Kep Trips & Tours

From wealthy urbanites to playboy princes, the palm-fringed headland of Kep on Cambodia’s southern coastline was the place to be seen in the first half of the 20thcentury. Then, in the 1970s, the area became the centre of ferocious fighting between the Khmer Rouge and government forces, and the town lay all but deserted until really quite recently. The result is a deliciously quiet seaside escape, where development is careful and planned and the main activity is taking it easy. In the centre, crumbling, grandiose villas from bygone times sit alongside trendy, boutique hotels, locals from near and far chatter happily in the streets, and the seafood is unbeatable – try the famous Crab Market at sunset for Kep’s signature dish of fried crab and Kampot pepper. Catamarans, kayaks and snorkelling equipment can all be rented from the Sailing Club, day trips to tiny, sand-ringed islands will satisfy sun-worshippers (Kep’s beach isn’t the best we’ve come across). There are also plenty of opportunities to cycle in the countryside, hike in Bokor National Park, and visit the local pepper plantations of Kampot.