Sihanoukville Tours

[jag60uk]

We’re sailing on the Ovation in a couple of weeks. One recent review on CC says

“ Sihanoukville -Stay on the boat; this is a dangerous and very dirty place; nothing really to see”. Does anyone else share this view or can they please recommend any tours?  Also, any suggestions for Laem Chabang if not going into Bangkok would be much appreciated.

[texanaust]

We were on this itinerary several weeks ago.  Take the Seabourn bus to the beach (not the market) as this area is quite nice.  You get dropped off on a muddy dirt road, but take those few steps to the beach-very peaceful.  Sihanoukville town is a disaster and the Chinese have now overrun the place with new condo construction, but zero infrastructure.  Lots of staff go to the beach as the food and drink are very cheap.  

 

For Laem Chabang, you can take the bus to Pattaya.  It drops you at a very nice mall where you could walk to massage shops ($8/hr), the beach, etc.  Otherwise arrange a taxi to take you to the Sanctuary of Truth.

[jag60uk]

Thanks for this advice. Is that a Seabourn bus into Pattaya or the regular bus service?

[SKP946]

We were in Sihanoukville aboard Sojourn in late March ‘18. Although we had come from an Australian summer we found the heat and humidity oppressive.

We took the shuttle into town, intending to wander around for a bit, but, like nearly all of the other pax, we didn’t get off the bus, but stayed onboard and couldn’t wait to get back to the ship !

A few photos to show you some of the highlights of Sihanoukville:-

The first is (hopefully) the town square where the shuttle stopped for 20 minutes.

The second is the Main Street and the third is of the street electricity cables (OK, I have weird tastes, probably from my construction background)

[rols]

oh dear that looks a bit dire. Sihanoukville is I think the 3rd day of our upcoming cruise and we're usually ready for a trip by then (having stopped in Malaysia where we're unlikely to do much and had a day at sea). Town looks pretty awful so we'll not be doing that, the beach BBQ doesn't appeal. Has anyone done the tour(s) to Ream National Park? If they don't look good, we'll just make the first 5 days shipboard and get off in Vietnam and do some exploring. 

I guess Sihanoukville is really used as a stopping off point to start the off-ship Ankor Wat tour and doesn't appear to be much of a destination itself. 

[ajpeter]

We have just done this route last week; Singapore to Hongkong. In Sihanoukville we took the shuttle into town, yes it was terrible and the market was dirty and smelly, but also fascinating if you like authentic local. The pictures shown above by SKP946 make the place look nice, so imagine. We then took the other shuttle to the beach which is very bohemian and has a surten charm, but you have to have a liking for this, nothing like white stretched beaches and luxurious sunbeds. The locals hassle you for massages (which were actually very gut, for 5 us $) and trinklets, but we found it had a lovely charm to it.

We didn't like Pattaya a bit,  to be true, awful is the better word for it. The Sanctuary of Truth was impressiv and we loved the woodcarving of the temple, it is touristy ofcourse, but then again...we are tourist too. We took a local taxi for the day from outside the port. Easy.

 

 

[Minya]

Hi there

Came across this thread and thought  I would share with you a wonderful  private tour we did in Shinoukville with Don Bosco  tours  it was Christmas Day 2014 . This is what we did when we were in port on Sapphire Princess.

 

07.30 Pick up at the Tender port
07.30 - 08.20 Visit Fishing Villages
08:20 - 09:10 Visit Wat Leu Pagoda -loved this enchanting children there
09:10 - 09.50 Coffee Break at our own home made Italian Ice Cream Shop delicious!
09.50 - 11.30 Visit Kabal Chhay Waterfall ) beautiful spot take good walking shoes
11.30 - 13.30 Tour of the Don Bosco Hotel School and Christmas Buffet Lunch (which was super-duper followed by a dancing show) at the Poolside Restaurant.  We didn’t get the tour as it was Christmas.
13.30 - 14:20 Psa Leu Market (Central Market) for shopping and Souvenirs
14.20 - 15:20 Beach Drive
15:20 - 15.30 Return to the ship

The Hotel School is a not-for-profit enterprise run by a Silesian order and attached to the Don Bosco Hotel. Their mission is to train local disadvantaged young people to equip them for a career in hospitality and catering. This very special and unique tour, delivered by the School, combines Sihanoukville and area sightseeing with a tour of the school and a special  buffet lunch prepared by the students; enabling folk  to enjoy Cambodian hospitality and appreciate the vital work that Don Bosco is doing for the restoration of Khmer society.

Price quoted for us in 2014 was  $70.00 USD per person and $50USD for children under 12 years of age. including Coffee Break and Special Christmas Buffet Lunch. Drinks extra - payable at hotel reception at lunchtime. The price may possibly be adjusted depending on what kind of lunch you are offered.

Don Bosco has vehicles suitable for carrying 10, 20 or 30 persons, no limit on numbers for this tour - the school will lay on sufficient transport to ensure everyone travels in comfort .

