Kratie, and the dolphins at Kampi
A shabby, handsome French river town on the Mekong, an island of pomelo orchards opposite, and a stretch of deep water fifteen kilometres north where the last Mekong dolphins live.
What it is
| Position | 250 km north-east of Phnom Penh on the Mekong |
| Drive from Phnom Penh | 4.5 to 5 hours on good sealed road |
| To Mondulkiri | 220 km, 4 to 4.5 hours |
| Nights we recommend | 1, or 2 if you want the island properly |
| Dolphins | The Kampi pool, 15 km north; best early morning or late afternoon |
Kratie is a grid of French shophouses along a riverfront, most of them unrestored, with a market in the middle and a promenade where the whole town sits out at six in the evening. Nothing has been done to it for visitors, which is exactly why people like it.
It is a one-night town in a practical sense and a two-night town if you take the island. Most people arrive on the way to Mondulkiri or Laos and are surprised to find they would have stayed longer.
The dolphins
Irrawaddy dolphins are a freshwater population living in deep pools in a stretch of the Mekong between Kratie and the Lao border. They were close to disappearing: the population fell to around eighty animals, and gillnets and electric fishing were the main cause.
Enforcement of a fishing ban in the core pools, and the removal of nets by river guards, has changed the trajectory. Recent counts have put the Mekong population at just over a hundred, with new calves reported each year. It remains one of the most endangered cetacean populations in the world.
- The Kampi pool is 15 km north of town. Small boats go out at dawn and in the late afternoon, when the animals surface most.
- Boats are required to cut engines and drift at the pool. If a boatman does not, that is the trip to complain about.
- Sightings are common and never guaranteed. You see a back and a blunt head for a second at a time, at a distance. Anyone promising a close encounter is describing something that should not be happening.
- Water level matters: December to May concentrates the animals in the pools and is the better window.
The community boat fees and the entry charge at Kampi fund the river guard patrols that remove illegal nets. This is one of the few places in Cambodia where the tourist money and the conservation are directly and visibly connected.
Koh Trong and the rest of it
- Koh Trong: a nine-kilometre island in the river opposite town, reached by a five-minute ferry. Pomelo orchards, a sandbank beach at low water, one loop road, bicycles for hire, and a Vietnamese floating village at the northern end. Half a day, and one of the most pleasant half-days in the country.
- The riverfront at sunset, which is the town's entire social life and is genuinely beautiful.
- Sambor, 35 km north: a village with a hundred-pillar pagoda and, nearby, the remains of a pre-Angkorian settlement. Quiet and rarely visited.
- Phnom Sombok, a small hill pagoda between town and Kampi, with a view over the Mekong that explains the river's scale better than any map.
Getting there and onward
Four and a half to five hours from Phnom Penh on good sealed road. From Kratie it is four to four and a half hours east to Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri, and about three hours north to Stung Treng and the Lao border at Trapeang Kriel.
This makes Kratie the natural hinge of any eastern route: Phnom Penh, Kratie, Mondulkiri and back, or Phnom Penh, Kratie, Stung Treng and on to Si Phan Don in southern Laos.
When to skip it
- If the trip is under ten days. Kratie is four and a half hours from Phnom Penh in a direction nothing else on a short itinerary goes.
- If you are expecting a dolphin encounter rather than a dolphin sighting. This is distant, brief and quiet, and people who want more than that leave disappointed.
- From July to October, when high water disperses the animals across a much wider area and sightings become less reliable.
- If a night in a simple guesthouse is a problem. The best room in Kratie is around USD 60 and most are half that.
Tours that include Kratie
It sits on the eastern arc of Cambodia in depth, 14 days and is the usual overnight on the way to Mondulkiri on Mondulkiri forest, 4 days.
Questions travellers ask most
How likely am I to see the dolphins?
Sightings are common on a dawn or late-afternoon boat at the Kampi pool, and never guaranteed. Expect a back and a blunt head at a distance for a second or two at a time. December to May is the more reliable window.
How many dolphins are left?
Recent counts put the Mekong population at just over a hundred, up from a low of around eighty. New calves have been recorded each year recently. It remains one of the world's most endangered cetacean populations.
Is one night in Kratie enough?
Yes for the dolphins and the riverfront. Two if you want Koh Trong island properly, which is a half day of cycling through pomelo orchards and is better than it sounds.
Can I continue to Laos from Kratie?
Yes. It is about three hours north to Stung Treng and then the Trapeang Kriel border into southern Laos and Si Phan Don. We book the crossing and the transfer on both sides.
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