Phnom Penh travel guide: 3 nights, palace and memorial sites

Choose a central base for all three nights

For a first visit, start your hotel search in Daun Penh, around the Royal Palace and the National Museum. This puts the royal and cultural sights together, with the riverfront as a natural place to finish the day. Stay in the same room for all three nights; moving hotels adds little to this city plan.

The budget below uses Mad Monkey Phnom Penh, at 32 Oknha Pich Street (242). Its Standard Double has one double bed, sleeps two and has an ensuite bathroom. The hostel describes itself as a party hostel, with a bar and social events: choose another property if a quiet evening is central to your stay. Its own memorial-site tour leaves from its tour desk, which makes this a practical base for that organised day.

On 15 October 2026, the hostel's own rate for a Standard Double was from US$32 a night for 17–20 November 2026, or US$96 for three nights. Taxes and breakfast are not included.

Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum

The Royal Palace is the city’s architectural introduction: gilded roofs, landscaped grounds and ceremonial buildings beside the riverfront. ASEAN’s tourism site describes the Throne Hall, the open-air Chan Chaya Pavilion and the Silver Pagoda, whose silver floor and diamond-decorated Buddha contrast with the palace gardens. It remains a royal residence, so only part of the compound is open to visitors.

The National Museum of Cambodia adds the objects behind that architecture. Its collections include sculpture, ceramics and ethnographic material from prehistory through the pre-Angkorian, Angkorian and post-Angkorian periods. If Angkor is also on your trip, this is a useful chance to look closely at Khmer objects away from the temple circuit. The museum is on Street 13 in Daun Penh; put it beside the palace in your plan rather than squeezing it between the two memorials.

On 15 October 2026, the museum listed daily opening of 08:00–17:00, with the last admission tickets sold at 16:30. Admission was US$10 for foreigners aged 18 and over and US$5 for foreigners aged 10–17; the Cambodian rate was KHR500. Guided tours in Khmer, English, French and Japanese can be arranged at the entrance. Photography is prohibited in the galleries, but permitted in the courtyard and outside.

Cambodia Tourism Board’s visitor page, checked on 15 October 2026, lists Royal Palace admission at US$10 for international tourists and visiting hours of 08:00–11:00 and 14:00–17:00. It says to dress respectfully and places tour guides at the entrance, often near the ticket counters. The two visiting sessions leave a long gap at midday, so plan the palace for the morning or mid-afternoon.

Give Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek their own day

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum preserves the former S-21 interrogation and detention centre. Choeung Ek Genocidal Center was its associated execution site. UNESCO treats them as connected parts of the same system: the detention site and the final stage of elimination. These are places of remembrance with evidence of violence and human remains, so leave the afternoon afterwards open rather than adding another demanding visit.

At Tuol Sleng, former school classrooms were divided into cells with brick or wooden partitions. Some internal divisions changed when the prison became a museum: Block B displays prisoners’ photographs, Block D contains instruments used in torture, and the courtyard holds white concrete graves commemorating the last victims found there. Choeung Ek’s physical memorial landscape includes mass graves and a commemorative stupa, documented by the Tuol Sleng museum in UNESCO’s site photographs. The preserved spaces make this a different experience from reading the history in a book; take time to stop, or leave, when you need to.

Tuol Sleng’s visitor information, checked on 15 October 2026, listed 08:00–17:00 every day, including public holidays. International admission was US$5 for adults aged 18 and over, US$3 for ages 10–17 and free under 10; children need a passport or ID as proof of age. National visitors enter free, as do foreign visitors showing their K-VISA confirmation. A separate audio guide costs US$5 for non-Cambodians or US$1 for Cambodians. Independent visitors buy tickets only at the entrance booth, on Street 113 at the corner of Street 350, and pay in cash in riel or US dollars.

For families, Tuol Sleng says its exhibits may be inappropriate for visitors aged 14 and younger. Treat the two memorials as a deliberate family decision rather than a compulsory sightseeing checklist; choose the museum, palace and markets instead if the content is unsuitable. At the memorials, cover arms and legs, behave quietly and follow staff directions.

An organised option: Mad Monkey’s own S21 and Killing Fields Tour runs daily and was advertised from US$32 per person when checked on 15 October 2026. Meet at the Phnom Penh hostel tour desk at 08:00; the programme has an 08:30 briefing and tuk-tuk ride to S-21, an 11:00 departure for the Killing Fields, and a return to the hostel at 14:00 for lunch. The operator allows about 45 minutes for the S-21–Killing Fields transfer and an hour at the latter site. Its package includes transport, entrance fees, audio guide, water and a Khmer-style lunch with a beer or soft drink. Book through its own tour page, where the price is shown per person.

