Amazing Cambodia 5 Days 4 Nights

Arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport, where our driver and guide meet you and transfer you to your hotel for check-in (from 14:00). In the afternoon, visit the Royal Palace, built by King Norodom in 1866, and the Silver Pagoda — named for the 5,000 silver tiles that pave its floor. Continue to the National Museum, designed in Khmer style in 1917 by French architect Georges Groslier, with its warm red-terracotta walls and curved naga-topped roof. In the evening, enjoy a relaxed 1-hour Mekong River cruise (shared catamaran-style boat) to watch the sun set over the Phnom Penh skyline.

After breakfast, transfer overland to Siem Reap with stops along the way. Pause at the lively Skun Market to see fried grasshoppers, big black spiders, and seasonal fruits laid out by local vendors. Visit Kampong Kdei Bridge (Spean Praptos), built during the Khmer period at the request of King Jayavarman VII. The highlight of the day is a boat ride on Tonle Sap Lake at Kampong Phluk village — South-East Asia’s largest permanent freshwater lake, where entire communities live in floating houses, complete with floating schools and police stations. Arrival in Siem Reap in the late afternoon and check-in.

A full day in the temple capital. Start with the 12th-century city of Angkor Thom: enter via the South Gate, with its enormous churning-of-the-ocean-of-milk statues, then on to the Bayon and its 54 towers carved with over 200 smiling faces of Avalokitesvara. Continue to the Phimeanakas, the Royal Enclosure, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Then visit Ta Prohm, the temple left half-swallowed by the jungle and one of the most photographed sites in Cambodia. After a lunch break (own arrangement), visit Angkor Wat itself — 81 hectares of 12th-century Khmer architecture and the largest religious monument on earth. Finish with a sunset view from the top of Bakheng Hill.

After breakfast, drive out to Banteay Samre, a 12th-century Angkor-period temple admired for its serenity. Continue to Banteay Srei, the intricately carved pink-sandstone temple known as the “Jewel of Khmer Art.” On the way back, stop at Preah Dak village to watch local artisans make palm sugar and hand-crafted products. In the afternoon, explore the Grand Circuit — Srah Srang (the Royal Bath), Banteay Kdei, Ta Keo, Preah Khan (Royal Sword), Neak Pean (Coiled Serpents), Ta Som, and East Mebon. Your guide will adjust the pace and skip a temple or two if you prefer.