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Cambodia > General Information > Safety

Safety

Peter M. Geiser (and Sibylle Dussy)

Personal safety will be a crucial point during your stay in Cambodia and require you to carefully read up official publications on the issue before your departure from your home-country, e.g. on the travel information links given below.

For a first impression, we have compiled the following short summary of Cambodia's major security issues. Upon reading it, you should be aware that it combines the experiences of almost 14 million Cambodians and about one million of yearly tourists. Although a certain danger exists, most prudent visitors are able to enjoy a trouble-free stay and take home wonderful memories of the country's soft-spoken, gentle people. As ever, the greatest threat to a traveller's safety and health are traffic accidents of any kind.

Cambodia's major security issues:

Rapid increase on crime
Violent armed robberies, snatch-and-grab thefts and pickpockets are fairly common and there have been reports of sexual assaults and of tourists being dragged from their hired motorbikes. Particularly Phnom Penh is considered increasingly dangerous, but Cambodia's other tourist hotspots do not follow far behind.

Possible precautions (non-comprehensive list):

  • keep track of the latest travel recommendations on what distances to fly, which means of transport to prefer, etc.
  • keep as low a profile as possible (simple older, but clean(!) clothes, no jewellery, no expensive luggage)
  • keep your travel documents directly on your body and beneath your clothes
  • carry copies of your travel documents in your luggage and, if you are not alone, also swap them with your travel companion(s)
  • be unpredictable (do not walk the same way twice and/or at the same hour)
  • do not travel or stay out after nightfall

Landmines
Many rural areas in Cambodia remain heavily affected by land mines and unexploded ordnance.

Possible precautions (non-comprehensive list):

  • remain exclusively on the established paths, and never stroll into meadows and the like
  • by default, expect mines where the locals refuse to go
  • never tread on reusable items covering the ground, especially cardboard

Packs of wild dogs
In some regions of SE Asia, wild dogs roam the streets after nightfall to scavenge for food. In the worst case, they will form packs and hunt anything interesting that lives, including humans. To top this unpleasant fact, rabies are a considerable problem...

Possible precautions (non-comprehensive list):

  • be aware of your surroundings to spot potentially dangerous situations at once
  • do not travel or stay out after nightfall

Homepage(s)
FCO Travel Advice (English)
U.S. Department of State (English)
Auswärtiges Amt (German)


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