Cambodia Adventure

Our adventure begins in Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh. Around 6pm, say sousadei to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader then ensures a big welcome by arranging a group dinner at a nearby restaurant. Want more time in Phnom Penh? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Leaving Phnom Penh, we travel into rural Cambodia to Kampot, which sits on a picturesque river. On the way, we stop at the 11th-century Phnom Chisor mountain temple, which is set on a hill with a magnificent view. Upon arrival, we check into our centrally located hotel, our base for the next two nights, before boarding a local boat for a sunset trip on the Kampot River. The waterway runs through the town centre and can flow in both directions as it is closely connected to the sea.

Today, we venture into the countryside to discover the highlights of the Kampot province including salt fields, rice fields, fruit and pepper plantations, and the Phnom Chhnork caves. Kampot is also one of the largest producers of durian fruit; the durian, once opened, has a smell so pungent it is illegal to take it indoors in some Southeast Asian countries. After exploring the countryside, we visit Kep ghost town. Once a popular seaside resort, Kep now houses old resort buildings marked with bullet holes from the Khmer Rouge period, a reminder of the not-so-distant past. It is regaining popularity with local tourists and you might like to join them in having lunch in the simple crab shacks that line the beach (the crab in Kampot pepper sauce is a must).

After breakfast, we drive (approximately 2hr 30min to three hours) from Kampot to Sihanoukville, before taking a speed boat ferry transfer (approximately 45 minutes to one hour) across to beautiful Koh Rong island, our home for the next two nights. Upon arrival, we have free time to relax, refresh with a sea swim, or sip cocktails as the sun sets.

Our resort is on one of the most mesmerising and secluded white-sand beaches on the island. Today, you have free time to relax on the beach and enjoy the crystal-clear ocean waters, try various optional activities such as kayaking and other watersports, or just soak up the exotic surroundings. Your tour leader can advise of all options available.

This morning, we transfer back to the mainland by speed boat (45 minutes to one hour) and drive on to Phnom Penh (approximate transfer time: five to six hours) with a stop for lunch. Phnom Penh, on the banks of the Tonle Sap and the Mekong River, is home to 2.2m people. It's the capital city, but retains a laid-back, typically Cambodian feel where the pace is slower than one might expect. We set out on a sunset cyclo (bicycle rickshaw) lap of the town giving us a unique view of this bustling city and providing us with an easy orientation. Stopping to see street food served by the waterfront, we have the chance to try local specialities. We finish at a restaurant serving tasty Khmer cuisine. There are also many waterfront bars worth a visit; the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) overlooking the Tonle Sap river is recommended.

This morning, we first visit Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (also known as S21), which graphically displays the horrors of the four years when Pol Pot ordered the murder of between 2m and 3m Cambodians. It was originally a school but was used as a torture and interrogation centre between 1975 and 1979. It is a sobering but enlightening place to visit. After, we visit the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, a football field-sized area surrounded by farmland, which contains mass graves for perhaps 20,000 Cambodians, many of whom were tortured before being killed. We complete our day with an afternoon visit to the Royal Palace complex, which has the Silver Pagoda inside, so named for the solid-silver tiles that make up the floor. Similar in style and scale to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the Royal Palace has significantly fewer visitors and there is plenty of time to wander among the traditional buildings. There may also be time today to shop at either the impressive Central Market or the sprawling Russian Market, a souvenir hunter’s paradise.

Our first full day of temple touring is by private bus so we can visit some of the outlying temples such as Banteay Srei. Known as the Women’s Citadel, this small temple complex with intricate carvings is devoted to Brahma. Particularly impressive are Banteay Kdei and Ta Prohm, still covered in jungle, similar to how it was when it first came to light. Described as being 'grander than anything of Greece or Rome' by French explorer Henri Mouhot, this World Heritage site stands alongside the Pyramids and Machu Picchu as one of the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world. Tonight is free to enjoy one of the many restaurants on the 'Bar Street' boulevard in central Siem Reap. You may also wish to marvel at the skills of the Phare Cambodian Circus troop or chose to watch traditional Apsara dancing.

This morning, we get set up on mountain bikes for an easy but active ride around the Angkorian ruins that are closer to town. On the bicycle, we can avoid some of the crowds and get a unique perspective on this amazing site. If you want to rise early, you can arrange with your leader to take in Angkor at sunrise prior to the day’s cycling. We visit the incredible Angkor Wat, the many temples inside the Royal City of Angkor Thom, including the magnificent Bayon, which is comprised of 54 intricately carved towers in one single temple. The Bayon certainly left an impression on an early traveller in 1925 who stated 'we stand before it stunned. It is like nothing else in the land.' Angkor is a truly magical experience and a photographer's paradise, one of the real highlights of our trip. The ride will be approximately 15.5mi (25km) with plenty of opportunities for refreshment stops and to take photos. If you would like to opt out of cycling and instead cool down in the support vehicle, please let your leader know who can arrange the logistics of this and the rest of the group.

The tour ends this morning in Siem Reap after breakfast. If you’ve still a few pages left in your travel diary, speak to your sales representative about extending your stay.