Cambodia Encounters

Your Cambodia tour starts in the busy capital of Phnom Penh. Once you arrive at the airport, one of our staff members will be there to meet you and transport you to your hotel for the day. You’ll have some time to settle in before we run through the itinerary with you and arrange tomorrow's collection time.

The first full day of our Cambodia tour starts with a city tour of Phnom Penh. After breakfast, we’ll head out to the Toul Sleng Prison Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. Whilst they may be grim reminder of Cambodia’s troubled past, these sites play an important role in the country’s cultural and historical standing. Later in the day, we’ll make our way to the Royal Palace, constructed in 1866 by King Norodom. We’ll also visit the Silver Pagoda, situated within the grounds of the Royal Palace and is made famous by its floor of 5000 silver tiles. It’s also home to a life-sized Buddha that has been decorated using 9584 diamonds. One of the diamonds weighs approximately 25 carats. Our next stop is a visit to the National Museum which was designed in Khmer style by a French archaeologist and painter, Georges Groslier, in 1917. The museum, also known as Musee des Beaux-Arts, boasts an excellent collection of Khmer art created throughout the ages. We’ll OVERNIGHT: at our hotel in Phnom Penh.

After a busy day in Phnom Penh, we start our day with a hearty breakfast before we head north-west through the countryside to the busy town of Siem Reap - the gateway to the ruins of Angkor - which once served as the seat of the Khmer Kingdom from the 9th to the 15th century. En-route, we’ll make a pit-stop at the Skoun District, visiting a spider market, where you can taste the local delicacy of fried spiders - if you’re brave enough. We’ll also head to the Santuk District to a stone carving workshop before we make our way to the ancient Naga Bridge. Upon arrival in Siem Reap, we’ll make our way to the statue of Yeay Teap as well as the Preah Ang Chek and Preah Ang Chorm Shrine. These shrines are said to bring good luck when worshipped and the locals believe that they protect the entire town. The next stop on our Cambodia tour is a visit to the Psar Chars, also known as the ‘Old Market’ which sells a host of souvenirs such as T-shirts, silverware, silk, wood and stone carvings. It’s also a great place to try some of Cambodia’s unique cuisine. After spending time at the market, we’ll head up into the picturesque scenery of the Kulen Mountains, where we’ll take a short walk through the forest to our home-stay accommodation for the night, situated in a local village.

We’ll start our day with a tasty breakfast with our host family, before exploring the forest trails of Kulen in search of the life-sized elephant statue, as well as smaller statues of lions, a cow and a frog. We’ll make our way to a waterfall, where we’ll enjoy a picnic, before we continue our journey through the forest to the reclining Buddha statue in Wat Preah Ang Thom, which is etched into a massive sandstone boulder. We’ll then continue our walk until we reach a rock plateau, which provides us with breathtaking views of Kulen Mountain and the plains below it, before we stop at another waterfall, where we can swim it's cool waters. Finally we’ll return to Siem Reap and check in to our hotel for the evening.

Today, we’ll be exploring Angkor, journeying through its ancient ruins such as the South Gate of Angkor Thom, renowned around the world for its massive human faces carved in stone, the imposing Bayon Temple, the Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper. The Royal Enclosure as well as the largest temple of Angkor Wat, constructed in the 12th century. We’ll spend some time browsing around this towering edifice, which houses galleries, libraries, courtyards and pavilions. While we’re here, we’ll also make our way through the incredible temple of Ta Prohm, which has been embraced by the jungle which surrounds it. After a busy day of exploring, tonight we’ll visit one of Siem Reap’s most popular nightlife hubs - Pub Street Siem Reap - which hosts a number of backpacker-friendly bars and pubs, cafes and a variety of unique restaurants to dine at. We’ll OVERNIGHT: in Siem Reap.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end! We’ll transport you to the airport to catch your flight back home, but if you have a late flight, we have a wide range of additional day tours to enjoy, which includes a cooking class, a cycling tour of temples we didn’t visit during the tour a visit to the floating houses on the Tonle Sap Lake. If you’d like to extend your stay in Siem Reap, contact us and we’ll gladly arrange that for you.