DAY 1 : SIEM REAP ARRIVAL (-/-/-)
On arrival in Cambodia at Siem Reap International Airport, go through immigration & customs before meeting with your local guide. Transfer to hotel with the rest of the day to be enjoyed at your leisure.
NOTE : kindly note that should you arrive early, an early check-in is not included and subject to hotel’s availability. Your guide will brief an orientation of the city along the way. Once checked in we leave you at your leisure.
DAY 2 : SIEM REAP (B/-/-)
We spend a full-day visiting the amazing temples of Angkor on a guided tour. Angkor Thom, the 'Great Royal City', is famous for its series of colossal human faces carved in stone. The impressive Bayon temple is the centrepiece of all this. Angkor Wat is the largest and most complete structure. It is the only one of Angkor's temples with its entrance facing to the west (the others face east), the reason being that it was constructed as a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and a westerly countenance was seen to represent a sunset. Ta Prohm temple is an incredible sight, with large trees embedding themselves in the stone foundations of the structure, giving the impression of man's creation being reclaimed by the powerful forces of nature. We can end the day with a sunset view of Angkor Wat from Phnom Bakheng.
DAY 3 : SIEM REAP (B/-/-)
Our ticket for the Angkor ruins enables us to spend more time exploring this memorable archaeological area. It is an early morning start as we travel out to Banteay Srei, famous for its detailed and intricate stone carvings. It is not a big temple, but has been sometimes referred to as ‘the jewel in the crown of Angkorian art’. Back at the main temple complex, Preah Khan contains a maze of vaulted corridors and is another complex that has been largely reclaimed by the jungle. We include a visit to the Sala Bai Hotel School where underprivileged local youths learn skills which will enable them to find gainful employment in the hospitality industry. We also enjoy a lunch prepared by students at the school. The afternoon is at your leisure
DAY 4 : SIEM REAP / BATTAMBANG (B/L/-)
Leave Siem Reap by road and travel via Sisophon in Banteay Meanchey province, travelling through rice fields and the Cambodian countryside featuring traditional houses. On the way at a silk farm you will see all the steps involved in making silk the traditional way from raising silkworms to weaving the silk and dyeing it. You’ll also stop along the road to meet stone sculptors and watch them at their work. Arriving at your hotel in Battambang around 13.00.
After check in your hotel and a short rest, set out to discover the charming town of Battambang, beginning with a tour by local Tuk-Tuk from which you’ll be able to see the elegant colonial French-houses along the river. A visit to the provincial museum and a pretty wooden pagoda precedes your arrival at an 11th century temple, Wat Ek Phnom. On the way, help a family make rice pancakes and talk with local Cambodians about their daily life.
DAY 5 :BATTAMBANG (B/L/-)
Discover the real Cambodia as a responsible traveller who respects the environment. The Batambang cycling tour is a unique way, off the beaten track to experience the local way of life of the villagers in the hinterland of Cambodia. Along the path, following a small stream you get the chance to see typical houses unchanged for generations, rice paddies, local workshops and much more. Take part in the daily activities such as the preparation of sticky rice, the custom knife making, the preparation of the traditional fish paste “Prahok”. An unforgettable experience, accompanied by the local children’s waving along the ride their “hello”.… The afternoon, a visit the provincial museum and a the superb 12-13th century temple Prasat Banon which towers over the peak of the hill you have just climbed up. From here, you can enjoy the beautiful village countryside scenery, the plains and their pagodas. This evening take in a performance of the Phare Ponleu Selpak Circus, this Cambodian NGO helps disadvantaged children through art.
DAY 6 : BATTAMBANG / PHNOM PENH (B/L/-)
Early in the morning, we drive through the countryside heading back to Phnom Penh. You’ll see magnificent scenery along the way of rice fields with large sugar palms and many traditional wooden stilt houses. On the road there’s a stop at Kompong Luong where you’ll board a traditional boat. From here you can watch community life on the lake seeing a real floating village. Continuing down the road for about an hour, arrive at Kompong Chhnang where after a walk through the village you will have lunch at a local restaurant (which is quite basic). Arrive at Phnom Penh at the end of the day and check into your hotel.
