I stayed at the Poolside Villa hostel for a few days since arriving in Phnom Penh on February 18th, 2025.
I spent my first two nights in a private studio for $21 a night. When that room was booked, I moved into a dorm for $7 a night. A few people here are staying long-term in the dorms, and it’s easy to see how their monthly budget stays under $1,000.
Here’s what that looks like in real numbers:
$7 × 31 days = $217 for accommodation
$15 a day eating out for every meal = $450
$5 a week for laundry (washed, dried, folded) = $20
$30 a week for transportation = $120
That’s about $800 a month. Add insurance, a phone plan, and personal spending based on your lifestyle, and you’re still hovering around the $1,000 mark.
If you upgrade to a private studio for some breathing room, your accommodation jumps to about $434 a month. At that point, you could just rent a furnished apartment instead—studio or one-bedroom places can be found for $400–$600. With a little discipline on food (eating some meals at home), you can still stay near that $1,000 range.
Honestly, who wants to cook, clean, and do laundry?
But it’s there if you need it. 
The hostel bar and restaurant are shockingly affordable:
Beer is $1.50 (or $1 during happy hour)
Most meals are under $5
Walk down the street,a nd you’ll find beers for $0.75 and full meals for around $5
Imagine lunch and a beer for $6—with an actual menu worth choosing from.
I’ve worked my way through the big breakfast, pancakes, curry chicken, and then went full local with Khmer amok (chicken in coconut curry) and lok lak (peppery stir-fried chicken with rice). Both are classic Cambodian dishes, and both were as good as anything I’ve had in proper sit-down restaurants.
This is what makes slow travel so powerful:
Low daily money burn.
Good inexpensive food.
Simple, inexpensive routines.
And a life that doesn’t feel like it’s constantly going to the ATM.
There are a shit ton of solid meal options in the $3–$5 range, and drink prices are just as friendly. Fresh noodle bowls, rice plates, curries, sandwiches, smoothies, iced coffees, fruit shakes—it’s all right there, all day, for pocket change.
Most places don’t feel “cheap” either. They’re clean, relaxed, and actually good. You’re not sacrificing quality; you’re just paying local prices. When a full meal costs less than a coffee back home, you stop thinking in terms of “treating yourself” and start thinking in terms of living normally.
The hostel itself has a perfect setup some a simple inexpensive stay. Studio rooms and door rooms are depending on your preference. Since the studio rooms are USD $21 and there is an adequate pool, so it is a no-brainer if you are on a budget.
It is also walking to “Score,” which is a great sports bar where I can catch a hockey game in the morning.
There was all the bar food and drinks you can find anywhere at half the price, including 75-cent draft beers for happy hour. I will remember this place forever as it is where I watched Canada beat the Americans on February 20th, 2025, on a Connor McDavid OT winner!
I could watch this clip 100 times, remembering that moment in Cambodia, and it wouldn’t be enough!
My next stop was Angkor Wat, Cambodia—a place that deserves its own blog.
You can read that full story by clicking the link below.
HERE.
