Cambodia has three seasons and only two of them are easy for an Aussie first-timer. Here is the month-by-month breakdown of temperature, rain, crowds, and which window works best for your Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane/Perth school-holiday block.

For an Aussie first-timer, November to February is the sweet spot — Cambodia's cool dry season runs 22–30°C with blue skies, low humidity, and almost no rain. March to May is the hot dry season at 32–38°C and the midday heat at Angkor is genuinely punishing. June to October is the wet season, warm and lush with heavy afternoon downpours, quieter temples, and lower hotel rates. The two Aussie windows that work cleanly: Christmas/New Year (peak dry, perfect weather, premium prices) and July school holidays (rainy but workable, much cheaper). Book the eVisa $80 USD (~$122 AUD) once your dates are locked — it is valid 3 months from issue, so a 1–2 week pre-flight application is the cleanest sequence.
Cambodia sits roughly 11–14 degrees north of the equator, which means a tropical monsoon climate with only two real temperature ranges: hot, and warm-and-wet. There is no winter, no autumn, no concept of a cool snap the way Sydney or Melbourne understands it. What you do get are three sharply different seasons — cool dry (November–February), hot dry (March–May), and wet (June–October) — and each one delivers a completely different version of the country.
For an Aussie first-time visitor this matters more than for almost any other Southeast Asian destination. Angkor is an outdoor temple complex; the riverfront in Phnom Penh is best walked at sunset; Sihanoukville and the southern islands are about swimming and boats. Get the season right and the trip is effortless. Get it wrong and you are queueing for sunscreen at 7 am to beat 38°C heat, or watching three days of monsoon rain through a hotel window in Siem Reap.
This guide is the month-by-month breakdown for an Australian traveller in 2026 — what to expect, what to pack, and which Aussie school-holiday or long-weekend block aligns. The companion first-trip planning checklist covers the wider pre-flight sequence, and the 7-day itinerary shows what each season actually looks like on the ground. See our full Cambodia visa requirements for Australians for the end-to-end walkthrough.
Before drilling into the month-by-month, here is the broad-stroke shape of the Cambodian year. The country only swings about 15°C across the entire calendar, but humidity, rainfall, and crowd patterns shift dramatically between the three seasons. Most Aussies are surprised that the warmest month isn't June — it's April, in the dry season, when there's no cloud cover to mask the sun.
November through February is the Cambodia you have seen in every travel photo. Mornings open at 22–24°C — genuinely cool by tropical standards, cool enough that an Aussie used to Sydney winter mornings will reach for a light jumper at breakfast. By midday it climbs to 28–30°C with low humidity, almost no rain, and a clean blue sky that makes Angkor at sunrise look like the postcard. The trade-off is straightforward: the whole world knows this is the best window, so hotels in Siem Reap fill out and prices run 30–60% above the wet-season floor.
Did this guide help you?
Four nights Siem Reap for the temples, three for the harder history of Phnom Penh, three for the slow river days of Kampot, three for the warm water of Koh Rong, one buffer night for the day you wish you had. Here is the honest 14-day Cambodia plan for Aussies in 2026 — costs in AUD, transport in plain English, eVisa timing baked in.
The 12-month Business eVisa extension is the longest commitment-level Cambodia stay Aussies can buy in-country. ~$300–400 USD (~$457–609 AUD) through a Phnom Penh agent on top of the $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa, 7–14 business days. Best per-month rate of any extension — but only worth it if you genuinely plan to use the back half of the year.
Three nights in Siem Reap for Angkor, three nights in Phnom Penh for the riverfront and the harder history, one buffer night for the day you wish you had. Here is the honest 7-day Cambodia plan for Aussies in 2026 — costs in AUD, transport in plain English, and the eVisa timing baked in.
March through May is the season most Aussies underestimate. Daytime maximums slide from 33°C in early March to 36–38°C through April and into early May. There is no cloud cover, no breeze through the temple complex, and the stone walls at Angkor radiate heat well into the evening. The Khmer New Year falls in mid-April and the country closes down for three to four days — workable if you are already in your hotel, brutal if you are trying to fly domestic or get a tuk-tuk somewhere new.
June through October is the Cambodian wet season — but the word 'wet' overstates the disruption. Mornings are typically clear and the temperature sits around 27–29°C. Cloud builds through midday, and a short heavy downpour arrives sometime between 2 pm and 6 pm. Most last 30–90 minutes, the streets drain quickly, and by sunset the air is washed clean. The landscape is impossibly green, the temples are quiet, and hotel rates are at their lowest of the year. The honest cost is that some unsealed roads (notably the off-grid Angkor temples) turn to mud, and a small share of trips lose an afternoon to a longer storm.
Each Cambodian month has its own personality, especially at the shoulder edges where seasons turn. Here is the practical breakdown for an Aussie planning a first trip in 2026, paired with which Australian state's school-holiday or long-weekend block lines up most cleanly.
Mornings at 22–24°C, midday at 28–30°C, no rain, low humidity. January and February are the cleanest months for an Aussie first-timer — Angkor at sunrise is genuinely cool, the riverfront in Phnom Penh is walkable at any hour, and the southern islands are perfect for swimming. The trade-off is price: hotels in Siem Reap run their highest rates of the year and the popular Angkor temples can have queues at the gates by 6 am. If your dates flex, mid-January (post Western New Year) through mid-February is the quietest stretch within the peak.
Apply for the eVisa once your January or February dates are locked. Tourist eVisa $80 USD (~$122 AUD), 3 business days, approved as a printable PDF by email. Apply 1–2 weeks before your flight for the cleanest run — earlier is fine since the visa is valid 3 months from issue. Our Australian application walkthrough covers the form, and the cost guide breaks down every line of the all-in price.
April is the single month most Aussies should sidestep on a first trip. Daytime temperatures push 36–38°C with no cloud cover and zero breeze through the temple stones. Sunrise at Angkor starts at 26°C and the queue moves slowly under a sun that is already harsh by 7 am. On top of the heat, Khmer New Year (Choul Chnam Thmey) falls 13–16 April, and most of the country travels home. Phnom Penh empties, Siem Reap fills with domestic tourists, restaurants close for 3–4 days, and tuk-tuk drivers double rates. Easter often falls late April, which is the worst possible alignment for an Australian family looking at the school-holiday calendar.
Khmer New Year (mid-April) — plan around it
Cambodia effectively shuts for 3–4 days from 13–16 April for Choul Chnam Thmey. Government offices close, eVisa processing slows, domestic flights book out, and restaurants in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap run skeleton menus. If you must travel in April, target the first week or the last week. And apply for the eVisa at least 2 weeks ahead — Approved in 3 business days assumes Cambodian working days, not holiday weeks.
Australian winter school holidays in late June through mid-July land squarely in the Cambodian wet season — which sounds worse than it actually is. Daytime temperatures sit around 27–30°C (Aussie spring weather, basically), mornings are typically clear, and the afternoon storm is usually a 30–90 minute event you can wait out from a riverside cafe with a coffee. The temples are dramatically quieter than December, hotel rates are 30–50% lower, and the rice paddies around Siem Reap are at peak green. For a budget-conscious Aussie family, July is the smartest school-holiday window if you are willing to plan around the daily downpour.
Late December into early January is the single best window for an Aussie family or couple, and the maths is obvious: Australia is hot and you want to leave it, Cambodia is at its peak dry season, and the school-holiday block runs three to four weeks. Daytime maximums are 28–30°C, mornings open cool, there is no rain, and Angkor under blue December sky is unbeatable. The trade-offs are real — book hotels in Siem Reap 3–4 months ahead, expect crowds at the Bayon and Ta Prohm temples between 8 and 11 am, and budget premium prices on everything tourist-facing. The school-holidays family-trip guide covers the wider December planning rhythm.
Packing for Cambodia from Australia is mostly about matching the season you have booked. The baseline is the same — light cotton or linen, comfortable walking shoes, a sun hat, electrolytes, and a basic first-aid pouch — but the seasonal layer changes everything.
Whatever season you land in, the e-Arrival Card is the same 14-field submission inside the 7-day window before your flight. The e-Arrival 14 fields walkthrough covers exactly what each field asks. And our cost guide for Aussies in 2026 maps the full pre-trip spend including how the verified $5 USD (~$7.50 AUD) e-Arrival fits the budget.
Every Australian state runs its own school-holiday calendar, which means the family-trip Aussie market has roughly six discrete blocks across the year. Each one lines up with a different Cambodian season — and most parents are unaware that Easter and April are the worst possible alignment.
The pattern that catches Aussie families out: Easter falls in early-to-mid April most years, which lands squarely in the worst week of Cambodian heat AND inside Khmer New Year. Looking only at the school calendar from Sydney, late March or the first week of April can look fine — but the country itself is shutting down and the temperature curve is at its annual peak. The cleanest fix is to push the booking back one term to July, or forward to summer.
For families with school-aged kids, the school holidays family-trip guide breaks down the practical day-by-day in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, and the honeymoon couples trip guide is the equivalent for adult couples on the December dry-season window. Whichever month you land on, the Aussie-timezone support team can walk you through the eVisa timing.
When to apply for the eVisa once dates are locked
Tourist eVisa $80 USD (~$122 AUD), Approved in 3 business days, Delivered as a printable PDF by email, valid 3 months from issue. Apply 1–2 weeks before your flight. Around Khmer New Year (mid-April), Pchum Ben (mid–late September), and Water Festival (early November), push that buffer to 14 days. Free resubmission if Immigration flags a correction.
Thailand cool season tracks Cambodia's — same weather window, different country.
Compare →Vietnam has three climate zones; pair with Cambodia for a December dry-season run.
Compare →Laos shares Cambodia's wet season — same monsoon shape further north.
Compare →Singapore is wet year-round; a 1-night stopover regardless of season.
Compare →Bali dry season is May–September — opposite curve to Cambodia's.
Compare →Cambodia is a year-round destination, but only two seasons are easy for an Aussie first-timer. November through February delivers cool mornings, hot-but-not-extreme days, and zero rain — at premium pricing and with the biggest crowds. June through October flips every variable: lush green landscape, quiet temples, low prices, and a near-guaranteed afternoon downpour. The middle stretch from March to May is for repeat visitors who already know to manage the heat or for travellers who specifically want the Khmer New Year experience.
If you are aligning a first trip with Aussie school holidays, December–January is the unbeatable window, and the July winter break is the budget-friendly alternative. Once your dates are locked, the eVisa is the next step — Tourist $80 USD (~$122 AUD), Approved in 3 business days, Delivered as a printable PDF by email, Checked end-to-end before it reaches Immigration. The first-trip planning checklist is the wider pre-flight sequence, and the do-Australians-need-Cambodia-visa pillar is the deeper background read.
Next steps and related reading for Australians: apply for your Cambodia eVisa when you are ready to lodge, bookmark our Cambodia visa hub for Australian citizens as the single canonical reference, skim the FAQ on Cambodia visa after approval for quick answers, and use our glossary of Cambodia visa terms to decode any acronym in this guide.