Phnom Penh in 4 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
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Four days adds one real day trip to the city core
Days 1-3 here are the exact plan in the 3-day itinerary : the Royal Palace and National Museum, Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek, then Central Market and the Night Market. Day 4 heads out of the city to Koh Dach, the Silk Island. Days run $15-81 a person depending on the day; file the e-Arrival Card (arrival.gov.kh) and an e-visa (evisa.gov.kh, about $36) before you fly, and bring crisp US bills. For the sight-by-sight rundown behind this plan, see the Phnom Penh guide .
Day 1: Royal Palace and the riverside core
Start at Wat Phnom ($1), the hilltop temple the city takes its name from, open by 7am before the heat sets in. Walk or tuk-tuk to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda ($10 combined); go in the morning or afternoon session and dress in shoulders-and-knees coverage or you’ll be turned away at the gate. The National Museum of Cambodia is a few minutes’ walk away ($10 adult, $5 youth). Close the day on Sisowath Quay, free to walk, with dinner built around fish amok, the national dish.
| Day 1 cost (USD, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed (hostel dorm / guesthouse double) | 6 | 25 |
| Breakfast | 2 | 4 |
| Wat Phnom | 1 | 1 |
| Royal Palace + Silver Pagoda | 10 | 10 |
| National Museum (youth / adult) | 5 | 10 |
| Lunch | 2 | 6 |
| Dinner (fish amok) | 4 | 10 |
| Tuk-tuk rides | 2 | 6 |
| Day 1 total | 32 | 72 |
Day 2: Tuol Sleng, Choeung Ek, and the Russian Market
This is a memorial day, not a sightseeing day, budget it as one. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) is $5 (plus $5 for the recommended audio guide), open 8am-5pm; go first, since that’s the order the history happened in. Choeung Ek, about 15km south (30-45 minutes by tuk-tuk), is $6 including its own audio guide, open 7:30am-5:30pm; the memorial stupa holds more than 5,000 skulls. Agree the round-trip tuk-tuk fare before you set off, roughly $10-16. In the afternoon the Russian Market is free to browse, a deliberate contrast after the morning.
| Day 2 cost (USD, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 6 | 25 |
| Breakfast | 2 | 4 |
| Tuol Sleng (+ audio guide) | 5 | 10 |
| Choeung Ek (incl. audio) | 6 | 6 |
| Tuk-tuk to/from Choeung Ek | 10 | 16 |
| Lunch | 2 | 6 |
| Dinner | 4 | 10 |
| Local tuk-tuk rides | 2 | 4 |
| Day 2 total | 37 | 81 |
Day 3: Central Market, Wat Ounalom, and the Night Market
Start at Central Market (Phsar Thmei), free to browse. Walk to Wat Ounalom, Cambodia’s Buddhist headquarters, free (donation welcome). The Independence Monument, a 1958 lotus stupa by Vann Molyvann, is a short tuk-tuk ride away and free to photograph. Close at the Night Market (Friday-Sunday, free entry); riverside food stalls make dinner the day’s only real cost.
| Day 3 cost (USD, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 6 | 25 |
| Breakfast | 2 | 4 |
| Central Market browsing | 0 | 0 |
| Wat Ounalom | 0 | 0 |
| Independence Monument | 0 | 0 |
| Lunch | 2 | 6 |
| Night Market dinner | 3 | 8 |
| Tuk-tuk rides | 2 | 6 |
| Day 3 total | 15 | 49 |
Day 4: Koh Dach, the Silk Island
A short trip north, Koh Dach (Silk Island) sits about 15km from the city, a 30-45 minute tuk-tuk-and-ferry combination each way. The island’s silk-weaving villages are free to wander, and renting a bicycle for a couple of dollars is the easiest way to cover more ground past looms and mulberry groves on unpaved lanes. There’s no single fixed entry fee, budget for transport, a modest bike rental, and whatever silk you decide to buy directly from a weaver. Back in the city by mid-afternoon, four days is genuinely enough for Phnom Penh’s core plus one real day trip.
| Day 4 cost (USD, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 6 | 25 |
| Breakfast | 2 | 4 |
| Tuk-tuk + ferry to Koh Dach (round trip) | 15 | 25 |
| Bicycle rental | 2 | 5 |
| Lunch on the island | 2 | 6 |
| Dinner back in the city | 4 | 10 |
| Day 4 total | 31 | 75 |
Getting around on 4 days
Days 1 and 3 are mostly walkable; Day 2’s Choeung Ek run and Day 4’s Koh Dach crossing both need a booked tuk-tuk or driver, agree the fare before you set off rather than after. PassApp or Grab covers all of it without haggling.
Four days is genuinely the point where Phnom Penh’s marquee content runs out. Beyond this, the 5-day itinerary and longer add more day trips rather than new city-core sights, and most travelers pair Phnom Penh with Siem Reap or the coast on a wider Cambodia trip.