Cambodia with a 3 year old and a 1 year old

[LissieD]

My brother lives in Cambodia and we'd love to visit him and is wife. Would we be mad to go with two very small children? It would probably be in January. Dh has done a lot of travel in Thailand but I've never been to Asia. Anyone any experience travelling there with toddlers?

I'll be watching with interest as my brother's cousin is likely to get married there some time over the next year and we'll be expected to go. Our dc are 9 and 4 so a lot older than yours but all advice will be received with gratitude.

I would read the FCO Travel Advice on Cambodia first and foremost.

From them:-
"Public health facilities in Cambodia are very poor. Private clinics and hospitals in Phnom Penh are often better equipped, but are of variable quality and can be expensive. Many treatments and procedures are not available in Cambodia. Many people travel to neighbouring countries for medical treatment. The standards maintained by Cambodian emergency services are extremely poor in comparison to the UK and evacuation may be necessary for medical emergencies and anything other than minor medical concerns. Make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abroad and repatriation".

"Cambodia remains heavily affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance. Mined areas are often unmarked. Don’t stray off main routes in rural areas, including around temple complexes and don’t pick up metal objects".

There is an SOS clinic in pp, but imagine for anything serious you would be evacuated to Bangkok. There is also a decent hospital in Siem reap, but, again, not for anything too serious.
Factors to consider -
Heat
Vaccinations. I live in China so am up to date with jabs, but as a minimum you will need hep b, tetanus, typhus, I imagine. Jabs can be expensive.
Decent medical insurance is a must.
Check the situation re malaria and dengue fever.
On a positive note, as your brother lives there he will have already found good, clean restaurants and know what to do in event of an emergency.
Land mines - do not go off marked routes, even in temples in Siem reap it may not be safe.
I have been to Cambodia a couple of times, but dd was 7 at the time. Did take her to Vietnam when she was 3 and Laos when she was 4 though.

We've travelled through Cambodia twice with our kids in the last few years - their grandmother works there. Last time they were 10, 8, 6, 2 yrs and a nine month old. Khmers are very kind and tolerant with children and the country is increasingly easy to travel around (when we went first in 2000 pre-kids it was very different from now).

We always stay in 5* hotels/aparthotels and take great care with food when travelling - only freshly cooked in front of you, nothing that may have been stored. We've never had any tummy upset with any child and have travelled around quite a bit although not to the remotest provinces. Some guest houses do have bed bugs, cockroaches, major mossie infestations so I would always save up for good hotels - tripadvisor is a good help.

January is a great time to go as it's just settling nicely into the dry season but before the heat really builds up so good for little children. It's also not dengue season (daytime mossies) so although you need to avoid the children being bitten in the evening, it's not a 24/7 problem which some months can be. We have always covered the children up in the evenings and, in Phnom Penh, stayed by the river where there's more breeze to keep the mossies from landing/biting - not one bite on any of the five kids last time we went over the three weeks ....

Phnom Penh and Siem Reap have biggish supermarkets and department stores where you could stock up on nappies etc if you still need them, and when I travelled with babies, I always took a large plastic bowl and sterilising tablets, several plastic spoons, sippy cups etc and just sterilised them regularly as we travelled.

There are good health clinics in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap but all expats have any major treatment eg cancer in Bangkok. Land mines are well cleared from anywhere you're likely to be going but if you do go in the jungle, stick on well-trodden paths....

Have a great time - it's a fabulous country to visit, our kids have nothing but the happiest memories from travelling there and you may find, like mine, that they don't really want to return to UK ever again ...!

Does your brother have children? If so, he will probably have a lot of your questions already answered (where to go for medical help, nice places to eat, child friendly places to visit etc. etc.)

Would this be a once in a lifetime trip? If so, I would be inclined to wait until the children are old enough to remember the experience. If you could afford to go again in a few years time then that would be less of a consideration.

I think my main worries would be the heat with a 1 year old & the apparent lack of hospitals as we know them.

Ive only been to Cambodia pre children but now I have an 18 month old I would love to take him, I think he would love it and definitely benefit from it. Guess it depends on where in Cambodia they live as Phnom Penh is very different to rural Cambodia. And also my thought would be safe travel, how you would get around -if they have a car then Id take a car seat? The people are v friendly, its a wonderful place.

This blog may be of interest to you ourrainbowchasing.wordpress.com/category/travel-journal-cambodia/

Thank you for sharing your experiences and advice. I'll have a read of the blog. My brother is in Phnom Penh and they haven't got kids.

I would definitely go! We were supposed to go at Easter with two children with a 3 year old and 7 month old but couldn't because of my dh's work. I live in Thailand and find this area of the world to be such a great place to travel with wee ones. People are very tolerant of children and don't mind them in restaurants at night etc. I think you should go for it!

I went to Cambodia with my children last year. my youngest was 1. We only went to Siem Reap, but did travel from Thailand (by bus!) to get there.

it was ok for children. I think Siem Reap and Phnom Penh would be fine and reasonably well developed for young children. I worried about malaria more than landmines tbh

Amazing country - would love to go back.