Shopping in Cambodia: What to Buy and Where (2026 Guide)

Cambodia's craft economy runs on tourism, which is good news for you: in Siem Reap and on Silk Island you can watch the weaver or carver at work and buy from the same bench. Much of what you will find traces back to the Khmer empire, the same civilisation that built Angkor Wat: hand-woven silk, wood and stone carving, silver betel-nut boxes, woven mats and paintings. Shopping in Cambodia is also cheap by Indian standards. A real cotton krama costs US2to5(Rs190toRs475).Kampotpepper,protectedbytheEUsince2016,costsUS4 to 10 (Rs 380 to Rs 950) for 100 g at a farm shop. That is several times the price of everyday peppercorns in India, but a fraction of what the same pouch costs in a European deli.

This guide gives you what to buy with prices in dollars and rupees, the markets city by city with opening hours, how to bargain and pay, which shops put the money back into Cambodian communities, and what India's 2026 baggage rules let you bring home duty-free.

Jump to: What to buy | Markets at a glance | Phnom Penh | Siem Reap | Kampot and Kep | Bargaining | Money | Ethical shops | Customs and India duty-free | Malls | Budget

What to buy in Cambodia (with prices)

Twelve things are worth the suitcase space. Prices below are what travellers typically pay at a market after a polite bargain, or the fixed price at an artisan shop. Rupees are at US$1 = Rs 95.

Silk, from the farm to the scarf

Cambodian silk is hand-woven, which is why it costs more than machine silk in Bangkok. The golden silk from Cambodia's own silkworms is the prized kind; much market silk is woven in Cambodia from imported thread, which is fine as long as the price reflects it. If you want to see the whole process, the free guided tour at the Angkor Silk Farm in Puok, about 16 km west of Siem Reap, walks you from mulberry trees to the loom in under an hour. Near Phnom Penh, the weaving villages of Silk Island (Koh Dach) sell straight from the loom. Our Silk Island guide covers how to get there.

Krama, the scarf every Cambodian owns

The krama is the red, blue or green checked cloth you will see on farmers, tuk-tuk drivers and monks' helpers. It is used as a scarf, a sun hat, a towel, a baby sling and, folded the right way, a hammock. A cotton one makes the cheapest and most useful souvenir in the country. Buy two: one to use on the trip, one to take home.

Kampot pepper and palm sugar

Kampot pepper has carried the European Union's Protected Geographical Indication since 2016, so the label means something. Black is the everyday one. Red is left to ripen on the vine and tastes sweeter. White is red pepper with the skin removed and has the most heat. Palm sugar from Kampong Speu province, also EU-protected (2019), comes in dark cakes that melt into tea, coffee or a dal. Both travel well in checked baggage and are fine to bring into India in personal quantities.

Best markets and shops at a glance

Day markets open early and wind down by late afternoon. Go between 8 and 10 am, before the heat and the tour buses. Night markets run from late afternoon until about midnight.

Shopping in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is where you shop for range and price. Plan a free half-day: Central Market in the morning, the Russian Market after lunch, and a mall or the riverside in the evening. For a fuller street-by-street list, read our guide to shopping in Phnom Penh.

Central Market (Phsar Thmei)

Psar Thmei means "New Market", though the building dates from 1937. You walk in under a giant, golden-yellow Art Deco dome with four long wings running off it. The stalls sell everything under the roof, literally: silver and gold under the dome, then clothes, shoes, watches, souvenirs and a food section in the wings. It is the place for silver betel-nut boxes and jewellery. A T-shirt first offered at US12usuallysettlesatUS6 or 7.

Russian Market (Tuol Tom Poung)

Every big city in Southeast Asia has that one sprawling market selling discounted versions of name-brand products, and the Russian Market is Cambodia's. It got its name from the Russian expatriates who shopped here in the 1980s. Most branded items will not pass a test of originality, and nobody pretends otherwise. Among the maze of shops you will also find genuine, locally made silk, krama and wood carvings at the lowest prices in the capital. It gets hot under the tin roof by midday, so go early. Our Russian Market guide maps the sections.

Silk Island (Koh Dach)

Koh Dach is a long, rural island in the Mekong about 15 km north of the city, reached by tuk-tuk in 45 minutes to an hour. Families weave silk under their stilt houses, and you can buy a scarf off the loom for less than the city price. It works as a half-day trip from Phnom Penh; ask for it to be added to your package.

Malls and ethical shops

For air-conditioning and fixed prices, Aeon Mall has three branches in Phnom Penh, and Chip Mong has several more. The Daughters of Cambodia Visitor Centre sells clothes, bags and gifts made by women who have left the sex trade. More on these in ethical shopping and malls.

Shopping in Siem Reap

Siem Reap is where you shop for quality. Artisans d'Angkor, set in the grounds of the Chantiers Écoles training school, hires local artisans to make everything native to Angkor, from silk to wood carvings to stone reproductions of the temples, and you can watch them work before you buy. Its Angkor Silk Farm in Puok shows silk from cocoon to scarf. The Old Market (Psar Chaa) is the place for Kampot pepper, spices and krama. Made in Cambodia Market, by the river, gathers local makers in one place with fixed prices. For evening browsing, note that the original Angkor Night Market, with its rows of bamboo huts, has not reopened since the pandemic. Go instead to Phalla Angkor Night Market (daily, about 4:30 pm to midnight) or the Siem Reap Art Center Night Market, across the river from the Old Market (Monday to Saturday, 4 to 11 pm). Both sell handicrafts, paintings, silk scarves and shawls, and home décor. At AHA (Angkor Handicraft Association) Fair Trade Village there are fewer stalls, but you can see with your own eyes the artisans working on each piece.

