Cambodia in Depth 14 days (ATD-C04)

Upon arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport, you will be met by your driver and guide and chauffeured to your accommodation for check-in. Evening at your own leisure to relax after your long haul flight.

Overnight in Phnom Penh

Your Phnom Penh tour will start with learning about Cambodia’s tragic past. First is a guided tour of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former school that served as a Khmer Rouge torture center. Then, head out of the city to the Choueng Ek Memorial, where a pagoda made up of some 8,000 human skulls marks the site of one of the infamous Killing Fields.

Enjoy a Khmer lunch at an NGO training restaurant.

After lunch, you’ll travel by moto–remork (a Cambodian tuk-tuk) and head out of Phnom Penh on the Japanese Friendship Bridge before catching a ferry across the mighty Mekong River to Mekong Island. The island is famous for silk weaving, agriculture, and aquaculture. Stop to see the silk weavers at work in the village, where you can purchase some of the local products if you wish. As you wander the village, you can visit a Buddhist temple and floating fish farms, see fields of rice and morning glory, and enjoy local Khmer snacks at a family home.

Say goodbye to the tuk-tuk and board a boat from the water at the junction of the Tonle Bassac, Tonle Sap, and the mighty Mekong. You’ll see the distinctive architecture of Cambodia, with Khmer–influenced buildings such as Wat Ounalom, the Royal Palace, and the Silver Pagoda, as well as French colonial buildings.

Finally, close off the Mekong boat tour with a gorgeous sunset. After that, head to the riverside area of Phnom Penh, a pleasant French style promenade that is great for people viewing. In the early evening (and morning), various activities take place include exercise classes, Khmer dancing and plenty of snacking on local food. You can participate in a Khmer dance class which is a lot of fun for all! From here you can either be taken back to your hotel or left to explore this bustling area independently and have dinner at one of the many great restaurants at the riverfront.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight in Phnom Penh

After breakfast, we will leave Phnom Penh for Kampong Cham (2.5 hrs driving), a former French trading post on the Mekong. En route, stop to visit Wat Nokor, an 11th century Angkor era Buddhist temple. Continue onto Kratie Province (another 2 hours driving).

Upon arrival in Krati, you will visit Wat Sorsor Mouy Roy, the Vihara of the so-called ‘100 Pillars Pagoda’, an important historical and cultural building and quite famous for its legend involving a princess and a crocodile. After that, drive to the north along the banks of the Mekong River, a scenic route with great views. The village of Kampi is one of the best places to view the rare Irrawaddy Dolphins along the Mekong. Get on a local boat that will take you to the preferred habitats of these interesting creatures. As soon as you have spotted the first dolphin, your boat driver will turn the engine off and you will follow the dolphins silently (duration 1 to 1.5 hours).

Finish the boat trip and transfer to the hotel on Koh Trong Island for check-in. The rest of the afternoon you will be free to discover the picturesque rural island. Enjoy a spectacular Mekong sunset with perhaps a cold drink this evening. The Kratie stretch of the river is particularly famed for its striking sunsets.

Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight in Kratie

After breakfast, explore the island of Koh Trong. This Mekong island displays typical Cambodian village life, where people’s livelihood largely depends on rice farming and fruits cultivation (Koh Trong is famous for its pomelo). You can decide whether you would like to take a local horse cart or pedal yourself around the island on a bicycle. Today you will have lunch at a local family.

After lunch, you will visit a local village, where a special activity awaits you: A tree-planting project initiated by a local farmer, in order to cultivate the once densely forested island. Contribute to the project by planting your own tree here and it will carry your name tag and leave a positive trace on the island. There is the option to continue by horse cart or cycling around the island, where you will be able to taste local fruit and visit a Vietnamese floating village on the southern tip of the island.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight in Kratie

After breakfast, leave Kratie for Kampong Thom Province (about 5hrs driving). On the way, you will stop at Phnom Santuk Mountain and climb the 980 steps to the top to visit the pagoda and for the great views over the countryside.

Upon arrival in Kampong Thom, check into your hotel and enjoy a leisurely afternoon cycling tour or relax by the hotel pool.

Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight in Kampong Thom

An early morning departure to the archeological site of Sambor Prei Kuk, which is dotted with a hundred Pre–Angkor styled temples. The site, part of the Chenla Kingdom, includes an area of nearly 1000 acres enclosed by double walls, and hundreds of temples and towers, its construction predates Angkor Wat by several centuries. The road conditions are pretty poor, but the spectacular scenery, with a mixture of temples and the forest, makes the hardship all worthwhile.

Enjoy a beautiful walk through the jungle with breathtaking views. Your visit supports a community–based tourism project. The villages around the temple complex still practice the ancient art of craft making, using materials such as bamboo and rattan. Stop at one village to observe the local production. The community runs the Isanborei Craft Hut next to the temples and sells their products there as part of a community–based tourism project. You will have the chance to visit and contribute to the sustainability of the people’s livelihood as the local community will prepare a simple but very tasty lunch for you near the temple.

After seeing this landmark, you will make your way towards Siem Reap and pass through various Khmer traditional villages. On the way, visit the archeological “Naga Bridge” at Kompong Kdei.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight in Siemreap

After breakfast, you will depart for the ancient city of Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII. This city is surrounded by an 8m high wall, drawing a perfect square. Enter the city through the ancient South Gate, an impressive stone gate carved with Elephants and four giant faces. On each side of the entrance path, a row of 54 gods or demons is holding the sacred Naga snake.

Continue on to the incredible Ta Prohm temple, built in the mid-12th to early 13th centuries. Ta Prohm is unique in that it has been left largely as it was found overgrown by jungle trees and vines, with many parts of the temple crumbling to the ground.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you will visit the legendary Angkor Wat. Inside the temple, the walls are covered with stone carvings and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu mythology and the wars Suryavarman II fought during his reign. Angkor Wat is well known for the more than 2,000 Apsara dancers decorating the temple.

End the day with a beautiful sunset view from the top of Phnom Bakheng hill. Once the sun has set, you will head back to town where the balance of the day is free at your leisure.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight in Siemreap

After breakfast, you will embark on an interesting boat trip on Tonlé Sap Lake (Kampong Phluk area), where you will have the opportunity to learn about life on the lake. Tonle Sap is South East Asia’s largest freshwater lake with its size varying greatly depending on the season, as it swells to about four times its size during the wet season. The highlight today is the Kampong Phluck, a village where you will see houses on stilts that are submerged when Tonlé Sap Lake swells. On the way, you will pass floating houses and impressive flooded forests, portraying life on the water.

Finish the tour and return Siem Reap town in the early afternoon. Then the rest of the day will be free at your leisure.

Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight in Siemreap

After being picked up at the hotel, embark on a rural drive through the Cambodian countryside to Banteay Chhmar.

Accommodation for the next two nights will be at a traditional, local homestay. A memorable and intimate encounter, this will be the perfect means of experiencing daily life and learning the local customs of a typical Khmer village.

After reaching the local homestay, sit down for a traditional lunch prepared by a local women’s group, under a straw hut in the village. Then head out to visit Banteay Chhmar Temple, a place of the exceptional atmosphere that gets very few visitors. A notable feature of this temple that is applying for UNESCO World Heritage Site status is the magnificent bas-reliefs on the outside of the inner sanctuary walls. Almost every step within this vast ruin; gives another fabulous picture of stone being consumed by nature. It is a spectacular sight with its Bayon Style towers, walls and enclosures cloaked with vegetation.

Late afternoon take a local transport similar to a tractor called ‘Kuyon’ to the Banteay Top temple to see the sunset. A fun way to travel Khmer style amongst some lovely scenery!

In the evening, enjoy a simple but memorable dinner at the temple.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight in a homestay in Banteay Chhmar

Wake up to the sights and sounds of a rural Cambodian farming village, accompanied by a delicious breakfast prepared by the hosts.

Start the morning with a walking tour through the Banteay Chhmar local market. The local guide will explain the traditional way of life in the area, including fishing, beekeeping, weaving, and rice farming.

Ride through the surrounding countryside of the village in an ox–cart, passing the paddy fields, sugar palm trees, and other typical Cambodian landscapes. Continue on to the Pol Pot Baray (an irrigation dam built by the Khmer Rouge) via Kuyon (a type of local tractor), where a picnic lunch will be held on a wooden platform at the Baray. Relax and enjoy the peaceful settings in a hammock before departing, and on the way back to the village, visit beekeeping and cassava farms en–route.

