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The towers of Angkor Wat reflected in water at dawn

South-East Asia · Cambodia

Cambodia

The largest religious monument ever built, in a forest, an hour's flight from Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City. Cambodia is the easiest addition to a South-East Asia trip and the one people come home talking about.

Via Bangkok or HCMC · REPeVisa or visa on arrivalNov–Mar seasonGuide price from £1,699pp

The short version

Three nights, not one day

Almost every itinerary sells Angkor as a day trip and it's the wrong shape. The site covers 400 square kilometres and there are dozens of temples, not one. Three nights in Siem Reap gives you sunrise at Angkor Wat, the faces at Bayon, the tree roots at Ta Prohm, and a morning off in between — because temple fatigue is real and it arrives around lunchtime on day two.

A stone temple with tree roots growing over it

Beyond the famous one

Ta Prohm, Bayon, and the ones with nobody at them

Angkor Wat is the icon, but Bayon's 200 carved faces and Ta Prohm's strangler figs prising the stonework apart are what people remember. Go further out — Banteay Srei's pink sandstone carving, or Beng Mealea an hour away, unrestored and half-swallowed by forest — and you'll have temples to yourself. A good guide is the difference between stones and a civilisation.

The capital

Phnom Penh, and the difficult day

Two nights. There's a riverfront, a Royal Palace and a genuinely good food scene — and there's Tuol Sleng and the killing fields at Choeung Ek, which are harrowing and which most people feel they should do. Do them in the morning and leave the afternoon free. It isn't a holiday activity, but it's the thing that makes sense of the country you're standing in.

A road running between tall green trees in Cambodia

Where to go

Temples, capital and coast

Siem Reap is the reason most people come. Phnom Penh is five hours by road or forty minutes by air, and the coast is another few hours south.

3 nights · REP

Siem Reap & Angkor

The temple town. A walkable centre with a serious restaurant scene, and 400 square kilometres of Khmer ruins on the doorstep.

Angkor Wat: Sunrise here once, and then again in the late afternoon when the light is better and the crowd has gone.
Bayon & Angkor Thom: Two hundred carved faces, and the walled city around them. Our pick of the whole site.
Ta Prohm: The one with the trees growing through it. Early morning or you'll queue for the photograph.
Banteay Srei: Forty minutes out, pink sandstone, and the finest carving in Cambodia. Far quieter.

2 nights · 40 min flight

Phnom Penh

The capital on the Mekong. A riverfront, a royal palace, French colonial streets and a difficult, necessary history.

Riverside: Where the Tonlé Sap meets the Mekong. Hotels, restaurants and the evening promenade.
Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda: Still the king's residence. Dress code enforced — shoulders and knees covered.
Tuol Sleng & Choeung Ek: The genocide sites. Harrowing, essential, and best done in a single morning with a guide.
Russian Market: Silk, silver and street food under a tin roof. Go before the heat builds.

South · 4h from PNH

The coast

Islands and beaches, much less developed than Thailand's. Best added on the end rather than as the point of the trip.

Koh Rong Sanloem: Quiet bays, simple bungalows and bioluminescence in the water at night.
Koh Rong: Bigger and livelier, with a backpacker end and a quiet end.
Kep & Kampot: Crab market, pepper farms and faded French villas. Charming and very slow.
Sihanoukville: Much changed by casino development. We'd route you past it to the islands.

From Vietnam or Thailand

Adding it on

The strongest reason to sell Cambodia: it slots into trips you're already running, for one short flight.

From Bangkok: One hour to Siem Reap. Easiest add-on in South-East Asia.
From Ho Chi Minh City: One hour, or the slow Mekong boat up to Phnom Penh over two days.
Vietnam + Cambodia: Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, then Siem Reap. Sixteen nights and no backtracking.
Thailand + Cambodia: Bangkok, Angkor, then a Thai beach. Three completely different weeks.

Our speciality

Vietnam, Cambodia, then a beach

The three-country route that turns a good trip into a memorable one. Fly into Hanoi, work south, hop to Siem Reap for the temples, and finish on a Thai or Cambodian beach.

Vietnam9 nightsHanoi, Ha Long, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City.
Flight · 1h
Siem Reap3 nightsAngkor at sunrise, Bayon, Ta Prohm.
Flight · 1h 30m
Beach4 nightsKoh Rong, or hop to Krabi and fly home from Thailand.

