16 days 15 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A 16-day private grand tour of Cambodia: three days around Angkor, the Mekong and Ratanakiri in the remote northeast, Kratie and Phnom Penh, Kampot and Kep on the south coast, and two nights on Koh Rong. All overland with your own guide and driver.
From US$2,040 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 Siem Reap, Apsara welcome dinner | Siem Reap |
| 2 | Angkor temples by tuk-tuk | Siem Reap |
| 3 | Banteay Srei, Banteay Samre, Tonle Sap boat | Siem Reap |
| 4 | Drive to Stung Treng | Stung Treng |
| 5 | Mekong falls, dolphins, kayaking | Stung Treng |
| 6 | Thala Barivat, drive to Ratanakiri | Ratanakiri |
| 7 | Voeun Sai river boat, Chaong waterfall | Ratanakiri |
| 8 | Waterfalls, gem mine, Yeak Laom lake | Ratanakiri |
| 9 | O'Russey Kandal, Kampi dolphins, Koh Trong | Kratie |
| 10 | Cycle Koh Trong, drive to Phnom Penh | Phnom Penh |
| 11 | Phnom Penh by tuk-tuk, sunset cruise | Phnom Penh |
| 12 | Tonle Bati, Phnom Chisor, Phnom Da, to Kampot | Kampot |
| 13 | Salt fields, pepper farms, lunch in Kep | Kampot |
| 14 | Transfer and speedboat to Koh Rong | Koh Rong |
| 15 | Free day on Koh Rong | Koh Rong |
| 16 | Boat and transfer to Phnom Penh airport | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 16 days / 15 nights · Siem Reap – Stung Treng – Ratanakiri – Kratie – Phnom Penh – Takeo – Kampot – Kep – Koh Rong
This Cambodia grand tour covers the whole country in a single, well-paced loop. You start in Siem Reap with three days around Angkor, by tuk-tuk and by boat on the Tonle Sap. Then the road heads northeast to Stung Treng, where the Mekong breaks into rapids and channels near the Lao border, rare dolphins live in deep pools and you can kayak through flooded forest in a protected wetland.
In Ratanakiri the earth turns red, the forest closes in and the waterfalls come one after another, ending at the perfectly round crater lake of Yeak Laom. Back on the Mekong, you cycle the car-free island of Koh Trong at Kratie, return to Phnom Penh for its palace and history, and head south past hilltop temples to Kampot, its salt fields and pepper farms, and a seafood lunch in Kep.
The finale is two lazy nights on Koh Rong island. With a private guide and driver throughout the touring days, it is a deep, rewarding journey for travelers who like nature and culture in equal measure.
Moderate to active. Several drives of four to six hours, some on rough rural roads in the northeast, plus waterfall walks on narrow, uneven paths and an easy kayak paddle. Best for fit older travelers and families with children over 10 who enjoy the outdoors.
4-star and best-available hotels: Saem Siem Reap, Stung Treng Resort, Terres Rouges Lodge in Ratanakiri, Rajabori on Koh Trong at Kratie, Anik Palace in Phnom Penh, Castle Bayview in Kampot and Anaya Hotel on Koh Rong, or similar.
November to March is the best window, with dry roads, full waterfalls early in the season and calm seas for Koh Rong. In the dry months Ratanakiri's red dust covers everything, while from June to October rain can make northeastern roads slow and muddy. Dolphin viewing near Kratie and Stung Treng is easiest when the river is low, from about December to May.
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 · Khmer Empire: Angkor, Battambang, Mondulkiri and the Mekong in 15 Days · Discover Cambodia: Temples, Battambang, the Coast and Koh Kong in 14 Days · Cambodia Soft Adventure: Phnom Penh, Angkor and the Mekong to Kratie in 13 Days
Photos: Chamnanmuon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Radosław Botev, CC BY 3.0 pl, via Wikimedia Commons; Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; 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; PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rômulo Gama Ferreira from Vitória-ES, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Dmitry Makeev, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Kingdom of Wonder: Angkor, the Wild Northeast, Kampot and Koh Rong in 16 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. The afternoon is free to rest after your journey. In the evening, enjoy a welcome dinner of Cambodian dishes with a performance of Apsara dance, the graceful classical tradition that dates back to the Khmer empire.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: D
Set off by tuk-tuk for a day in the Angkor complex. Enter Angkor Thom, once one of Asia's largest cities, through its great South Gate, and visit the Bayon with its towers of serene stone faces. Your guide also leads you to smaller, quieter temples between the famous sites. In the late afternoon, watch Angkor Wat glow at sunset before returning to the hotel.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Drive out of town to Banteay Srei, the small pink temple with the finest carving at Angkor, stopping at Preah Dak village along the way. Visit Banteay Samre and its reliefs of Vishnu and Krishna. In the afternoon, drive 18 kilometers to the Tonle Sap for a private boat ride to a fishing village where schools and homes float, moving with the water level through the year.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Today you leave the temples behind for Cambodia's quieter northeast, a drive of about 300 kilometers. As you near Stung Treng there is a chance to stop at the Sopheakmit waterfall on the Mekong. Check in on arrival and enjoy a relaxed evening in this small river town where the Sekong meets the Mekong.
