10 days 9 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A ten-day private tour from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh focused on Cambodia's temples. It covers Angkor and Tonle Sap over four days, then Koh Ker, Preah Vihear, Sambor Prei Kuk by bicycle, the Mekong islands at Kampong Cham and the highlights of Phnom Penh.
From US$1,080 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, tuk tuk, blessing and Apsara dinner | Siem Reap |
| 2 | Angkor Wat sunrise, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm | Siem Reap |
| 3 | Banteay Srei, Preah Khan and Neak Pean | Siem Reap |
| 4 | Roluos group and Tonle Sap boat trip | Siem Reap |
| 5 | Koh Ker and on to Preah Vihear | Preah Vihear |
| 6 | Preah Vihear temple and drive to Kampong Thom | Kampong Thom |
| 7 | Cycling Sambor Prei Kuk, drive to Kampong Cham | Kampong Cham |
| 8 | Mekong islands and the road to Phnom Penh | Phnom Penh |
| 9 | Phnom Penh palace, history and sunset cruise | Phnom Penh |
| 10 | Departure from Phnom Penh | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 10 days / 9 nights · Siem Reap – Angkor – Tonle Sap – Koh Ker – Preah Vihear – Kampong Thom – Sambor Prei Kuk – Kampong Cham – Phnom Penh
This Cambodia temples tour traces more than a thousand years of Khmer history in ten days, with a private guide and driver throughout. You begin with four nights in Siem Reap: sunrise at Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei, the Roluos group and a boat ride through a fishing village on Tonle Sap.
Then the road heads north to rarely visited country. You stop at the forest capital of Koh Ker, sleep near Preah Vihear and ride a pickup up to its temple, set on a cliff of the Dangrek Mountains with views far across the plains. Further south you cycle between the 7th-century brick towers of Sambor Prei Kuk, a UNESCO site older than Angkor.
The final days slow down along the Mekong at Kampong Cham, with a horse cart ride on a river island, before you reach Phnom Penh for the Royal Palace, the history sites and a sunset cruise.
Moderate. Temple days include two to three hours of walking on uneven ground and steep steps; Preah Vihear involves a climb up stone stairways. There are three longer road days of about three to four hours. Best for active families with children over 10 and older travelers comfortable with simpler hotels in the provinces.
Nine nights. Siem Reap: Saem Siem Reap (Deluxe) or similar, 4-star. Phnom Penh: Anik Palace (Deluxe Urban) or similar, 4-star. In the provinces, the best available hotels: Preah Vihear Boutique Hotel, Glorious Hotel in Kampong Thom and LBN Asian Hotel in Kampong Cham, or similar.
November to February is ideal, with dry roads and cooler air for climbing Preah Vihear and cycling at Sambor Prei Kuk. March to May gets very hot, so start early. In the rainy months, June to October, rural roads can be slower and some temple paths muddy, though the landscape is at its greenest.
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 · Cambodia in Depth: Phnom Penh, the Mekong, Kratie and Angkor 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: PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Radosław Botev, CC BY 3.0 pl, via Wikimedia Commons; Reinhard Onasch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; David Sim, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Arian Zwegers, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Marcin Konsek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Mystical Temples of Cambodia: Angkor, Preah Vihear and the Mekong 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 welcomes you at Siem Reap airport and takes you to your hotel. After a rest, set off by tuk tuk through the quiet outskirts of town to a local pagoda, where Buddhist monks offer a traditional blessing for happiness and good fortune. In the evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant with a performance of Apsara dance, an elegant introduction to the stories carved on the temples you will soon explore.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: D
Leave early to watch sunrise over Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century for King Suryavarman II, then explore its galleries before returning for breakfast. Continue through the South Gate of Angkor Thom to the Bayon and its stone faces, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Terrace of the Leper King and Preah Khan. In the afternoon, wander through Ta Prohm, where silk-cotton and fig trees grow through the towers. End the day with sunset at Pre Rup.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Drive out to Banteay Srei, a late 10th-century temple carved in pink sandstone with some of the most delicate decoration in Khmer art. On the way back, stop at Pre Rup, a temple-mountain linked in local belief with royal funerals. Then return to Preah Khan, a vast monastery complex built by Jayavarman VII for his father, where you can wander quiet corridors at your own pace. Finish at Neak Pean, a small shrine set on an island in the middle of an ancient reservoir.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
This morning visit the Roluos group, the first capital of the Angkor region in the 9th century: Preah Ko with its brick towers, the pyramid of Bakong and Lolei, once on an island in a great reservoir. After lunch, drive to Chong Kneas on Tonle Sap and board a private boat through the fishing village, where homes, schools and stores float on the water. Back in town, visit a local market and the Artisans d'Angkor workshops, where young Cambodians learn traditional crafts.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Today you leave Siem Reap and head north into the heart of rural Cambodia. Stop at Koh Ker, capital of King Jayavarman IV in the early 10th century, where a seven-tiered pyramid and scattered shrines stand in the forest with few other visitors. Your guide brings the brief but ambitious reign behind these monuments to life. Continue to Preah Vihear province and check in at your hotel in Sra Em, a quiet base for tomorrow's early start.
Overnight: Preah Vihear · Meals: B, L
Rise early and ride a local pickup truck up the steep road to Preah Vihear, a UNESCO-listed temple stretched along the top of the Dangrek Mountains. Climb through its series of gateways and courtyards to the final sanctuary at the cliff edge, where the view stretches across the northern plains. Return to the hotel to freshen up and have lunch, then drive south to Kampong Thom, stopping to enjoy the countryside and meet families in their homes along the way.
Overnight: Kampong Thom · Meals: B, L
After breakfast, visit Sambor Prei Kuk, a group of 6th and 7th-century brick temples that are among the oldest in Cambodia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You explore the three main temple groups by bicycle on flat forest trails, with carved flying palaces still visible on the walls. A local family serves a picnic lunch nearby. Return to Kampong Thom for a short break, then continue to Kampong Cham on the Mekong.
Overnight: Kampong Cham · Meals: B, L
Spend the morning on the islands of the Mekong near Kampong Cham, traveling between villages by horse cart and meeting farmers who grow tobacco, corn and fruit on the rich river soil. Then follow the Mekong south to Phnom Penh, stopping at local markets to sample regional snacks. Arrive in the capital in the late afternoon. After time to relax at the hotel, your guide joins you for dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B, L
Visit the Royal Palace, home of the King of Cambodia, and the Silver Pagoda with its treasures, then Wat Phnom, the 14th-century hill pagoda at the heart of the city's legend. In the afternoon, your guide takes you to Tuol Sleng, the former school used as the S-21 prison, and the Choeung Ek memorial, to understand the Khmer Rouge years. Close the day on a gentle sunset cruise where the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers meet.
Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B, L
Enjoy free time this morning for a coffee by the river or some last-minute shopping at the Russian or Central Market. At the agreed time, your driver transfers you to Phnom Penh airport for your flight home or onward journey.
Meals: B
In Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham we use the best hotels available. They are clean, air-conditioned and friendly, but simpler than the 4-star hotels in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.
The longest road days are Siem Reap to Preah Vihear via Koh Ker, Preah Vihear to Kampong Thom, and Kampong Cham to Phnom Penh, each about three to four hours of driving with stops. Roads are mostly paved.
A pickup takes you up the steepest part of the mountain road. From there you walk up stone steps and gentle slopes through the temple's gateways, at your own pace; most reasonably fit travelers manage it well.
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.
Save the itinerary to share with your travel companions
Save the itinerary to share with your travel companions
Leave a review