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Is Koh Rong Samloem Southeast Asia’s last hidden paradise?
After weeks exploring Cambodia by tuk tuk, we took the ferry to Koh Rong Samloem — a small island with no roads, no big infrastructure, and some of the clearest water we’ve ever seen.
We stayed in a unique dome-style beachfront resort, explored Saracen Bay, tested the island vibe with our daughter, and found incredible food, fire shows, and surprisingly affordable prices.
But island life isn’t perfect…
We experienced power outages, water issues, confusing ferry logistics, and zero ATMs — so in this video we’re sharing the honest truth about visiting Koh Rong Samloem.
If you’re planning a trip to Cambodia and deciding between Koh Rong or Koh Rong Samloem — this is everything you need to know.
Want to hire your own Tuk Tuk in Cambodia? Click the link - https://tuktukrental.com/?ref=y2yxyzm
GET IN TOUCH:
🌏 Email: lloydandmandyenbom@gmail.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lloydandmandy/
💻 Our Website: https://www.lloydandmandy.com/
Our Favourite Travel Vlog Camera - Insta360GoUltra: https:
Is Koh Rong Samloem Southeast Asia’s last hidden paradise?
After weeks exploring Cambodia by tuk tuk, we took the ferry to Koh Rong Samloem — a small island with no roads, no big infrastructure, and some of the clearest water we’ve ever seen.
We stayed in a unique dome-style beachfront resort, explored Saracen Bay, tested the island vibe with our daughter, and found incredible food, fire shows, and surprisingly affordable prices.
But island life isn’t perfect…
We experienced power outages, water issues, confusing ferry logistics, and zero ATMs — so in this video we’re sharing the honest truth about visiting Koh Rong Samloem.
If you’re planning a trip to Cambodia and deciding between Koh Rong or Koh Rong Samloem — this is everything you need to know.
Want to hire your own Tuk Tuk in Cambodia? Click the link - https://tuktukrental.com/?ref=y2yxyzm
GET IN TOUCH:
🌏 Email: lloydandmandyenbom@gmail.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lloydandmandy/
💻 Our Website: https://www.lloydandmandy.com/
Our Favourite Travel Vlog Camera - Insta360GoUltra: https:
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TravelTranscript
00:00Spoke too soon. Spoke too soon, you went to reverse and turned off.
00:12Isn't it so nice?
00:16Wow, this place is so unique and so cool.
00:20Look at this rooftop!
00:27Oh, we've convinced them to let me drive one of these trackpad, thingy, whatever it is.
00:33We just paid double.
00:35He's going to show me how to drive.
00:49Okay!
00:50Have fun!
00:52Probably one of our new favorite beaches and places to visit.
00:55We will definitely be coming back here.
00:57Being a nomad is not a vacation.
00:59It's freedom, but it's also discipline.
01:01It's an exchange of security for enhanced experiences.
01:05It's a way of life.
01:06When times are getting crazy, and everything seems easy.
01:11Is there some place for safety? I don't know.
01:17Run away, run away, run away into your escape.
01:22Run away, run away, run away, you're never too far.
01:27Run away, run away, run away into your escape.
01:34Run away, run away, run away, run away.
01:52Hey, back to our tuk-tuk. It was all here. It cost $7.50 to park it for three days,
01:58which
01:58isn't too bad, and they kept an eye on it and everything. Now we're going to race and
02:03see if we can make the two o'clock ferry. So much mixed information about where the
02:15ferry goes from and how long it takes to drive there. So I did the safe bet and
02:20booked us a four o'clock ferry. It's only 11 now. I also had mixed information about
02:25what time the boat would bring us here. So I gave us heaps of buffer and now I'm
02:31thinking we could probably just go and get on that two o'clock ferry. Let's go
02:34try. All we need to do is go to get cash out because there's no ATMs on the
02:37island and most of the shops and restaurants only take cash. Except the
02:41resort we're saying that includes breakfast and takes credit cards for. Okay. We don't need
02:46We could survive.
02:48Families.
02:48Yeah.
02:49This is too big.
02:52Big?
02:52Yeah.
02:56Spoke too soon.
02:58Spoke too soon. We went to reverse and just turned off.
03:17It's weird that it turned on and then just shut off.
