Best of Cambodia

Welcome to Cambodia! After landing in Siem Reap you will be met off the airbridge and assisted with fast-track arrival service through immigration, baggage, and customs. You’ll then meet your local English-speaking guide and accompanying private driver and then taken straight to your downtown hotel. This will be a journey of around an hour in typical traffic.

While best known for the temples and ruins of Angkor, once the world’s largest and greatest pre-industrial city, Siem Reap also offers opportunities to explore museums, markets, and buzzing nightlife. Once checked in you will have the remainder of the day free to rest and recuperate at the hotel, or jump in a tuk tuk and head out to explore.

Wake early this morning to enjoy the lesser-visited corners of the Angkor complex at their quietest time of day. Head first to Srah Srang, Angkor’s expansive 700m x 350m reservoir, which glows a deep orange at sunrise. Continue to the legendary jungle temple Ta Prohm, its crumbling ruins now held together with roots and vines. A 15-minute walk through the forest north of Ta Prohm then takes you to Ta Nei where you’ll be served a delicious picnic breakfast. At this time of day, you’re likely to have the entire temple site to yourselves. A short drive then brings you to the final stop of the morning – Ta Keo, known as the ‘Mountain of Bronze Peaks’, with its impressive five-tiered pyramid structure. You’ll be dropped back at your hotel in the mid-morning and have some time to relax.

In the afternoon your guide will take you on a walking tour through the mighty Angkor Thom – literally ‘Great City’. Start at the imposing Victory Gate, then continue along the 5m high former city walls to the ‘Death Gate’ and then the Terrace of the Leper King. A further short walk from the Buddhist sanctuary of Preah Palilay takes you through shaded woodland to the three tiers of Phimeanakas, flanked by beautiful lakes, and then to the Hindu temple Baphuon. The big finish arrives in the exact center of Angkor Thom at the Bayon, the former state temple of Jayavarman VII. The Bayon is known for its captivating bas-relief faces, carved in their hundreds, each telling a different story of daily life and epic events in the time of Angkor. End the day with a leisurely boat ride on the moat of Angkor Thom, enjoying the sunset with a cocktail in hand.

This morning you will visit Angkor Wat, the mother of all temples. Timings are flexible but we recommend visiting at dawn, seeing the sun climb over the temple and bathe it in the softest and best light of the day. Angkor Wat is reputed to be the largest religious complex in the world. Constructed over a period of 30 years during the reign of Suryavarman II, it was originally a Hindu mountain temple, then later converted to Buddhist use in the 16th century, remaining in such use today. The sheer scale of Angkor Wat, coupled with the incredible complexity and detail of its bas-reliefs, is difficult to comprehend. Spend as much time as you need exploring in the company of your guide before returning to your hotel to relax.

Later in the afternoon you’ll be taken out to discover a rural landscape beyond Siem Reap which has changed little since the days of Jayavarman VII. Here you can experience contemporary Khmer culture, and see a side of Cambodia far beyond the reach of mass tourism. Traveling by ox-cart, and later by boat, you’ll pass through picture postcard bucolic scenery of woodland, rice paddies, and village life. Stop at a rural pagoda for a blessing from the village monks, and then (via your guide) have a chat with local families. You’ll also stop at the vast Western Baray, a man-made reservoir that once provided irrigation for an entire city of Angkorian farmers.

A further boat ride then brings you to an exclusive country villa, set in tranquil surrounds, where you’ll enjoy sunset drinks and then a private Khmer dinner.

After an early breakfast, you will head out to the great Tonle Sap Lake: the richest freshwater fishing ground in the world, and a Cambodian national treasure. A privately guided boat tour will introduce you to the communities that live around the margins of the lake, who adapt to the continual variation in water levels by building their homes on floating stilts. Take the opportunity to pause at the stilted houses to learn how a subsistence fishing family lives, before returning to shore, where you will find a picnic lunch has been prepared for you.

You’ll then be taken back to Siem Reap and dropped straight at the airport in time for a short domestic flight to Phnom Penh. On arrival, you’ll be met by a new guide and driver team and taken to your downtown hotel to check in. Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is one of Asia’s most exciting and fastest-growing cities. Get settled into your room and enjoy the remainder of the day at your leisure. If you want to take a stroll, you’ll find a number of elegant colonial buildings and grand boulevards which saw Phnom Penh donned the “Paris of the East” during the 1920s. We highly recommend a visit to the Central Market, an astonishing piece of Art Deco architecture which contains vast hallways housing countless stalls selling all sorts of items.

