Angkor Complex & Colonial Towns

In the 9th century, a magnificent stone-piled metropolis rose from the ground and after about 300 years, it became the heart of Angkor Dynasty (9th-15th century), also known as the Khmer Empire, the most prosperous kingdom in Southeast Asia. Although the empire has long since fades, its monumental remnants still whisper the secrets of its bygone glory. Today, your guide and driver will accompany you to unveil the mysteries of this legendary dynasty by exploring the Angkor Ruins.

★Admire Sunrise at Angkor Wat:

One hour before dawn, your guide and driver will escort you to Angkor Wat Temple. About 20 minutes before the first sunlight pierces across the clouds, it’s the best time to soak up in the “blue hour” of this holy land. As the sky shifts from light violet to pinkish-orange, the contour of the temple becomes clear, resembling a gouache painting. After the sunrise, we’ll return to the hotel for breakfast. Or we can prepare a breakfast box, so that you can enjoy a picnic breakfast while admiring the stunning setting under the glowing of the twilight. 
► Photo Tips:
1. The lotus pond in front of the main entrance of Angkor Wat is the premier spot for sunrise reflections. Standing on the left edge of the pond, you can capture the sweeping wide shots with fewer crowds, while the right side near the wooden plank lets you frame all five iconic towers without overlap and is perfect for silhouette portraits. 
2. Stepping inside the Sutra Depository, you can capture a backlit scene through the window. Or just stand in the entrance corridor where golden morning light streams through the columns, ideal for artistic images. 

Then, let’s continue to Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire. In the late 12th century, the nearly 60-year-old king Jayavarman VII (1125-1219 BC) led his people to recapture Angkor and expanded the empire to its greatest territorial extent, becoming the dominant power on the Indochinese Peninsula. To commemorate his triumphs, the king built Angkor Thom on the ruins of the old city. At its zenith, the city houses nearly one million residents, a testament to its name of “Great City”. 

Passing through the bridge flanked by dilapidated stone statues, we’ll arrive at the heart of Angkor Thom, where Bayon Temple stands. If Angkor Wat Temple represents the peak of Hindu-inspired god-kingship, the Bayon Temple completely rewrite the symbols of royal power. When Hindu was still dominated, kings united with the divine through the “Devajra” ritual, while retaining human form. However, Jayavarman VII not only converted to Buddhism but took it a step further by carving face of bodhisatva fusing his own features on the four sides of every tower. You can totally find 216 giant stone faces of the king here, watching over his kingdom.  

Moving onward, we’ll arrive at the Victory Gate of Angkor Thom, through which the Angkor army marched home after triumphant campaigns in the part. Just opposite to the gate is the Terrace of the Elephants, a stand for troops inspection. Turning to the north, you can see the royal court, Terrace of the Leper King, where the king himself would occasionally preside over trails.  

Continue to explore deeper and Ta Prohm Temple will instantly bring you into the mysterious scene in the film “Tome Raider”. Colossal roots tangle the roofs and walls as if the temple is growing directly from the trees. At dusk, we’ll ascend to the Bakheng Temple on the mountaintop to capture a panoramic view of Angkor Wat in the glow of golden sunset. 

★Special Inclusion: Apsara Dance Dinner Show

Finally, we’ll conclude your full-day sightseeing admiring an Apsara dance performance while savoring authentic local dishes at our handpicked restaurant. Legend has it that in the 12th century, the king of Hindu gods descended to Earth and bestowed upon Jayavarman II the kingdom of Cambodia, its regalia, and the Apsaras. Then, these part-human, part-spirit celestial dances taught their circular steps, graceful postures and smooth hand gestures to Angkor people. In the following centuries, these dances were performed at solemn religious rituals and grand celebrations to show people’s respect to the god.

After the performance, your guide and driver will escort you back you your hotel. 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Apsara Dinner Show
Accommodation: Tara Angkor Hotel (4 stars) or FCC Angkor by Avani (5 stars), Siem Reap

★ Cycle to Roluos Village to Touch Authentic Fabric of Local Life

After breakfast, straddle on the bike we rent for you and hurtle to Roluos Village in one hour, with the company of your guide. In recent years, Cambodia’s international image has been clouded by headlines of telecom fraud and human trafficking. However, in a serene rural setting like Roluos Village, you’ll rediscover the country’s pure heartbeat by witnessing a self-sufficient way of life featuring lush rice paddies, grazing cattle, gardens, and stilted houses. Step into a villager’s home and engage with locals while enjoying fresh coconut juice.
► Tip: If cycling doesn’t match your preference, a private car transfer can be arranged at no extra cost. 