03:21Yeah. It tells me it's like a loose.
03:23It turns on.
03:31Joanne.
03:32Don't.
03:41You that me?
03:43You that me?
03:45Don't.
03:52all right well that was a bit hectic our tuk-tuk started then I tried to back it
03:58out and it shut off we couldn't get it going again seemed like maybe a loose
04:03electrical wire the boat driver came and gave us a hand he was really cool and my
04:08guess is that that rough road we took made something come loose and yeah we
04:15couldn't we could have taken it right just down the street to the mechanic one
04:19of the guys offered to take us down there and it probably would have cost
04:22like five bucks to get it fixed but there was really no need because that
04:26was our last trip with the tuk-tuk they were just going to come here to the
04:31ferry port and pick it up anyway today so it's only half an hour down the road we
04:36just left it there and got a taxi here we made it to the ferry port and we've got
04:42about an hour or so to the next boat which we're getting on we got an early
04:47one everything is shut which is kind of weird there's like a mini-mart over here
04:52there's a bar here there's restaurants up there but they're all closed so I don't
04:58know what the deal is there and I still haven't got any shoes in case you missed
05:03it in our last video I lost one of my Birkenstocks on the drive here and I
05:14got more on shoes since
06:00all right we made it to Karong Sam Luan but it's a bit confusing because like
06:05there's like two piers here and like no roads or anything but all the resorts and
06:12hotels are along the beach so you gotta like figure out which here to get off
06:17at and then we got off on the second one and the guy there's a guy here like it's
06:23kind of like a taxi boat service he's just calling the resort that we're
06:29staying at to come and pick us up said to wait I don't know five ten minutes or
06:34whatever so just having a beer at the pier here it looks pretty awesome it looks
06:41pretty beautiful I'm looking forward to seeing this hotel
06:54all right we got on a boat we've had a bit of a a bit of a day but a
07:02bit of a few days
07:04yeah it's interesting they don't um there's not like too much direction or instruction or anything
07:10you kind of just gotta like have faith that it'll work out and guess where to
07:15get off guess where to get off guess how to get to your hotel um guess how to get
07:22onto the boat and which boat to get onto but once you do that sweet yeah if you're
07:28just patient and you're not in a rush everything's cool just have a beer while
07:32you're waiting
07:47you're waiting
07:49I've been trying to breathe underwater
07:55I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:00I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:06I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:07I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:07I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:08I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:09I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:10I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:12I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:13I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:14I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:17I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:18I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:19I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:19I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:20I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:20I've been trying to breathe underwater
08:32all right we've just arrived at our resort as we were pulling in Lloyd's like I was like oh I
08:38think I can see it and Lloyd's like oh can you see the igloos I was like they're domes they're
08:44not igloos but I support the igloo things we're probably gonna be calling them igloos
08:48now that we're sitting here this resort is called moonlight resort oh they're really cool looking
08:56it's an igloo it does it does sort of look like an igloo with windows we've got really beautiful
09:04like arched windows and doors that's pretty they're pretty unique the beach is beautiful
09:09it's very quiet so I feel like many people are here excited to see what the room looks like
09:16all right look at this beach isn't it so nice
09:24it's beautiful igloos
09:27okay okay yeah yeah thank you
09:56yes thank you so much so thoughtful and I can't please enjoy with the world country course this one with
10:03pineapple juice
10:05is orange juice wonderful thank you do you need a passport yeah wash your feet first no sand allowed in
10:15this place
10:17no sand allowed in the igloo oh this doesn't work does it this doesn't work very good it's just dribbles
10:27but at least he gets the sand off
10:29it's not electricity oh that's true
10:34how long is the electricity shut off sometimes okay i kind of vibe with that
10:41what do you do with this i just let it dribble
10:46we can't do it yet we can't my my peter did you say no
10:54oh i thought he said no i cleaned my feet
10:58okay guys before we give you this epic room tour we just want to say a quick thank you to
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11:04for sponsoring today's video when you're traveling like we are a huge part of everyday life happens
