For most people a trip to Sihanoukville isn’t complete without taking the boat to Koh Rong. Even though there is not much to do there besides sunbathing on the beautiful beaches, reading books and partying at night, it’s well worth to experience it for a couple of nights. And so in this post I will show you the different ways to travel to both Koh Rong (the bigger island) and Koh Rong Samloem (the smaller island).

The ferry pier in Sihanoukville from where the boats to both islands are leaving is located on the western end of Serendipity Beach (see the map below). There is also a nice restaurant that serves excellent western food right in front of the pier (try their chicken cordon bleu or pasta). Anyway, here are the most important facts to the transport to the islands:

• Sihanoukville to Koh Rong: 33.9 km – 50 minutes by speed boat / 2.5 hours by slow boat
• Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Samloem: 25.3 km – 40 minutes by speed boat / 1.5 hours by slow boat

My Experience Traveling with both Boat Types

Slow Boat

The slow boat (picture above) may be cheap at about 10 USD one way, but it’s an extremely tiring experience and the time tables are not reliable at all. Not recommended.

Speed Boat

There are pretty much only two companies operating on this route: Island Speed Ferry (17 USD one way or 30 USD return) that lets you prebook your tickets online (don’t believe their promotion though – it is not cheaper but lets you secure your seat) and Buva Sea Cambodia (almost identical prices). Sure, you could also hire a private long tail boat from a local fisherman or someone, but that would cost at least 100 USD one way, makes only sense if you share it with 10-15 other people and takes way more than 2 hours.

I think it’s the best if you check out the websites to get more information about the departure times, but just in case I will show you the timetable of Island Speed Ferry (that’s the most popular company):

Sihanoukville to Koh Rong:

• 8.00am, 9.00am, 12.00pm, 3.00pm
  Return:
  9.20am, 10.20am, 1.20pm, 4.20pm

Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Samloem:

• 8.00am, 9.00am, 12.00pm, 3.00pm
  Return:
  9.20am, 10.20am, 1.20pm, 4.20pm

Yes that’s right, these are exactly the same times.

So my advice: Do not take the slow boat to Koh Rong. Even if the speed boat has a delay of a couple of hours – wait. It’s about 3 times as fast as the slow boat.

On my way back the speed boat was actually on time (well just a 10 minute delay). Don’t forget to confirm your seat the day before or you might not get to travel if it’s full – yes, they sometimes sell more tickets than they have capacity for. The boat was extremely packed.

There were even people standing around and sitting on the floor. The only good thing about this trip was that it was really fast, just 50 minutes and I was seriously happy to be back on the mainland.

I took a lot of ferries with and without local girls in Southeast Asia over the last years, especially in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, but I have never experienced such a bad organization and service like here in Sihanoukville. Let’s hope the owners of these companies react to the constant increase of tourists and buy some new boats for additional services very soon. And then you will not only enjoy your stay on the paradise-like islands of Koh Rong and Samloem but also your travel there and back.

Koh Rong to Koh Rong Samloem

Island Speed Ferry also offers a transfer from Koh Rong to Koh Rong Samloem for 7 USD. However, you cannot prebook the ticket online, instead you would just go to the ferry pier (preferably on the day before) to book your ticket and secure your seat. It’s a speed boat ride and takes about 25 minutes.

I hope you found this post useful – have a great time on Cambodia’s most beautiful island!

• See also: Koh Rong – Paradise or Overrated?

Last Updated on July 3, 2026