10 days 9 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A 10-day private overland tour from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, by way of the Mekong at Kratie, the colonial village of Chhlong and the pre-Angkor temples of Sambor Prei Kuk. The last four days cover Angkor in depth, with your own guide and driver throughout and no domestic flights.
From US$1,190 per person for the whole tour, based on 4 travellers sharing double rooms in 4★ hotels as listed (couples travelling alone pay a little more). It changes with hotel level, season and group size, and is confirmed in your tailor-made quote.
| Day | Route and highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive in Phnom Penh, Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda | Phnom Penh |
| 2 | Cyclo ride, National Museum, Tuol Sleng, Mekong sunset | Phnom Penh |
| 3 | Drive to Kratie, river dolphins | Kratie |
| 4 | Chhlong, Chup plantation, Wat Nokor | Kampong Thom |
| 5 | Sambor Prei Kuk, drive to Siem Reap, monk blessing | Siem Reap |
| 6 | Roluos temples, eastern circuit, Apsara dinner | Siem Reap |
| 7 | Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and the Bayon | Siem Reap |
| 8 | Beng Mealea, Banteay Srei, Banteay Samre | Siem Reap |
| 9 | Tonle Sap floating village, Preah Khan | Siem Reap |
| 10 | Ta Prohm and departure | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 10 days / 9 nights · Phnom Penh – Kratie – Chhlong – Kampong Cham – Kampong Thom – Sambor Prei Kuk – Siem Reap
Cambodia in depth means seeing how the country fits together. This private tour starts in Phnom Penh with the Royal Palace, the National Museum and a guided visit to Tuol Sleng, then heads northeast along the Mekong. In Kratie you look for rare Irrawaddy dolphins in the late afternoon light, and in Chhlong you walk past French-era shophouses and a wooden house held up by a hundred columns.
From the river you turn inland to Kampong Thom and Sambor Prei Kuk, the brick temples of a capital that flourished centuries before Angkor. Crossing the old Naga bridge at Spean Praptos, you reach Siem Reap with four days to explore: the Roluos group, Angkor Wat and the Bayon, Banteay Srei, jungle-wrapped Beng Mealea and Ta Prohm.
Every day is private, with your own guide and driver, and the route is entirely overland. It is a good fit for travelers who enjoy countryside, village markets and context as much as the famous temples.
Moderate. Expect several long drives of four to six hours between Phnom Penh, Kratie, Kampong Thom and Siem Reap, broken with visits. Temple days involve two to three hours of walking on uneven ground. Suits active older travelers and families with children over 10.
4-star hotels in the cities: Anik Palace in Phnom Penh and Saem Siem Reap in Siem Reap, or similar. In Kratie and Kampong Thom you stay at the best available properties in town, Rajabori and Glorious Hotel; rooms at Rajabori are fan-cooled.
November to March is ideal, with dry roads and cooler days. Dolphin sightings near Kratie are most reliable in the dry months, roughly December to May, when the river is low. From February to July the Tonle Sap is too shallow for the boat trip, so we replace it with the Puok silk farm and Siem Reap's old pagodas.
Your guide and driver are yours alone for the whole trip, so the pace, the stops and the start time each morning follow you. The standard version has an English-speaking guide; guides who speak French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese or Vietnamese can be arranged on request.
More ideas: All private tours in Cambodia · Mystical Temples of Cambodia: Angkor, Preah Vihear and the Mekong in 10 Days · Cambodia Legacy: Angkor, Koh Ker, Battambang and Phnom Penh in 9 Days · Cambodia Explore: Phnom Penh, Angkor and Koh Rong Beach in 9 Days
Photos: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Marcin Konsek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Marcin Konsek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Adriaan Castermans, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; David Sim, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cambodia in Depth: Phnom Penh, the Mekong, Kratie and Angkor in 10 Days is a starting point. Our Hanoi travel designers adjust every day to your pace, interests and hotel style, then run the trip with your own guide and driver.
Your guide meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel. In the afternoon, begin with the Royal Palace, built by King Norodom in 1866, and the Silver Pagoda within its grounds, named for its floor of some five thousand silver tiles and home to a gold Buddha and a small crystal Buddha. Note that parts of the palace close when the King is in residence. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.
Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: D
Ride a cyclo, the city's pedal rickshaw, to Wat Phnom and the art deco Central Market. Visit the National Museum, a red Khmer-style building from 1917 filled with Angkor-era sculpture. In the afternoon, your guide leads a respectful visit to Tuol Sleng Museum, the former S-21 prison. Browse the Russian Market for silk, silver and crafts, then end the day on an hour-long sunset cruise on the Mekong (shared boat).
Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B, L
Leave the capital for Kratie, passing through Kampong Cham and Snuol, where you stop for lunch. Kratie is a sleepy Mekong town with handsome colonial buildings and a lovely riverside. After a short walk, continue north to the best viewing point on the river for the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins, which are usually easiest to see in the late afternoon. Return to Kratie for the night.
Overnight: Kratie · Meals: B, L
Visit Kratie's pagoda and morning market, then drive to Chhlong, a peaceful riverbank village of Khmer and colonial houses. Its best-known building is a 19th-century wooden home supported by a hundred columns. On the way to Kampong Cham, stop at Chup, the country's largest rubber plantation, founded in the French era. After lunch, visit Wat Nokor, where a modern pagoda stands inside a 12th-century temple, then continue to Kampong Thom.
Overnight: Kampong Thom · Meals: B, L
Drive 35 kilometers to Sambor Prei Kuk, the capital of the Chenla kingdom, where more than a hundred brick temples lie scattered in the forest. After lunch in Kampong Thom, continue to Siem Reap, stopping at the old Naga bridge of Spean Praptos. In the early evening, a tuk-tuk takes you through the villages around town to a pagoda for a traditional blessing by Buddhist monks.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Begin with the Roluos group, the first large temples built by the Khmer kings in the 9th century: Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei. In the afternoon, follow the eastern circuit to the brick carvings of Prasat Kravan, the royal pool of Srah Srang, Banteay Kdei and the Eastern Mebon, then climb Pre Rup or Phnom Bakheng for sunset. Tonight's dinner includes a classical Apsara dance performance.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L, D
This morning is for Angkor Wat, the 12th-century masterpiece whose five towers appear on the Cambodian flag. Your guide explains the carvings and the cosmic plan behind the moat and walls. Enter Angkor Thom through the South Gate, lined with figures churning the ocean of milk, and visit the Bayon with its smiling faces, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas and the Terrace of the Leper King. Return to Angkor Wat for sunset.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Drive through rice paddies and lively villages to Beng Mealea, an 11th-century temple left to the jungle, about 60 kilometers from Siem Reap. A picnic lunch is served at the site. Continue to Banteay Srei, the small pink-sandstone temple known as the jewel of Khmer art, and Banteay Samre, beautifully restored stone by stone, before returning to Siem Reap.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Take a traditional wooden boat to the floating village of Chong Khneas on the Tonle Sap, one of Asia's largest lakes. From February to July, when the water is too low, you instead visit the Puok silk farm, Wat Inkosei and Wat Bo, known for its old wall paintings. In the afternoon, explore Preah Khan, a vast temple of corridors and courtyards, the island shrine of Neak Pean and the small temple of Ta Som.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Make the most of your last morning with Takeo, Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda, then Ta Prohm, where silk-cotton and fig trees have grown through the stones. It still looks much as it did when European explorers first saw it. Your guide and driver then take you to Siem Reap airport for your onward flight.
Meals: B
The longest days are Phnom Penh to Kratie, about six hours with stops, and Kampong Thom to Siem Reap via Sambor Prei Kuk. Every drive is broken up with visits, lunch and comfort stops, and your vehicle is private, so you can pause when you like.
Sightings are very likely but never certain, as these are wild animals in a large river. Late afternoon in the dry season gives the best odds. Your guide chooses the viewing point and timing with that in mind.
Yes, if you are comfortable with a few long road days and some walking on uneven temple ground. The Siem Reap days can start later or include a midday rest at the hotel. Note that the Kratie hotel is the best in town but has fan-cooled rooms.
Yes. This is a private tour with your own English-speaking guide. We also arrange private guides who speak French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese or Vietnamese: tell us when you enquire and we confirm your guide in the quote. Book early for the December to April high season.
Nothing is payable until you approve your written quote. We then ask for a 30% deposit to confirm, and the balance 45 days before arrival, by bank transfer or card. Bank details come with your booking confirmation; always confirm them with us by phone or WhatsApp (+84 812 247 572) before any transfer.
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