Essential Angkor

📍 Siem Reap Angkor International Airport - Siem Reap (52 km): 1 hrs

Welcome to Cambodia! Upon your arrival in Siem Reap, you will be welcomed by your local English speaking guide who will accompany you to your hotel for check in.

Overnight in Siem Reap    

Inclusions:

📍 Siem Reap – Temples (06 km): 10 mins

Meet the guide at the hotel lobby at 07:30. Travel by Remork (local transportation similar to Tuk Tuk) to Ta Prohm temple. The temple was made famous by the Angelina Jolie film Tomb Raider. The temple is best known for the trees and vines growing atop the temple walls.

Continue to Angkor Wat and marvel at its grandeur. Take a closer look at the intricately carved gallery walls and learn about the Hindu myths and historic tales they represent. Hear tales of the construction process which took 30 years of intensive labour to complete. See some of the 2000 “Apsara” carvings, each one a unique representation of female guardian spirits adorning the temple walls.

Return to the hotel. 

This afternoon at 14:00, visit a local enterprise, Satcha, where craftsmen and women find a safe and clean space to work as well as receive training to further hone their talent and grow themselves into artistic entrepreneurs.

Pick up from the hotel by remork (a Cambodian “Tuk Tuk”) at 18:00 and drive to the first restaurant, where follows a different business model, directing their profits to various organisations. You may order any drink from the menu (they make some special cocktails and fruit mix using local ingredients) and any one appetiser (try different ones and share with each other). Next, enjoy Khmer classic dishes at another social enterprise restaurant providing disadvantaged youths, and underprivileged adults, professional training and employment in the hospitality industry. 

After dinner, go to a tropical garden restaurant run by an organisation that operates a hospitality training school where all the restaurant workers learned (or are currently learning) their trade. Learn about how the program runs and its achievements while enjoying a creative cocktail, a glass of wine, beer, or coffee.  This stop will mark the end of your tour and your driver will bring you safely to your hotel or, at your choice, drop you off at Pub Street or in the city centre of Siem Reap.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Siem Reap - Ta Brak village (19 Km): 36 mins / Siem Reap – Temples (06 Km): 10 mins

This morning the tour begins at 07:30. Today embark on an authentic rural Cambodia tour to learn about life in a typical village. Meet friendly locals and discover traditional village customs and cultures.

Like most villages in Asia, Ta Brak is busiest in the morning hours. Sit down with a local family and enjoy breakfast (take-away from the hotel) while observing the activities of the village.  By foot, visit the local market. Explore the colourful displays of vegetables, herbs and other locally-grown produce, and mingle with the shoppers who come every morning to buy the fresh ingredients. Continue through the village, providing ample opportunities to stop and chat with locals and to observe their activities. 

Before leaving the village, head to Khmer smokehouse and meet a warm family. Learn the process of smoking fish, discover Cambodian rural life through stories shared amidst fragrant smoke. Over a fresh coconut juice, get to know the family, engage in discussions, and gain a better understanding of the countryside lifestyle in Cambodia. 

Conclude this morning, partake in a special Buddhist tradition. Local monks will impart wishes of good luck and success in a solemn, age-old ceremony.

Return to the hotel. 

This afternoon the tour starts at 14:00. Visit Bayon temple which was built by the last great king: Jayavarman VII. Take a stroll around the lower galleries of carvings of Bayon, which depict fascinating scenes of life from the late 11th century, then find a quiet spot on the exterior of the temple to appreciate the 52 towers featuring faces of the Buddha looking out into the jungle around you. Return to the hotel. 

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

📍 Siem Reap – Kbal Spean (52 km): 1 hrs / Kbal Spean - Banteay Srei (13 km): 15 mins / Banteay Srei - Siem Reap (37 km): 50 mins

The tour begins at 07:00. You will get an early start for the trip to Kbal Spean. This is one of Cambodia’s earliest Hindu sites. Take a 3-kilometre trek through the jungle. The trek ends at the ‘River of 1000 Lingas’, a riverbed featuring stone carvings of Hindu gods, animals and phallic symbols.

Note: the trek is fairly easy going but as the walk is uphill and on uneven ground it is most suitable for those with average level of fitness and not suitable for those with mobility problems. 

Then visit the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB). You will learn about the threats to Cambodia’s wildlife and the efforts of ACCB to protect the environment and promote wildlife conservation through education. 

Lunch at a local restaurant. 

After lunch you will explore the rarely-visited BanteaySrei temple, known for its pink sandstone and intricate carvings. This well-preserved gem is often overlooked due to its location, but you'll enjoy a peaceful visit with close-up views of the reliefs. 

Continue to APOPO Visitor Center. Learn about the critical work of APOPO's "HeroRATs" in clearing landmines from Cambodia's countryside. See a simulated minefield training, meet the hero rats, and participate in a Q&A with a mine action professional. 

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Siem Reap – Kulen Elephant (41 Km): 55 mins

Depart from the hotel at 7:00 for a one-hour drive to the plains surrounding Kulen Mountain. After an introductory briefing, head down to the pond for a meet and greet with the elephants. The program at the Kulen Elephant Forest will join with other guests (Not Private). After feeding the elephants some treats, follow the elephants as they wander around the area, snacking on leaves from nearby trees. Lunch is provided in family-style.

Return to the hotel. 

Afternoon at leisure.

This evening at 19:30, enjoy an evening of culture at Phare Cambodian Circus Show. Set up by refugees of the Khmer Rouge era, Phare promotes performing arts as a way to cope with trauma. Over the years they have not only helped hundreds of Cambodians but also helped to promote traditional Khmer culture.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Siem Reap – Kompong Khleang (52 km): 1 hrs

This morning the tour begins at 08:00. Take a break from temple touring to experience authentic rural lifestyles. Drive to the outskirts of Siem Reap through local villages where rice and fish can frequently be spotted drying alongside the road. You will stop at a small but vibrant local market along the way. 

Hop on a local wooden boat for a private journey through a canal, all the way to Tonle Sap Lake. As you cruise along the canal you will see houses on either side: depending on the time of the visit, the houses will either have immediate access to the water or stand perched on stilts high above the ground. A phenomena caused by the annual rising and receding waters of the Tonle Sap Lake. Along the way, gain a better understanding of the local lifestyle with lunch in a family house. This is a unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the way of life of the local people- sitting inside a stilted house while watching the boats pass outside. 
Note: Due to fluctuating water levels on the lake and canals, the village visited will depend on the date and water levels at that time. As it’s a local community experience, the boats are older wooden boats.

Return to the hotel. 

Afternoon at leisure. 

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Siem Reap Hotel - Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (52 km): 1 hrs 12mn

Enjoy some time at leisure until the transfer to the airport for your individual departure flight. 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast