Eastern Cambodia Explorer

📍 Phnom Penh Airport to Phnom Penh (11 km): 30 mins

Welcome to Cambodia! Upon arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport, you will be welcomed by your local English speaking guide who will accompany you to your hotel for check in (The standard check-in time is at 14:00).

In case you cannot find your guide, please call our 24 Hrs Customer Care number +855 12 908 097.

Free at leisure at your hotel.

Overnight in Phnom Penh

Inclusions:

📍 Phnom Penh - Snoul (230km) 4.5 hours Snoul - Sen Monorom (130km) 2.5 hours

This morning, pick up by your local guide at the hotel lobby and transfer by private air-conditioned vehicle to somewhere off the beaten tourist trail, Sen Monorom, Mondulkiri, a quiet and beautiful town nestled into the hills. 
After 4.5 hours into the long voyage. Lunch break on the way, lunch is at your own expense. Continue to Sen Monorom. Check in your hotel, and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. 

Overnight at Sen Monorom (Mondulkiri)

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

📍 Sen Monorom - Elephant Valley Project ~45 minutes

Get picked up from your hotel at 7:00am for transfer to a meeting point of the Elephant Valley Project, a sanctuary for elephants within a 1,500 hectare reserve where the elephants can roam and learn how to be semi wild elephants again. Here you will hike (7 km) out to meet one group of elephants in the morning in their natural forest habitat. In this immersive experience you will spend half the day with the elephants, enjoy the observation of the elephants in their beautiful forest home (join-in activity).
Enjoy a delicious buffet lunch made by our local Bunong staff, rest in a hammock, and enjoy being truly immersed in nature. Depart back to Sen Monorom town after lunch at 2pm.

Note: As the elephants are located in valleys that are accessible by dirt trails and stairs, visitors with mobility issues may not be able to visit the elephants in their natural habitat and may be constrained to the elephant center and “elephant spa” during dry season months and may be unable to visit EVP during Green Season, when the path down to the center can be very slippery. Join-In tour is limited to 12 guests and only available Sunday-Friday.

Afternoon at leisure.

Overnight at Sen Monorom (Mondulkiri)

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Sen Monorom - Bousra Falls (35km) 45 minutes

Depart from the hotel at 8am for the approximately forty five minutes drive from Sen Monorom town to the natural highlight of the region: Bousra Waterfall, a particularly scenic two-tier waterfall and the largest in Cambodia. Cascading some 10m on the first tier and 25m on the second, the waterfall is a popular spot for local tourists, especially on weekends and public holidays.

Snap some memorable souvenir photos. Lunch can be enjoyed beside a picturesque reservoir if it hasn’t been taken at the falls.

On the way back, we can stop along the way at the various plantations of the local people. What was once a vast landscape of rugged nature has since become a place where many have started cultivating crops due to the cooler temperatures and fertile ground. 

Among others you might see pepper, cassava, rubber or even tea where your guide can stop briefly and explain the intricacies involved. Visit the Coffee Plantation that allows visitors to walk through the groves of coffee plants. 

Finally, depending on the time of the day and energy levels, take a drive up to stop at an overlook of the wide area that is visible from the breezy viewpoint and before head back to the hotel, continue up to Dohkrormom Mountain to enjoy the sunset and a great view of the rapidly growing provincial capital. 

Overnight in Sen Monorom (Mondulkiri)

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Sen Monorom - Banlung (185km) 3 hours

Depart early from Sen Monorom for the drive to Banlung around 07:30am . The 196 km route was once known as “the death highway” both because it was heavily bombed by American B52s during the Vietnam War and because it was once a multi-day slog of potholes and treacherous river crossings. The recently built road now only takes around three hours. 

Upon arrival in Banlung, stop briefly at Eisan Reclining Buddha Pagoda, which offers panoramic views of the rapidly-growing provincial capital. (Alternatively this can be done at sunset including Phnom Svay, a popular place for locals). 

Then continue to a local villager house and have lunch there, the Tampuon family. The Tampuon are one of numerous tribal communities that populate Rattanakiri province. Enjoy local Tampuon food with the former village chief and his wife to discuss their lifestyle. After lunch, visit their neighbor’s home and try a hand at weaving local textiles. Next, visit another village where a local resident will show how rice wine is produced.

