The Ultimate Battambang Travel Guide

Welcome to the Ultimate Battambang Travel Guide, from people who have been to Battambang in 2022. 

Battambang (pronounced Ba-tam-bong) is one of Cambodia’s low-key gems! Despite the city lacking the notoriety that other Cambodian cities possess, it is equally as vibrant. It is full of beautiful cafes and has a calming atmosphere that allows you to relax that little bit extra. 

You might be wondering where is Battambang? Krong Battambang is the capital of Battambang province (West Cambodia) and the third-largest city in Cambodia. 

Disclaimer: Some of the links included on our website may contain affiliate links. We may receive some commission from purchases made via these but it will NOT affect the price you pay. This is to allow this site to stay online and ensure that readers use, what we believe, is the best products possible whilst travelling.

Getting a Cambodian Visa

There are two ways of getting a Cambodia visa; before entry or on arrival.

You can apply for a Cambodian visa via the Cambodian government’s website. A visa costs $30 plus a $6 processing fee per visa; it takes between three and seven days for your application to be processed.

The Cambodian government has also reinstalled the Visa On Arrival service for all international travellers. However, foreign nationals are not guaranteed a visa on arrival as the government reserves the right to deny entry to individuals that do not meet all the Cambodian visa requirements.

Check out our 13 Top Tips for Travelling Cambodia in 2022 for more information on getting a Cambodian visa in both instances.

How to get to Battambang? 

Battambang is a three-hour bus ride from Siem Reap and a six-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. Taking the bus is BY FAR the easiest and cheapest way to get here. Buses run daily to and from Phnom Penh & Siem Reap. Make sure to visit 12go Asia as this is hands down the best way to book transport around Cambodia. You can obviously get a taxi or rent a private shuttle here but it’ll be more expensive and just as bumpy. 

The second option is to get the Slow Boat. From Siem Reap, this nine-hour adventure (including a lunch break) takes you along the Sangker River to your final destination of Battambang. The best way of catching the Angkor Express Boat is either by staying at or contacting The Siem Reap Hostel. This hostel handles everything for you; boat tickets, pick up and any questions you may have. The trip costs roughly $8 each and it is advised to book in a group to make the trip more affordable. We’ve spoken to people who’ve said you get bitten by ants and spiders being flung from the trees but it still is a once-in-a-lifetime experience (so we’ve heard).

We visited Battambang after initially stopping at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Once you’ve finished visiting Battambang, you can either get the day bus to Siem Reap or Phnom Penh (depending on your itinerary). Conversely, you can also get the sleeper bus to Kampot or Sihanoukville where the latter is a gateway to the popular Cambodian islands of Koh Rong & Koh Rong Sanloem. 

Why not check out How to Visit Koh Rong & Koh Rong Sanloem or The Perfect Month Itinerary for Cambodia in 2022.

How long should you spend in Battambang?

1-2 days

Now, this totally depends on how much time you have spare; you can easily spend just one or two nights here if you want to cram your activities into one day. Alternatively, if you do have some free time then we’d recommend two or three nights here. This will allow you time to relax, explore and soak up the feel of the city. 

As we allude to below, there really isn’t much to do here but we spent three nights here and we absolutely loved the calmness of the city. This also allowed us to visit many of the city’s cafes and great restaurants (again, see below). Many people miss Battambang out for one reason or another but it is definitely worth visiting.

When is the best time to visit Battambang?

January/February 

When we visited in February, we found it to be the ideal time as the temperature was bearable (around 30C) and no way near as hot as it could get up to 40C (or more in April and May). Moreover, we didn’t visit in the rainy season so it (obviously) rarely rained and if it did, it was only for 5 minutes. It is worth noting that mosquitos are notoriously bad during the rainy season so visiting at this time will mean you escape the worst of them. If January/February isn’t an option, we know that anytime between November and April will absolutely suffice and you’ll have an amazing time! 

Where to stay in Battambang:

The Sanctuary Villa Battambang Hotel

_{Tea Cham Rath St, Krong Battambang 02200, Cambodia}

We wanted to give ourselves a break from staying in hostels and this was the PERFECT place. Despite being located just on the outskirts of the city’s north, it is still no more than a 3-minute tuk-tuk drive to get to anywhere you want in town. Sam, the resident tuk-tuk driver, was amazing, really helpful and made our stay that much more enjoyable. 

The place itself is exactly as advertised; the pool is nice and warm and we’d thoroughly recommend jumping in once or twice a day to escape the heat. The rooms are equally as great; the hotel will re-make the bed for you every day and the air con was so refreshing! 

Whilst we ate out every day, the hotel does have a kitchen with affordable prices and good food so there won’t be a problem if you want to relax here for a day. 

The Place Hostel & Rooftop Bar

_{53 road 3, Krong Battambang, Cambodia}

We didn’t stay at The Place Hostel but know friends who did and they didn’t have a bad word to say about this place; they loved the rooftop, its location and how friendly the staff were. If we hadn’t decided to stay in a hotel, we would’ve stayed here in a heartbeat.

Alternatively, if either of the above didn’t take your fancy, why don’t you check out these two more options below:

Battambang Resort Hotel

This option would definitely be top of our list if we weren’t on such a strict budget. Looks beautiful and in a perfect location.

What to do in Battambang:

Ride the Bamboo Train

_{3698+JWH, Krong Battambang, Cambodia}

Made famous by Jack Whitehall in Travels with My Father (Season 1, Episode 4), the Bamboo Train is an epic activity and an absolute must if you visit Battambang. 

