We went to Siem Reap, Cambodia towards the end of November 2014 and it was awesome from start to finish! If you’re planning to go there too, you’re making an excellent choice; you won’t regret it ^_^
In the hopes of helping anyone researching about traveling to Cambodia, I’ve outlined our itinerary below for the 6 days we were in Siem Reap. May it be helpful to you. Oh and if you’re interested in a Siem Reap budget guide, here’s a breakdown of our expenses while there.
We actually got the Angkor Explorer tour package from the bed and breakfast we stayed at while there – Ta Som Guesthouse. But since the tour was only for 5 days and 4 nights, we communicated with Ta Som that we were going to be there for 7 nights in total. They easily hooked us up with more fun stuff. Once in Siem Reap, we also communicated to our guide that our introverted selves just can’t handle too many people in one place so he modified our scheduled explorations to avoid most of the crowd. It was also super hot in Cambodia that time and climbing in and around temples was always a sweaty affair. Because of this, we skipped some of the places as we just got tired or hungry hehe.
So once all was said and done, here is the Siem Reap Itinerary we ended up with:
Day 01
We visited the Rolous group of temples and the Grand Circuit within the Angkor Complex. Basically we went to the smaller temples first.
- Lo Lei (Rolous)
- Preah Ko (Rolous)
- Bakhong (Rolous)
- Preah Rup (Grand Circuit)
- Eastern Mebon (Grand Circuit)
- Ta Som (the temple our guesthouse was named after) (Grand Circuit)
- Neak Pean (Grand Circuit)
- Phrea Khan (Grand Circuit)
Day 02
We visited the Small Circuit this time, meaning the bigger more imposing temples.
- sunrise at Angkor Wat – if you do this, there’s no way you can avoid the crowd. I did not realize that many people didn’t mind waking up real early.
- back to the guesthouse for breakfast
- Ta Phrom
- Angkor Wat
- Angkor Thom
- Terrace of the Elephants
- Leper King Crematorium
- Bapuon
- Bayon
Day 03
A few more temples, hike through a forest to find a river, a visit to a conservation center and a bit of cultural appreciation.
- Banteay Srei
- Kobal Spean / River of a Thousand Lingas – involves a trek through a forest (around 1 km one way)
- Angkor Center for Conservation of Biodiversity – a non-profit organization that rescues endangered animals in Cambodia
- Banteay Samre
- buffet dinner and Apsara dance show
Day 04
On this day we visited far flung temples. I think this was the best temple hopping day for me because the ancient structures we saw were really interesting, and best of all there was hardly anyone about in these places! We also got to see a circus at the end of the day.
- Beng Melea
- Koh Ker Region
- quick stop at Blossom Cafe for some pretty cupcakes
- Phare Circus – not the clowns, dancing elephants and lions through fiery hoops kind. This circus only had human performers – acrobats, contortionists, dancers and musicians. The show was really good in my opinion.
Day 05
Just one attraction visited this day and the rest was spent on strolling around the city center.
- Tonle Sap – visited the Chong Kneass floating village in particular. The only part of the tour where we had a negative experience due to the seemingly scheming boatmen.
- chilled at the guesthouse to give ourselves some alone time to absorb all we’ve seen and experience so far
- strolled around Pub Street and Night Market in search of delicious meals and bargains
Day 06
No major activity planned this day. We just wandered around Pub Street and Night Market again, sampled more delicious meals and bought lots of pasalubong (souvenirs) for friends and family back home. We flew out of Siem Reap that evening.
There you go, just a summary for now. I’ll be writing more details about each day on the next posts of this series.
This article is part of a series. You might want to read the other parts too 🙂
- Budget Guide
- Itinerary
- Day 01 – Arrival
- Day 02 pt. 01 – Buying the Siem Reap Temple Pass
- Day 02 pt. 02 – Roluos Group Temples
- Day 02 pt. 03 – The Grand Circuit Temples
- Day 02 pt. 04 – Pub Street and Night Market
- Day 03 pt. 01 – Sunrise at Angkor Wat
- Day 03 pt. 02 – Tomb Raider Time at Ta Prohm
- Day 03 pt. 03 – Amazing Angkor Wat
- Day 03 pt. 04 – Astounding Angkor Thom
- Day 04
- Day 05
- Day 06
- Day 07
Do leave me comments and questions below if you have any ^_^
Cheers!