11 Incredible Things to do in Kep, Cambodia

Discover 11 incredible things to do in Kep.

After Sihanukville we decided to give a “less famous” beach town a go and waltzed on over to Kep. Apparently Kep was the beach resort town of Cambodia before Shanoukville was “discovered.”

We booked a hotel across the road from the beach and stayed there five nights.

It was great.

This list of 11 incredible things to do in Kep gives a short review of each of the things to do in Kep as well as links to more detailed reviews (where applicable). It also has other useful information about Kep such as accommodation in Kep and how to get to Kep.

Featured Picture: Looking out from Kep beach.

11 Incredible Things to do in Kep1. Crab Market

On the night we arrived we went for a walk to the beach viewpoint and then just kept going to the Crab Market.

Obviously there is a lot of crab and other seafood for sale, but there is also other stuff.

There are a few restaurants and bars as well.

Inside the Crab Market.

2. French Era Ghost Town

We decided to go for a walk to see the French Era Ghost town. There was nothing there. Not sure what I expected though.

Anyway, I took this picture of the monument nearby so thought I may as well include it.

The Kep museum was there also but it was closed. Not sure if it is always closed or closed on weekends (it was a Saturday). I didn’t bother going back later to see if it opened during the week.

3. Kep Beach

This is an obvious one and is probably the main draw for going to Kep in the first place. The beach is actually quite nice and although rather busy on the weekends, is pretty chilled the rest of the time.

Kep Beach.

4. Caves of Kompong Trach

On our second full day in Kep we hired a motorbike ($5usd) and headed to the Caves of Kompng Trach. The main caves were interesting enough to walk around, but it was the “secret” one another ten minutes up the road that done it for me. A swimming hole in a cave.

The main cave is $1 entry and you can hire a “guide” for a dollar or so (they’re kids).

Inside of the main caves of Kompong Trach.

5. Salt Fields

After the caves we went to the salt fields. I was expecting vast areas of white, but I guess I don’t know what salt fields are supposed to look like.

Salt fields near Kep. Not the glaring white I imagined.

6. Angkul Beach

Further past the salt fields is Angkul Beach. Not really anything spectacular but if you are in the area anyway then may as well stop in. Lots of trash.

Angkul Beach.

7. Kep Butterfly Farm

On the way home we came across a sign pointing us to the butterfly farm. This was one of my favorite events of the day. It was a lovely property and although quite small, probably the best butterfly farms I’ve ever been to.

8. Artwork

I read on the internet that there are three pieces of artwork on some abandoned building by a famous street artist so we went to try find them.

We did see three pieces, but I think only two of them were the ones described.

The first one had squatters in the building and the second one was locked up, but you could see it from the street. Unfortunately I didn’t get any good pictures.

Here is where they are located. VisitKep.com/page.php?id=6#Old_Kep_Villas

One of the pieces of street art on an abandoned house.

9. Rabbit Island

Here’s something I intended to do but I got a bad stomach one day so we skipped it. Actually, I’m not a fan of going to islands anyway, but I heard there is illuminescent ocean at night – but I think you would have to stay there overnight to see it.

I think this is Rabbit Island.

10. Pepper Farm

Another thing we didn’t actually do was go to the Pepper Farm. Kep and Kampot are world famous for pepper and there are a few pepper farms dotted around the area, some of which will give you a free tour such as Sothy’s Pepper Farm.

Pepper. Image sourced from Google images.

11. Kep National Park

The last thing on this list of incredible things to do in Kep is to go to the Kep National Park. It is a nice few km hike if you just stick to the main path. We saw some monkeys and a few spectacular views.

There are a few side tracks you can take also.

View from inside Kep National Park.

Getting to Kep

From Sihanoukville it costs $7usd to get a bus there. The journey should only take 2 and a half hours but we messed up and didn’t get a direct bus. It stopped in Kampot for about an hour and we had to swap bus. I think it ended up taking about 3 and a half to 4 hours in the end.

Once in Kep you get dropped off at the bus station. Our accommodation was right there, but the actual town is a couple of km away. Maybe $3 on a tuk-tuk to get in, although there is not much there.

Accommodation in Kep

Whilst doing all these incredible things to do in Kep we stayed at the Hotel de la Plage.

Cost: $15usd/night, except on Saturday night. I think it is $20/night on Saturday.

Address: Kep Beach – Bus station, Kep, Cambodia.

The Hotel de la Plage was good value. Right across the road from the beach which is also the bus station. It was a really good location.

We got a double fan room with a sea view which ended up being a bit of a mistake. It got really hot. I imagine the rooms not facing the sun are at least a few degrees cooler.

Hotel de la Plage is owned by a nice French lady. Rooms are clean with cable TV and very spacious. No hot water, but that could just be because ours didn’t work for whatever reason – it had the hot water machine.

Bed was comfortable and the rooms have a terrace with a table.

Book your stay at the Hotel de la Plage or some other accommodation in Kep.

Got anything to add to this list of incredible things to do in Kep? Let us know them (or anything else you want to say) in the comments