Mekong Island - Koh Dach
Mekong Island - Koh Dach
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
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4.0
139 reviews
Excellent
52
Very good
45
Average
20
Poor
9
Terrible
13
Anna R
5 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
We had planned a visit to silk island and the silk production community as one of our first excursions in Cambodia. Upon our arrival we were welcomed by a friendly guide who talked through all steps of silk production showing us the beautiful silk cloths and scarf while these were made by expert Cambodian women. Although we appreciated the guided tour and the spirt of the community as a way to provide work and sustainment for the widows of the area (according to our guide all women working there were widows) we didn’t realise the scam part of the tour until much later in our trip. Before leaving the community we were of course led to the shop were we could see and purchase a wide variety of silk scarfs mostly made there in the community. With prices ranging from $10 to $20 we all bought a couple of items each (it was 7 of us) and left quite happily knowing we helped the community and got some nice handmade items. Unfortunately we discovered only in Siem Reap that the exactly same scarfs we bought for $20 in silk island were for sale in most of the market’s stands for as low as $4!!!
Silk island is just a scam! Go there if you want, pay the $1 entry ticket and tip the guide if you want but do not buy anything from them. All items are cheap stuff you can find anywhere else in Cambodia for a fourth of the price with no guarantee they are even made there or even less if they are real silk.
Silk island is just a scam! Go there if you want, pay the $1 entry ticket and tip the guide if you want but do not buy anything from them. All items are cheap stuff you can find anywhere else in Cambodia for a fourth of the price with no guarantee they are even made there or even less if they are real silk.
Written 11 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Darlo Globetrotter
254 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
Not great. Although the people were pleasant enough, and it being a break from the hustle of the main city, I didn't find the experience particularly interesting or interactive.
Getting there and back on the tuktuk / on the ferry was more exciting.
We paid 30dollars for a tuk tuk (it drives onto the ferry) there and back, with ferry crossing.
Getting there and back on the tuktuk / on the ferry was more exciting.
We paid 30dollars for a tuk tuk (it drives onto the ferry) there and back, with ferry crossing.
Written 21 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Veronique L
8 contributions
Apr 2023 • Solo
Silk Farm is a big scam. The man with tattoo on the hand asked me 2$ to visit and I was ok but he bring me so fast to a store to to buy very expensive and some are fake silk. He put pressure on me and I refused. So he bring me to the door and asked me
5$ more for his pocket. He never told me it was 7$ when I enter. It’s only a place to make you buy things!!! The tuk tuk driver will only bring you to shops to get a commission and if you don’t buy people look bad at you. I just left because it was so bad. Worst thing I did in 3 months in Cambodia.
5$ more for his pocket. He never told me it was 7$ when I enter. It’s only a place to make you buy things!!! The tuk tuk driver will only bring you to shops to get a commission and if you don’t buy people look bad at you. I just left because it was so bad. Worst thing I did in 3 months in Cambodia.
Written 6 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cags74
Singapore, Singapore38 contributions
Nov 2017 • Friends
The concept of this silk ‘village’ is good. Great if local people can make money from traditional crafts. But there is a small section of badly treated animals in concrete floored cages at the back, don’t know why? There were hornbill birds in cramped conditions, peacocks with no feathers on their necks and some monkeys with no water. The staff told me they can't leave water in the monkeys cage because they throw it around. They were biting the bars, clearly going mad, and appeared depressed. The worst were the porcupines. Just lying on their concrete floor with zero enrichment and as nocturnal animals, they need shelter from daytime visitors.
Please let the owners know that this is not what tourists want to see at a silk farm.
Please let the owners know that this is not what tourists want to see at a silk farm.
Written 15 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alexia C
Chiang Mai, Thailand11 contributions
Aug 2016 • Friends
We decided to go to Silk Island based on the good reviews from Tripadvisor, but once we were there was nothing interesting. It is all a trap for tourists from were tuk tuk drivers and locals working on the silk( I doubt there is any silk production in the island, as the scarfs they offered are the same you can find in Thailand 3 times more expensive) expect to get a big profit from, by fooling you around.
Written 25 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maria M
Madrid, Spain3 contributions
Jan 2016 • Family
We were there because of most good reviews but were very disappointed. The roadway till the island ferry is noisy, busy and not pleasant. Once in the island, temples are not worth at all, landscape is poor and dirty. The silk farming (1$ per person entrance fee and swimming in the Mekong river pool is 4.000 riels more) is OK but I beat that there is no silk production anymore or even never because there are no blueberries trees in the island to feed the puppies. It is also clear that, apart from the most expensive once, nothing is produced in the island. As a summary, I think is a "tourist trap", where only tuk-tuks and silk farm make business.
Written 22 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dreamer48718092824
Sydney89 contributions
Apr 2013 • Family
Having set low expectations we were amazed! We hired a 'small' boat after a bit of haggling - started at USD25 per hour, but our expat friends advised not to pay more than USD15... it was also quiet for a Monday. Leisurely cruise around Mekong Island, and then up the eastern bank of the Mekong River for about an hour, and hour on Koh Dach and a cruise back down the western bank of the Mekong and then up Ton Le Sap river back to the cruise boat 'docks'.
We had two experiences in one; (1) having already done a short 40min sunset cruise on the Sunday evening, but cruising up the Mekong watching all the activity and the daily life of families working the river on their long-tails, and (2) the silk weaving homes on Koh Dach.
We were met but the friendliest person at the top of the river bank (I think that they had phoned ahead to advise that were we coming), and she showed us the intricate detail of extract silk from silk worm cocoons, through to washing, dying, quality/thread and then weaving. We saw a whole family living off this enterprise, from uncles and aunts to parents and children.
