Day 1: Arrive Phnom Penh. Royal Palace and National Museum. (-/-/-)
On your arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport. We welcome you at the Phnom Penh Airport, a Adventure Travel Cambodia representative will transfer you to your hotel in the city centre for the night.
In the afternoon, we explore the stunning Royal Palace complex, home to the Cambodian royal family. We begin at the Throne Hall and Napoleon III Pavilion, a gift from the French emperor in the 19th century. We continue to the Silver Pagoda, named after the 5000 silver tiles covering the floor, each weighing 1kg. Inside is a delicate emerald Buddha made of baccarat crystal, which gives the temple its Khmer name of Wat Preah Keo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). We leave the Royal Palace and continue to the nearby National Museum, home to the world's finest collection of sculpture from the Angkor period. The exquisite building was completed in 1920 and features collections from the pre-Angkor, Angkor and post-Angkor periods. We concentrate on the incredible sandstone sculpture from Angkor, as well as the intricate bronzes.
At 4:30 pm, we board our own private boat for a sunset cruise and on the Tonle Sap River, which famously reverses direction each year, acting as the world's largest natural flood barrier for the Mekong River. We cruise past the Royal Palace compound and around the Chrouy Changvar Peninsular onto the mighty Mekong River.
+ Accommodation: Hotel in Phnom Penh
Day 2: Phnom Penh to Kratie. (B/-/-)
8:30 AM, we leave Phnom Penh and travel to Kratie. Along the way we will visit Skuon, affectionately known as 'Spiderville', where it is possible to sample the local delicacy of deep-fried tarantula. During the dry season (Jan-May), we can visit the bamboo bridge built across the mighty Mekong River connecting the mainland to Koh Pen Island. Our road journey continues on the eastern side along the Mekong passing through rural villages, farms, fishing spots, pagodas, and beautiful sceneries. There is a lot of chance to photograph.
+ Accommodation: Hotel in Kratie
Day 3: Kratie Rural Lifestyle & Dolphin Watching. (B/-/-)
Today, we learn about local lifestyles of the Kratie as well as their local productions and witness the one of the most endangered wildlife that habitat upriver at Kampi. We start with a visit to a traditional cafe shop near the market. This is where you will learn about the lifestyle of Khmer men and women in which mostly men hang out at the cafe while women are working or doing shopping at the market nearby. Next, walk through the central Market of Kratie where you will see the local trades and see some of the old colonial building which remains from the French colony. Visit Wat Rokakandal which has a very unique wooden carving about 300 years of age. Afterward, we learn about local productions including a mushroom farm, rice wish key making, and brick factory.
Get back to town for lunch break and rest from the hit at your hotel for 1-2 hours.
Later in the afternoon, we go to Kampi, one of the many deep pools where the rare freshwater Irrawaddy river dolphins gather to feed. We board a local boat and cruise out into the mighty Mekong for a chance to encounter with gentle creatures. Viewing is almost guaranteed, although it is easier to see the dolphins in the shallower waters of the dry season, than in the swollen river of the wet season. After enjoying an hour or more of dolphin viewing, we travel back to Kratie.
+ Accommodation: Hotel in Kratie
Day 4: Kratie to Siem Reap including Kampong Kleang. (B/-/-)
After breakfast at the hotel, it is time to make your journey to Siem Reap, the gateway to the fabled temples of Angkor. Traveling south through the old river port of Chhlong, home to some of the best examples of French colonial architecture in the country. Have lunch on the road. En route, we visit one of the largest and least-visited villages on the Tonle Sap Lake, Kompong Khleang, about 55km from Siem Reap. It’s a population of 10,000 all make a living from the fishing industry. We explore the canals (wet season) or streets (dry season) of this incredible town. In the wet season, the houses appear to be floating, as water laps at the verandas, but in the dry season towering stilts are revealed, the houses almost like wooden skyscrapers. We will take a boat and cruise into the open water of the great lake to see a small floating village and learn some more about this incredible natural flood barrier. Later we arrive at your Siem Reap and check into a comfortable hotel.
+ Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap
Day 5: Siem Reap – Temples of Angkor - Small Circuit. (B/-/-)
We start our Angkor adventure with a visit to Angkor Wat temple easily the most famous and best-preserved of all temples within the Angkor complex. We then move on to Angkor Thom visiting Bayon, with its 54 towers decorated with more than 200 enigmatic smiling faces, Phimeanakas, Baphoun, Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. We finish the morning with a stop at the very photogenic South Gate of Angkor Thom City where the gods and demons line the road leading to the gate struggling in a cosmic tug-of-war. The Gate itself is crowned with four large faces facing in the cardinal directions.
Lunch is a Khmer style in a local restaurant. Regain your energy enjoying a sumptuous Khmer feast near Sras Srang, the Royal Pool of Ablutions, originally reserved for the King and his consorts. Enjoy a spread of great local food followed by a nap lazing in a hammock, or explore to see the traditional way of life and say hello to the Cambodians near here.
After lunch, we continue our day tour by visiting the beautiful Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider) temple which was made famous by Angelina Jolie. Feel like one of the early explorers as you visit this temple which has been left to be reclaimed by the jungle. Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap.
+ Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap
Day 6: Siem Reap – Temples of Angkor (Sunrise + Big Circuit + Banteay Srei). (B/-/-)
Rise early for sunrise over the Mother of all temples, Angkor Wat which is believed to be the world’s largest religious building. Then, we head to the temple mountain of Pre Rup, before driving further north to Banteay Srei, Angkor’s ultimate art gallery. This petite pink temple is the jewel in the crown of Angkor-era sculpture. The elaborate carvings here are the finest found in Cambodia and the name translates as ‘Fortress of the Women’, thanks to the intricate detail here, considered too fine for the hands of a man. On the way back to Siem Reap we make a detour to the less frequently visited Banteay Samre. Built by King King Suryavarman II, the same king who built Angkor Wat, the structure with its high temple tower has undergone extensive restoration. In the afternoon we visit Neak Pean, a small island temple situated in the middle of an artificial pool, which translates as “intertwined serpents” due to the coiled serpents encircling the base of the structure. We then continue on to Preah Khan or “sacred sword”, a huge monastic complex which features elaborate carvings. Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap.
+ Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap
Optional Activities
- Siem Reap - Phare Ponleu Selpak the Cambodia circus evening show. 8:00pm-9:30pm. $18 - $36 USD
Day 7: Fly to Sihanoukville. Boat to Koh Rong. (B/-/-)
We transfer you to Siem Reap airport for your flight to Sihanoukville. Upon your arrival to Sihanoukville we transfer you by private car to the dock where you will take the speed ferry to Koh Rong. After checking in hotel and relaxing on the beach to take a swim in the warm water.
+ Accommodation: Guesthouse/Bungalow
Day 8: Koh Rong (-/-/-)
Days free at your own leisure. You may want to relax on one of the beaches or use your time to go on a day trip, for example to one of the unspoiled islands off the coast.
+ Accommodation: Guesthouse/Bungalow on Koh Rong
Day 9: Koh Rong & Sihanoukville.
Days free at your own leisure until 3:00 PM, take the speed ferry back to Sihanoukville. Spend a night in Sihanoukville.
*Because the next day, we want to make sure you don’t miss your flight in Phnom Penh. So, you will need to be in Sihanoukville and be picked by a private diver at 9:00 AM.
+ Accommodation: Guesthouse/Bungalow
Day 10: Back to Phnom Penh. Departure.
Today, we will transfer you back to Cambodia capital city of Phnom Penh and drop you at the airport for your flight.
*Contact us if you want to spend another night in Phnom Penh.
