6 days 5 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A six-day private overland tour from Phnom Penh to Ratanakiri and back. It covers Yeak Laom crater lake, jungle waterfalls by jeep, Se San River and Kroeung villages, Irrawaddy dolphins at Kratie and a night on Koh Trong island.
From US$840 per person for the whole tour, as an indicative price for a small private group in 4★ hotels. It changes with group size, hotel level and season, and is confirmed in your tailor-made quote.
| Day | Route and highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phnom Penh to Stung Treng via Kampong Cham and Kratie | Stung Treng |
| 2 | Into Ratanakiri: waterfalls and Yeak Laom crater lake | Banlung |
| 3 | Se San River villages and funeral totems | Banlung |
| 4 | Kroeung forest villages towards Taveng | Banlung |
| 5 | Back to the Mekong: Kratie dolphins and Koh Trong island | Koh Trong (Kratie) |
| 6 | Chhup rubber plantation and return to Phnom Penh | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 6 days / 5 nights · Phnom Penh – Kampong Cham – Stung Treng – Banlung (Ratanakiri) – Kratie – Koh Trong – Phnom Penh
This Ratanakiri private tour takes you far from the temple trail into Cambodia's wild northeast. Your guide and driver collect you in Phnom Penh and follow the Mekong north through Kampong Cham and Kratie to Stung Treng, then on to Banlung, the provincial capital known as the Red City for its rust-colored laterite soil.
Three nights at a wooden lodge on a quiet lake give you time to explore properly. You swim in Yeak Laom, a near-perfect crater lake ringed by rainforest, bounce by jeep to the waterfalls of Teuk Cha Ong, take a boat along the Se San River to villages known for their carved funeral totems, and drive north through deep forest to Kroeung villages where young men still build tall bachelor houses on stilts.
On the way back you stop at Kratie to watch rare freshwater dolphins in the late afternoon light, then cross by small ferry to Koh Trong, a car-free island in the Mekong, for a peaceful last night before returning to Phnom Penh.
Moderate to active. Days 1 and 5 are long road days of six to eight hours with stops, and jeep rides in Ratanakiri are on bumpy dirt tracks. Walking is light, on uneven village paths and to waterfalls. Best for adventurous families with children over 10 and fit older travelers who value remote places over polished comfort.
Five nights. Stung Treng: Gold River Hotel or similar. Banlung: three nights at Terres Rouges Lodge or similar, a characterful wooden house by a lake. Koh Trong: Rajabori Villas or similar, a small six-room riverside retreat. Rooms are twin or double with air-conditioning and private bathroom.
November to February is the best time, with dry, passable roads and cooler mornings. March to May is hot and dusty but the dolphins are easy to spot as the Mekong runs low. In the rainy season, June to October, the forest and waterfalls are at their fullest, but red-earth tracks get muddy and some boat or jeep trips depend on conditions.
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 · Phnom Penh and Siem Reap Escape in 6 Days · Angkor in Depth: Temples, Koh Ker and Tonle Sap in 5 Days · Angkor Explorer: Temples, Kulen Mountain and Village Life in 7 Days
Photos: Chamnanmuon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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.
Your guide and driver meet you in Phnom Penh to begin the long drive north. Stop in Skuon, the market town famous for deep-fried spiders, if you are brave enough to try one. In Kampong Cham, admire the old colonial buildings and visit Wat Nokor, where a modern pagoda stands within the walls of an 11th-century sandstone temple. Lunch is at a local restaurant in Kratie, then continue to Stung Treng, a quiet river town where the Se Kong meets the Mekong. Dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight: Stung Treng · Meals: L, D
After breakfast, drive east to Banlung, the Red City, and check in at your lakeside lodge, a beautiful wooden house in a lush garden. Lunch is served at the lodge. In the afternoon, set off by jeep along bumpy red-earth roads to the waterfalls of the area; Teuk Cha Ong is the most impressive. Then take the short drive to Yeak Laom, a round volcanic lake surrounded by pristine forest. Swim in the clear water or walk the path around the shore before dinner back at the lodge.
Overnight: Banlung · Meals: B, L, D
Head northwest through bamboo forest to Voeun Sai on the bank of the Se San River. Across the water lies a small Chinese village whose families settled here in the 1930s and still speak their own language rather than Khmer. Further upstream are Tampoun villages known for their carved wooden funeral statues. If the river level allows, travel by boat to the village of Ka Choan to see its striking totems; otherwise you go by jeep. Return to the lodge for dinner.
Overnight: Banlung · Meals: B, L, D
Today you drive north towards the Laos border and the village of Taveng. Cross Veal Rumplang, a round lava field fringed by forest, and in the rainy season stop at a small waterfall hidden among rocky caves. The further north you go, the denser the forest becomes. Stop at Kroeung villages along the road where, depending on the season, you may see tall bachelor houses on stilts, built by young men and taken down once they marry. A picnic lunch in the forest, then dinner at the lodge.
Overnight: Banlung · Meals: B, L, D
Leave Ratanakiri early and drive back through the countryside to Stung Treng for lunch. Continue south to Kratie and stop at the best riverside viewpoint to watch the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins, which surface most often in the late afternoon. Then cross by small ferry to Koh Trong, a quiet island in the middle of the Mekong opposite Kratie town, with village lanes, pomelo orchards and wide river views. Dinner and overnight at your small riverside hotel on the island.
Overnight: Koh Trong (Kratie) · Meals: B, L, D
Enjoy breakfast with a view of the river, then cross back to Kratie and drive towards Kampong Cham. Stop at Chhup, the country's largest rubber plantation, founded in the French colonial era, to see how latex is tapped from the long rows of trees. Lunch at a local restaurant in Kampong Cham, then continue to Phnom Penh, where the tour ends at your hotel or the airport.
Meals: B, L
The first and fifth days are the longest, about six to eight hours on the road with regular stops for sightseeing and meals. Main roads are paved; jeep tracks in Ratanakiri are dirt and can be bumpy.
Yes, for those who enjoy adventure and do not mind simple roads. Walking is light, but the jeep rides and long drives need a reasonable level of comfort with travel. Teens usually love the crater lake swim and the dolphins.
Yes. Many travelers fly to Siem Reap after returning to Phnom Penh for three or four days at the Angkor temples. We can build the full route for you.
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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