RPG-firing tours in Cambodia boom despite border tensions

For most people, firing a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon such as an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) is out of the question. Yet some tourists say it is still possible in Cambodia—if you can afford it.

A traveller who used the service wrote on Travel Dudes, a travel website featuring tips and trip ideas based on personal experiences, that a guesthouse owner recommended a local military facility on the outskirts of Phnom Penh where visitors can pay to fire a range of weapons. Prices vary by weapon type, and there is a “menu” listing options from handguns and rifles to machine guns and more, with many firearms reportedly priced at around US$1–2 per round.

The RPG experience, however, is in a different category. The traveller said the rocket itself was priced at about US$300 per shot. He said the guesthouse owner and soldiers drove him in an older Toyota Camry to another site about 20 kilometres away, with a stop to withdraw cash.

He described the second site as a wide, open area. A soldier reportedly asked whether he wanted live animals to be used as targets, but the traveller said he refused, writing that he did not want animals harmed.

Afterwards, he said soldiers prepared the launcher and allowed him to fire a single round. The traveller described the projectile leaving rapidly, followed later by a distant blast and a plume of smoke.

Amid heightened Thailand–Cambodia border tensions, the report claimed the business has been thriving, driven by arrangements between guesthouse operators and soldiers seeking extra income, as well as foreign visitors and Cambodian influencers filming content for social media. The price has reportedly risen from US$300 to US$350 per shot, with operators citing higher costs of sourcing weapons and munitions.