Classic Cambodia 5 Days

This 5-day class tour includes two major highlights in Cambodia, the capital Phnom Penh and the second-to-none Angkor Temple Complex in Siem Reap. You will have chance to see the leafy boulevards and old French colonial houses as well as Cambodia’s symbol – Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. In Siem Reap, you will visit some of the most beautiful temples in Cambodia including the fabulous Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Neak Pean, Roluous Group Temples, Banteay and many important cultural sites – all are spectacular and magnificent.

Day 1: Phnom Penh arrival (G)

When you arrive at Pochentong airport in Phnom Penh, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. After a short rest, you’ll visit the National Museum, home to the world’s best and probably the largest collections of Khmer art, also considered one of the most amazing artifacts and traditional collections collected from all over the world. You will then visit the the Royal Palace and the attached Silver Pagoda, a symbol for Cambodia. Your overnight accommodation will be in Phnom Penh.

Day 2: Phnom Penh/the ‘Killing Fields’ (B, G)

In the morning, you will visit the Tuol Sleng Museum, which was originally built as a secondary school named Tuol Svay Prey High School in 1960, then the Khmer Rouge converted this into a torture and interrogation centre to extract ‘confessions’ of anti-government sentiment. The museum was established in 1979 and opened to the public to recall of the victims as tragic testimony in Cambodia history.

After that, you will visit the so-called ‘Killing Fields’ or the Choeung Ek Execution area which is 15km southwest of the city centre. The exhumed skulls of some 8,000 souls, arranged by sex and age, are displayed behind glass panels in the Memorial Stupa, which was erected in 1988. After that, you will be driven back to the city centre and have the rest of the day free. You will spend the night in Phnom Penh.

Day 3: Phnom Penh/Siem Reap (B, G)

Today, you will take a short flight to Siem Reap. On arrival, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. In the afternoon, you’ll explore Angkor Wat itself, the largest, and for most people, the most impressive temple in the complex. As dusk nears, a walk to the summit of Phnom Bakheng Hill will afford a panorama of the whole complex lit by the rays of the setting sun, weather permitting of course. Your overnight accommodation will be in Siem Reap.

Day 4: Siem Reap (B, L, G)

After breakfast, you’ll begin with a visit to Angkor Thom, starting with the Bayon, a bizarre structure of several architectural changes reflecting a switch from Hinduism (the foundations) to Buddhism (the superstructure). Your next visit will be to the Elephant and Leper Emperor Terraces, followed by the Baphoun Temple, which is now nearing the end of an eight-year multi-million dollar restoration programme. You’ll then visit Ta Prohm, strangled by massive tree roots and typical of the condition of the whole complex when it was discovered in 1860 by French naturalist Henri Mouhot, and Neak Pean, a Himalayan-style lake and sanctuary.

In the afternoon, an hour drive will take you to Banteay Srey Temple which displays some of the finest examples of classical Khmer art with some of the most beautiful, deep and intricate carvings. You’ll return to your hotel with en-route visit to a local family that makes sugar palm. Your overnight stay will be in Siem Reap.

Day 5: Siem Reap departure (B, G)

After breakfast, you’ll transfer to visit the Roluos Group: the Preah Ko, the temple-mountain of Bakong and the Lolei temple set in the middle of a former water reservoir or Baray. You will then visit the ‘Chantiers Ecoles – Les Artisans d’Angkor’ which provides training to young Cambodians in an effort to revive the ancient Khmer traditions of stone carving and wood sculpting. You will then be back to your hotel and check out before the car arrives to take you to Siem Reap airport for your departure flight. Tour ends.