No Choeung Ek fee or opening hours are published, so the tour package is the way to price the memorial day.

Riverfront, Wat Phnom and Central Market

Use the riverfront between the Cambodia Post Office and the Royal Palace for an unhurried walk. In its June 2025 report on the riverside Walk Street, Cambodia’s government news agency described restaurants, food stalls, souvenirs and performances along that stretch. Use it as a place to wander and stop for a drink; no fixed performance is scheduled.

At Wat Phnom, climb the eastern staircase between stone naga serpents and lions to the temple, where a seated bronze Buddha is surrounded by Reamker murals. There is a shrine to Lady Penh, a large white bell-shaped royal stupa behind the temple and a flower clock set into the grass below. Put this temple visit on the market morning, separate from the memorial day.

Cambodia Tourism Board lists Wat Phnom as open daily from 07:00 to 18:00, with admission of US$1 for foreigners. Cover your shoulders and knees at this active place of worship.

Central Market, or Phsar Thmey, is worth visiting for the building as well as shopping. The French development agency AFD describes this landmark of French-protectorate architecture, inaugurated in 1937, and the restoration of its historic building and the stalls between its wings. Explore the market as a change of pace after the palace and museum. Keep purchases outside the trip budget: what you spend depends on what you choose.

A four-day plan with time after the memorials

This plan uses three nights in one central base. Swap the palace and memorial days if your booked tour or palace access makes that easier; keep the memorials together and the cultural sights together.

• Day 1, arrival: transfer from Techo airport or the intercity bus stop to your room. Walk the riverfront if arrival time allows, then have beef lok lak and fish amok at Malis. First night in Phnom Penh.
• Day 2, palace and collections: visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, then the National Museum. Break for a Khmer Surin lunch, return to the room, then have dinner at Malis. Second night in the same base.
• Day 3, memorials: take the organised S-21 and Choeung Ek day, including its lunch. Leave the remainder of the afternoon free; have a simple dinner at Khmer Surin. Third night in Phnom Penh.
• Day 4, departure: if your departure is later, use the morning for Wat Phnom and Central Market. Otherwise leave those visits for day 1 and go directly to your airport transfer or bus. There is no fourth hotel night.

Khmer dinners around the city plan

Malis Phnom Penh gives you two substantial dishes for the arrival dinner: pepper-sauced beef lok lak and fish amok steamed in a banana-leaf basket. Its own currently linked menu listed these at US$13 and US$16 when checked on 15 October 2026. Choose it for a planned restaurant meal rather than treating those prices as a citywide food average.

Khmer Surin, at 8E0 Street 57, supplies the other pair: Samlor Ka Koh soup and Bpro-Hok Gatee, both US$6 on its own menu when checked on 15 October 2026. The menu listed daily service from 10:00 to 22:00, so it works for the palace-day lunch and a later dinner. The memorial tour supplies its own Khmer-style lunch; use that inclusion rather than budgeting a second restaurant lunch on the same day.

These are dish prices; extra rice, drinks and any additional charges are not included.

Techo airport and the buses to Siem Reap or Kampot

For Phnom Penh, book flights to Techo International Airport (KTI), which took over major airline services from the old Phnom Penh airport in September 2025. From Bangkok, travel by air.

On 15 October 2026, Techo airport’s own transport page placed it approximately 20 km south of central Phnom Penh and listed standard taxis and app-based services including Grab, WowNow and PassApp. Its approximate airport-to-city fare was US$10–20, depending on the destination. Use an official taxi counter or one of those apps and enter your actual hotel address.

Returning to KTI: Royal Angkor Tours publishes a city pick-up and airport drop-off service for a car carrying 1–3 people. Its one-way Phnom Penh city rate is US$35, plus a US$20 car surcharge for KTI: US$55 for the vehicle, checked on 15 October 2026. Book on its own transfer page, choose KTI, Phnom Penh City, car and one-way drop-off, and give your hotel and flight details. This supplier price covers the return leg in the model below; it is separate from the airport’s arrival-taxi estimate.

Local rides: Grab Rent’s three-seat GrabTukTuk can stay with you for multiple stops within Phnom Penh. Its own page, checked on 15 October 2026, listed two hours at KHR32,000, four hours at KHR50,000, six hours at KHR70,000 and eight hours at KHR90,000. Book in the Grab app. Finish by 20:00; fuel and driver charges are included, tolls and parking are extra, and overtime is KHR150 per minute with a minimum extra hour. The cost model itemises separate packages for the restaurant and sightseeing legs, while the memorial tour supplies its own transport.

