Returning to Thailand (holiday) - Want to explore Cambodia beaches

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Hi all,

Just a bit of background... Myself and GF (both Irish - late 20's) been to Thailand twice, and managed Laos / Vietnam / Cambodia also. But, when we were in Cambodia, we only saw Phnom Penh & Siam Riep as we were on a schedule.

So, we now have 3 weeks back in Thailand at Christmas (flying into BKK) and would like to get out of BKK after a day or two and make our way down the SE coast and into Cambodia.

The question is... can anyone assist with a 2 weeks itinerary on where to go? As mentioned, we are late 20's and want to hang out by the water (whether that means spending a day or two on river / lake or by the sea doesn't matter) - we are happy to relax a little more on this holiday, but don't want to be deserted (well, maybe for 1 - 2 nights only) so want to be around people and drink a little.

What we're looking for: Vibrant / Beach scene, and love to island hop. We are eventually going to go as far as Sihanoukville. Ideally then just bus it up to PP and fly back to BKK. Last time I was too anal about plans so this time want to just 'go with the flow' a little more, but still have a basic plan in action.

So, what towns / islands are worth stopping off once we get close to the Thai / Cambodia border, down to Sihanoukville... or should we go a little further? (not sure if there's anything beachy passed there). I have been getting mixed reviews about sihanoukville, but I think we'll give it a chance... if it really isin't for us we'll just head back up to U-Topia airport in Thailand and fly down to Samui and head on to north Phangan / Tao.

Any help much appreciated, we really want to give Cambodia a go

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Just to add, i've been reading about boat tours on Tonle Sap lake... but it appears i'd be going away (north) from PP as opposed closer to the beaches... is it worth spending a night or two up that direction? We'd love to do a boat 'trip' (we did slow boat from Thailand to Laos and loved it) - but would like if it were included as a transport option instead of just returning to base.

[Sheryl]

If you want beaches, the islands off Sihanoukville are what I would recommend. Sihanoukville itself is only so-so beach-wise but some of the islands are stunning.

This is a pretty current overview http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/27/travel/cambodia-best-islands/

If by "vibrant scene" you mean parting then Koh Rong would probably be best choice