Cambodia Soft Adventure: Phnom Penh, Angkor and the Mekong to Kratie in 13 Days

This morning is set aside for Cambodia's recent history. Drive 15 kilometers south to the memorial at Choeung Ek, then stop at the Independence Monument and the art deco Central Market. In the afternoon, visit Tuol Sleng Museum, a former school that became the S-21 prison under the Khmer Rouge. Your guide leads both visits with care. Lift the mood at the Russian Market, full of silk, silver and carvings, then end the day on a sunset cruise where the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers meet.

Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B

Ride a cyclo, the city's pedal-powered rickshaw, to Wat Phnom, the hilltop pagoda founded in 1373 that gave Phnom Penh its name, then roll on through old colonial streets for a feel of everyday city life. In the afternoon, visit the National Museum and its five thousand objects, from Angkor-era statues to lingas. Finish at the Royal Palace, still home to the King, and the Silver Pagoda, whose treasures include a 90-kilogram gold Buddha set with more than two thousand diamonds.

Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B

Drive to Battambang, about 290 kilometers and four to five hours, with stops along the way. Visit a silversmith village, watch potters shape clay by hand in Kampong Chhnang and walk through a busy fish market. In Battambang, stroll past the town's French-era shophouses and through Psar Nat, the central market. Later, ride the bamboo train at Oudambong village, a homemade wooden platform that skims along the rails through the countryside, as much fun for adults as for children.

Overnight: Battambang · Meals: B

Follow the Sangker River through villages to Wat Slaket, seat of the province's senior monk, then on to Ek Phnom, an 11th-century temple ruin. Stop at a market where prahok, Cambodia's famous fermented fish paste, is made. In the afternoon, drive to Phnom Sampeau, a hill of legends topped by a pagoda, with natural caves and a quiet memorial. Stay until dusk, when millions of bats stream out of a cave and ribbon across the sky in one of the region's great natural sights.

Overnight: Battambang · Meals: B

Drive to Siem Reap, around three hours by road, and check in. In the afternoon, visit Wat Bo, an 18th-century pagoda whose walls carry late 19th-century paintings of the Reamker, Cambodia's version of the Ramayana. Continue to Artisans d'Angkor, where young Cambodians train in stone carving, woodwork and lacquer. End at Psar Chas, the Old Market, a lively jumble of spices, fabrics and souvenirs a short walk from the riverside.

Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B

Drive out through the countryside to Banteay Srei, a small temple of pink sandstone famous for the finest carving in the Khmer world, stopping at Preah Dak village on the way. Continue to Banteay Samre, with reliefs telling the stories of Vishnu and Krishna. In the afternoon, visit the Roluos Group, the first royal capital in the region: Preah Ko, built in 880 for the ancestors of King Indravarman I, the stepped pyramid of Bakong and Lolei, once on an island in a vast reservoir.

Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B

A full day in the heart of Angkor. Enter Angkor Thom by the South Gate and explore the Bayon, built by King Jayavarman VII with its 54 towers of serene faces, then the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas and the Terrace of the Leper King. Visit Preah Khan, a vast monastery complex the king dedicated to his father, once home to over a thousand monks. After lunch, see Ta Prohm in the grip of giant trees, and finish at Angkor Wat, surrounded by its great moat.

Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B

This morning, take a private boat with your guide onto the Tonle Sap, the largest permanent freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Visit a fishing village where houses, schools and even the police station float on the water and move with the lake's changing levels. In the afternoon, drive east to Kampong Thom, a quiet provincial town and the gateway to Sambor Prei Kuk. Check in and enjoy a slow evening away from the tourist trail.

Overnight: Kampong Thom · Meals: B

Start at Sambor Prei Kuk, 37 kilometers from town, once the capital of King Isanavarman I in the 7th century. Its brick temples, scattered through the forest, are older than Angkor and now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Then drive four to five hours to Chhlong, passing rubber plantations first planted in the French era, with a lunch stop in Kampong Cham. Settle into your heritage suite in this sleepy Mekong village.

Overnight: Chhlong · Meals: B

Drive 45 minutes to Kratie and take the local ferry to Koh Trong, an island in the Mekong opposite the town. A flat, nine-kilometer loop leads past Khmer wooden houses, fruit orchards and rice fields, ideal for an easy bicycle ride. Stop at Wat Ty Pram Kbal, and pause for lunch at a family homestay on the island if you like. In the afternoon, cross back and head to Kampi, where a small boat takes you out to look for the rare Irrawaddy dolphins. Return to the island for the night.

Overnight: Koh Trong (Kratie) · Meals: B

Leave Koh Trong for the drive back to Phnom Penh, around five hours through the rural provinces of the east. Near the end, cross the Mekong on a local shuttle ferry from Areyksat alongside villagers, motorbikes and market goods, an everyday scene that makes a fitting finale. Check in to your hotel and enjoy a last evening in the capital, perhaps with dinner by the river.

Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B

Enjoy breakfast and a free morning in Phnom Penh, with time for a riverside coffee or some last shopping at the markets. At the right time, your guide and driver take you to the airport in good time for your departure flight. You leave with memories of great temples, river islands, dolphins in the Mekong and the quiet villages in between.

Meals: B