It costs $10 or 40,000 riel and you’ll be able to ask at your accommodation for booking details. Your tuk-tuk drive will take you about 20 minutes outside of the city centre. 

Essentially, the “train” is a raft made from bamboo that is totally separate from the two axles underneath and the detachable engine. This allows the train to quickly separate when faced with an oncoming freight train. This happened twice on our journey and it was very cool to watch. 

The train can really pick up some speed so it was a lot of fun to experience.

The journey was 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. We “turned around” at a village someway out of Battambang and walked around. The village was very impoverished which was sad to see but it was interesting to learn about their lives. 

I honestly can’t describe how fun and amazing this ride was and if you do anything in Battambang, make sure it’s this! 

You can either book the Bamboo Train or through your accommodation.

Floating Village

This can again be organised by your accommodation but you can pay to take a tour of the footing village.

By boat (obviously), the tour will take you down the Sangker River where you can see how some people live.

We personally didn’t do this out of choice. The main reason was that we weren’t really sure about our stance on this ethically. It seemed a bit odd for us to pay to go and look into people’s living rooms from a boat; especially when the inhabitants are known for being below the poverty line and the tour money doesn’t go to them (unless you purchase products from them while you’re there).

If you take the slow boat to/from Battambang you’ll go past many floating houses but visiting on an organised tour was $25 each; safe to say this was a bit out of our comfort zones.

If you do choose to visit, make sure you eat lunch or purchase some local produce whilst you are there.

Bat Caves

The most spectacular natural phenomenon we’ve seen on our travels so far. 

It costs around $15 for the journey so the more people you can fit in the taxi, the cheaper it’ll be. You can again organise this tour through your hostel. 

You get driven, by tuk-tuk, to the historical landmark of Phnom Sampov where you’ll perch on the cliffside before sunset.

Once the sun sets, thousands upon thousands of bats will emerge from the cave. The event lasts nearly an hour just because there’re so many of them. 

It really is a beautiful sight and the only other must-view in Battambang. Make sure to brace yourself for the stench of bat poo; it really is quite something! 

It is best to book through your accommodation but you can check reviews HERE.

Temples

We, unfortunately, didn’t get to see any of the amazing temples Battambang has to offer as we simply didn’t give ourselves enough time. 

If you do have enough time, our tuk-tuk driver Sam highly recommends Wat Ek Phnom and Wat Samraong. 

If you’ve visited Cambodia or Thailand already, you’ll know that temples (or Wat’s) are a huge part of their respective cultures and utterly beautiful structures that are worth exploring. 

However, we don’t shy away from the fact you can get really templed out so pick and choose which ones you wish to visit. 

Killing Caves  Phnom Sampeau

Situated at Phnom Sampov, it is on the opposite side of the hill to the bay caves. 

The caves were used by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979 to commit awful atrocities. 

An emotionally scarring experience but one that’ll help you learn and understand more about events that happened less than 50 years ago.

In the same area as bat caves so can visit both on the same day if you time it right.

We’d also recommend hiring a guide to get the most out of your visit.

Where to eat and drink in Battambang:

La Pizza 

_{59 street 159 D, Krong Battambang, Cambodia}

We found this from TikTok (of all places) and it really didn’t disappoint and we left very much full.

The pizza dough is made from cassava flour which makes it gluten-free. This meant Leah could eat it and she LOVED it! 

For me also, the pizza didn’t taste anything but normal and you couldn’t tell the difference at all. 

Being an Italian it also had pasta (not GF) and the pizza had so many topping choices it took us both a while to choose. 

If you’re craving pizza and are in Battambang, you need to check this out! 

Masala House Indian Restaurant

_{Street 119, Krong Battambang, Cambodia}

We happened to stumble upon Masala House because we hadn’t had an Indian in AGES and it turned out AMAZING! 

The prices were really good and the quality was amazing; we had to be rolled out of there. 

Very close call between here and La Pizza being the best restaurant in Battambang. 

Make sure you bring cash as they gave back their card machines during Covid. We fell foul of this and had to run around the corner to get some cash having already eaten. 

The owner and staff were very accommodating and it was great to hear that they’re slowly starting to get more customers after Covid. 

Cafe Eden

_{Rd No 1, Krong Battambang, Cambodia}

Another really cute Cambodian cafe that is blessed with sacred air-con. 

Great place to have a refreshing drink and to relax. 

Alternatively, you can throw a bit of breakfast/lunch in there. We did this and the food was really good and well priced. It also filled Alex up so that was a massive bonus! 

Afterwards, we chilled here for a few hours, enjoying the aircon and catching up on some work and the staff didn’t mind at all. 

Miss Wong Cocktail Bar

_{Krong Battambang, Cambodia}

As you know by now, we really love our cocktails. That is why we enjoyed Miss Wong’s so much. 

The quality of the drinks was really good and well priced for such an establishment; it felt as if we were back home, the quality was that good.

As soon as we stepped into the building, the design of the bar was amazing and it had very cool Chinese-themed decorations. 

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There you have it; our Ultimate Battambang Travel Guide, giving you all the best places to stay, eat and see BEFORE you visit so you won’t be left disappointed. Feel free to add any of your own recommendations in the comments!

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Disclaimer: Some of the links included on our website may contain affiliate links. We may receive some commission from purchases made via these but it will NOT affect the price you pay. This is to allow this site to stay online and ensure that readers use, what we believe, is the best products possible whilst travelling.