Lets talk about all the fun things to do in Kampot in Cambodia!
Due to an unexpected phone in a pool incident most of these photos are by legend Chris Stevens of BackpackerBanter.
There are lot of Temples to see in Cambodia, and a ton of things to do in Siem Reap but there is also alot of beauty to explore off the beaten track.
Exploring the beautiful mountainous area of Kampot, a great place to visit in Cambodia, was one of the many highlights of my time in Cambodia. Kampot is a city nestled away in the mountains of Cambodia. This area has plenty of activities for people who love the outdoors.
Traveling with Backpacker Banter and Company, we embarked on the epic four Kampot Kamikaze tour.
While the town of Kampot itself is alright. The sites and activities around the city were the highlight of our time there.
Things to do in Kampot in Cambodia
How Does the Tour Work?
Good question, I am glad you asked it.
It is different from almost any other tour I have been on.
The entire tour is four days. Each morning you leave from the Mad Monkey, and you are back at the hostel for dinner.
It was nice being able to go to the same bar for a few beers, hanging out with friends that weren’t on the tour, and sleeping in the same bed every night.
Most small tours have you moving around like crazy spending most of your time on buses and seeing the sights as you travel from place to place.
It was refreshing just to sit back and enjoy Kampot without having to lug a ton of gear around every day.
Another way this tour was different is that you don’t have to sign up for the entire four days.
Anyone at the hostel could jump on a day at any time. However, signing up for the whole four days has its benefits, and significantly helps the people of Cambodia.
Here’s how!
The Cost and How the Tour Gives Back
The cost is $150.
This includes…..
All your breakfasts!
Your dorm room. (For extra you can upgrade to a private room)
Free Booze ( On certain activities)
Your Tour Guide
Your Motorbike rental.
So you get quite a lot.
Your Tour Helps Provide Clean Water
However, a cool thing about the tour is that it gives back to the people of Cambodia. Something Mad Monkey Hostels do a lot.
$14.50 of the tour goes straight to making a difference to the locals.
This money helps provide the poor rural families with clean water.
When just two people take the tour, it equals one water filtration system for the family.
The family is also trained on how to use the system,
I was pumped knowing I was getting to check out the sites but also helping the community
Mad Monkey calls this project Socially Awesome! I agree.
So what do you do the Kampot Tour?
Day One – Lazy Day at Kep
Our first day we all headed to the beach at Kep for a day of swimming and free booze.
Because we were all drinking, we took the biggest Tuk Tuks I have ever seen in my life. This thing was massive. Who knew Tuk Tuk came in Limo size!?
We played volleyball in the water. Talked to some locals, and got a little tipsy.
Next we all wedged ourselves in the back of a jeep for 10 minutes.
Literally crammed we headed to the Gibbon Valley, Animal Sanctuary where we got to play with some rescued monkeys.
Day Two – Exploring the Countryside.
Day two was one of my favorite days of the entire trip. The entire day we rode motorbikes around the countryside of Kampot. It’s hard to find the descriptive words to describe the landscape of Kampot.
We learned about the famous Pepper and Salt Farms. (Cambodia has some of the best pepper in the entire world)
Next we took our bikes off the road beside some cliffs where we went swimming in a secret swimming hole tucked inside a cave.
Next we explored some temples built inside the caves.
Walking into the middle of the caverns we came to a huge opening in the rocks. You could stare up past the sheer cliffs and up into the clouds.
In the corner under a protruding rock was a golden Buddha illuminated by candles.
Beside the statue was an elderly man sitting back on his knees rocking back and forth as he was humbly praying.
Our tour guides for the caves were local kids. Each kid had more energy than all of us put together.
The excitement that we were visiting showed as they led us to the mysterious cave temples and pointing out different shapes in the rocks.
After they made us have a little photo op with them before heading back.
We spent a little too long at the caves so we had to miss going to a secret lake.
Instead, we headed back to Mad Monkey for some live music and some $1 beers.
Day Three- Drunken River Cruise
Day three was super relaxing. A ton of us from the hostel jumped on a boat and headed out. Free beer was provided and we a lot of the afternoon drinking some beers while boating out to a nearby beautiful island.
The boat anchored and everyone jumped into the water and swam to the island where had a couple more beers.
It was a very relaxing day.
For out tour Mad Monkey tried a new island they spotted on Google maps. To be honest, it wasn’t the best island on the account of the rocky beaches. I hear the island they usually go to is nice and sandy, though.
After a while on the island, we jumped back on the boat and headed back to get an awesome view of the sunset.
Day 4 – Motor Bike to the Top of Bokor Mountain
The last day was another one of my favorites. Not only because it involved motorbiking narrow roads up and down a mountain but because of the stunning views!
Cambodia has a bit of a tragic history and from you get to experience some of it.
You also get to explore a massive abandoned casino which was awesome and visit a towering waterfall.
All in all, I liked the tour. We got to see the countryside of a beautiful part of Cambodia. Ride up mountains on motorbikes, spend an afternoon drinking on a private beach, and more. And it helps a good cause. You can’t beat that as you enjoy one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Plus, the Mad Monkey Kampot was one of my favorite in Cambodia.
Check out the Kampot Kamikaze Tour and maybe add it as a bucket list idea.
Check other ways to see the country check out this Cambodia Post VIP Tour