For hours, routes between markets and the best stalls, see our full guide to shopping in Siem Reap. For malls such as Lucky Mall, see shopping malls in Siem Reap. Most travellers fit market time around temple days; our Siem Reap travel guide helps you plan the order.

Kampot, Kep and beyond

If your trip includes the south coast, buy pepper at the source. The pepper farms around Kampot and Kep sell fresh pepper, pepper gift boxes and often Kampot sea salt at fixed prices, usually fresher than anything in the city markets. La Plantation, the best known, is open daily; self-guided entry costs US$2.50 and can be spent in its shop, guided tastings cost extra, and from November to March you need to book a slot in advance. At the Kep Crab Market you can pick up dried shrimp and fish sauce, though both are better eaten there than packed. Kep pairs well with the islands; see our guide to the best beaches in Cambodia.

Further north, Battambang is known for bamboo craft and its Art Deco Psar Nath market, and Ratanakiri in the far north-east is the source of the blue zircon sold in Phnom Penh jewellery stalls. Buy zircon only from a shop that gives a written receipt.

How to bargain in Cambodia

Bargaining is expected at markets and on the street. It is not expected at malls, supermarkets, NGO shops or Artisans d'Angkor. Open at about half the first price and expect to settle somewhere between 50 and 75% of it, depending on the item. Smile, keep it light, and be ready to walk away; the best price often comes as you turn to leave. "Som choh tlay?" (can you lower the price?) gets a laugh and usually a discount.

Remember that US$1 is a lot of money to many stallholders. Once you are within a dollar of your target, take the deal.

Paying: US dollars, riel and cards

Cambodia runs on two currencies. Prices for anything over a few dollars are quoted in US dollars, and change under a dollar comes back in riel at the street rate of 4,000 riel to US1.Bringclean,untorndollarnotes;stallsrefusenoteswithtears,writingorheavycreases.CarryplentyofUS1 and US5notes,becausemarketstallsrarelyhavechangeforaUS50. Cards and phone payments work at malls, Artisans d'Angkor, larger NGO shops and hotels, but not at most market stalls. ATMs dispense dollars and charge foreign cards a fee of about US$4 to 5 per withdrawal (more at some banks), so take out larger amounts less often, or bring dollars from India.

Ethical and fair-trade shopping

A good share of Cambodia's best crafts come from social enterprises that train young people, survivors of trafficking or people with disabilities. Prices are fixed and a little higher, but the quality is consistent and you know where the money goes.

• Artisans d'Angkor (Siem Reap) began as a programme to revive Khmer crafts and employs hundreds of artisans in its workshops and silk farm.

• Made in Cambodia Market (Siem Reap) admits only stalls selling things made in the country.

• Daughters of Cambodia (Phnom Penh) trains and employs women who have left the sex trade, selling clothes, bags and gifts.

• Friends 'n' Stuff (Phnom Penh) is the shop of Friends International, selling bags and gifts made by former street youth and their families.

• Senteurs d'Angkor and Kru Khmer (Siem Reap) make soaps, balms and spices from local plants.

• AHA Fair Trade Village (Siem Reap) lets you buy directly from the craftsperson.

What you can't take home: antiques, customs and India duty-free

Cambodia does not allow genuine antiques or religious artefacts, such as old Buddha statues or temple fragments, to leave the country without a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. Anything sold at a market as "antique" is either a reproduction or something you should not buy. For a carving or stone figure, ask for a receipt that names the shop and says "reproduction", and keep it in your hand baggage for the airport. If your trip goes on to Thailand, note that Thailand also restricts taking Buddha images out of the country.

Back home, India's Baggage Rules 2026 came into force on 2 February 2026 and raised the duty-free allowance for Indian residents arriving by air to Rs 75,000 in value (from Rs 50,000). Most Cambodia shopping trips fall well inside that. One catch: the allowance does not cover gold or silver in any form other than ornaments, so a silver betel-nut box or bowl is dutiable; keep the receipt and declare it at the Red Channel. What you need to know at Indian customs:

On the flight home, liquids over 100 ml (rice wine, fish sauce, oils) must go in checked baggage. Wrap stone carvings and silver in a krama; it is the cheapest padding you will buy.

Malls in Cambodia

If you want brands, a supermarket run or a break from the heat, Phnom Penh has the malls. Aeon Mall Phnom Penh (2014), Aeon Mall Sen Sok City (2018) and Aeon Mall Mean Chey (2023) are the largest, each with a Japanese supermarket and food court. Chip Mong has several more. In Siem Reap, Lucky Mall is the main option. Our guide to malls in Cambodia compares them, and shopping malls in Phnom Penh has opening hours and what is inside each.

Shopping budget for an Indian traveller

Even the splurge band stays inside India's Rs 75,000 duty-free allowance for one adult.

How we checked this page

Prices on this page were compiled in November 2026 from artisan shops' fixed price lists, recent market reports and traveller accounts, and rupee figures use US$1 = Rs 95. India customs allowances are from the Baggage Rules 2026 published by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

Plan your shopping into a Cambodia trip

The simplest way to fit in shopping in Cambodia is to keep one free half-day in Phnom Penh for Central Market and the Russian Market, and one evening in Siem Reap for the Old Market and Made in Cambodia. Silk Island, the Angkor Silk Farm and a Kampot pepper farm can each be added as a short excursion. Ask for any of them when you customise one of our Cambodia tour packages. The dry, cooler months from November to February are the most comfortable for market walks; see the best time to visit Cambodia. And for what Phnom Penh and Siem Reap are like after the markets close, read our guide to nightlife in Cambodia, or start from our Cambodia travel guide.

Edited by TravelTriangle