Kampot and Kep Tour: Salt Farms & Crab Market Experience

Kampot's salt fields and pepper farms show you how rural Cambodia actually works

A full-day tour from Sihanoukville cruise port to Kampot and Kep explores colonial architecture, working salt and pepper farms, a cave temple, and the crab market where locals land their daily catch. You travel in a shared air-conditioned vehicle with other cruise passengers and an English-speaking guide. Pickup and drop-off happen at Gate 2, and all entrance fees are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Kampot and Kep highlights

• Depart from hotel in Sihanoukville or Phnom Penh
• Explore Kampot town and colonial architecture
• Visit fishing village to see daily life
• Stop at salt field to learn traditional salt making
• Visit pepper farm to see pepper cultivation
• Tour Phnom Chhngok Cave Temple
• Travel to Kep town
• Visit Kep Crab Market
• Relax at Kep Beach
• Return to Sihanoukville or Phnom Penh

The experience

Kampot sits on the Praek Tuek Chhu River in southwest Cambodia, its streets lined with French colonial buildings and red tile-roofed shop houses that hint at a century of occupation. The tour walks you through the town itself before moving to the working landscape around it. A salt field near the coast shows you how salt is harvested by hand during the dry season: the labor involved changes how you think about what sits on a table. From there, a pepper farm demonstrates how black, green, red and white varieties are grown, harvested, dried and ground, each one tasting different from the last.

Before reaching Kep, you stop at Phnom Chhngok Cave Temple, a brick structure built inside a limestone cave and dedicated to Shiva. The cave itself frames the temple in a way that photographs alone do not capture. Kep is known for seafood, and the crab market is where that reputation lives: locals bring in their fresh catch and the activity is constant. A break at Kep Beach follows: a quiet stretch of coastline where the pace drops and the laidback atmosphere is real, not manufactured for tourists.

The tour runs about eight and a half hours from pickup at the cruise port gate to your return. You travel with other cruise passengers in a shared vehicle, which means the group stays small and the guide can answer questions as they come up. Cold bottled water is provided throughout the day, and all entrance fees are covered in the price.

What’s included

• Pickup and drop-off at cruise port Gate 2.
• shared air-conditioned vehicle.
• English-speaking guide.
• all entrance fees to Phnom Chhngok Cave Temple, the salt field, pepper farm and crab market.
• cold bottled water throughout the day.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 07:00, 08:00 and 08:30

Book up to4h before

AgesAdult (12 to 75 years) · Child (3 to 11 years) · Infant (under 3)

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 12 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Sihanoukville Tours & Excursions

Is this one for you?The guide speaks English, so you follow the commentary without translation. The shared vehicle keeps the group small, which means the pace stays manageable and the guide can answer questions as they come up during the eight-and-a-half-hour day.

Traveler reviews

5.00★★★★★★★★★★

2 verified traveler reviews

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 11 years); Infant (under 3).

What is the salt field like when we visit it?

The salt field operates only during the dry season and shows the traditional method of harvesting salt by hand near the coastline. You'll see firsthand how much labor goes into producing salt, which changes how most people think about it.

Can I actually see the crab market in Kep, or is it just a drive-by?

The crab market is a stop where you get out and walk through it while locals are bringing in their fresh catch. The activity is constant and you see how the market actually works, not a staged version of it.

How long does the tour take from start to finish?

The tour runs about eight and a half hours total, including pickup from Gate 2 at the cruise port and drop-off back there at the end of the day.

Do I need to arrange my own way to the tour, or is pickup included?

Pickup and drop-off are included in the price. The guide will meet you at Gate 2 of the cruise port with a welcome sign, and you return to the same gate at the end of the day.

What does the guide speak, and will I be able to follow along?

The guide speaks English throughout the tour and has experience leading small groups of cruise passengers. Commentary covers the history, architecture and working methods you see at each stop.