The Best Of Cambodia Tour 5 Days

Day 1: Arrive in Phnom Penh: Visit Royal Palace, Market

Welcome to Cambodia. Your private car and driver will be waiting for you and your family at Phnom Penh International Airport with a sign holding your name and take you to your accommodations in Phnom Penh. Then you’ll have some rest before exploring the city.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, sits at the junction of the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers. It was a hub for both the Khmer Empire and French colonialists. We start our tour and visit some of Phnom Penh’s important sights, landmarks and attractions. Visit the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, it is the official residence of the King of Cambodia and it’s where you can see some very beautiful wall paintings, charming building with lots of different decorations and colorful and there are such many beautiful plants.

We then see Central Market, built during the French Colonial rule, the bright yellow building completed in 1937 has a 26-metre-high central dome, with four tall arch-roofed arms branching out diagonally across the block, creating vast hallways housing countless stalls and a variety of goods. When it first opened in 1937, it was said to be the biggest market in Asia.

Overnight in Phnom Penh

Day 2: Explore Phnom Penh: Museums, Wat Phnom & Killing Fields

This morning after breakfast, your driver will take you to the National Museum, it is the most important repository of Khmer artifacts in the country. Over 5000 objects are on display including Angkorian era statues, lingas and other artifacts, most notably the legendary statue of the ‘Leper King’ in Siem Reap and an enormous 11th century bronze Vishnu. Here is also a good collection of pieces from later periods, including an exhibition of post-Angkorian Buddha figures.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum – a mass gravesite and a former high school converted to a detention and torture center by the Khmers Rouges when they came to power in 1975. We visit Russian Market, a noteworthy street market in Phnom Penh. This is the interesting market in town, stalls selling wooden handicrafts, antiquities, miniature Buddhas, fruits and veggies, jewelry, etc. We head to the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek, these sites are testament to Phnom Penh’s tragic modern history and the insanity of the Pol Pot era. Visit Wat Phnom is the unique hillock in the city, is crowned by at active Buddhist Wat and marks the legendary founding place of Phnom Penh.

Overnight in Phnom Penh

Day 3: Travel to Siem Reap, Spider Town & Floating Village

We leave Phnom Penh after your tasty breakfast and travel to Siem Reap. We make a short stop in Skuon, affectionately called Spiderville Cambodia, the popular place for Cambodian and foreign travelers where it is possible to taste the local delicacy of fried tarantulas and other fried insects. However, if you don’t want to taste spider, cricket, scorpion, grasshopper or other insects, this is also a good place to take pictures.

We take a little time to visit the Stone Carving Village, a place where local men perform Buddha carvings by hand. You’ll learn how Khmer Empire workers carved the statues so professionally. Sandstone carving is a very old tradition in Cambodia. From the 9th to the 13th centuries, the Khmer were considered the best stone sculptors in the world.

After lunch, we explore Typical Khmer village Kampong Phluk, see an incredible such a different way of life lives in the biggest freshwater lake Tonle sap in Southeast Asia and it is the real example of the living life of Cambodian fish men who live in the middle of nowhere during the monsoon. On the trip gain a fascinating insight into local life as you explore the stilted houses, living style and cruise around the flooded mangrove forest, that’s amazing things about this village and it is definitely one of the aspects of Cambodia trip.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Day 4: Angkor Wat Sunrise, Jungle Temple & Small Group Temples

Today we will meet in the hotel lobby at 4:45am and travel to see Angkor Wat at Sunrise, the temple is considered the largest religious building in the world and is truly one of the wonders of the world. Believed to have been built as a temple and mausoleum for King Suryavarman II during the height of the Khmer Empire in the first half of the 12th century, Angkor Wat is the best preserved of the Angkorian temples. The central monument represents the mythical Mount Meru, the sacred mountain at the centre of the universe, which was home to the Hindu god Vishnu

We return to the hotel for breakfast and you can take some rest to recharge your energy for the next visit. We then visit Ta Prohm, it is unique in that it is overgrown by jungle trees and vines, with many parts of the temple crumbling to the ground. This makes the ‘Tomb Raider Temple’ one of the most picturesque and memorable of the Angkor temples – Giant Pyramid of Takeo, one of the highest temples in the Angkor area – Take a short jungle trek to Ta Nei, a temple hidden in the forest, which has been left in its original state and is partly overgrown with trees – Then we continue to Chau Say Tevoda, Thommanon, Victory Gate of Angkor Thom.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Day 5: The Great City of Angkor Thom, Grand Circuit Temples & Departure

In the morning we head to Angkor Thom, first the ancient city of Angkor Thom. It was the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII. This city is surrounded by an 8 m high wall drawing a perfect square. You will enter the city from the ancient South Gate, an impressive stone gate carved with Elephants and four giant faces. And our highlight is the enigmatic and enchanting Temple of Bayon. The 54 towers are each crowned with the four faces of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion), which bear more than a passing resemblance to the king himself – Visit Baphuon, one of Angkor’s most beautiful temples from the 11th century. It was extensively renovated by the French and is now open to the public again – continue along the Terrace of Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King.

We head 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. The intricate detail here, considered too fine for the men’s hands.

Preah Khan temple, a ruined but highly atmospheric mélange of tree roots and crumbling stone structures. Construction of this site was commissioned by the great ‘temple builder’ Jayavaraman VII (in honour of his father) and a visit to this smaller site makes for an interesting contrast with the more imposing Angkor Wat – Neak Pean temples, an artificial island with a Buddhist temple on a circular island in Jayatataka Baray and other beautiful temples outside the Great City of Angkor.

In the evening, you’ll be picked up to transfer to Siem Reap Angkor International Airport where you’ll catch your flight to your onward destination.

See you again on our next trip!