Leaving the village, let’s continue cycling to the Roluos Temples Group, the last capital before the power center of Angkor Empire moved to the area of Angkor Ruins. Historically, each new king of Angkor Empire built a new capital, because royal succession didn’t automatically pass to the eldest son. Every ascension brought political upheaval, and a more lavish capital was required to show their absolute authority and legitimize their claim. In light of this, the Roluos Group is the direct architectural predecessor to the grand temples we visited yesterday. Bakong Temple, the largest of the three major temples of Roluos Group, is the earliest state temple of its kind, offering a clearer look at the classic steep pyramid design than even the Bayon Temple. Meanwhile, the other two – Preah Ko and Lolei Temples – are rare examples of ancestral temples with their distinct forms and intricate stucco carvings showcasing a unique mastery seldom seen in later periods.

After lunch, we’ll drive to Banteay Srei Temple. This is one of the few temples in the Angkor region commissioned not by a king, but by a royal tutor. As a master of Buddhist scripture, medicine and astronomy, he was the foremost intellectual of his time and inscribed every sutra he had read, every celestial observation he had made, and every insight he had gained, into the stone. However, as a temple dedicated to the royal preceptor rather than a monarch, its scale could not be on par with a royal temple, which is why Banteay Srei, though intricately carved, remains compact. 

As daylights soften in the afternoon, we’ll reach Preach Khan Temple. Wandering through its labyrinthine-like vaulted corridors, you’ll encounter a unique two-story structure that carries striking Mediterranean style, which evokes the atmosphere of a Greek temple against the backdrop of an algae-draped pond. It is said that the king’s scared sward was once safeguarded here. Finally, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Tara Angkor Hotel (4 stars) or FCC Angkor by Avani (5 stars), Siem Reap

This morning, your guide and driver will escort you to embark on a cruise of Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and a vital reservoir for the Mekong River. Getting out of the car, we’ll shift to a small boat to explore the floating villages scattered along the lake shore. These unique communities are home to indigenous Angkorian fishermen and descendants of Vietnamese refugees who arrived here to escape from the war. Recognized by neither Cambodia nor Vietnam, they can only build homes, hospitals, schools, markets, and churches on the water, living this floating lifestyle for generations. As you glide through the villages, you’ll witness a daily life unfolding like scenes from a vivid documentary: people mending nets and drying their catches, while children paddling wooden boats and waving cheerfully to you.

In the afternoon, your guide and driver will escort you to the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI) for a 50-minute flight to Phnom Penh. Upon arrival. your local guide and driver will pick you up and offer you a smooth car ride to our pre-booked hotel. The rest of the day is left for your own arrangement. You can either lie back at your hotel or head to the Central Market, which is only a 10-minute tuk-tuk ride from both of our 4-star and 5-star hotels. With crowds weaving among stalls selling books, jewelry, local fruits and snacks, it is surely an ideal spot to kill time.  

► Siem Reap to Phnom Penh: Flight or Private Car?
It takes 6 hours driving from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh over the bumpy rural road and you need to pay for a round-trip fare, making it less cost-effective. While the 50-minute flight by far the superior choice, ensuring a fast, smooth, and comfortable transfer between the two cities, with both cities’ airports are close to your hotels.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Chaiya Palace Hotel (4 stars) or Hyatt Regency (5 stars), Phnom Penh

If Siem Reap is an old witness of Cambodia’s history, Phnom Penh represents the modern pulses of this country. Today, your exploration to this capital city will begin at the Royal Palace, where you’ll find classic Cambodia architecture. White-walled buildings crowned with gilded spires scattered in the complex and hedges trimmed into stupa-like forms set among the gardens. Following the path and we’ll arrive at the central Throne Hall which houses the royal throne and gilded busts of past monarchs. Step into Silver Pagoda and be awed by its floor paved with over 5,000 silver tiles, 60-centimeter Buddha statue carved from a single piece of emerald, and a gold Buddha encrusted with 9,584 diamonds. Then, admiring the Angkor-era stone carvings unearthed from the Angkor Wat in the nearby National Museum of Cambodia.

Afterwards, head to Wat Phnom Temple (Hill Temple), the city’s spiritual heart. Though only about 100 meters (328 feet) high, the hill is the cradle of Phnom Penh itself. According to the legend, in 1372 AD, a women named Daun Penh picked up a Buddha statue floating in the river and rallied locals to pile a hill and build a temple to enshrine it. Over time, attracting more and more believers to make their pilgrimage here, the area around the temple grew into the bustling capital we see today. Standing in front of the iconic white stupa, you can soak in the peaceful ambiance above the bustling streets of the city. 

