreak havoc on rural dirt roads, which become muddy morasses; travel to areas serviced by these roads can become difficult to impossible in the monsoon season months (June-October) for those without 4-wheel drive vehicles or off-road motorcycles.

There is genuinely little to do in the town of Svay Rieng. Most of the attractions in the province are located outside of the city center, which lies along National Road No.1.

The best attraction in Svay Rieng is its friendly local population, who gather in the cooler evening hours along the pleasant riverside area. Nearby attractions include the beautiful prey-ba-sak area just outside town, the Prasat Prasat temple, the Brasoth Center, which has excellent sports facilities about a mile outside of Svay Rieng town, and the Svay Rieng Market, where you can buy fresh produce or knock-off designer items, as well as take in the bustle.

The best option for getting to Svay Rieng from Phnom Penh is to take a share-taxi: a 2-hour ride; share taxis leave from the Chbah Ampeau taxi park in Phnom Penh. Buses are cheaper, but take around 3 hours. From the the Vietnam border, a taxi is the best way to get to Svay Rieng is best done by taxi.

Most people travel to Svey Rieng from either Phnom Penh or Ho Chi Minh City on their way to or from the nearby Vietnamese border.

Svey Rieng is located along National Road No.1 between Vietnam and Phnom Penh, a heavily trafficked route that is one of the best roads in Cambodia. Consequently, the route is serviced by numerous bus companies. Travel to and from Svey Rieng and Phnom Penh is a relatively painless 4 hour bus ride, though there are also private or share taxis that make the trip in slightly less time and perhaps minimally greater comfort.

Busses and taxis also make frequent trips throughout the day to and from the Phnom Penh to the Vietnamese border (Moc Bai) and Ho Chi Minh City. The trip should take about 6 hours. Bus companies facilitate the crossing process and are unlikely to miss the border closing time.

Svey Rieng town is not geographically expansive: nearly all of the hotels, restaurants, and sights within the town are near enough each to other that walking from A to B is a very feasible option.

If you want to explore sights outside of town, there are a small number of motodop taxis and tuk tuks that can take you wherever you like for a reasonable, yet negotiable, fee. The touts in Svey Rieng aren’t overly aggressive, which is a plus, but you can always inquire at your hotel/guesthouse to help you arrange transportation to sights in and around town with ease.

As Svey Rieng doesn’t attract many overnight visitors (at least not many westerners), there is only a small selection of hotels and guesthouses for visitors, which are generally located in the center of town: all are located near enough to each other that it is possible to walk around town a bit to weigh your options.

There are considerably few dining options in Svey Rieng. That said, there is a decent selection of restaurants that cater to local clientele, including street stalls selling inexpensive local dishes along the riverfront. One can also find food stalls selling inexpensive meals around the Svey Rieng Market.

There is almost no nightlife to speak of in Svey Rieng, certainly not any catering to foreign tourists. There are a few local-style beer bars in town, which are basically open-air establishments that have attractive waitresses to serve beers and/or whiskey. If you hunt around a bit you may find one that doubles as a karaoke parlor, which has karaoke rooms for singing (typically only Khmer music) but also ‘karaoke girls’ who aren’t necessarily there to sing.

There are very limited shopping options in Svey Rieng. The town has a central market that is typical of most cambodian markets, selling nearly everything local’s need for their day to day lives, including ingredients for cooking and household supplies. There are some small shops selling sundry items around town but otherwise, this isn’t much of a destination for souvenir shopping.