Phnom Penh Stopover

A short private stay in Cambodia's capital, three days and two nights, that works as a stopover between flights or as a first look at the country. It takes in the National Museum, the Central Market and Wat Phnom, the Khmer Rouge sites, the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, and an island morning on the Mekong, and suits travellers wanting a compact guided introduction rather than a longer route such as the six-day Cambodia Classic package.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Arrival, The National Museum And Wat Phnom

You are met at Phnom Penh International Airport by the local guide and transferred to your hotel; early check-in is not included and depends on the hotel's availability. Phnom Penh has been the capital since the French colonisation of Cambodia and is its economic, industrial and cultural centre. The first tour visits the National Museum, home to Khmer art and sculptures from across Cambodian history, the Central Market, and Wat Phnom, the temple the city is named after, with views over its tree-lined avenues. The day ends with a sunset boat ride along the Mekong River and a welcome dinner at a riverbank restaurant.

Toul Sleng And The Cheung Ek Killing Field

Toul Sleng was a high school prior to 1975, then the interrogation prison known as S-21 under the Khmer Rouge, and today a genocide museum: the victims' stories are documented, and some torture devices and hundreds of the black and white photographs taken of every prisoner are on display. The route continues 17km from Phnom Penh town to the Cheung Ek Killing Field, made famous by the movie The Killing Fields, where a large memorial commemorates the 17,000 victims who died under Pol Pot and mass graves dot the area. The Russian Market follows.

The Royal Palace And The Silver Pagoda

Lunch on this day is on your own account, though the guide will recommend a good local restaurant in town. The afternoon turns to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, two of the capital's most striking buildings and among the finest examples of Khmer architecture, first built in 1866 by the French. The palace is home to the current King Sihamoni; the pagoda owes its name to a floor of 5,329 solid silver tiles and holds many gold and jewelled Buddha statues, including the highly prized 17th-century baccarat crystal Buddha. The compound also holds Wat Preah Keo Morokat, used for royal ceremonies.

A Morning On Koh Dach

At 07.00 on the last morning a tuk-tuk takes you to the pier to board a local boat upstream on the Mekong to Koh Dach, a short boat transfer from Phnom Penh. A second tuk-tuk ride carries you through island villages of luscious trees and fruit plantations and on to the local school to learn about education standards in Cambodia; if your visit is on a weekday you meet some of the children. Lunch is at a local house or an authentic riverside restaurant, then you return to the hotel and are free at leisure until the transfer to the airport. Angkor lies outside this route; it is the subject of our three-day Angkor Unforgettable itinerary.

GOOD TO KNOW

The tour is private, with an English-speaking guide, all land tours and transfers by air-conditioned vehicle and twin-sharing accommodation. Entrance fees, the boat ride, mineral water during the tour and the meals shown in the itinerary are included: dinner on day one, breakfast on days two and three and lunch on Koh Dach. Lunch on day two is on your own account, as are meals not mentioned in the itinerary, flights and personal expenses. A visa to Cambodia is not included; see our visa assistance page. It is one of our inquiry-only holiday packages, listed with our other Cambodia itineraries.