After learning about making wine, head over to Banlung’s star attraction: Yeak Laom. This almost perfectly circular lake in the middle of the forest was created by a volcanic eruption around 700,000 years ago. Take a walk around the lake, stopping at wooden decks along the waterfront to swim and relax with local visitors. The 2.5km trip around the lake takes 35 minutes with stops to swim, if desired. Otherwise, enjoy the fresh, clear waters of the lake on a deck or in a hammock and enjoy the atmosphere before check-in the hotel. 

Overnight at Banlung (Ratanakiri).

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Banlung - Bar Kaev (31km): 33mins

Departing your hotel at 8:00am, today explore the rural tribal communities that live in the Ratanakiri countryside. 

First stop at the Banlung market, soak up the lively atmosphere of the market and learn more about the different types of fruit, vegetables and other surprising culinary ingredients.

Continue to Kreung village, one of Ratanakiri’s diverse tribal communities, for a walk around their village. Now located just beside the road, this tribe had long been isolated from the rest of Cambodia before new infrastructure was developed in recent years. Notice the tobacco pipes that most of the women in the village enjoy and stop to chat with locals if you are curious about their lives. 

Back in town for lunch (own arrangement). 

In the afternoon, continue to visit another tribal community that is known for its “bamboo shower” and continue to the locals mining for the gems after which Ratanakiri province is named (“Ratanakiri” translates as “Mountain of precious stones“). Unlike modern mining methods that devastate the land, traditional mining consists of digging a small hole, down which a miner descends, sending buckets of earth up to sift through for stones.
Return to your hotel.

Overnight at Banlung (Ratanakiri).

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

📍 Banlung – Krong Kraches (243km): 3hrs 30 mins Krong Kraches- Kampi (17km): 30 mins

Breakfast at the hotel. 

Your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel lobby. Then transfer you to Koh Trong island in Kratie. 

Lunch at Le Tonlé restaurant. Le Tonlé was founded by the Cambodian Rural Development Team (CRDT) to provide training and access to employment for disadvantaged Cambodian youths. Now, Le Tonlé income helps CRDT to continue its work in the local community

After lunch, continue north to Kampi. Get on board a local boat and be taken to spot Irrawaddy Dolphins (duration 1 to 1.5 hours). Your tour supports local conservation and sustainable tourism— visits generate funding and awareness for protecting this endangered species. 

Arrive in Kratie, hop on a local ferry to Koh Trong Island (approx. 10 minutes). Upon arrival at Koh Trong, you will be transferred by Remork to your homestay. 

Dinner arranged by the host family.

Overnight on Koh Trong Island (Homestay).

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

This morning, enjoy a ride around Koh Trong, only a 10 minute boat ride across the Mekong River from Kratie. This island displays typical Cambodian village life, where people’s livelihood largely depends on rice farming and fruit cultivation (Koh Trong is famous for its pomelo, a fruit similar to grapefruit). Choose to take a local horse cart or pedal around the island on a bicycle. 

Lunch will be served by local villagers on the island, enjoying the authentic island dish.

This afternoon, you gain the opportunity to get to know more about the host family. It’s the best time to have conversations, and learn about their culture, language, and their perspectives. This can be a much richer and more meaningful travel experience.

Dinner arranged by the host family.

Overnight on Koh Trong Island (Homestay).

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Kratie - Hanchey (62km): 2 hour 30 minutes Hanchey – Kampong Cham (20km): 30 minutes Kampong Cham - Phnom Penh (125km): 2 hour 30 minutes

Breakfast at the hotel, followed by departure back towards Phnom Penh at 8:00am. While leaving Kratie town, stop briefly at Wat Rokakandal, a beautiful temple from the early 19th century with some unique wall paintings located on the banks of the Mekong. 

Continuing along the old river-front road through charming pastoral countryside to Wat Hanchey. This charming pagoda occupies a hilltop overlooking the Mekong River. 

Lunch at a local restaurant in the town of Kampong Cham. 

If travelling between December through May, there is a chance to take a brief detour to visit Kampong Cham’s iconic bamboo bridge. Traditionally constructed each year to allow access to the island of Koh Pen in the Mekong River southeast of Kampong Cham, the bridge is later destroyed by the river as the water’s rise each rainy season. 

Then visit Nokor Bachey temple. On the way back to Phnom Penh, stop briefly at Skun, a village famous for its curious roadside snacks including grilled frogs, scorpions, and tarantulas! 

Upon arrival in Phnom Penh, check-in the hotel. 

Overnight in Phnom Penh

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Phnom Penh Hotel - Airport (26 km): 60 mins

Breakfast at a hotel.

Pick up by your guide and driver from the hotel and transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast