Cambodia forum

Interesting question. Looking at their rates for everything ($28 for a room, $30 per day for a tuk tuk (cough cough) then it looks like a reasonable deal. Note it is twin share... so really you're looking at $430.

Yes you could do it cheaper -- you could stay somewhere equally good for $10, arrange your own tuk tuk -- lets be generous and say $20 a day, organise your own trip to Kompong Phhluk (expect to pay $60-100 depending on the operator) and forgo some of the extras like the booze and lunchpacks...

But, if it is what you want to pay, then why not? You paying for the convenience of getting it all sorted...

Villa is a very popular spot and they package all sorts of deals like this. In my personal opinion they're a tad overpriced for what you get, but they're obviously doing something right as the place is routinely packed.

Simple answer is yes you could do it cheaper, but do you really want to ;-)

Thanks Stuart & Bruce. And yes, read your post re Angkor - hence why we're opting to have three full days devoted to temples - albeit the partner doesn't know this yet and no doubt he won't be overly enthused if previous vacations are anything to go by... ;o)

RE overpriced... are we talking a mother of a rip off or a little on the side for 'community development' - they're one of those ops that claim they give back.

I don't mind paying a bit more for convenience/value but if this is a serious rip off I'll look elsewhere...

If I don't go with this, how hard is it to arrange basically everything that is included in such a package? Tips?

Sorry Ash, their price is not 430 (I forgot to include the 3 day pass), but US$510.

So, you can easily do for US$290, they are charging US$510.

And, you may not get to see the temples at the better times of early am, sunset, etc.

Cheers, again

I had a longer reply in mind, but you were competing against martinis and ribs at Naughty Nuri's ... sorry!

I got the full list of what their trip includes and did a price comparison for you:

5 Night Super Value Package $215 per person twin share -- so $430.

My guestimates on the individual items:
Accommodation list price: $140 (5 nights at $28)
10 breakfasts at $4 per person per day: $40
8 temple packs -- each contains two drinks plus a sambo or salad. The latter is off their menu and their food is good, so let's go wild and crazy and put a $7 per pack price on this. $56
Tuk Tuk with driver for 4.5 days @ $30 per day (their rate) $135
Guide for 1 day: $30
Kompong Phhluk: Their standalone tour for this is only $32 -- I'd imagine their is a minimum group size (prob four) on the standalone tour. But lets go with $32.
Outlying temples: This is tricky because they don't specify which ones they are talking about. The 30km note makes it sound like Bantaey Srei as Beng Mealea, Phnom Kulen etc are all further out. So can't really set a price on it. But doing this soloyour tuk tuk would expect you to pay a surcharge.
National Artisans silk centre: 16km out of town (no price)
Khmer dancing (no price)
Wine pack -- a drinkable bottle of red can be had for around $10 -- add $5 for the slab of cheese and olives.

So on their prices it totals up at (around) $448 which gels pretty well with the stated price of $430 for two.

Like I said you can certainly do this cheaper, expanding on my post from last night:

Accommodation list price: $50 (5 nights at $10)
10 breakfasts at $2 per person per day: $20
8 lunches 4 at temple park @ $3 a head, 4 in town @ 6 a head. $36
Tuk Tuk with driver for 4.5 days @ $15-20 per day $67-90
Guide for 1 day: $30
Kompong Phhluk: $60-100 for two
Outlying temples: (included in allowance for tuk tuk rate above)
National Artisans silk centre: 16km out of town (included in allowance for tuk tuk rate above)
Khmer dancing: Price varies tremendously on this -- some places it is free if you eat, others $35 a head. Say $10 per person.
Wine pack -- a drinkable bottle of red can be had for around $10 -- add $5 for the slab of cheese and olives.

Coming out at: $248-351 give or take.

You could do it for less again by eating less, staying at cheaper lodgings again or by grinding down your tuk tuk driver, or for more by having six beers with every lunch... but as an estimate this is the ballpark I think you'd be looking at.

So yes it is more expensive than doing it solo, but I wouldn't say it is an outrageous gouge -- I've seen far worse! If you want a comparitive price, drop Gordon at Two Dragons a mail and see what he can put together for you. You can contact him via the Tales of Asia site.

Cheers