Before your trip
Ten minutes of downloads before you fly saves hours on the ground. These are the apps locals and long-term residents actually use.
Non-negotiable
Required
The official digital arrival card: mandatory for every traveller, replacing all paper forms. Fill it in up to 7 days before landing and screenshot the QR code for immigration. Free, on iOS and Android.
arrival.gov.khTransport
The Southeast Asian super-app works in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap: tuk-tuks and cars at fair fixed prices, no haggling, plus food delivery. Set it up with your home number before you fly. SMS verification is easier at home.
Our Grab guidePayments
The official tourist wallet for KHQR payments: top up with a foreign card, then pay by QR scan at nearly every shop, café and market stall in the country.
How to set it upStrongly recommended
Download offline maps for Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and anywhere else you’re headed before you land. Addresses are fuzzy in Cambodia: pins beat street names.
Download the Khmer offline pack. The camera mode reads menus and signs; English is widely spoken in tourist areas but thin elsewhere.
Book intercity buses, minivans and ferries (Giant Ibis, Vireak Buntham and others) with seat selection: easier than counter-hopping at the station.
Cambodia’s main food-delivery app: wider restaurant coverage than Grab in most neighbourhoods, plus groceries and parcels.
Instant data on landing if you don’t want to queue for a SIM. Local SIMs (Smart, Cellcard, Metfone) are cheaper per GB if you’re staying a while: $5–10 buys a lot of data.
Enable travel notifications and card controls before departure: some banks block first transactions from Cambodia. Wise/Revolut-style cards work well at ATMs here.
Everything above is free. Skip “Cambodia travel guide” apps that resell public information: between these tools and this site, you’re covered.
Good to know
Yes: in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap for tuk-tuks, cars and food delivery. Outside those cities, PassApp often has better coverage, and in small towns you’ll flag tuk-tuks the old way.
Either works: the app and arrival.gov.kh produce the same QR code. What matters is submitting within 7 days before arrival and having the QR code ready (screenshot it) at immigration.
For short trips, an eSIM bought before departure is the zero-friction option. For stays over a week, a local SIM from Smart, Cellcard or Metfone is much cheaper: bring your passport to register it.
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Practical guides, itinerary ideas and tips from our team in Cambodia.