Cambodia for Small Budgets

Welcome from our driver upon your arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport (KTI).

Transfer and check-in at the hotel.

The rest of the day is free.

Rooms available from 2:00 PM. If we arrive a little early and our room is not yet ready, we can drop off our luggage at the reception before going for a walk around the city or relaxing by the pool.

Free programme in the morning. In a tuk-tuk, equipped with a digital tablet and headphones provided, discover the heritage of the capital Phnom Penh inherited from the French protectorate era accompanied by an English-speaking driver/guide. In late afternoon, embark on a boat trip on the Mekong and Tonlé Sap and enjoy an atypical view of Phnom Penh and a magnificent sunset.

Transfer by local bus to Siem Reap.

We take care of the tuk-tuk transfer to take you to the bus departure in Phnom Penh and pick you up on your arrival in Siem Reap.

Departure from Phnom Penh scheduled for 8:45 AM, estimated journey time of 6 hours with a stop for lunch.

A day of sightseeing by tuk-tuk of the wonderful Angkor temples located around and inside the Angkor Thom enclosure. We discover in particular Angkor Wat, symbol of the apex of the Khmer Empire during the Angkorian era.

Within the Angkor Thom enclosure, discover Bayon and its many towers with gigantic faces, Baphuon and its gigantic statue of a 40m reclining Buddha, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace and its great diversity of sculptures as well as the Leper King Terrace.

Let's conclude with Ta Prohm famous for its immense trees with sprawling aerial roots. We can finish this day with a sunset either at Srah Srang, or from the heights of Pre Rup or Phnom Bakheng if you are ready to brave the crowds (warning: Phnom Bakheng is closed to children under 12 years old and authorities limit access to 300 people at sunset, creating a queue)

Due to an already busy schedule, we deliberately skip a few secondary temples on the small circuit such as Banteay Kdei, Thommanon, Chau Say Tevoda or Ta Keo. If you wish to visit these sites, do not hesitate to inform your guide at the beginning of the day so he can best adjust the schedule.

Possibility to do the visits in reverse order to avoid the crowds. Simply tell your guide at the beginning of the day.

The temples are sacred places, avoid short clothing, you must cover your shoulders and wear long pants or a long skirt.

In order to preserve these fragile monuments, it is forbidden to touch the sculptures or to sit on temple elements.

In Cambodian culture, it is offensive to be rowdy inside a sacred place, calm and respect are the watchwords.

It is not recommended to buy items or sweets from child vendors, this only encourages begging and truancy, prefer a donation to an association if this is close to your heart.

If you wish to photograph monks (called Bonzes), you must obtain their permission beforehand. Furthermore, you must not touch them, they have the right to touch you but not the other way around.

We then begin the short hike necessary to reach the Kbal Spean site nicknamed "the temple under water", 49 km north of Angkor. Temple ruins dating from the 9th century border a river whose bed is scattered with sculpted lingas. A nurturing source for Angkor, the waters of Kbal Spean once irrigated the rice fields of the ancient city. In its bed, the Khmer carved Shivas and stone squares meant to bless the waters before they reached the Royal City. The site was discovered in 1968 by Ariège ethnologist Jean Boulbet, and following in his footsteps you will be able to wander along the lush banks. A small waterfall near the protected sacred site will allow us to cool off and even swim there (bring a small towel).

A very accessible hike of approximately 1.5 km (or 3 km round trip) with a small elevation gain over the last 700 meters.

Bring hiking shoes/sneakers as the trail is quite rocky.

After lunch, continue with a visit to Banteay Srey, a temple on a human scale compared to the gigantic Angkor Wat or Bayon. This pink sandstone temple nicknamed "The Citadel of Women" is known for the refinement of the bas-reliefs and sculptures that adorn its walls and columns.

If we still have energy, we can end the day with a visit to Banteay Samre temple or return directly to the hotel.

This morning, we depart by tuktuk towards the village of Kampong Pluk located on Tonlé Sap Lake. We board a private boat to discover and visit the floating village.

Within the village, there are small canoes that can take you around the mangrove forest. In the absence of a guide, we cannot include this ride in our service. If you wish to take this canoe ride, expect approximately $5 per person.

In the dry season, if the water level compromises access to Kampong Pluk village (generally between February and August), we can visit Mechrey village instead

Return to the hotel, the afternoon is free. Late checkout of your room is included in this quote. At 9:30 PM, our tuk tuk takes us to the night bus departure to Kampot. Bus departure scheduled for 10:30 PM but Giant Ibis company reserves the right to modify the departure time. Day without English-speaking guide-escort

Boat transfer to Koh Rong from Kampot's new port. The boat staff will take half of your ticket. Keep the other half carefully for your return! When you return to Sihanoukville, your driver will pick you up at the Buva Sea office as vehicles cannot access the pier directly. Once you arrive at your destination, we settle into the hotel; the rest of the day is free. Day without an English-speaking tour guide

After breakfast and checking out of our room, we return by boat to Sihanoukville.

The boat departure is scheduled for 9:30 AM.

Upon our arrival in Sihanoukville, a driver will be waiting for us at the pier for a final transfer to Phnom Penh via the country's only highway.

Free program before our transfer to Phnom Penh International Airport.

We will need to check out before noon. If our flight is in the evening, we can leave our luggage at the hotel reception for a final stroll around the city.