Kep | កែប
Kep, Cambodia’s smallest province, first grew to fame in the early 1900s as a popular seaside resort of the rich and famous, and the colonial French. A well-known beach destination during the French Protectorate, it continued its popularity after independence in the 1950s and 60s, where even King Norodom Sihanouk had a villa.
Although Kep is quite a sleepy location during the week, weekends bring hordes of Cambodian tourists eager to sit on the beach and enjoy the local crab. Only a few hours from Phnom Penh and easily reachable by bus, taxi or train it is easy to see why it’s on so many people’s itineraries.
Now, Kep is pretty small, and at only 336 km² (and 50 km² of that is National Park), there aren’t a huge number of things to do in Kep, making it a popular day trip from Kampot which is only 20km away and easily reachable by tuk tuk. But we find ourselves choosing Kep over Kampot on plenty of occasions as a quiet and retreat-like place to stay, taking day trips to Kampot instead.
Most of Kep is situated around the Kep National Park, which offers great views over the Gulf of Thailand. Along the coastline you’ll find Kep Beach at one end, while the other is home to the famous Kep Crab Market and plenty of seafood restaurants. For the Urbexers amongst us, Kep is scattered with abandoned villas, some from before the Khmer Rouge, while others are more recent victims of Covid, but all make for some eerie exploring as you imagine what Kep looked like in its heyday.
Kep Beach might not be the best beach you will see in Cambodia, but is where you will also find lots of small restaurants and snack carts selling a variety of Cambodian foods. And it’s home to the White Lady Statue and crab statue sitting in the sea a little further east along the coast.
Rabbit Island is easily accessed by boat from the port, and can be a great place to relax for the day, or spend a night in one of the hut style accommodations there. And if you wish to travel a little further from Krong Kaeb (Kep City), you can visit local pepper farms, the salt fields, or the Secret Lake on the border with Kampot Province.
Although small, Kep is a quaint little province, easy to explore and well worth a day trip at the very least, or a couple of nights if you want to take in more in the area.
