Tonle Sap Floating Villages

Just a short drive south of Siem Reap, you’ll reach the northern tip of Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.

Tonle Sap is Cambodia’s lifeline, providing food, transport, and homes for millions of people. Although the water levels rise and fall dramatically throughout the year, you can visit the lake in any season (ask us for the most magical times to visit).

Hop aboard a wooden motorboat and cruise across the open water to take in the lake’s sheer scale. Countless floating villages scatter the surface, where nomadic fishing families live in stilted houses and boats. They grow vegetables in floating garden plots and pots set on rafts, while dogs and pigs (somehow) roam this buoyant environment. This experience offers a rare, eye-opening look into a way of life few outsiders ever see.

You can visit the floating villages on our half-day tour from Siem Reap, either in the morning or afternoon (though the cooler morning hours are your best bet). Your driver will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the quay to step aboard the boat.

What you’ll do

Cruise across Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, by traditional wooden motorboat
Take in authentic floating villages, away from the typical tourist crowds
See unfiltered life unfold on the water: schoolkids rowing to class, locals selling vegetables from floating stalls, and fishermen at work
Learn how nomadic communities live with the rhythms of the water
Set out on a half-day trip from Siem Reap, either in the morning or afternoon (mornings are more magical, with cooler weather and livelier scenes).