Weather in Cambodia

Located in the tropical zone near the equator making Cambodia has a monsoon climate. Like other Southeast Asia countries. Cambodia is either warm or hot all year around with two distinct seasons: wet and dry seasons.
Wet season is from June to October with rains happen in the afternoon or at night. The afternoon rains usually last no more than a couple of hours.

Dry season can be divided into two sub-seasons, cool and hot. The cool dry season is from November to February. The monsoon rains trail off through October and November, and have usually stopped completely by mid November offering the best comfortable time of the year. The hot dry season is from March to May when it is less breezy and the sun can be quite intense and the air becomes hazier with the rising humidity.

Best time to visit Cambodia

You might consider a trip to Cambodia at any time of the year. The ideal month are December and January, when humidity is relatively low, there is little rainfall and a cooling breeze whips across the land, but this is also peak season when the majority of visitors descend on the country.

Other things you may want to know is when the major festivals take place so that you could catch up with the fun. In April, the Khmer New Year lasts three days and is celebrated throughout the country. In October or early November, the Water Festival celebrates the beginning of the dry season together with exciting boat races and Buddhist ceremonies. On 9th, November, the Independence Day is celebrated, which marks the independence from France and is also known as Khmer National Day.

Siem Reap

The climate in Siem Reap is regularly asked by tourists to Cambodia since it is the gateway to Angkor Wat Temple Complex. It is hot and muggy all year around, just like other parts in Cambodia. There are also two seasons here, which are differentiated by the amount of the rainfalls. Dry season is from November to April with the most comfortable temperatures and less rains. While the wet season runs from May to October with showers in the afternoon and heavy downfalls in the midnight. If you are not into the heat, then you’d better to visit during the early phase of the dry season. But if you don’t mind the heat, the rainy season is a better choice.

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is near the equator so it is hot year-round with average temperature from 28°C to 33°C. It has three basic seasons in Phnom Penh. The rainy season runs from June to October with rains regularly. The summer season runs from February to May when the temperature gets very high with strong sunshine. So, the best time to visit Phnom Penh is from December to January with a cooler temperature and less humidity.

Tonle Sap Lake

It is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. During the rainy season from June to October, the water in the Mekong River will fill the lake. But it will flow out from the lake to Mekong River during the dry season from November to May. Although tourists can visit it all year round, the best time should be July to December, especially the Kampong Pluk and Kampong Khleang floating villages on Tonle Sap Lake.

Koh Rong Islands

Located near the coast of Sihanoukville, Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem are famous for their serene beauty. Often described as an ‘island paradise’ by visiting tourists, they are a perfect holiday destination for families, couples, and groups of travellers.

The best time to visit Koh Rong Island and its sister island Koh Rong Samloem is between the middle of November and the start of May. During these months you’ll have beautiful hot days with very little cloud and low humidity. One thing to note is that, although it is wonderfully hot throughout the peak season, there are several advantages of visiting Koh Rong during the rainy season. For example, those that visit during the rainy season get to enjoy half-priced accommodation and beautiful rainy scenes, and because it never gets too cold in Cambodia, swimming in the ocean is still a very pleasurable experience (the water rarely drops beneath 25°C).