Cambodia

Destinations

Visa & entry

eu passport	e-Visa (tourist T-class) or visa-on-arrival, 30 days single entry, valid 3 months from issue for use. Passport must have 6+ months validity and 2 blank pages.
us passport	Same e-Visa/visa-on-arrival system applies; USD 30 fee (2025, reduced from USD 36 on 1 Jan 2025).
uk passport	e-Visa (apply online, official guidance says allow 4+ days) or visa-on-arrival at airports/land borders (payable in USD, photo required); gov.uk does not publish the exact fee and tells travellers to check the Cambodian Embassy in London.
entry or eco taxes	No separate entry/eco tax found beyond the visa fee itself. Mandatory free online 'e-Arrival Card' for air arrivals at Phnom Penh/Siem Reap/Sihanoukville airports, submitted within 7 days before landing.
notes	T e-Visa = single entry, max 30-day stay, USD 30 (2025). E-visa valid only at the 3 main international airports and a subset of land borders, not all crossings - check the specific entry point. Contradiction: one travel-blog source dates the e-Arrival Card requirement to 'new for 2025,' while gov.uk (UK FCDO) dates its introduction to 1 September 2024 - recorded as-is, not reconciled.

Money

currency	Cambodian Riel (KHR); US Dollar (USD) is used interchangeably and is the de facto currency for larger payments and change is often USD
card acceptance	Cash-driven economy overall; hotels, higher-end restaurants and shops in Phnom Penh/Siem Reap/Sihanoukville take Visa/Mastercard, but small guesthouses, markets, tuk-tuks and beach kite spots (Kampot, Otres) are largely cash (USD or riel) only
local instant payment	Bakong (national blockchain-based instant-payment rail) and bank apps like ABA Pay use KHQR codes widely for in-store payment across Cambodia; whether short-stay foreign tourists can register and pay via these apps (vs needing a local ID/bank account) was not confirmed this session - official ABA Bank page returned an HTTP 403 during research
tipping	Not obligatory but increasingly expected in tourist-facing restaurants/tours in Phnom Penh/Siem Reap; small change rounding is common; no fixed percentage found
cash tips	yes

SIM & internet

operators ranked for coast coverage	Metfone (broadest rural/coastal coverage, incl. Kampot/Sihanoukville area) Smart (Smart Axiata, strong tourist SIM offers) Cellcard
esim options	Metfone eSIM Smart eSIM Cellcard eSIM (also available pre-arrival via Airalo/Saily-type resellers)
id required for sim	Passport registration required when buying a physical SIM (e.g. at airport kiosks in Siem Reap/Phnom Penh)
notes	Tourist prepaid SIMs are cheap: roughly USD 1-10 for SIM cards giving 30-100GB (2025 pricing from local SIM-guide sites); reseller eSIMs cost more per GB (~USD 1.80-2.60/GB) than a local physical SIM (~USD 0.10-0.17/GB).

Insurance

Health

vaccines	Routine vaccines plus Hepatitis A commonly recommended; Japanese Encephalitis vaccine recommended for stays over 1 month or shorter trips with rural/outdoor exposure; dengue vaccine may be considered for those with a prior dengue infection (age 4+)
mosquito disease seasons	Dengue is a year-round, hyperendemic risk across Cambodia (higher in/after rainy season, roughly May-Oct); malaria risk is low in Phnom Penh/Siem Reap/major coastal towns but present in rural/forested provinces (antimalarials advised e.g. for Mondulkiri); Japanese Encephalitis and Zika also present
tap water	Not safe to drink; use bottled/boiled water, avoid ice from unknown sources
emergency numbers	Police 117, Fire 118, Ambulance 119 (national numbers; response/coverage outside Phnom Penh can be slow - relevant for remote coastal kite spots like Kampot)

Driving

idp needed	Cambodia recognizes the 1949-format International Driving Permit (officially since 2020); for a car you need a home-country car license + IDP Category B, for motorbikes over 125cc a home motorcycle license + IDP Category A
road safety	Poor lane discipline, roundabouts often ignored, rural roads (relevant to Kampot coast) can be rough/unpaved; helmets legally mandatory
rental traps	Motorbike rental is cheap (~USD 6-9/day) and shops typically do not provide insurance; if riding without the correct home-country license + IDP, travel insurance may refuse accident claims and the rider can be fully liable

Regulation

Calendar & costs

beer	USD 1.00 (range 0.75-2.00)
meal	USD 3.00 (range 2.00-6.00), inexpensive restaurant meal
coffee	USD 2.32 (range 1.00-3.75), regular cappuccino
one bedroom month	USD 254.75 (range 180-520), 1BR outside city centre
currency	USD
year	2026

e-Arrival Card mandatory-date conflict: a 2025 travel-blog source frames the online e-Arrival Card as a new-for-2025 rule, while UK gov.uk FCDO guidance dates its start to 1 September 2024.

Open questions

Exact e-visa fee for UK passport holders not published by gov.uk (told to check embassy) - likely same USD 30 T-visa fee as EU/US but unconfirmed.
ATM network coverage/fees/withdrawal limits in Cambodia not verified this session.
No digital nomad visa scheme identified for Cambodia - unclear if one exists.
Cambodia tax residency day-count threshold not verified from a primary source this session (commonly cited elsewhere as 182 days, but not confirmed here).
No kite-specific or Cambodia-relevant airline baggage policy (e.g. AirAsia, Cambodia Angkor Air, Bangkok Airways) was researched this session.
Whether foreign tourists can use Bakong/KHQR/ABA Pay without a Cambodian ID or bank account was not confirmed (ABA Bank's own page returned 403 during research).
Hospital standard/pharmacy notes and kite-specific insurance guidance not researched this session.
National kite/drone/protected-area regulation for Cambodia not researched this session.