Cambodia Cycling Adventure | Siem Reap to Kampot via Phnom Penh

We arrive and stay in the heart of the cosmopolitan lifestyle that has been thrust on Siem Reap since the country has opened up to the outside world.
After we pick you up from the airport and take you to the hotel, take some time to relax or explore the city before we meet for a welcome dinner.
Dinner is at one of Siem Reap’s best restaurants, Marum. It’s part of the Friends International social enterprise projects, providing vocational training for marginalized youth.

Sunrise is from 4.30am as we hit the bikes for the first time, but it is so worth it. Sunrise over Angkor Wat is a bucket list achievement for good reason.
From here we’ll venture on to other, and arguably more impressive, temples in the area for the remainder of the morning.
In the early afternoon, we’ll have the chance to visit our first NGO of the trip. We will spend time with these incredibly inspirational people that have dedicated their lives to helping others.
Hear their stories and understand what the real issues of the country are.
We often dine at Hoem's house, with his family, for dinner. Hoem is the host for the tour.

We ride out of Siem Reap to the boat port (20km). Travelling across the wetlands and navigating our way around Tonle Sap river is an experience you will never forget.
The road soon turns to single track as we get more and more remote. We farewell our support van and venture on into the rural and barren lands of Cambodia.
Few villages exist out here, supporting themselves through sustainable fishing methods. After the boat, it’s another 20-30km to Battambang, depending on the river levels.
Battambang is great for shopping, with colonial-style streets and hidden secrets where bric-a-brac abounds. Dinner is in another social enterprise based restaurant, Jann Bai, that is often hailed as the best dinner in Cambodia!

After an early breakfast, we’ll make our way along the dusty red back roads to the nearby local attraction of Banan Temple. We’ll cycle back to the town of Battambang to explore a little more and grab lunch at leisure.
We’ll get to the town of Pursat by early afternoon and into our hotel to enjoy the swimming pool and on-site massage spa. We’ll get a great experience from an amazing NGO, Sustainable Cambodia. A full presentation by the executives in their office and a tour of their facilities.
See the difference the NGO makes first hand. Be inspired by the real difference made by real people.

We start cycling 75km out from Phnom Penh, and ride all the way up to the front door of the hotel. The back roads bring in some of the most spectacular scenery as we pass through villages living on Tonle Sap lake.
The ride takes in great coffee stops, endless photo opportunities and a couple of ferries.
For dinner, it’s a feast of tarantula’s and crickets at the famous Romdeng restaurant, a social enterprise restaurant from the Friends International team.

We’ll start the day by meeting the incredible people at Friends International and learn about the wonderful work they do within the community. This is a great insight into REAL local everyday issues, from real local everyday heroes.
We then venture towards the Russian market and move to Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21 Genocide Museum. This devastating chapter of the Khmer Rouge and Cambodian history is emotionally challenging but strongly recommended.
There is some free time in the afternoon to process your day, whilst we’ll meet again for a local Khmer BBQ dinner.

We cycle south of Phnom Penh to Chisaur Mountain Temple in rural Cambodia. It’s not really much of a mountain at 130m and the route is perfectly flat. We casually cycle through remote villages and waterways, via narrow dirt tracks. Chisaur Temple is where we’ll be for lunch as we have plenty of time to explore these ancient ruins which are 200 years older than Angkor Wat. From here, we’ll take the van down to the Cambodian coastal town of Kampot to enjoy the culinary delights on offer.

Start the day with an (optional) mammoth Bokor Mountain cycle challenge! It’s 30km to get to the top. The first 10km is flat, then it just keeps on going up, and up, and up! If cycling uphill doesn’t rock your world, we can bring your bike in the van and you can cycle down! If you feel like taking some time off the bike, Kampot is a great town to caffeinate, people watch and relax.

In the morning, we’ll visit Chumkriel Language School (no children will be in attendance at the time of visiting). A fantastic NGO and inspirational human being, Mr Suthy has set up a very grass-root local school to give access to education for children of the salt field community. In the afternoon, we’ll partake in a cooking class, teaching us the best of Khmer cuisine!

Today we cycle to the border of Vietnam, but not before we discover the wonderful province of Kep. Located just before the border, this town is famous for it’s fresh seafood, particularly crab. We’ll spend a couple of hours exploring the famous pepper plantations and salt lakes on the way. Navigating through the back roads, we’ll make our way around the National Park and to the border crossing of Ha Tien Vietnam.
From Ha Tien, we’ll jump in the van and head back to Mito Hotel in Phnom Penh.

Congratulations! You’ve cycled across Cambodia, covered almost 300km in the saddle and more than scratched the surface as to what Cambodia about. We’ll enjoy a final breakfast together before you set off to the airport or your next adventure.