Bought a 5 silk scarves for around USD32 (USD7 each and they discounted without us asking), plus three silk purses for USD1 each. We didn't feel the need to haggle at all.
Well worth the trip; these websites have more info: http://www.visit-mekong.com/cambodia/phnom-penh/mekong-island.htm or http://www.visit-mekong.com/cambodia/phnom-penh/mekong-island.htm
We had two experiences in one; (1) having already done a short 40min sunset cruise on the Sunday evening, but cruising up the Mekong watching all the activity and the daily life of families working the river on their long-tails, and (2) the silk weaving homes on Koh Dach.
We were met but the friendliest person at the top of the river bank (I think that they had phoned ahead to advise that were we coming), and she showed us the intricate detail of extract silk from silk worm cocoons, through to washing, dying, quality/thread and then weaving. We saw a whole family living off this enterprise, from uncles and aunts to parents and children.
Bought a 5 silk scarves for around USD32 (USD7 each and they discounted without us asking), plus three silk purses for USD1 each. We didn't feel the need to haggle at all.
Well worth the trip; these websites have more info: http://www.visit-mekong.com/cambodia/phnom-penh/mekong-island.htm or http://www.visit-mekong.com/cambodia/phnom-penh/mekong-island.htm
Written 30 April 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
spudnikfalcon
Sanur, Indonesia203 contributions
May 2018 • Solo
A good fun boat trip and visit to see the silk making process...very enjoyable and relaxing...includes a trip around the island...quite pretty and very quiet...the silk making process is explained by a guide...quite interesting...the journey along the river is well worth the experience...many lovely residences along the way
Written 29 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jonathan P
Tasmania, Australia111 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
Koh Dach or silk island for us tourist's, was a big highlight of our trip to Phnom Penh for my sister and myself .From the tuk tuk ride to the river crossing. We took the local car ferry it is quick and cheap. The whole trip cost no more than $4 return and the tuk tuk driver for the day cost $15 with some negotiating you could get it for less.
We first planed to go straight to the silk farm but we meet a young silk island local on the ferry over who was practicing her English on us and she invited us to see her home and villages where the original silk was first made .Wow so good so cool and it felt raw and real ( not like the silk farm which felt like a tourist trap). The villages are where you get real silk dyed with natural plant extract's straight from there garden. The whole silk production process uses the mulberry-chomping silk worms in golden cocoons and very complex manual loom's for the weaving process, Which can take a month to setup and over a week to produce enough material for a long dress . We learnt more about silk traditions from the locals than the silk farm itself. A quick tour of the island and we where all done in about 4 hours.
One good thing about the silk farm is that they have accommodation is real cool , not for everyone but if you like the natural feel then there stilted huts are perfect. (Bring a mosquito net) entry fee $
Recommendations : Ask your tuk tuk driver to go into the villages first before you visit the silk farm itself.
Tips: The only reason we found out about the villages is because we were very respectful to the locals. That's how you find the good stuff.
Tuk Tuk: $15 ( For the whole trip)
Ferry: $2
Silk scarf's around: $15-$20
Full size table cloths: around $80-$100
We first planed to go straight to the silk farm but we meet a young silk island local on the ferry over who was practicing her English on us and she invited us to see her home and villages where the original silk was first made .Wow so good so cool and it felt raw and real ( not like the silk farm which felt like a tourist trap). The villages are where you get real silk dyed with natural plant extract's straight from there garden. The whole silk production process uses the mulberry-chomping silk worms in golden cocoons and very complex manual loom's for the weaving process, Which can take a month to setup and over a week to produce enough material for a long dress . We learnt more about silk traditions from the locals than the silk farm itself. A quick tour of the island and we where all done in about 4 hours.
One good thing about the silk farm is that they have accommodation is real cool , not for everyone but if you like the natural feel then there stilted huts are perfect. (Bring a mosquito net) entry fee $
Recommendations : Ask your tuk tuk driver to go into the villages first before you visit the silk farm itself.
Tips: The only reason we found out about the villages is because we were very respectful to the locals. That's how you find the good stuff.
Tuk Tuk: $15 ( For the whole trip)
Ferry: $2
Silk scarf's around: $15-$20
Full size table cloths: around $80-$100
Written 9 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cambodia Nomad Tips
Phnom Penh, Cambodia511 contributions
Aug 2016 • Solo
I just love biking on Silk Island! It's not that far from Phnom Penh and well worth the effort.''Biking Phnom Penh'' on Facebook will show you photos and maps to get you around, and all free of charge. You will need at least three hours or so for a wonderful trip.
Written 11 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How much on average is a silk scarf, or how much is the range of items sold at the farm? It would be nice to know in advance how much money I think I should bring. Thank you 😊
Written 29 August 2017
Be careful. when you cross with the boat there are some people who invite you to visit their shop. They sell mostly mercericed cotton scarfs. Of course cheaper then the silk ones on the farm. About USD 20.00 seems to be correct for a silk one on the farm. Discount only if you buy 5 or more. discount 1 USD. Also on the farm the have cheap scarfs. Not wothwile buying. The real silk ones absolutely. Beautyful colors. Next time I buy much more. Before I was home most of them gone to friends who love them.
Written 29 August 2017
If we want to rent the bicycles and ride around the island. Where is the ferry?
Written 1 April 2015
Sorry we can't help. We took a Tuk Tuk from our hotel to the island. Sure if you ask where you are staying they will be able to help you.
Good luck!
Written 1 April 2015
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