Overnight: Stung Treng · Meals: B, L
Drive north about an hour and a half toward the Lao border, then continue by boat into a wide, rocky stretch of the Mekong full of deep pools and thundering falls. Walk close to the falls and visit a small fishing village, where people still use traditional plant remedies. By boat, look for the rare Irrawaddy dolphins in the deep water. After lunch, kayak through flooded forest in a protected Ramsar wetland, home to many birds, before returning to Stung Treng.
Overnight: Stung Treng · Meals: B, L
Cross the river to Thala Barivat, an early Khmer site with the 7th-century Preah Ko temple and its three seated bulls, along with smaller ruins worn soft by time. After lunch, drive on to Ban Lung, capital of Ratanakiri province. If you have energy left, stroll the local market, a colorful scene of fruit, fish and household goods with very few tourists.
Overnight: Ratanakiri · Meals: B, L
Drive to Voeun Sai and board a traditional wooden boat for a trip along a jungle river, passing riverside homes. Visit villages of the Lao and other minority communities and see a traditional cemetery, then return by boat for lunch. In the afternoon, walk a narrow path to Chaong waterfall, the largest and most beautiful near Ban Lung. In the dry season you can swim beneath it.
Overnight: Ratanakiri · Meals: B, L
Visit the Ka Tieng and Kachanh waterfalls, the second ending in a large natural pool. Continue on an unpaved road to Bai Srok, a seven-tier waterfall, for a picnic lunch. In the afternoon, see a small traditional gem mine, where locals dig narrow shafts in search of stones. End the day at Yeak Laom, a clear, round lake in an ancient volcanic crater, with time to walk the shore or swim.
Overnight: Ratanakiri · Meals: B, L
Drive south toward Kratie, stopping at O'Russey Kandal, a community-run ecotourism site in the forest with a river, small falls and natural pools. Enjoy a picnic lunch and a dip. Then take a boat at Kampi to see the Mekong's rare dolphins, and visit Wat Sorsor Moi Roi, the 100 Pillar Pagoda, rebuilt in 1997. A ferry carries you to the car-free island of Koh Trong for the night.
Overnight: Kratie · Meals: B, L
Explore Koh Trong by bicycle on quiet lanes through villages and orchards, stopping at the island's pagoda. Take the ferry back to Kratie for lunch, then drive to Phnom Penh. On the way, you can pause at a village market and at Wat Hanchey, a hilltop temple with one of the finest views over the Mekong. Arrive in the capital in the late afternoon.
Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B, L
Today brings the capital's history into focus. By tuk-tuk, visit the Royal Palace, then Tuol Sleng Museum, a school that became the S-21 prison under the Khmer Rouge, and the memorial at Choeung Ek outside the city. Your guide handles these visits with care. In the evening, unwind on a relaxing sunset cruise on the river before returning to your hotel.
Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B, L
Leave the city for Tonle Bati and its 12th-century Ta Prohm temple. Continue to Phnom Chisor, where 408 steps lead to an 11th-century hilltop temple with wide views over the rice fields. In Takeo, a boat takes you along canals to Phnom Da, a hill with an ancient sandstone tower in a region settled for more than 2,500 years. Continue to Kampot for the night.
Overnight: Kampot · Meals: B, L
Explore the countryside around Kampot. Visit the salt fields, the cave of Phnom Chhnork with its small Angkor-era brick temple, and the pepper plantations that make Kampot pepper famous. The scenery is green and peaceful. Lunch is in the seaside town of Kep, known for fresh fish, shrimp and crab.
Overnight: Kampot · Meals: B, L
Enjoy a slow morning before your driver takes you to Sihanoukville to board the speedboat to Koh Rong. Check in to your beach hotel and spend the rest of the day on the sand, watching the sunset over the sea.
Overnight: Koh Rong · Meals: B
A full day to do as little or as much as you like. Swim, read, take a beach walk or book a massage. After two weeks on the road, the island is the perfect place to let the journey settle.
Overnight: Koh Rong · Meals: B
After breakfast, take the speedboat back to Sihanoukville, where your private driver meets you for the road transfer to Phnom Penh airport. The journey takes about four hours. This transfer is with a driver only.
Meals: B
The longest are Siem Reap to Stung Treng, about 300 kilometers, and Ratanakiri to Kratie. Expect five to six hours with stops. Roads in the northeast can be rough after rain, so we keep the pace relaxed and the vehicle private.
It is great for active teenagers who like swimming, kayaking and boat trips. Older travelers who walk comfortably on uneven ground will enjoy it too; your guide can skip a waterfall or shorten a walk whenever you like.
No. The Mekong falls and dolphin pools near Stung Treng are visited from the Cambodian side, close to the border. You stay in Cambodia for the whole trip.
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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