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11:24hotels like this one and although it is convenient public wi-fi is one of the easiest ways for your
11:30data
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12:18heading to surfshark.com lloyd and mandy that's surfshark.com lloyd and mandy or use the code lloyd
12:26and mandy at checkout to get four extra months of surfshark vpn all right let's show you this incredible room
12:36ive been trying to lie about the internet
12:38ive been trying to lie about the internet
12:39this is so cool
12:41ive been trying to lie cause im scared
12:52cuz it doesn't mean so much in the air
12:57ive been trying to lie cause im scared
13:14wow this place is so unique and so cool look at this rooftop
13:24it's so cool in here and i was kind of like skeptical that they'd actually have everything
13:29that we need in here but they have a fridge air con they've even got like an extra little space
13:35back here um that's like a day bed type thing which is awesome with lila if one of us is
13:41like
13:41sleeping here we need more space so good there's so many windows they're closed at the moment i'm
13:47gonna open them up um shower uh space for snacks after just being in kotak you have like this like
13:57feels massive
14:14uh what's it called the barbecue one
14:54thank you
14:56thank you
15:48thank you
15:58mandy's getting so comfortable that she come to breakfast in her robe
16:04and i almost joined her but i just couldn't do it i don't know maybe tomorrow i will
16:10by day three i'll have him in his robe at breakfast that's how relaxed i am
16:16also we're the only ones here we're literally the only people staying at this hotel so i would
16:20probably come to breakfast in my undies fall on it
16:27so we were actually told by a bunch of people we asked heaps of people whether we should come to
16:33kaurong or kaurong samluam which if you don't know they're two uh islands right next to each other
16:42um and kaurong's bigger there's a bit more infrastructure and we were told by a lot of people there was
16:48like a lot more of like a party vibe
16:50uh and just more like sort of stuff to do but if you want to chill come to kaurong samluam
16:56and a lot of people said kaurong samluam
16:58there's just like not really much of a vibe but we found last night the vibe to be
17:03awesome we stayed out we went to uh this hostel called wonders um at about like five o'clock around
17:12sort of sunset
17:13just to have a beer and have some dinner it was like chill music lots of people there lots of
17:19young
17:20people uh lila was running around playing soccer with people and volleyball and she was loving it
17:26uh and she ended up falling asleep there after dinner and we stayed we stayed until like 9 30 10
17:32o'clock which is late for us um because they had like this fire twirling show and like they were
17:39doing
17:39like all these different games and stuff we were just sitting there watching but it was fun um and
17:45even further down like they had a bunch of places with like barbecues and like reggae music and like
17:52i don't know i just i was expecting from what other people were saying a lot less and i actually
17:57really
17:57like the vibe here i think um we made the right choice in coming here especially with lila like
18:03where we're staying it's like probably a 10 minute walk from where sort of the more party sort of
18:11scene happens so um it's really quiet but it's there and we can like go and be around young people
18:18which is cool uh so i'm i'm actually really happy with the choice we made in coming to karong somewhere
18:23so thanks to sam and steph for the recommendation this is the traditional
18:28kama pork uh breakfast actually we're having chicken but same team and it's got grilled chicken
18:36with rice and egg and then like this broth soup and you got like chili and pickled veg as well
18:45looks awesome
19:01so
19:08so
19:09so
19:46Okay, I'm having a bit of a hard time deciding what to do because we've got pretty much
19:51two full days here, today and tomorrow, and then we leave on Friday and we've got this
19:57whole beautiful resort to ourselves, literally.
20:02We've got everything we need.
20:03We've got day beds, two pools, we've got the beachfront right there.
20:08Look at this view.
20:13Our room's really nice.
20:14We've got Wi-Fi.
20:15We can order drinks from the bar and food.
20:20But then on the other hand, like, do we go and explore the island?
20:24Do we go for a walk to the other side of the island?
20:27I know there's some waterfalls to check out and there's some other beaches.
20:32I don't know.
20:34I don't know.
20:36Do we chill here and relax and enjoy this?
20:40Or do I basically make Mandy come on an adventure with me?
20:45Because that's what it'll be.
20:47Because that's what it'll be.
20:47Um, I don't know what to do.
20:52I think for now we're going to relax.
21:00Day two.
21:02All it took was day two.
21:04I thought I was going to take till day three, but we got him in the robe for Bracky.
21:08I didn't think I'd like it.
21:10It was very fun.
21:12Sitting out here eating very good.
21:21Okay, I just want to share a little bit about this accommodation.
21:24Um, after being here for a couple days now.
21:29Although it is extremely aesthetically pleasing, especially in the room, um, we have had a few
21:36issues being here.
21:37We're still having an incredible time and I want to say that the food has been incredible.
21:42That being said, last night we got back from having dinner and a couple drinks and there
21:47was no water.
21:48Um, so we couldn't even like wash our feet off or anything.
21:51Um, after like walking back on the beach, um, we went into the back to try and see what
21:59was going on.
21:59If there was like a hose or just maybe they could turn the water on for us and we couldn't
22:03find anybody.
22:04There was no staff around to help us or anything.
22:06So we did our best to get all the sand off of us, but we weren't able to have like
22:11a shower
22:12or anything before going to bed.
22:13So that was like a bit frustrating.
22:15Um, and even when we woke up this morning, there was, there was still no water.
22:19So we just like jumped straight in the ocean.
22:21It's fine.
22:22Yeah.
22:23Just like little things like that.
22:24The water has been an issue.
22:26And then also the power has been going out every day for a few hours, like in the middle
22:31of the day, which is fine.
22:32Cause we just like, we've just been going out anyway, but I just, I want to be honest.
22:36And yeah, if you are coming here, it is very aesthetically pleasing, great for photos.
22:43And like, I like choosing accommodation that's a little bit unique, obviously it's more eye
22:49catching and like more visually appealing for videos and things, but yeah, there are a few
22:53flaws, I guess you could say.
22:55And I just want to be honest with you guys about what our experience has been like.
22:59That being said, this could just be an Island thing, you know, like we're on an Island.
23:04You can't expect everything to be the same as like what the infrastructure is like a city.
23:08There's this one little monkey here who has gotten near Lila a couple of times.
23:16Um, I don't trust him, eh?
23:19I don't know what his plan is, but Lila's just sort of walking around the area.
23:24We've got our eye on her and twice now we've seen him sort of start to get a little bit
23:29too close.
23:33What's your deal, buddy?
23:35Huh?
23:40Oh, we've convinced them to let me drive one of these tractor thingy, whatever it is.
23:46We should pay double.
23:48He's going to show me how to drive.
23:49Sick.
23:51Yeah.
23:54Yeah.
23:56Yeah.
23:56Yeah.
24:07Yeah.
24:08Yeah.
24:15Yeah.
24:17Yeah.
24:21Yeah.
24:23Yeah.
24:25Yeah.
24:32Yeah.
24:33Yeah.
24:33Yeah.
24:33Yeah.
24:34Yeah.
24:35Yeah.
24:35Yeah.
24:36Yeah.
24:36Yeah.
24:36Yeah.
25:42Come get your own chair.
25:51That was pretty cool.
25:53Yeah, that was fun.
25:55Yeah.
25:55I've realized like anyone who will let you drive anything around here just paid with everything.
26:00Yeah.
26:01So they wanted us to pay $5 for the ride.
26:03Which was expensive.
26:05It was $2.
26:09I ended up paying $10 just because I really wanted to see what it was like driving one
26:14of those things.
26:15And very easy to drive.
26:16Very cruisy.
26:17You don't have to keep your foot on an accelerator or your hand on an accelerator or anything.
26:22Yeah.
26:23So his thing is cruised.
26:30Alright.
26:30So where we are in Kerong San Maram is pretty much like the center of the island.
26:38It's called Saracan Bay. So if you are booking accommodation to come here, make sure it's in
26:44Saracan Bay so that you can access all of this. So this is like a big strip of like hostels,
26:52restaurants, hotels, resorts. There's just a lot of options and there's like barbecues going on
26:58every night and like fire shows and it just feels like this is the part of the island where there's
27:06actually something happening. There's a little mini mart there. We were actually worried when we
27:11got here that there wasn't going to be any mini mart. That's what people kept telling us like
27:14there's nothing here. There's way more here than what I thought. And so the other options if you
27:20want to stay somewhere else are there's Lazy Beach which is really quiet. There's a resort just over
27:27there which is called Pearl Resort and they've pretty much got their own private beach. If that's what
27:34you're into that'd be a good option as well. And then there's M Pi Bay. M apostrophe Pi P-A
27:42-I
27:42which is like this one over here I believe. But like just look at the water here. It's absolutely
27:49incredible. It's crystal clear blue. It's not crazy busy but there's like a little bit going on.