After arriving back at the local village and homestay, wind down with a meal prepared by the host family, along with a display of how rice is processed following the harvest.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight in a homestay in Banteay Chhmar

After breakfast at a community–based tourism restaurant, depart the village and travel 12km by Kuyon through small villages, water reservoirs, and picturesque rice fields to Banteay Torp Temple. The name of this 13th Century temple is thought to mean ‘Fortress of the Army’ and it was built during the same period as the Banteay Chhmar temple complex. It is believed to have been built as a tribute to the Khmer army for their defeat of the Cham army leading to Khmer’s control of the region.

The site consists of three large, and precarious-looking stone towers and a nearby pagoda with beautiful wall paintings.

After having a picnic lunch at this serene temple, continue your journey onwards to Battambang. The remainder of the day can be spent at one’s leisure; enjoying the hotel pool or independently exploring Battambang’s old streets.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight in Battambang

Battambang’s countryside is what makes this pleasant river town a real treat. The town is situated along the Sangker River, a quiet and small body of water that finds its way through Battambang Province.

This morning, you will have a chance for one of the highlights and a unique experience– a fun ride on the famous Bamboo Train, an original means of transportation on the old train tracks. A true rollercoaster ride without loops!

The next point will be Phnom Sampeau, meaning “Ship Hill” in Khmer, due to its distinctive shape, and one of the few hills standing out in this otherwise pancake-flat plain. From the small temple on the top, you will have a fantastic view of the typical landscape of paddy fields and sugar palm trees. Phnom Sampeau is home to the notorious killing caves, which are cruel reminders of Cambodia’s troubled past. Serenity and inhumanity represented in one place make this an interesting visit.

Continue to drive through local villages and farms on the way to Wat Banan, an 11–century temple on a mountain-top situated between lush paddy fields and beautiful lotus ponds. Climb up the top and enjoy the views over the beautiful countryside and wander around the ancient temple, which is also home to finely scented flowering trees. You will be taken to some of the many cultural villages around Battambang, where you will learn how the locals produce rice paper, Prahoc (typical Cambodian fish paste), Grolan (sticky rice stuffed in bamboo), and other Cambodian treats. You will also visit a weaving and handicraft center.

Return to your hotel in the afternoon where the balance of the day will be free at your leisure.

Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight in Battambang

Depart Battambang you will head to Kampong Chhnang, known for its traditional pottery, with many kilns at work in this province. In a village near Kampong Chhnang, you will see the different aspects of pottery making and also experience the production of traditional rice wine.

Continue on to Oudong, the former royal capital of Cambodia. The drive passes through many rural villages and pagodas, and you will see the temple mountain with its dozens of stupas from afar. Upon arrival at Oudong enjoy a traditional Khmer lunch at a picnic hut at the foot of the hill.

After lunch, climb the stairs to the top of Oudong Mountain and enjoy magnificent views over the plains below. Your guide will explain the history of the area and its buildings as well as the religious culture of the Cambodian people. Take your time to soak in the magnificent views over the plains below.

Stop to take a look at the spectacular Vipassana Dhura Buddhist Meditation Center, also located in Oudong. Your guide can explain more about the school of Vipassana (Insight Meditation) as you tour the center. Don’t forget to see the impressive jade Buddha, the mummified monk and the brightly painted walls telling the story of the Ramayana, the epic Sanskrit poem that decorates many pagodas seen around the country.

Leaving Oudong, keep driving toward Phnom Penh, en route stop to visit Koh Chen, an island in the Tonlé Sap River that you can reach via a new bridge. Koh Chen is known as the ‘Silver Village’ for its production of silver crafts and jewelry. Stroll through the village to see many silver workshops in the local families’ houses.

From here, it is not too far from Phnom Penh where you will reach by late afternoon. Check into your hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight in Phnom Penh

Your private transfer greets you at the hotel after breakfast and escorts you to Phnom Penh International Airport where you board your flight home or travel on to more adventures, we will help you with the planning.

Meals included: Breakfast