Best Time To Visit Phnom Penh

Table of Contents

1. Overview about Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is both the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Cambodia. This city is located at the confluence of the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers and it is also the cradle of Buddhist beliefs. Therefore, this place clearly shows the most typical culture of Cambodia in particular and Indochina countries in general.

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Phnom Penh has architectural works imbued with Khmer cultural characteristics. In addition, this city also has monumental shopping areas to satisfy the shopaholics and the cuisine imbued with the identity of the indigenous people. However, when traveling to Phnom Penh to have the best travel experience, not all tourists know. Join Metta Voyage to find out the best time to visit Phnom Penh in detail in the section below!

2. Characteristics of the seasons in Phnom Penh

Weather is an important factor when traveling in any city. Especially when traveling to Phnom Penh, visitors need to update the weather situation to have the best experience for their trip.

The weather in Phnom Penh is a tropical monsoon climate, divided into two distinct seasons in a year, the rainy season and the dry season. The best time to visit Phnom Penh is usually the dry season. However, other times also have a lot of interesting things for you to explore. Let’s learn more about the weather conditions for each season in the section below

2.1. Rainy season

The wet season in Phnom Penh lasts from June to November each year, with temperatures averaging between 27 and 35 degrees. The temperature is fairly high because it is also summertime. This is undoubtedly not the ideal time to travel, as the weather is hot and wet at the same time.

Due to the consistently significant rainfall throughout the season, the relative high humidity at this time, which can reach 90%, is the most noticeable characteristic. This can foster excellent plant development and growth, resulting in stunning landscapes. Therefore, even if this is not the best time of year to visit Phnom Penh, if travelers must go at this time, they will have the chance to experience the city’s incredibly colorful and picturesque surroundings.

The rainy season in Phnom Penh will be divided into two smaller sub-seasons, which are the hot-wet sub-season and the cold-wet sub-season. The hot and humid season takes place from June to August and has a fairly high temperature, up to 35-37 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, if the weather has entered the cold and wet sub-season, the humidity is still as high, but The temperature dropped to only 20 degrees Celsius.

2.2. Dry season

There is almost little chance of seeing rain in Phnom Penh during the dry season. In actuality, barely 20% of the city’s annual rainfall occurs during the city’s dry season, according to meteorologists.

The dry season, which lasts from December to May, is further broken down into the cold-dry sub-season and the hot-dry sub-season. Due to the minimal effect of the Northeast Monsoon, the weather is extremely cool throughout the cold and dry sub-season, which runs from December to February. Additionally, this is the ideal time of year to visit Phnom Penh.

Entering the hot and dry sub-season, the weather will become a bit more uncomfortable when the temperature rises to a fairly high level. However, traveling to Phnom Penh in this season is still a good thing to do because around this time there are many interesting festivals of Cambodians, most notably the Bom Chaul Chnam water festival. This festival is held with the purpose of celebrating a successful harvest and usually takes place for 3 days in mid-April.

3. The best time to visit Phnom Penh

3.1. The best time to visit Phnom Penh by season

From March to May: At this time, the weather is a bit hot, the temperature rises to about 35-40 degrees Celsius, but there is little rain and there are traditional festivals and special cultural activities.

December to February next year: At this time in Cambodia, there is an active Northeast Monsoon, so the climate is quite pleasant, cool and less rainy. This time is very suitable to visit and explore entertainment spots in Cambodia.

3.2. The best time to visit Phnom Penh to participate in events and festivals

April: If you are a lover of the excitement of festivals, you should definitely not miss your trip to Cambodia in April. This is the best time for visitors to participate in the Chol Chnam Thmay traditional New Year of the Cambodian people which takes place on three days, April 14, 15, and 16 of the Solar Calendar every year. Cambodia’s April climate is quite hot, the temperature is usually around 40 degrees Celsius, so in addition to the capital Phnom Penh, visitors can also choose Kirirom or clear blue beaches like Koh Rong, Koh Rong Samloem, Koh Tonsay, Kep… to immerse yourself in the cool water and enjoy delicious sea specialties

May: Traveling to Cambodia in May, visitors will have the opportunity to visit Cambodia’s major holidays such as King Sihamoni’s Birthday, Royal Plowing Ceremony, International Labor Day, Remembrance Day…

October: As the start of the dry season approaches in Cambodia, crowds of tourists return to the country to visit and explore. The Pchum Penh festival, which features numerous intriguing events, is very popular in Cambodia in October and is well worth a visit.