27:56There's like a bunch of tours that leave from here. You can go snorkeling. You can go on speedboat
28:01tours. You can walk to the other side of the island if that's what you want to do. Or you
28:06can just do
28:06what we have been doing and just enjoying the water and swimming and relaxing here. And then eating
28:14really really good food. And everything's really cheap. Like I thought on an island like this they
28:19would jack the prices up like they usually do. Not the case. Food's been pretty much the same price
28:25we've gotten in other cities. Drinks the same. Everything's been the same.
28:46Where's cashew nut curry been this whole two months? I don't know. Unreal.
28:54So we're at a place called Sweet Time. It's not as busy as the other places. But if you come
28:59here order the cashew nut curry a little bit spicy. This is one of the better meals that
29:06we've had since we've been here. But we actually we haven't had a bad meal since we've been here.
29:10Have we? No. No. The food's been so good. We kind of fall into a trap where we do this
29:20wherever
29:21we go. We go to one place and it's really good. And we just keep going back there. Yeah. So
29:26we've
29:26got to force ourselves to try somewhere new. So we've been to three places. Yeah. Yeah. And they've
29:32all been good. Yeah. So yeah this is pretty much uh Saracan Bay Beach. Um it's quite a long beach.
29:41It's
29:41probably I would say I don't know three kilometers four or five kilometers. I don't know. Um but the
29:49actual stretch where all of the like restaurants and um and the mini mart is is probably only like a
29:58couple hundred meters long. So where we're staying is just down the beach there. It's about a 10 minute
30:05walk. Um we've been eating at this restaurant here pretty much every day or every night. Because it's
30:12just a really good vibe. It's really chill. Really comfy. There's a lot of uh area for man for Mandy.
30:20For Lila to run around. And they accept card. A few places do accept card. Um there's one thing I
30:26read
30:26before I came here that you needed cash everywhere. It's not everywhere. You can go to
30:31certain spots. They will take card. Um and as you can see it's about 5 30 nearly sunset.
30:39And people are out and about. Um but it's not too crazy. Like it's just people chilling playing
30:46volleyball. Um a lot of kids running around. I think a lot of people probably just getting back
30:53from their tours. And stuff. Honest opinion. If I was to come here again. And if I were you.
30:58These are the three places I would stay. If I just wanted a nice uh not too expensive. But
31:04a nice accommodation. I'd probably do Sarah Resort. Where we've been eating. It's not too expensive.
31:09But it's quite nice. You got a nice pool and everything. The restaurant's really good.
31:13Uh and it's right in the middle here. If I was a backpacker. In my 20s. Or whatever.
31:19Single. Maybe a couple. Um I wanted something cheaper. And more of a sort of younger vibe.
31:24I would stay at Wonders. Which looks like a really cool hotel. That's where we've been
31:28eating dinner every night. If I wanted to spend a little bit extra. And have like
31:32a little bit more of a luxurious experience. I would stay at La Passion. And they're all
31:38right next to each other. There's La Passion. There's Wonders. And there's Sarah right there.
31:44And what I like about it here is. You pretty much don't need to leave this couple hundred
31:48meter stretch. If you're staying here. Which just makes it so easy to relax. Like
31:54you can come down the beach. You can go back to your room. You can go for a swim. You
31:58can get something to eat. You can try the different places. Um to eat and drink. And there's barbecue
32:04at pretty much every restaurant. And like Lila's been out with us at night. She's just been
32:08falling asleep. In the lounge chairs. Um. We've been staying out till like nine, ten
32:14o'clock. Which is pretty odd for us. But I've liked it. And we just carry her home
32:18asleep. And it's been great. So that's my little recommendation. And that is just a
32:25little bit of a point of view of this beach. Which is honestly probably one of our new
32:34favorite beaches and places to visit. We will definitely be coming back here.
32:37I'm looking for so much more. Don't leave me here searching. You're just what I'm longing for.
32:45When times are getting crazy. Everything seems hazy. Is there some place for safety? I know.
32:58Run away, run away, run away into your inner space. Run away, run away, run away. You're never too far.
33:08Run away, run away, run away into your inner space.
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