Discover Your Next Best Educational Program In Cambodia

Everything you need before you start planning — geography, money, plugs and time.

• Where it sits: Cambodia occupies the southern reach of the Indochinese peninsula, bordered by Thailand to the west and northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east and southeast, with a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.
• Land area: 181,035 km² — compact enough that most itineraries cover the highlights without long overland days.
• Population: Around 18 million, with a strikingly young age profile — a demographic legacy of the Khmer Rouge period that shapes the country to this day.
• Capital city: Phnom Penh, set at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. Siem Reap, gateway to the Angkor complex, is the main visitor hub.
• Time zone: UTC+7 year-round, with no daylight saving adjustment. The same offset as Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, which keeps multi-country programs simple.
• Faith: Theravada Buddhism is the state religion and is practised by the large majority. Smaller Muslim (largely Cham) and Christian communities are also present, alongside enduring animist and Brahmanic traditions.
• Official language: Khmer, written in its own script. English is widely used in tourism and business; French persists among older generations and in some professional settings.
• Money: The Cambodian Riel (KHR), pegged informally at roughly 4,000 to the US dollar. Note the dual-currency system below — it catches out most first-time visitors.
• Power supply: 230V, 50Hz. Sockets commonly accept types A, C and G, so most plugs fit somewhere — but a universal adapter saves a lot of guesswork.
• Independence Day: 9 November, marking independence from France in 1953.

A word on currency

Cambodia runs on two currencies at once. US dollars are accepted almost everywhere, but change is usually given in Riel, and small purchases are often Riel-only. Bring clean, undamaged dollar bills — a tear, heavy fold or stain is routinely grounds for refusal — and carry small denominations. Rural areas in the north and northeast may not accept dollars at all.

Information current as of 2026

Cambodia requires a visa from almost every visitor, plus a digital arrival card. Neither is difficult, but both need doing before you fly.

e-Arrival Card — required for everyone

All arrivals must submit a digital e-Arrival card. It can be completed from seven days before arrival and covers immigration, customs and health declarations in a single form. Tablets are available at most airports for anyone who hasn’t filed in advance, but queues move considerably faster for those who have.

Submit through the official portal only: https://www.arrival.gov.kh/

Three ways to get a tourist visa

• Visa on arrival — USD 30: Issued at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap–Angkor international airports and at open land crossings. Bring a passport photo and the fee in clean US dollars. Straightforward for individuals; less so for a group of forty trying to clear immigration together.
• e-Visa — USD 30 plus a processing fee: Applied for online and issued by email. Valid only at a limited set of entry points, so confirm yours is on the approved list before applying. Our recommendation for groups, since it removes the arrival-hall bottleneck entirely.
• Embassy or consulate in advance: Required for some nationalities and sensible for long or non-tourist stays. Allow at least seven working days, and considerably longer in peak season.

The official e-Visa portal is https://www.evisa.gov.kh/ — a large number of lookalike sites charge inflated fees for the same application. Please share this link directly with travellers.

Conditions to check before you book

• Passports must be valid for at least six months beyond your intended departure date from Cambodia.
• Several nationalities are excluded from visa on arrival and must apply in advance. If anyone in your group holds a passport from outside Europe, North America, Australasia or East Asia, check their eligibility early rather than at the airport.
• Citizens of most ASEAN member states enter visa-free for short stays.
• Carry the visa fee in undamaged US dollar notes. Torn or marked bills are regularly rejected.

Important: the Thailand land border

Land border crossings between Thailand and Cambodia have been closed since mid-2025 following an escalation of a long-running territorial dispute, and there is no announced reopening date. Overland routes such as Bangkok to Siem Reap via Poipet are not currently operating, and cross-border bus services are suspended.

Several governments maintain do-not-travel advisories for areas within 20 to 50 km of the Thai border, citing landmines and unexploded ordnance. This affects parts of Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear and Battambang provinces, including the Preah Vihear temple.

What this means in practice: combined Thailand–Cambodia programs must be routed by air. Entry from Vietnam and Laos is unaffected. We monitor this continuously and will not place a group within an advisory zone — if your itinerary needs adjusting, we will raise it with you before you commit.

Entry rules and border status both change. Always verify against your government’s current advisory before travel. Information current as of 2026

Cambodia is small enough to share one climate throughout — tropical, warm year-round, and split cleanly into a dry season and a wet one. Unlike Vietnam, there’s no need to choose between regions; you’re choosing between months.

Cool Dry Season — November to February

The most comfortable window and the busiest. Daytime temperatures sit in a manageable range, humidity drops, and rain is rare. Ideal for long days at Angkor, where shade is limited and the walking adds up. Book accommodation early, particularly around Siem Reap in December and January.

Best for: temple exploration, extended outdoor programs, first visits

Hot Dry Season — March to May

Temperatures climb sharply, often past 35°C in April, and the landscape turns dry and dusty. Still very workable with sensible scheduling — start early, break through the middle of the day, resume late afternoon. Fewer visitors and better rates are genuine compensations. Khmer New Year in mid-April is a highlight for anyone interested in Cambodian culture, though much of the country closes for it.

Best for: lower costs, quieter sites, cultural festivals

Green Season — June to October

Rain arrives, usually as a heavy afternoon downpour rather than all-day drizzle, leaving mornings clear and workable. The countryside turns vivid green, the temple moats fill, and visitor numbers fall away. Some rural roads become difficult, so remote provinces need building in with care.

This is also when the Tonle Sap performs one of the world’s more remarkable natural events: monsoon volume forces the river to reverse direction, expanding the lake several times over and sustaining the floating villages around it. For geography and environmental science groups, seeing it at full extent is worth planning the whole trip around.

Best for: the Tonle Sap at its fullest, dramatic landscapes, value and space

Weather patterns are indicative. Information current as of 2026