Kep · With kids

A short crescent of imported sand with calm, warm, shallow water and trees for shade behind it, busiest at weekends with Cambodian families. The seabed is silty rather than clear, so treat it as paddling and playing rather than swimming.

Late morning is when the fishing boats come back and the crab goes into the seawater basins, claws tied, in front of everyone. Children get a straightforward lesson in where lunch comes from, and it costs nothing to stand and watch.

The circuit through the national park runs about 8km round the hill, which is too much for small legs in the heat. Walk up to the first viewpoint and turn back — the views come early and there is nowhere to refill water on the route.

The crossing from Kep pier takes about twenty minutes in an open boat with no shade and often no lifejackets in child sizes, so bring hats and look at what is on board before you get in. The island's main beach is shallow and calm once you are there.

There is no indoor attraction in Kep at all, so a wet or very hot afternoon has no fallback but your guesthouse. The coast road has almost no street lighting and the mosquitoes arrive with the sunset, so have children fed and back before dark.