Help please, Cambodian Currency - the Riel.

[Busy Mum]

Hi all.

 

Hubby and I are taking a Scenic River cruise from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap in Apri and I am starting to think about what currencies we will need.  The Vietnamese Dong is easy, but the Cambodian Riel seems to be not so.......

 

Where is the best place is to get our Cambodian Riel?  I've had a quick look online and it's certainly not a common currency and, in some places, it does not even appear!  I've also checked out Smartraveller and it says, 'take enough US dollars to cover expenses'.  Surely it would be better to have the Riel, and I would prefer to have all our currencies beforehand.

 

Any assistance would be really appreciated.  I've done a search on here and cannot find anything, sorry if this has already been discussed elsewhere but I cannot find it!

 

Thanks heaps - Vicki. 🙂 

[arxcards]

I can't help specifically, except that $US is preferred in the hotels, and the riel is best for local bits & pieces, street eats and small purchases.

 

One of the big chain T/A's handles miscellaneous currency, where we have got XPF in the past, but I don't know if they convert to riel.

[MicCanberra]

There are some currency places around Canberra, in the city and also , Belconnen, Tuggernong and Woden. Often attached to an Australia Post shop.

[resordanis]

1 hour ago, Busy Mum said:

Hi all.

 

Hubby and I are taking a Scenic River cruise from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap in Apri and I am starting to think about what currencies we will need.  The Vietnamese Dong is easy, but the Cambodian Riel seems to be not so.......

 

Where is the best place is to get our Cambodian Riel?  I've had a quick look online and it's certainly not a common currency and, in some places, it does not even appear!  I've also checked out Smartraveller and it says, 'take enough US dollars to cover expenses'.  Surely it would be better to have the Riel, and I would prefer to have all our currencies beforehand.

 

Any assistance would be really appreciated.  I've done a search on here and cannot find anything, sorry if this has already been discussed elsewhere but I cannot find it!

 

Thanks heaps - Vicki. 🙂 

We did a cruise just prior to Covid and we were in Cambodia. All the places we went to during our tours took US dollars, in fact it was preferred. Might be different in Markets, but small shops took US.

Edited January 24 by resordanis

[buchhalm]

Wifey took a school group there.

USD were accepted everywhere. The USD 100 worth of local currency (exchanged at the airport) remained virtually untouched and given to charity at the end of the trip.

[Busy Mum]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

I can't help specifically, except that $US is preferred in the hotels, and the riel is best for local bits & pieces, street eats and small purchases.

 

One of the big chain T/A's handles miscellaneous currency, where we have got XPF in the past, but I don't know if they convert to riel.

Thank you. 

[Busy Mum]

50 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

There are some currency places around Canberra, in the city and also , Belconnen, Tuggernong and Woden. Often attached to an Australia Post shop.

Awesome, thanks so much Mic. 😄

[Busy Mum]

18 minutes ago, buchhalm said:

Wifey took a school group there.

USD were accepted everywhere. The USD 100 worth of local currency (exchanged at the airport) remained virtually untouched and given to charity at the end of the trip.

Thank you. 

[Busy Mum]

30 minutes ago, resordanis said:

We did a cruise just prior to Covid and we were in Cambodia. All the places we went to during our tours took US dollars, in fact it was preferred. Might be different in Markets, but small shops took US.

Thank you, thinking it’s going to be the US$. 🙂

[buchhalm]

Unrelated, but:

Get a bunch of those clip on koala things from a gift shop here.  They usually come in 6 to 10 packs and are cheap as chips.

The kids ( and adults) in Cambodia (and Vietnamese too) are falling over themselves with excitement if they are gifted one.

We usually have one clipped on to our backpack or jacket. People are so happy if we give it away.

 

[dazadelaide]

We used $US everywhere in Cambodia.

It was the preferred currency over the Riel even in markets.

Just make sure you have new bills with no rips or damage of any type.

It's strange that $US has to be pristine but if you do have any Riel they will accept it no matter how dirty or damaged it is! 

[Busy Mum]

34 minutes ago, buchhalm said:

Unrelated, but:

Get a bunch of those clip on koala things from a gift shop here.  They usually come in 6 to 10 packs and are cheap as chips.

The kids ( and adults) in Cambodia (and Vietnamese too) are falling over themselves with excitement if they are gifted one.

We usually have one clipped on to our backpack or jacket. People are so happy if we give it away.

 

Thats a great idea and I'll certainly get myself a couple of packs, thanks for the idea, much appreciated. 🙂 

[Busy Mum]

31 minutes ago, dazadelaide said:

We used $US everywhere in Cambodia.

It was the preferred currency over the Riel even in markets.

Just make sure you have new bills with no rips or damage of any type.

It's strange that $US has to be pristine but if you do have any Riel they will accept it no matter how dirty or damaged it is! 

Thank you.  I've got some 'left over' US$ and I better make sure they are in excellent condition.  How odd they will accept the Riel, regardless of it's condition. 

[buchhalm]

5 minutes ago, Busy Mum said:

Thats a great idea and I'll certainly get myself a couple of packs, thanks for the idea, much appreciated. 🙂 

Got free croissants and cheese in Paris, a hot dog in New York and ice cream in Sicily, etc....

😉

[sayaguru]

No need to get Reil. Everything has both prices, $US and Riel. If you pay with US$ you get change in Riel close to the current rate.

Just pend that when you get a bit. . Bring small US$ notes to make it easier. 

[Busy Mum]

5 hours ago, sayaguru said:

No need to get Reil. Everything has both prices, $US and Riel. If you pay with US$ you get change in Riel close to the current rate.

Just pend that when you get a bit. . Bring small US$ notes to make it easier. 

Thank you Sayaguru. 😄

[Kristelle]

On 1/24/2024 at 3:44 PM, Busy Mum said:

Hubby and I are taking a Scenic River cruise from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap in April

 

 

we are doing this exact trip but in reverse - ie Siem Riep to HCMC -  in January next year.

 

Will look out for any information you post about it.

 

 

 

[Busy Mum]

17 minutes ago, Kristelle said:

 

 

we are doing this exact trip but in reverse - ie Siem Riep to HCMC -  in January next year.

 

Will look out for any information you post about it.

 

 

 

I’ll let you know how we go Kristelle, looking forward to it. 😀