Layout of Kep
Kep is the smallest province of Cambodia. Until 2008, Kep was part of Kampot Province.
It’s in the South-East corner of Cambodia.
Kep is completely surrounded by Kampot Province by land, and the Gulf of Thailand by sea.
It’s only a short distance from Kep to the Vietnamese Border at the Prek Chak (Cambodia) / Ha Tien (Vietnam), and about 30 – 40 minutes to Kampot, Cambodia. Phnom Penh, Cambodia is about 2 – 3 hours away.
There’s also a large island right off the coast of Kampot, Kep, and SihanoukVille. Phu Quoc Island. While nowhere near Vietnam, this is actually in Vietnam. You can only get there (legally) from mainland Vietnam or by flying in. And now from The Kampot International Tourism Port. $30 and less than an hour. No visa needed.
There are a number of small islands off the coast of Kep. Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay) is the biggest, and the only one with tourist accommodations and regular boat service.
A nice road follows the coastline all the way through Kep. In the middle of Kep, to the North of the ocean, taking up half the province, is the Kep National Park. Basically small mountains and jungle with some roads and walking trails through the jungle.
Most of the tourist activities take place on or near the ocean, and at the base of the National Park. There’s now a road through the jungle, just for sightseeing.
What is referred to as The Beach in Kep, is a small, white sandy beach in what could be called “downtown”. Across from the beach is a shopping center, with restaurants and hotels. There really is no downtown in Kep. A few minutes ride on the beach road to the West of here is the Kep Crab Market, a collection of seafood restaurants and a seafood market on the ocean. To the East on the same road is Kep Beach East, grass hut seafood restaurants on the ocean. Right in back of the shopping center are a couple entrances to The Kep National Park. In the South-East corner of Kep are several Kampot Pepper plantations.
People of Kep
The local people of Kep work as farmers, fishing, construction, selling retail, in the tourist industry, salt fields, Kampot Pepper plantations, and not much else. There are several hundred foreigners here, working in the tourism industry, or retired here.
Why do people go to Kep
Kep is a place to Chill Out. Not much wild drunken partying here. Beautiful and relaxing seaside restaurants, bars, and accommodations, a small beach, and hillside resorts in well kept gardens, overlooking the mountains and ocean.
Fishing for seafood in the ocean is a big industry here as well.
Many of the foreign owned restaurants and accommodations here have excellent food from many different countries (about half the places are French.) The Khmer (Cambodian) owned places have excellent seafood and local dishes.
The Kep National Park, that takes half the province has trails through the jungle. Just driving around (on a scooter) and exploring Kep is great fun! There are quite a few activities in Kep, but you’ll need some way to get there…..
Getting Around Kep
While the province and city of Kep are small, it’s really spread out. Unless you’re going to stay at your hotel all day, you’ll need some kind of transportation. You can walk around, but you’ll not see a lot without some wheels beneath you. Tuk Tuks, carts pulled by a motorcycle are available at most tourist places. $2 or more gets you to many places in Kep. Many people choose to rent a bicycle. (many Kep hotels have free bikes for their guests.) Many rent scooters (100cc automatic motorcycles) for $5 a day, and a dollar of gas gets you an hour of drive time.
Also, a few travel agencies have local tours, either by boat, Tuk Tuk, van, or car.