After a lunch break, we’ll visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, the recorders of Cambodia’s most devastating chapter of its past: the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979 AD). The radical policy of “de-urbanization” launched by the regime was the main reason the country became one of the world’s least developed nations. It forced the entire population leaving cities to rural regions and massacred intellectuals even those who simply wearing glasses. In just 4 years, nearly a quarter of the nation’s population perished, and the majority of victims were aged 20 to 40, leaving a deep generation gap that still impacts Cambodian society today. In the museum and the fields, you’ll be overwhelmed with shock, horror and sadness when seeing the blood-spattered ceilings of the interrogation rooms, instruments of torture, and walls of pictures of victims. How such an extreme regime emerged in a nation deeply devoted to Buddhism? During your visit, you may have a chance to meet a survivor at the site. Hearing his personal story offers a profound testament to that tragic period. 

At the end of your sightseeing, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Chaiya Palace Hotel (4 stars) or Hyatt Regency (5 stars), Phnom Penh

Today, biding farewell to Phnom Penh, your guide and driver will accompany you on a road trip to the coastal city, Kep. After about 1.5 hours, we’ll stop at the Phnom Chisor Temple en route. As one of the four major 11th-century sanctuaries built by King Suryavarman I, the temple stands on the top of an isolated hill, offering a fantastic spot to capture a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside. 

After another 1-hour drive, we’ll arrive at Takeo Province, the ancient capital of Funan Kingdom (6th-7th century), Southeast Asia’s earliest mainland state at that time. Here, we’ll ascend a hill to explore Phnom Da Temple, a surviving remnant of the kingdom standing atop the mountain. Halfway up the hill, we’ll encounter Ashram Maha Rossei Temple, whose ox-eye windows reminiscent of India’s rock-cut Buddhist caves. There is legend saying that an Indian Brahmin married a local queen and established Funan Kingdom, and the architectural elements of both temples provide evidence to the story in deed. 

We’ll then continue driving for about 3 hours to the resort we selected for you in Kep. Samanea Beach Resort offers spacious rooms, gardens, and a private beach, while Veranda Kep Resort perched on a hilltop within Kep National Park, featuring unique wood-and-stone bungalows with stunning sea views at sunrise and sunset. Both resorts are just a short walk from the coastline. 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Veranda Kep Resort (4 stars) or Samanea Beach Resort (4 stars)

This morning, your guide and driver will accompany you on a 30-minute trip to Kampot. This coastal town, reminiscent of southern France, has a more relaxed atmosphere than Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. It attracts many Western residents who settle here long-term, start businesses, or retire. In a country where motorcycles dominate, Kampot is arguably the best place to take a stroll, letting you admire French colonial buildings and enjoy the easygoing vibe like a local.

Then, follow your guide to a pepper farm. Since the French colonial era, Kampot pepper has been popular in Paris’s top restaurants for its rich aroma and subtle, multi-layered spiciness. Its annual production once reached 8,000 tons. However, during the unrest of the 1970s, nearly all pepper plantations were destroyed, almost ending the industry. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that farmers resumed cultivation, and today it is once again a sought-after spice loved by Michelin-starred chefs worldwide. You can see peppers in four colors: green, black, red, and white. Interestingly, they all originate from the same tree! Their differences lie only in ripeness and processing methods. At noon, enjoy a tasty meal prepared with Kampot pepper. After we return to Kep, you can relax and enjoy the rest of your day freely. 

► Free Time Suggestions in Kep (at your own expense)
You can unwind at the resort or explore the Crab Market on your own. It is a 30-minute walk from Veranda Resort or a 15-minute walk from Samanea Resort. Please note that the seafood variety and quantity at the market may be less than in the morning. For authentic crab dishes, nearby beachside restaurants such as Magic Crab, Holy Crab, and Kep Seafood Restaurant also provide delicious and affordable choices.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Veranda Kep Resort (4 stars) or Samanea Beach Resort (4 stars)

After checking out in the morning, your guide and driver will offer you a 3.5-hour private car ride to Phnom Penh Techo International Airport (KTI) for your homebound flight. To ensure enough time for check-in, we recommend booking flights departing in the afternoon.  

Should you want to extend your itinerary to more Angkor ruins or other Asian countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam, or Laos, just contact us and we’ll be glad to continue offering a bespoke service. 

Meals: Breakfast