December: Because of Cambodia‘s extremely low rainfall this month, exploring Angkor is a great idea. Particularly when visiting Cambodia during this season, tourists can take part in the church’s boisterous and crowded Christmas festival.

4. The best things to do when visiting Phnom Penh

4.1. Visiting the Royal Palace of Cambodia

The Royal Palace is the living and working place of the King of Cambodia. The palace complex is divided into two zones. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is the place where the king celebrated his longevity, or Buddhist ceremonies. Because the floor is covered in 5,329 pieces of silver lining tiles and the Buddha figure is embellished with more than 2,000 diamond stones, this pagoda is also known as the Golden Temple or the Silver Pagoda. The remaining area is the palace area – where the king lives and works.

Address: Na Phra Lan Rd, Khwaeng Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Khet Phra Nakhon, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, Thailand
Opening hours: 08:30 – 15:30 everyday
Ticket entrance price: 500 Baht/person

4.2. Visiting Wat Phnom

In Phnom Penh, Wat Phnom is a well-known and revered temple. Here are stored the remains of King Ponhea Yat as well as King Boliwat’s body. This temple not only draws a sizable number of pilgrims, but many tourists to Phnom Penh make it their first stop. Standing above Wat Phnom, the capital’s highest point, you can observe the entire city in its entirety.

Address: North of Road 102, Norodom Avenue, in the heart of Phnom Penh.
Opening hours: 07:00 – 18:30
Ticket price: 1-2$/person

4.3. Exploring the National Museum of Cambodia

The National Museum is a place that clearly shows the history of a country. So, if you want to know more about this neighboring country, go to the National Museum of Cambodia. When it comes to safeguarding Khmer archaeological relics from the pre-Angkorian period to the beautiful Angkor Wat period, this is regarded as a very valuable and fascinating Phnom Penh tourist site. Artifacts from the fourth to the thirteenth century will be visible up close.

Address: Preah Ang Eng St. (13), Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Opening hours: 08:00 – 17:00
Ticket price: 3$/person

4.4. Exploring Phnom Penh Central Market

The following tourist spot in Phnom Penh is Central Market, where visitors can enjoy the local cuisine and shop for mementos of their vacation. Not only in Phnom Penh, but also in the entire Kingdom of Cambodia, this is the biggest market.

The market is designed in the style of a dome with 4 wide aisles, creating an extremely majestic space. This can be considered a shopping center because all the items appear here for you to choose from.

Address: Road 128 (Kampuchea Krom) in Phsar Thmei 1 commune, Daun Penh district.
Opening hours: 06:30 – 17:30 everyday
Ticket price: Free

5. Some notes when traveling to Phnom Penh

Since the sun is continuously shining, you should always bring a hat or umbrella when visiting tourist places, especially during the hot and dry sub-season from March to May. In addition to preventing sunburn, these things also serve to protect your skin from the damaging effects of UV and other ultraviolet rays.

Even though it may be sweltering outside, you must still dress modestly and politely when visiting temples and pagodas in the capital, Phnom Penh. You can be ordered to stand outside the temple if your clothing is excessively short or exposed.

Sports shoes or sandals are the best option for you to travel between tourist locations because you have to travel a lot. When traveling, you shouldn’t wear high heels because they will cause great foot pain from all the walking.

6. Conclusion

Above is all detailed information about the best time to visit Phnom Penh in each season in Phnom Penh. Hopefully with the above sharing, visitors will have a great experience in the land of the Golden Temple. Besides the tourist destinations suggested above, visitors can also discover the best night market Phnom Penh. This is also one of the very interesting activities that tourists should not miss when traveling to Cambodia. Contact Metta Voyage to update more interesting tourist information!