All the hops are short and inexpensive. We book them with the holiday so the whole thing sits under one ATOL certificate rather than three separate bookings.

When to go

Dry season, and a very wet wet one

November to March is dry, cooler and the season to travel. April and May are brutally hot — 35–40°C at the temples with no shade. June to October is the monsoon: heavy afternoon rain, but the moats fill, the forest is green and the crowds thin considerably.

JanIdeal

FebIdeal

MarWarm

AprVery hot

MayVery hot

JunMonsoon

JulMonsoon

AugMonsoon

SepMonsoon

OctClearing

NovIdeal

DecPeak

November to February is the window. Late September and October are underrated — the rain is mostly late afternoon, the moats are full so the reflections work, and there are a fraction of the visitors.

Worth leaving the resort for

What we'd actually book

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Be at the north pond by 5:15. Then go back at four in the afternoon, when the light is better and everyone has left.

Bayon

Two hundred serene stone faces at the centre of Angkor Thom. Mid-morning, when the side light picks them out.

Ta Prohm

Strangler figs prising apart the stonework. Deliberately left unrestored, and the most atmospheric of the lot.

Beng Mealea

An hour out, unrestored and half-collapsed into the forest. You'll often have it to yourself.

Tonlé Sap

Floating villages on the great lake. Go with a reputable operator — some of the tours are exploitative.

Blessing at a wat

A working monastery, not a performance. Quiet, brief, and one of the more affecting things you can do here.

Banteay Srei

Tenth-century pink sandstone carved like woodwork. The single finest carving in the Angkor complex.

Silk and markets

Siem Reap's Artisans Angkor workshop, and the Russian Market in Phnom Penh. Real craft, not airport tat.

The practical bits

Things that catch people out

Getting thereNo direct UK flights. One hour from Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City into Siem Reap (REP), which is why it works as an add-on.

VisaeVisa online or visa on arrival for UK passports. Bring a passport photo and US dollars for the fee.

CurrencyThe US dollar is used everywhere alongside the riel. Bring clean, untorn notes — damaged ones get refused.

Time zoneSeven hours ahead of the UK.

Angkor passOne, three or seven-day passes, bought at the official ticket office. Three days is the right choice.

Dress codeShoulders and knees covered at the temples, enforced at Angkor Wat's upper level. Take a light scarf.

HeatThere is almost no shade at the temples. Early starts, long breaks in the middle of the day, and more water than you think.

Tuk-tuksThe standard way around the temple circuit, hired by the day with a driver who waits. Cheap and pleasant.

Before you book

Five things worth knowing

Three nights, not a day trip. Angkor is 400 square kilometres. A day gets you the postcard and a queue; three nights gets you the place.

Hire a guide for the first day. The difference between looking at old stones and understanding a civilisation. Then do day two yourself.

Bring clean dollars. The US dollar is the working currency and torn or marked notes are routinely refused. It catches people out constantly.

Sunrise is busy; late afternoon isn't. Do sunrise once for the experience, then return at four when the light is better and the coaches have gone.

It's an add-on, and that's its strength. One hour from Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City. Three nights turns a Vietnam or Thailand holiday into something else entirely.

Next step

Tell us your dates and we'll slot it in

Send your dates and we'll price Cambodia alongside your Vietnam or Thailand itinerary — flights, Angkor pass, guide and the payment plan written out in full.

Your money is protected. Trip Tides is a travel agent — we book your holiday with a travel company, and that company is named on your quote and confirmation. Your contract is with them. If your holiday is a package including flights, put together by an ATOL holder, you'll get an ATOL certificate naming that company. We confirm in writing what protection applies before you pay.

Cambodia packages

Flights, accommodation and transfers as one package. Every one can be reshaped — different dates, different board, a different airport, or a stopover on the way.

7 nights in Cambodia

Half board · Oct–Mar

Return flights and private transfers
Half board throughout
Financial protection confirmed in writing before you pay

from £1,399per person

Get a quote

10 nights in Cambodia

Half board · Oct–Mar

Return flights and private transfers
Half board throughout
The extra nights cost proportionally less — fixed costs don't change

from £1,819per person

Get a quote

14 nights in Cambodia

Half board · Oct–Mar

Return flights and private transfers
Half board throughout
Best value per night, and worth it on a longer flight

from £2,209per person

Get a quote

Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, accommodation and transfers. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, board basis, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.