10 Day Tour Plan in Cambodia
Cambodia is a wonderful country with beautiful landscapes, culture and nature. With a dark history of the Khmer Rouge, as well as a deeply spiritual place with its many temples, Cambodia is definitely an interesting country to visit. There is a lot to see in Cambodia. Since I was only here for 10 days, this was my itinerary for the trip I took ticking off some of the main attractions that attracted me.
Day 1-3 Siem Reap
From Sri Lanka I landed in Siem Reap, the capital and second largest city of Cambodia. It’s easy to get around Siem Reap city by walking or taking a tuk tuk. The airport is just a 20-minute tuk tuk ride from the city center, so it’s easy to arrange transportation to your hotel when you arrive. There are many hotels to choose from with many price ranges. I decided to stay in a private room at Onederz Siem Reap Hostel during my stay. It is one of the most popular hostel chains in Cambodia prepared for travelers. The Siem Reap location has 2 pools and great food at reasonable prices in the restaurant and bar. You can meet many other travelers here thanks to its sociable atmosphere, however, it is noisy and music is constantly playing in the main pool and restaurant area. The private rooms are located facing the road and are quieter if you want to have some quiet time to yourself, so you can have a balance of both, which works well for me.
The main attraction that brought me to Siem Riep was exploring the temples of Angkor Wat. I booked a sunrise day tour through Tripadvisor. The tour included early morning pickup from your hotel and tour of the main temples by air-conditioned minibus with a guide. This is the way I would definitely recommend seeing the main temples because as the day goes on it gets hotter and hotter come midday. While visiting the temples, you spend a lot of time in the sun and heat, so it is recommended to have some relief in an air-conditioned vehicle. The tour does not include the main entrance to Angkor Wat, which is purchased at the entrance at the beginning of the tour. The ticket is valid for 48 hours. This tour also includes a very good English speaking guide who is very knowledgeable and shares with you many interesting facts about Angkor Wat and the temples. We visited all 5 sites; Angkor Wat, Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm, Ta Keo and Angkor Thom.
Watching the sun rise at Angkor Wat was a spectacular moment, especially watching the sunrise over the temple. Angkor Wat was originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, but was later transformed into a Buddhist temple and then reverted to Hinduism. The Temple is perfectly aligned with the axis of the earth, aligning it with the universe and there are 4 large pools in the middle of the temple representing the elements wind, water, fire and earth. The family used them to bathe and balance their energy. During our tour we also visited 3 other temples in the Angkor Wat complex; Angkor Thom, Bayon and Ta Prohm. All the temples were really interesting and our guide was very knowledgeable and explained a lot about each temple. If you are interested in understanding more about the temples, I recommend getting a guide. There were 5 or 6 of us on our group tour, some alone, some as couples. Socially it was a great experience to connect with others and share the day together.
After a long, hot morning exploring Angkor Wat, I recommend spending some time relaxing at your hotel or hostel and grabbing a bite to eat. Siem Reap had excellent vegetarian restaurants including New Leaf Eatery and Vitking House. For traditional Khmer food at a great price, Khmer Taste Restaurant is a good and popular choice.
For the next day in Siem Reap, you can walk around the city and visit the markets. I decided to go to a yoga class at Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel during the day. Afterwards, since your Angkor Wat ticket is valid for 48 hours, you can return to the Angkor Wat complex and explore a couple more temples. I decided to do this at sunset and hired a tuk tuk to drop me off and take me back from Phnom Bakheng. Phnom Bakheng is a popular temple for sunset viewing. The temple is open late with a pleasant 30 minute uphill walk to reach it. At night, if you like to drink and party, head to Pub Street to enjoy the nightlife. This isn’t particularly my vibe, however, it’s an experience to watch and walk down the street whether you want to get in on the action or not.
Day 3-7 Koh Rong Samloem Island
After some time in the city, I felt ready to spend some time relaxing on the beach. Koh Rong Samloem island is the perfect place to do it. The quieter of the two islands, there are no vehicles on Koh Rong Samloem. The ferry drops you off at the port and you literally walk along the beach to the accommodation you have booked. The place is simple, simple, slow and easy. Only necessities are available here; Otherwise, take the time to relax, immerse yourself in the sea and enjoy nature.
To get to Koh Rong Samloem from Siem Reap, I took the night bus to Sihanoukville, which is a popular choice for many people and was a real experience. Book your bus and ferry ticket through Bookaway, however my advice is to book 2 places, otherwise you will be sharing your small bed with someone else. This is what I had to do on my trip. Because their beds are so small, it wasn’t as comfortable sharing them, however, I appreciated that she was sharing with another woman traveling alone, but you can risk sharing your bed with someone you don’t feel comfortable sharing with. Arriving early in the morning in Sihanoukville, take a tuk tuk ride to the ferry port, where you can board the ferry that will take you to the island of Koh Rong Samloem. Many other people on the night bus were making the same trip, so it’s easy to make friends and navigate your way. On the night bus I met five other lovely travelers who were staying at the same hotel as me.
