Cambodia Classic

This six-day private tour covers the two halves of Cambodia most travellers come for: the temple city of Angkor and the capital, Phnom Penh. Three nights in Siem Reap take in Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and the stone faces of the Bayon, a forest hike to a carved riverbed and a boat ride across the Tonle Sap. Two nights in Phnom Penh cover the country's hardest history and its finest architecture. It suits first-time visitors who want the headline sights without rushing.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Arrival And The First Evening In Siem Reap

You are met at Siem Reap International Airport and driven to your hotel; early check-in is not included and is subject to the hotel's availability. An orientation walk starts at Preah Ang Check Preah Ang Chom, the biggest shrine in the city centre, then follows the Siem Reap riverside to Wat Preah Prom Rath, a working Buddhist monastery with hand-painted picture walls and a reclining Buddha. In the late afternoon you walk the street food hall where locals gather after work to taste snacks, drinks and fruit, before dinner at a local restaurant with a Khmer classic live band.

A Full Day Among The Temples Of Angkor

The day opens at Angkor Wat, built as the Khmer Empire prospered between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, its carved hallways still holding small shrines in daily use. Ta Prohm follows, overgrown with fig trees whose roots have merged with the huge stone blocks. After lunch at a local restaurant comes Angkor Thom, with the faces of King Jayavarman VII on the Bayon and the terraces of the Elephants and the Leper King, and the day closes at the West Baray with local beer and snacks as the sun sets. With fewer days, see our three-day Angkor Unforgettable itinerary.

Kbal Spean, Banteay Srei And The Tonle Sap

An hour's drive brings you to Kbal Spean, or Bridge Head, where an easy three-kilometre hike climbs through forest to a river whose submerged rocks carry eleventh-century Hindu statues and lingas. The waterfall at the top runs hard in the wet season but dries up entirely in March and April, and the route may be slippery when it rains, so good footwear is advised. Lunch precedes Banteay Srei, a tenth-century red sandstone temple dedicated to Shiva, and that evening's dinner is on your own account. The next morning a boat carries you an hour and a half across the Tonle Sap to the stilt village of Kampong Phluk, and the road south stops at an ancient bridge and a spider market.

Phnom Penh After Dark And By Day

A local guide takes you out by tuk-tuk on arrival, along the riverfront walking area and Norodom Boulevard. The next day begins at Toul Sleng, a high school until 1975, then the S-21 interrogation prison and today a genocide museum, where documents and hundreds of black-and-white prisoner photographs record what happened here, followed by the Russian Market. The afternoon covers the Royal Palace, initially built in 1866 and home to King Sihamoni, and the Silver Pagoda, its floor laid with 5,329 solid silver tiles. For a shorter stay in the capital, see our three-day Phnom Penh stopover.

GOOD TO KNOW

This is a private tour with an English-speaking guide, including all land tours and transfers by air-conditioned vehicle, twin-share accommodation, entrance fees and meals as listed in the itinerary, mineral water during the tour, the Tonle Sap boat ride and the tuk-tuk ride in Phnom Penh. Flights are not included, nor are meals outside the itinerary, personal expenses or early check-in. A Cambodian visa is required and is not part of the package; see our visa assistance page. More routes sit on our Cambodia tours page and in our holiday packages.