Most people give it a day and wish they had given it two. Here is what is actually worth your time, written by people who live here.
Kep Crab Market
The one thing you should not miss. Crab baskets in the shallows, charcoal grills a few steps away, and blue crab cooked with fresh green Kampot pepper. We have a full guide to the crab market — how the buying works, what to order, what it costs.
Kep National Park
A loop path runs right round the hill behind the town, through proper jungle, with views out over the bay and across to Vietnam on a clear day. It is the best few hours in Kep and most visitors never do it.
- Entry is $1 per person, payable in dollars or riel
- The main loop is around 8 km, paved and mostly flat, cut into the hillside
- It takes 1½ to 3 hours depending on how often you stop
- Led Zep Cafe, partway round, is the only place to buy a drink inside the park. Bring water anyway
- Start early or go late. There is shade, but the middle of the day is punishing
The loop is easy to follow and you do not need a guide. Side trails branch uphill to viewpoints; they are steeper and worth it if you have the legs.
Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay)
A short boat ride out, and the closest thing Kep has to a classic beach. Worth a day if the sea is calm. See our guide to Rabbit Island for boat times, prices and what's actually on the island.
The abandoned villas
Kep was built as a seaside resort for the French and then for wealthy Cambodians, and much of it was abandoned in the 1970s. The shells of modernist holiday villas are still standing around the town, some swallowed by vegetation, a few being restored.
They are not a museum — no signs, no tickets, no opening hours. You come across them walking between other places, which is rather the charm. Some are on private land and some are genuinely derelict, so look rather than climb.
Ask us which ones are worth finding at the moment. Which are accessible changes as places get bought and restored, and anything written online about it is usually out of date.
Kep Beach
Kep's beach is small, the sand was imported, and it is not why you come. Having said that, it is pleasant in the late afternoon, there is a swimming area, and Cambodian families use it properly at weekends, which is nice to be around.
If you want a beach day, go to Rabbit Island instead.
Pepper farms and salt fields
The pepper that makes the crab worth eating grows about twenty minutes inland, and several farms take visitors.
- La Plantation is the best known. Its guided farm tour runs around $5 per person and takes a bit under two hours — it used to be free, so older guides will tell you otherwise
- Bo Tree Farm still runs a free tour, and is smaller and quieter
- Combined day tours from Kampot bundle a pepper farm with the salt fields, the Secret Lake and a cave temple, usually around $25 per person
The salt fields sit between Kep and Kampot — flat, bright, and more of a stop on the way than a destination. Worth ten minutes if you're passing, not a special trip.
Eating
Beyond the crab market, Kep has a handful of good places and a lot of mediocre ones. Ours are Arts Cafe at the crab market, Arts Cafe Mangrove on the mangrove road, and Creation Café — all staffed by young Cambodians training with us, which is the whole reason they exist.
We'd rather point you at somewhere good than somewhere ours. Ask us when you arrive and we'll tell you honestly where we'd send a friend, including places we don't run.
How long to stay
Two nights is right for most people. One night means you see the crab market and nothing else. Three works if you want a day on Rabbit Island and a day doing nothing, which is a perfectly good plan in Kep.
Getting here
Kep is roughly three hours from Phnom Penh and half an hour from Kampot. Note that Kep and Kampot are on different roads out of the capital — you don't pass through one to reach the other unless you want to.
- Minivan from Phnom Penh — the usual choice, around 3–4 hours, roughly $10
- Bus from Phnom Penh — a little slower at about 3¼ hours, from around $8. Giant Ibis and Vireak Buntham run this route
- From Kampot — 30–40 minutes. Shared minivan $4–6, private tuk-tuk $10–18, or the train at about $4.60
- Tickets through BookMeBus or Camboticket, or at any guesthouse
Fares and times here are what's currently reported, not a promise. Confirm with the operator when you book — and the train in particular runs to a limited schedule.
Before you come
A few things worth having on your phone:
- Cambodia e-Arrival — the arrival form, filled in before you land
- Bakong Tourists — the national QR payment app. Most small places here take KHQR and very few take cards
- An offline map. Download Kep in Google Maps, or use Organic Maps. Signal thins out on the park loop
Where to stay
We would say ours, so take this for what it's worth: our bungalows are built by hand on site by the people training with us, and what you pay goes into that training. Have a look, or ask us anything.