DAY 7 : PHNOM PENH (B/L/-)
This morning, visit the Royal Palace, which was built in 1866 by King Norodom. The Palace is actually a number of structures within a pagoda-style compound. Silver Pagoda located within the Royal Palace compound, the Silver Pagoda is so named because of its floor, which is made up of 5,000 silver tiles. Continue to visit the National Museum, which houses Khmer art, especially sculptures from different periods of Cambodian history, 19th century dance costumes, royal barges and palanquins. Continue to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school. In the Pol Pot time they took this school as a prison for detentions and torture of prisoners. Then continue to Cheung Ek, a profoundly moving experience. During the Khmer Rouge years, thousands of Cambodians moved to the extermination camps at Cheung Ek where they were brutally put to death. To finish the day on a brighter note a visit will be made to the Apsara Arts Association. The AAA is a local NGO created by artists from the Royal University of Fine Arts to preserve classical and folkloric dance and teach the skills to Cambodian youth, especially orphans and children from less well off families.
DAY 8 : PHNOM PENH / KEP (B/L/-)
This morning depart the capital for the journey to the south coast resort of Kep sur Mer with sightseeing en route. The first stop is made at Tonle Bati, to visit a series of temples including Prasat Neag Khmao, dating from the 10th Century. Continue to Phnom Chisor for spectacular view over the surrounding plains from the 11th century brahmanic temple. After lunch at a local restaurant, continue to Takeo and take a speedboat to Phnom Da Hill to explore caves with shrines carved into the walls, a pre-Angkorian tower and an Indian-style sandstone temple like no other in Cambodia. In the late afternoon continue your journey to Kep.
DAY 9 : KEP (B/-/-)
We travel to the boat pier to board a local boat for the journey to Koh Tonsay or Rabbit Island. We journey across calm waters to this beautiful palm-fringed island, home to a small community of fisherfolk and farmers. We have the whole day to enjoy the white-sand beaches that ring the island, the sun, sea and sand before we travel back to Kep by boat
DAY 10 : KEP / SIHANOUKVILLE (B/L/-)
We leave behind the beaches of Kep and head west towards the popular resort of Sihanoukville, home to Cambodia's finest beaches. We pass through the charming riverside town of Kampot where we may stop for some refreshments. From here, the pretty road passes under the shadow of Bokor Mountain and hugs the coastline for much of its length. We pass through some pretty fishing villages before we arrive in the small town of Veal Renh on National Highway 4. We head south to Sihanoukville, check into hotel and leave the rest of the day free to enjoy the beautiful beaches and warm waters.
DAY 11 : SIHANOUKVILLE / KOH KONG (B/L/-)
We leave Sihanoukville and head back in land and then along route 48 which cuts straight through the jungle, with dramatic views of the magnificent Cardamom Mountains. The resort is situated in Tatai, near Koh Kong and you embark at the steps of the bridge in the village of Tatai at 2pm. You then take a boat trip downstream from the bridge to the resort, which takes about 25 minutes in a cruising boat. Once at the floating resort you have the remainder of the day to get settled in to your luxury floating safari tent and to enjoy the beautiful and peaceful surroundings of rivers & mountains
DAY 12 : KOH KONG (B/-/-)
One of the must-sees of the region is a day trip to the Tatai Waterfall. Away from the tranquillity of 4 Rivers Floating Lodge, the thunder of the majestic Tatai Falls reveals the river’s true power as it drops 6 meters to the rocks below. Your day, depending on the tide, starts at around 10am for the 45-minute boat ride past Tatai village to the falls. Turning on to a tributary you head into the heart of the Cardamom jungle to the far-off sounds of exotic birds and its secretive wildlife. Within minutes you are at journey’s end, gazing down into the turbulent waters of the falls. Soon it’s time for lunch, maybe a few moments hydro-massage and a refreshing drink as you find some shade for a picnic and open your senses to the sights and sounds of the jungle. We will also arrange to transport some kayaks for your added fun and adventure. After leaving the falls, we stop at the mouth of a small river where you can paddle your kayak to a traditional Cambodian farm; you will see rice fields and some fruit trees depending of the season
DAY 13 : KOH KONG / PHNOM PENH DEPARTURE (B/-/-)
After breakfast we leave the river behind and transfer back to Phnom Penh, in plenty of time to the airport for your departing flight.