During my stay in Koh Rong Samloem I stayed at Sara Resort which is a popular choice. Because it is such a small island, there are not many accommodation options, as most options face Saracen Bay. If you decide to choose accommodation on the other side of the island, make sure you can carry your luggage yourself through the jungle, as it is about a 25-30 minute walk and there are no vehicles on the island.
Saracen Bay is where you will find the most amenities. There are some good places to eat along the beach, because it is an island everything has to be imported so be prepared to pay a little more. I also don’t remember there being an ATM or a place to withdraw cash, so bring enough for your stay. There are one or two small convenience stores, however, they don’t offer many things, so bring as much as you can to the island for your stay. There are also no stores that sell fresh fruit (something I always look for when I travel), so bring some before you leave or be prepared to pay for the luxury of a fruit plate.
There isn’t much to do on Koh Rong Samloem, so take the time to slow down, enjoy the island and relax. What you can do is go on a snorkeling trip, something I did with a couple of people I met there. We took a private tour since there were a few of us where they took us to a snorkeling spot. The water in Kho Rong Samloem is really calm and nice to snorkel and see fish. We also spent time on the boat in the middle of the ocean fishing. Unfortunately we didn’t catch anything, but it was a lot of fun.
Another beautiful thing to do on the island is take a walk to Sunset Beach to watch the sunset. A 20-30 minute walk through the center of the island, take your time to absorb the earthly nature (bring mosquito repellent), where you will find a very quiet and unspoiled beach with just a couple of beach bungalows along it . Take a sunset swim in the ocean and enjoy the moment. Other things you can do in Kho Rong Samloem are take a boat tour to see the bioluminescent plankton at night, or take another walk or hike to visit the waterfall or lighthouse. Ask your hotel for a map of walks or hikes around the island. I would also recommend doing the hikes not during the hottest hours of the day.
Day 7-10 Phnom Penh
After enjoying some time in Koh Rong Samloem I headed to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Getting to Phnom Penh from Koh Rong Samloem was an interesting adventure. The ferry back to the main island went smoothly, however the minivan bus ride I booked with the hotel to the mainland was a bit of a hassle. Other fellow travelers I met again in Phnom Penh told me that they had booked their transportation with Bookaway and had a slightly smoother trip with more tourists on board. However, my experience was slightly different. After waiting a long time at the ferry office, I was taken to a part of Sihanoukville that could be described as a “bus station”, which consisted of just a few shacks with some plastic chairs and signs outside. I waited there alone for about 2 hours before a minivan arrived to begin my journey. For a while I was the only person in the minivan along with the driver and a lady who was part of the staff. They didn’t speak any English, which made me a little nervous as I felt like I might have been kidnapped. But I put my trust in these people and told myself that I was safe and that they would transport me to Phnom Penh. I tracked the trip using Google Maps and we were heading in the right direction. During the 4-6 hour trip (I don’t actually remember how long it was, but I remember it was getting dark) we picked up other local passengers along the way. No one spoke English and we stopped for bathroom breaks and food at some sort of gas station along the road. I could finally see on my phone that we were close and heading towards Phnom Penh and in the darkness and city lights I was able to breathe a sigh of relief when I was finally dropped off at my hotel.
Phnom Penh is a great city to walk around and see how the locals live. It’s busy and vibrant. Take a stroll along the river at sunset and through the parks and gardens to soak up the atmosphere. Pick up some local street food while you’re out and about. If nightlife is your thing, this can be found in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh has a busy night market with street food and shops and even has a red light district that is interesting to walk through to see the Cambodian girls. I felt a little uncomfortable in this sketchy part of the city, but it’s worth a look if you’re curious. My favorite find for a place to eat in Phnom Penh was David’s Homemade Noodles, you can watch them prepare your noodles at the front of the store while you eat. It’s a popular place, so be prepared to share a table or wait for a table to become available, but I definitely recommend the noodle soup and homemade dumplings.
The two main attractions that are a must if you want to understand more about Cambodian culture and its recent dark history are the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (aka the prison) and the Choeung Ek Genocide Center (aka the killing fields). The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is the memorial site of the S-21 interrogation and detention center of the Khmer Rouge regime that took place between 1975 and 1979. The Choeung Ek Genocide Center is one of the many “killing fields” in Cambodia where altogether more than a million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime.
Many visit these two historical places in one day, however, the events that happened in these places can be quite heavy on the heart and soul. I did solo prison one day and took a tuk tuk with some friends I met in Kho Rong Samloem to Killing Fields the other day. This was better for me to absorb the barbaric events that happened in these places during that time period. You can rent a guide at both the death camps and the prison if you want to know more about the history and events during the genocide. There is quite a bit of written information while walking around the prison, but not as much in The Killing Fields. Although I was filled with sadness at the horrors that happened at these two sites, it was extremely interesting to learn and gain knowledge about the history of Cambodia and if I returned I would hire a guide to learn more.
That was my trip to Cambodia, I remember it with great memories and I really enjoyed the experience of a cultural trip full of adventures. I was able to check Angkor Wat off my list of places to visit and learn a lot about Cambodian history, as well as take some time to relax and enjoy the peace and beauty of Kho Rong Samloem. There are many other spectacular places to visit in Cambodia, but for 10 days it was a great combination for me. Would you go visit Cambodia? What would be on your top list?