This morning you’ll head out for an absorbing tour of Phnom Penh, taking its architecture as a lens through which to view the many sides of the city. In the company of a local architectural enthusiast you’ll travel by cyclo (pedal rickshaw), weaving through the busy city streets, taking in Chinese-style shophouses in older residential areas, French colonial buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century, and several examples of the famed ‘New Khmer Architecture’ of the 1950s and 1960s. The tour culminates at the Central Market, an astonishing Art Deco landmark, which impresses both as a design classic and as a hive of commercial activity, housing hundreds of stalls selling clothing, souvenirs, electronic goods, jewellery, flowers, and an extensive produce and street food section.

In the afternoon continue your private tour of the city at the attractive Royal Palace, and then the neighbouring Silver Pagoda, covered in approximately 5,000 silver tiles. Afterwards, you’ll explore the massive collection of Khmer sculptures and artefacts in the National Museum which were recovered from the ancient Angkor Empire. You will then learn more about the sober recent history of Cambodia, visiting the infamous Tuol Sleng prison and then the “Killing Fields” of Choeng Ek where over 17,000 civilians were killed and buried in the 1970s. These visits can be skipped should you prefer – please discuss locally with your guide.

Like most Asian cities Phnom Penh is full of life in the morning, with breakfast in particular being an integral part of Cambodian daily life. An immersive morning tour takes you through bustling local markets and small street-side stands in neighborhoods outside the usual tourist circuit. You’ll see another side of the Cambodian capital when you sit down with locals for traditional breakfast treats and sample street vendors’ savory morning snacks. It’s a unique opportunity to participate in the day-to-day of Phnom Penh and taste the many influences that have shaped Cambodia’s long and rich history.

You’ll then leave Phnom Penh behind and be transferred by road down to Kep on Cambodia’s sultry southern coast. Located around four hours’ drive south of Phnom Penh, Kep is a former colonial coastal retreat, housing several fine mansions – some of which are now converted into excellent boutique hotels – and is also the focal point of Cambodia’s crab fishing industry. The central market and surrounding fish restaurants are world renowned for outstanding fresh seafood; the local delicacy – Kep crab in local Kampot pepper sauce – is an absolute must. From the market, we recommend a short but strenuous climb to the summit of jungle-topped Kep Hill, which is rewarded with fine views across the Gulf of Thailand.

Today is free to explore the twin coastal towns of Kep and Kampot. Kampot, a short 30-minute drive from Kep, is a charming riverside port, known for its quaint shopping streets lined with photogenic shophouses and its surrounding pepper farms (Kampot pepper enjoys WTO Protected Geographical Indicator status, putting it on a par with champagne or Scotch beef). A visit to a pepper farm, including a tour and an excellent lunch, can be easily arranged locally. We also recommend a trip up to Bokor National Park, a 1000m summit above Kampot. Formerly a French hill station, Bokor was completely abandoned post-independence, and now has a somewhat eerie quality with several derelict hotels and mansions. There are also a couple of hilltop stupas and a range of walking trails. Back in Kep, we recommend a visit to the fish market or a short walk down to Kep’s small but functional beach.

A short private transfer takes you from Kep down to the coastal city of Sihanoukville, where you’ll be dropped at the Royal Sands jetty. You’ll then board a resort speedboat that will complete the crossing to Koh Rong in around 45 minutes. On arrival at the resort, you have the rest of the day free to kick back and settle into paradise.

These days are at leisure to relax, enjoy the stunning beach, and let the resort indulge you. Take in the facilities – including a pool, spa, gym, beach bar, and restaurant – or choose from an array of enticing activities, such as snorkeling and diving, kayaking, island-hopping tours, or treks and mountain bike tours of the island’s jungle interior.

Your epic tour of Cambodia comes to an end today. At the appropriate time, you’ll join a shared resort speedboat back to the mainland, and then be transferred to Phnom Penh Airport in a private car. Using an excellent quality highway the total transfer time will be around three hours.

If you’d like to explore more of Southeast Asia, chat with our travel experts who can help plan the ideal bespoke addition to your itinerary.