Cambodia Explorer

DAY 1 – depart the UK

Depart the UK on an overnight flight to Cambodia.

DAY 2 – Siem Reap

You will be met by your guide when you arrive at the airport. For the keen, you can begin your exploration straight away with the temple Banteay Kdei followed by sunset at a crematorium temple surrounded by stunning countryside.

Day 3 – Siem Reap

Today you will start your exploration of the Temples of Angkor. Start the day early and visit Ta Prohm, built as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university by King Jayavarman VII and Banteay Srey where you can have a picnic-style breakfast before exploring the temple famous for the stunning pink hue of its red sandstone. If interested you can stop at the small but lovely Banteay Samre temple and a Land Mine Museum before heading back to your hotel to relax. In the afternoon visit Angkor Thom, which translates to "Great City" in Khmer.

Day 4 – Siem Reap

This morning you will have the option to visit the magnificent Angkor Wat for sunrise. The earlier you rise, the better - the complex can get quite busy at dawn so to arrive when the moon and the stars are still out is ideal, where you will mostly have the temples to yourselves in the most magical of settings. Return to your hotel to relax and have lunch. In the afternoon you will visit the Roluos temples, some of the earliest permanent structures built by the Khmer. In the afternoon take a boat ride out on the Tonle Sap lake to visit some undiscovered floating villages.

day 5 - BATTAMBANG

After lunch, you will be transferred to Cambodia’s second city Battambang. Upon arrival, settle into your hotel and enjoy the rest of your day in the hotel or exploring locally.

day 6 - Battambang

Explore Battambang with your guide, awash with French era colonial villas and with the unmistakable buzz that only Cambodia can provide. Sample fresh and exciting street food at the local market and head out of the town to Phnom Banan, a small hill temple providing a beautiful vista of the plains below and still showing the scars from the civil war years. The tour will end with a sunset ride on the wonderfully imaginative and quirky bamboo train – unique to Battambang.

day 7 – Phnom Penh

Transfer by road to Phnom Penh, which will take about 4 hours. Check-in to your hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

day 8 – Phnom Penh

Enjoy a full day tour of Phnom Penh, starting at Security Prison 21 (Tuol Sleng), the former high school infamously used as an execution centre during the Khmer Rouge regime. A visit to Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields is disturbing and quite graphic and can be omitted from your tour if preferred. At The Killing Fields, if desired you can take an audio guide of the area with fascinating facts, personal accounts and true stories about the Cambodian genocide. After lunch, head back to the city, stopping en route at the Russian market. In the downtown area, visit the National Museum, the Royal Palace and Norodom Boulevard followed by a cyclo tour of the busy central area. Finish the day with a drink at a stylish river-front bar.

DAY 9 – cardamom mountains

Your guide and driver will collect you from your hotel for the road journey into the Cardamom Mountains. You will then board a small boat and head to the 4 Rivers Floating Resort, your base for the next three nights.

Days 10 & 11 – Cardamom Mountains

Spend two full days at leisure at the 4 Rivers Floating Resort. Simply relax by (or in!) the river or take time to explore the beautiful wildlife and scenery of the surrounding rainforest. The hotel provides a wide range of daily activities and experiences; these include boat trips to nearby waterfalls, a trek through the forest, a visit to local villages, a tour of a Mangrove forest and various nature trails.

Day 12 – Kep

After breakfast take a small boat to the jetty, where your guide will meet you and take you to the seaside town of Kep. Upon arrival, check-in to your hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 13, 14 & 15 – Kep

Enjoy three full days at leisure in the charming colonial seaside town of Kep. Explore the local crab market, walk along the waterfront amidst colonial buildings, visit nearby Kampot or relax at your stylish seafront hotel – Knai Bang Chatt.

Day 16 – Fly home

Transfer by road to Phnom Penh airport to catch your flight home. 

Your bespoke proposal with Experience Travel Group will include:

• International Flights (we can omit if you prefer)
• Accommodation as described
• Privately guided tours and transfers
• Tips for guides and drivers
• Original Experience Travel Group "signature" experiences 
• Full financial protection (ABTA and ATOL bonding.) 
• 24-hour in-country backup while away
• Your dedicated travel expert in the UK