Southern Cambodia Discovery

Upon arrival, please look out for the Siem Reaper welcome sign at the arrivals gate. We will transfer you to your hotel where you can take your time and relax by the pool or venture out for your first exploration of this ancient city. In the early evening, your guide will meet you at the hotel reception where a trip briefing will be held.

Day 2 will start with an early morning, so you can witness the sunrise at the extraordinary, Angkor Wat and travel through the vast collection of ancient temples. Your guide will take you to the best spots to make sure you witness the colourful sunrise over Angkor Wat. Afterwards, you will go through the Angkor central complex and learn about the history and symbolism of the temple. Ask as many questions as possible to ensure you get all the information about the place you are visiting.

When you have finished discovering Angkor Wat and had breakfast, you will then head out into the centre of Angkor Thom and enter the city through the ancient Gate, an impressive stone gate carved with elephants and four giant faces. From here, continue to Bayon Temple, which is found in the centre of the city, and is famed as the enigmatic faces representing the 54 provinces of the Great Khmer Empire. The Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King are also must-visits as they are both known for their intricate bas-reliefs.

Have lunch at a local restaurant and try the exotic Khmer cuisine. Ta Prohm temple is your next stop before some leisure time in the late afternoon. 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, and creating one of the most photogenic and atmospheric temples of the entire Angkor site.

After having breakfast at your hotel, we will go and see the great landscape of Tonle Sap lake. This is a unique experience offering a great outdoor adventure into Siem Reap’s countryside by exploring a floating village and seeing first hand the livelihoods of the Cambodian people.

We will take you out to the Siem Reap countryside in order to explore the local ways of life in Siem Reap. You will be greeted by friendly locals and get a deeper understanding of their lives and traditions. The journey will end at the Tonle Sap lake, where you will experience the lifestyle of Cambodian people living in the floating villages, offering you the opportunity to see how families adapt their life to be able to live on the water.

Return to the hotel in the afternoon. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure on your own.

Today we depart for Phnom Penh by private vehicle, passing through provincial towns, villages and roadside hamlets offering an insight into life away from the cities. There’ll be an opportunity to stop at Skun Village, famous for its deep-fried tarantulas, which you can snack on if you so wish! There will also be a stop to stretch your legs and enjoy a coffee in Kampong Thom.

Once you reach Phnom Penh, your afternoon is at your own leisure until 5 PM when your guide will arrive in a tuk-tuk for a food-focused tour of the city. First stop of the evening is a lively bar on Sisowath Quay. Find a spot on the balcony and your guide will leave you to enjoy a cocktail with views across the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers as the sunsets.

Rejoin your guide for a rather different experience – head down to the river, where roadside stalls sell a variety of edible bugs, which you will have the opportunity to try. Your guide will be on hand to decipher the surprisingly tasty offerings. Continue by tuk-tuk to the Russian Market, where the food stalls draw local diners with typical Khmer food such as Banh Chheu, and beef skewers. Choose what you fancy, pull up a plastic stool alongside the locals, and soak up the atmosphere. Your final food stop for the evening will be freshly barbecued seafood, then you will return to your hotel.

After a great breakfast and coffee at your hotel, we go ahead to the Royal Palace. This king palace dates back to 1866 and houses silver pagoda for over 5000 heavy silver pieces. The locals always called this Wat Prakeo, meaning the temple of Emerald Buddha. The building is also regarded as the museum storing room of Buddha status. Your next destination is to stop at the National Museum, built in traditional Khmer style. It is the houses of the collected ancient Khmer artistic, archaeological, and religious artefacts from the early 4th -12th century. Head out south of the main centre of the tourist side to Tuol Sleng. Tuol Sleng was a former high school which was used as Security Prison 21 or (S21) under the control of Khmer Rouge, from 1975 till 1979. The school was converted into a prison during the victory of Khmer Rouge fighting against the government. After this, in the afternoon, you will be treated to a relaxed lunch at a local Khmer styled restaurant where you have a chance to test a traditional Khmer cuisine. After the lunch break, continue your tour to the most memorable Killing

Field, Genocide Museum. Spend 1hour to take a tour into the complex, before returning to your hotel to relax at the pool

This morning, we will head outside of hustle and bustle of the city and spend the day with rescued bears. It is probably the best possible way to learn about Pol Pot, so today you’ll visit Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, a sanctuary for over 100 bears. You will get access as you help to prepare the bear’s food and treats, and – yes – you will get an opportunity to meet the residents. Afterwards, there’ll be more time to relax back in Phnom Penh.

Today, we depart from the capital for the journey to the riverside town of Kampot with the optional sightseeing route. Kampot supplied most French restaurants with this vital spice for many years during colonial rule, Kampot pepper. Today, the region is well-known for its plantations of durian – a spiky, pungent fruit that has its lovers, and haters! In your free time this afternoon, you might choose to stroll along the riverside and observe the French colonial architecture, or have a cup of coffee on the veranda of one of the riverside restaurants and admire the view of Bokor Mountain Range.

In the evening, we will enjoy a ride on the firefly cruise on the river – watch the sun set behind Bokor Mountain as you chug upstream, then look out for trees full of the little glowing bugs as you return to the dark.

After breakfast this morning you will depart Kampot and travel towards the old French seaside resort of Kep. We head to the roundabout in the centre of the town where a giant durian statue sits smack in the middle and perhaps browse for goodies at the covered market. The nearby countryside is also a delight to explore – among fields of Kampot pepper and rice, there’s also a salt field and a limestone cave with a small seventh-century brick temple inside called Phnom Chhnork. After all crawling, we will hang out in Kep’s crab market. It is one of our favourite things to do in Kep.

Today your time is your own to relax at the hotel or explore independently.

Optional day trips include visits to Rabbit Island. If you like the rustic beachcomber lifestyle, Rabbit Island’s 250m-long main beach is for you. This is a place you could stay at for hours or days doing little but lazing on the beach, napping, reading, sipping cocktails, eating seafood and stargazing.

Our tour concludes today with a transfer to the Phnom Penh airport for your onward flight.