BootsnAll Travel Community

I've heard things about PP being really dangerous, and I'm a young female traveler. It's really making me want to avoid Cambodia. Thoughts?

Use normal precautions: join up with other backpackers when you go out and about. There are plenty of single, solo, female travelers wherever you go. I am sure that you will find a couple of Aussie or Dutch backpackers in the same predicament to go and explore with.

I travelled around Cambodia for a month using local buses, mostly on my own and found it safe - of course, I took normal precautions as a solo female traveller, i.e. don't go walking into dark alleys on your own, trust your instincts, etc.

PP has a lot more tourists and expats than you'd think, particularly near and at the waterfront area. Of course there be your dodgy gross sex tourists but there are also a lot of expats working for causes, NGOs, UN, etc.. so if you feel nervous on your own, you could stick to those areas. But generally, other than the annoying touts and (sadly) street kids, I found PP pretty safe. Of course, it is not that safe of an Asian city, say in comparison to Singapore, and I have heard scary stories from expats but it's all about your comfort level I always say (and always remember to trust your instincts!!).

If you're only going to Cambodia for Angkor Wat, and would want to avoid other areas, then go for it.. but I wager once you get there, you'd probably want to explore more of the country.

I usually find that the fears I have about a country before I visit it, are often quite unfounded, and the country is a lot more vibrant and wonderful than the scary tales attached to it. Good luck!