Siem Reap: Giant Ibis’s daytime timetable checked on 15 October 2026 listed departures in both directions at 08:45, 09:45 and 12:30. Its Phnom Penh–Siem Reap route page gives 320 km and about six hours. The dated example below is a six-hour service, leaving Phnom Penh’s Road 106, Sangkat Doun Penh, at 08:45 and arriving behind the Old Stadium on Khmer Pub Street at 14:45. Arrange the short final transfer between the bus stop and your room separately.

When we checked on 15 October 2026, Giant Ibis’s booking results for 1 November 2026 listed the 08:45 AM Phnom Penh–Siem Reap service at US$17 per seat. Its online payment calculation adds US$1 per passenger, giving a model cost of US$36 for two adults. Check your date and boarding details before paying.

Kampot: Giant Ibis’s route page gives 150 km and about four hours. Its published daytime schedule listed 08:00 and 14:45 departures from Phnom Penh; the dated example uses the 08:00 service from Road 106 to Street 724 in Kampot, near ABA Bank, arriving at 12:00. The booking results and static afternoon timetable differ, so use the departure shown for your chosen date.

When we checked on 15 October 2026, Giant Ibis’s booking results for 1 November 2026 listed the 08:00 AM Phnom Penh–Kampot service at US$10 per seat. Its online payment calculation adds US$1 per passenger, giving a model cost of US$22 for two adults. Check your date and boarding details before paying.

Book Giant Ibis directly on its website, choose your departure and seat, and check the fare for your date before paying.

On 15 October 2026, the UK FCDO advised against all but essential travel within 20 km of Cambodia’s land border with Thailand; Germany warned against travel within 20 km, and France formally advised against travel within 30 km on the Cambodian side. France’s Thailand advice uses 50 km on the Thai side. Our routes keep at least 50 km from the border and use flights from Bangkok; the land crossings are closed. Check your own government’s advice before booking.

A three-night cost model for two adults

For two foreign adults aged 18 and over, sharing a Standard Double for 17–20 November 2026, the budget comes to US$349–359 plus KHR216,000, using the published prices below, checked on 15 October 2026. The two currencies are kept separate.

The meal model follows the plan: Malis on arrival, Khmer Surin lunch and Malis dinner on day 2, the included tour lunch on day 3, then Khmer Surin dinner. It buys one of each named dish for the pair at each restaurant meal; additional rice and larger orders cost extra.

• Three hotel nights: Mad Monkey's own from rate for a Standard Double, US$32 × 3 = US$96; one double bed, sleeps two, ensuite bathroom.
• Memorial day: the operator's own from price of US$32 per person × 2 = US$64, including both admissions, audio, transport and the stated lunch and drink. Do not add separate S-21 tickets to this package.
• National Museum: 2 × US$10 = US$20.
• Palace and Wat Phnom: two standard international-tourist palace admissions at US$10 = US$20, plus two foreign Wat Phnom admissions at US$1 = US$2: US$22.
• Four restaurant meals for the pair: 2 × (US$13 lok lak + US$16 amok) + 2 × (US$6 soup + US$6 Bpro-Hok Gatee) = US$82.
• Arrival from KTI: airport-published taxi estimate US$10–20 for the car.
• Return to KTI: Royal Angkor Tours car for 1–3 people, US$35 one-way city transfer + US$20 KTI surcharge = US$55.
• Local tuk-tuk packages, KHR216,000: day 1, hostel–Malis–hostel, two hours KHR32,000; day 2, hostel–palace–museum–Khmer Surin–hostel, six hours KHR70,000, then a separate hostel–Malis–hostel dinner ride, two hours KHR32,000; day 3, hostel–Khmer Surin–hostel after the included memorial tour, two hours KHR32,000; day 4, hostel–Wat Phnom–Central Market–hostel, four hours KHR50,000. These are planned package lengths, with each booking finishing before 20:00.
• Arithmetic: US$96 room + US$64 memorial day + US$20 National Museum + US$22 palace and Wat Phnom + US$82 meals + US$10–20 arrival taxi + US$55 return transfer = US$349–359. Local rides: KHR32,000 + KHR70,000 + KHR32,000 + KHR32,000 + KHR50,000 = KHR216,000.
• Not included: hotel taxes and breakfasts; extra rice and drinks; restaurant tax or service charges; tolls, parking or overtime on the local packages; flights and onward intercity buses.