This Is Your Perfect Cambodia Itinerary — ALONG DUSTY ROADS

DAY SEVEN |  Visit Angkor Wat

We asked our G Adventures group what made them choose a trip to Cambodia, and for the overwhelming majority it was the chance to visit Angkor Wat at sunrise – it’s likely that the famous site has also inspired most of you reading this post to think about Cambodia too.

We were fortunate that all our travel, ticket, and transport arrangements for visiting at sunrise were included within the Ultimate Cambodian Adventure tour, so all we had to do was set the alarm clock and make sure we brought our spare camera batteries! 

However, whether you’re visiting the ruins independently or with a tour, today is going to be a very long day, with a 4 am start necessary to see those towers as the sun comes up!

That’s why we wouldn’t recommend having any overly ambitious plans for the evening. Most people will be quite happy to settle in with a couple of beers, a soothing bowl of noodles and an early night.

For those that still have a little energy after the temples – or want to see everything – we’d recommend making a beeline in the evening to the critically-acclaimed Phare Circus (providing you didn’t visit in Battambang). Tickets can be booked in advance here.

Vibe | Ruins + history

Plan | Our guide to Angkor Wat (published soon)

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DAY EIGHT | Chill in Siem Reap

How this day goes really depends on your love of ruins, your energy levels, your budget, and whether you’d prefer to head to your next stop – Sihanoukville – by night bus or by an early morning flight.

Personally, we didn’t really like the development of Siem Reap, and would be reticent to spend more than two or three nights there. But the reality is that quite of few of you will understandably be shattered after yesterday’s early rise and exertions (the pedometer will take a pounding!). At this stage, you’re also just over a week into your Cambodia adventure too, so it’s the logical juncture for a rest day, a do-nothing day, or a few chilled out social-value activities and eating – despite its faults, Siem Reap is very well set-up for all of this.

For some of you, today may also be about a second visit to some of the lesser-visited areas of the Angkor Wat complex. If that’s you, then just make double-sure you read this post before buying your tickets and making plans.

Plan | 13 Wonderful Things to In Siem Reap

Moving on To Sihanoukville

The downside to visiting Cambodia for two weeks – unless you’re on a small-group tour which takes care of your transport connections and route plans – is that two of the country’s most popular destinations (Siem Reap and the Koh Rong Islands) are on opposite sides of the country from each other. They are however logical to visit one after the other on a shorter Cambodia itinerary. 

So, you need to choose between the following:

• After exploring Siem Reap / Angkor Wat in the day, taking a 12-hour night bus onward to Sihanoukville, and then the morning boat out to the Koh Rong islands.

• Spend the night in Siem Reap, and take the first 1 hour flight to Sihanoukville the following day, before taking a boat out to the islands. We try to avoid short internal flights for environmental reasons but on short itineraries it often makes more sense.