We had a lot of fun and the driver and tour guide on our smaller coach were lovely, Im still in touch with them but they are both elsewhere. I  am in touch. I was actually in the 10 seater coach not so comfortable as the bigger coaches but Cambodian roads are not the best and we had a lot of fun during our memorable day everyone loved the tour and I organized it for anew group when I repeated the crusie the following year also on Christmas Day they loved it and I did something different , had a wonderful time on  a ship tour to a local school and other things.

Email: admin@donboscohotelschool.com to find out more

Hope this may be of help and inspire you as much as it did all of us.

Cheers

Judith

[texanaust]

21 hours ago, jag60uk said:

Thanks for this advice. Is that a Seabourn bus into Pattaya or the regular bus service?

 

Seabourn Bus.  

[Isklaar]

Just a heads up about the Don Bosco Hotel School. I had read about it here on CC and thought it sounded great but was unable to make contact with them before our cruise on Ovation in December 2018. I didn't get a response to several emails and their website was up and down. Perhaps may have just been a problem they were having with the IT at their end at that time. So would strongly advise anyone interested in this tour to contact them well in advance of the cruise if you're able. 

 

As for Sihanoukville itself, not a one of our group of 5 enjoyed it. I didn't go ashore on that day as I had to work so stayed onboard but the reports from our friends when they returned were pretty negative. 

[kej1]

We were also on the holiday cruise in December.  We had been to Angkor Wat in the past by land so tried this port.  Organized a private guide with lunch at Don Bosco.  The whole thing was kind of a disaster.  My number one ask was to visit a school.  We got to the school and it was closed for a two hour break ( their timing was bad).  The city and markets not that interesting. Our Don Bosco lunch was  not great.  Beach they showed us was lovely.  City has been overtaken by China.  Although I would not return, we are glad we got off the boat to see it.  But not somewhere I would go by land.  Really just a port to visit since the ship stopped there.  There are two really high end beautiful resorts off the coast ( private islands) and we tried directly with them to organize a visit for the day with lunch but they said no.  High season, completely booked.  One is called Song Saa and the other is a new Six Senses resort.  Perhaps this could be a good option if not during the busy Christmas season.

[jag60uk]

Thanks for all the replies. A lot to consider.

 

Slightly off-topic but please can those of you who did this cruise earlier in the year confirm where the Ovation docks in Ho Chi Minh City and where the shuttle bus drops you off. Trying to arrange a private tour but need to know where the guide can meet us. Thanks.

[texanaust]

4 hours ago, jag60uk said:

Thanks for all the replies. A lot to consider.

 

Slightly off-topic but please can those of you who did this cruise earlier in the year confirm where the Ovation docks in Ho Chi Minh City and where the shuttle bus drops you off. Trying to arrange a private tour but need to know where the guide can meet us. Thanks.

It goes right up the river virtually into downtown.  The exact docking location is variable as the Silver Shadow docked a little closer than us and there were river ships berthed directly in front of us.  The dock itself was very run-down so not sure if it has an exact name.  It was before the Ferry Terminal and the Bridge.  

The shuttle drops off near the Sheraton Hotel.  

[SKP946]

15 hours ago, jag60uk said:

Thanks for all the replies. A lot to consider.

 

Slightly off-topic but please can those of you who did this cruise earlier in the year confirm where the Ovation docks in Ho Chi Minh City and where the shuttle bus drops you off. Trying to arrange a private tour but need to know where the guide can meet us. Thanks.

 

The red circle in the photo below shows where Sojourn docked last March.

[sunshineocean13]

We were on the Sojourn, Singapore to Hong Kong in 2015 and we enjoyed our Ream National Park tour. We took a bus to small boats (loud, they gave us ear plugs), went up the river for 30 minutes or so, disembarked and walked through a very small village, meeting several people and visiting the school. Then we walked through the forest (maybe 30 minute walk?) to a beach for lunch at an outdoor restaurant and swimming. Bus back to the ship, stopping at a temple and Buddha statue on the way back. It was an enjoyable day. I agree with others that the town of Sihanoukville is less than impressive.

[kej1]

We docked right near town on the Ovation this last Dec.  but the location the ship docked was far from the port entrance/ exit. It was a very long walk in the humidity and heat.  They had a shuttle that ran every 30 min into the center of town.  We found it best to meet private guides there and also have the guides drop us at the shuttle to return to the ship.  The guides were surprised as most ships that come into that dock locate across the way from the port entrance.  But not so on our trip.  No other ships were in that port so I’m not sure why we docked so far from the entrance.  Ship organized tours came into the port right to the ship, but private people could not which was a bit of a hassle until one figured out the logistics.

[Justremodeled]

Referencing your inquiry of port in HCMC. Seabourn provides shuttles from ship to port entrance where you can meet your private guide. I was in HCMC on Ovation in January and booked an excellent private guide who took our party of four to the Mekong Delta. We traveled among small islands for various sights, I.e., coconut candy factory, local market, small villages, local restaurant, oxcart ride. Our guide went over and above what was planned and was so helpful and informative. Please let me know if you need a guide while in HCMC.  My husband and I departed Ovation in HCMC and flew to Siem Reap for independent tour of Angkor Wat. We rejoined Ovation in HCMC. It was excellent. Let me know if you would like our experience regarding this private tour.