Cambodia forum

Generally you'd be looking at US$20-30 a day.

I have the business card from the person we used the last time we were there. If you want I can give you his phone number and name. (Is that spamming, would I be aloud to post that information on here?) He spoke great English and was more than willing to answer any questions we had about Cambodia. He picked us up early at our hotel so we could see the sunrise and stayed out late with us until after the sunset (long day). He has an air-conditioned car. It was $20 a day when we went to the temples and silk farm near Ankor. It was $30 when we had him take us to some of the further out temples because it used more gas. I got templed out and split up with my group for a day (I went to the pool and shopping) that day I hired a tuck-tuck driver for $7 for the day. The tuck-tuck driver didn’t speak English, but when I pointed to the places in the guide book where I wanted to go, he was able to understand.

Enjoy your trip. I’m going back again in 2 months and I can’t wait. I loved Ankor.

His name is Mam Banthun. His telephone number is (855)12-952-715. His e-mail is mambanthun@yahoo.com He is fluent in English in both speaking and listening. I know he can read English because he was looking at some English guide books with us. But it seemed to be more of a struggle for him. So if you e-mail him, I would suggest using simple English words.

I have noticed that a lot of my posts are double posting, but I’m only clicking the “post message” button once. What am I doing wrong?

Some people in Cambodia rarely check their e-mail. Please call to remind him

Hi,

Did anyone else try Ponheary or Dara? It'll be good to have more feedback before I commit to any deal. I'll be going in a few months's time. Are there other contacts besides Ponheary or Mam Banthun?

Both Ponheary and Dara are great guides and lovely people. We have just arrived home from staying 11 nights with them (Marina Villa Guest House). They have good drivers as well. We were made to feel very welcome by them. We are already planning to go back next year but for longer.

Re: Ponheary Ly

Besides being a great guide from everything I have read and heard about her, she is also a great humanitarian. One of her clients from Texas was so moved by her efforts in the area of education that she went back to the USA, started the Ponheary Ly Foundation (http://www.theplf.org/) to raise money for new schools. Quite coincidentally, or maybe not, I just wrote something about her this morning on my blog at www.angkortuktuk.org ("Voluntourism"; http://www.angkortuktuk.net/angkornewsblog.htm?blogentryid=3664812)

But be 'forewarned': If you spend a few days with her you could develop a permanent, incurable longing to get involved in either her work or something similar in Cambodia.

If you want a good guide you will pay 25$ per day normally, you can get guides for 20$ per day but they maybe not as good. Of course, some guides who charge 25$ per day may also not be very good.

A car will also cost around 25$ per day for the main temple area and extra for further away places. Your driver can not be be a guide as one poster mentions. The guide must be licensed, the guide can not be a driver either.

I'd like to revive this thread. I have emailed 3 different guides all recommended many times on here and other websites and the prices seem much higher than what some are saying here.

I don't want to offend these guides by offering too low a price but I also don't want to pay heaps more than I should.

Can anyone tell me what the going price would be in November (assuming the prices change due to peak and off-peak) for;
- A guide
- A tuk tuk and driver
- A car and driver

Puggles,

Were you keen to book your transport and guide before you arrived? Both times I've visited Angkor Wat, I hired the transport/guide through the guest house where I was staying, and the prices were pretty much exactly what I see people quoting here. I suspect you'll get a better price if you go through the guest house, plus, when you go through the guest house, you've got a bit more recourse if anything goes wrong.

hi Puggles,

I can understand your confusion and thinking, what's up with these prices and how should I respond. Tour guide is way off the map with his prices for both car and tuk tuk and he knows it I am sure. The guide is standard $25 a day so taking for example your Day 1 with tour guide 2 you are paying $50 for the car for small circuit parts + Banteay Srei and that should not be more than $40 for the car tops unless you are using a minivan and than $45 - $50 should be tops. The same tour with tuk tuk including Banteay Srei should not be more than $25 - $28 for transport max, plus guide would $50 - $53 and not his $60. Anyways just a few examples to show you he is way off the charts.

Tour guide 1 is a good deal, even $1 - $2 dollars under what he could be asking for some bits and pieces, especially for example, if he is taking you to Angkor Thom and others PLUS floating villages for $12 then that is an extremely good deal. Just not too clear what the $30 is referring to regarding the floating villages in your quote.

And I am not saying that about Tour guide 2 because I think you should be bargaining hard with these folks because I don't. I think the drivers should be earning a decent wage, which they really don't to be honest even with standard prices because there are so many drivers, very very few work full months in terms of bookings. But because of the drop in tourist arivals, the competition is even stiffer now and many drivers are going way down on their prices just to have some money coming in.

Your attitude is a good one. Have a great Angkor adventure.

Oh by the way, feel free to check out my Angkor related weblog that I keep since my visit last year. There's some good info and stuff perhaps for you:

http://www.angkortuktuk.org

I also noticed that there are charities that offer tour guides with all the proceeds going to local schools etc. May want to check that out if you are thinking about getting one.

Good to join the forum of angkor guide, i highly recommended Mr. Ratanak and his driver which cost US$ 50 per day and see as much you can, one day we can spend whole day visiting Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom with Bayon. We were very happy spend time in the temple with no body so we can enjoy very good experience in Angkor. Our angkor guide helping us stay away from the crowd and take good pictures for our family after get some lesson from his previous client as a photographer.
Santa.

We were back from trip to Cambodia ( Angkor ), We enjoyed tour so much with Sovann called David. He is a great guide and we would like to recommend to anyone who likes to visit Angkor. He was a teacher of English and he speaks very good English. He brought us to many places in Angkor like Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom with Bayon, Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider temple) and Banteay Srei (Lady’s temple) and he took us to avoid the crowd during the temple tours also to the local village to see the way where people living. He is not just the tour guide who can tell you the history of Angkor he also assisted us finding a good accommodation to stay in Siem Reap and we loved it so much. We were staying at Angkor Holiday Hotel which has a good location in the center of town. We just walked a few minutes to the Night Market and Central Market, our room kept cool all day with air-con and very good services of hotel staff. We liked breakfast in this hotel so much and want to recommend this hotel for staying during your visit in Angkor. For better rate of this hotel booking please contact my friend (David), he offered us lower rate than our direct booking. You can find him with his website www.davidangkorguide.blogspot.com

Jeffrey.

Agree with above post. Do not trust "David" Sovann Eath.

"David" Sovann Eath is now sending impostors. There's a good chance you won't get the real Sovann Eath as your guide.

I had hired Sovann Eath to be my guide because of good reviews. His website claimed he was an English teacher for 9 years and a guide for 10. Instead, after numerous confirmations, Sovann Eath sent a 25 year old pervert whose English was very difficult to understand. This impostor spoke more about his sexual escapades with female clients than architecture or history. For lunch, I told him I wanted to go to restaurants where locals ate. Instead, this liar said there are no local places near the temples (even though we passed many) and repeatedly took me to tourist restaurants where he & the driver could eat for free (probably in addition to commission.) He crammed 2 days of sites into 1 so he could try to make more money taking me to additional temples. He was also often on his cell phone talking and texting. His dishonesty practically ruined my trip. There are numerous guides around. You'd be better off just hiring a driver or finding a legitimate guide on site.

Hi Indiposh:

I have heard of Kim San and he gets good press from his clients so that should be fine. Depending on what the $180 includes, where you will be going and for many how many it includes that (especially temple passes), then $180 can be very expensive. I do not encourage people to drive hard bargains with drivers and guides as they really dont earn much over the course of a month. But on the other hand, I don't like to see people being gouged either. If you would like some more feedback on that feel free to contact me directly through the contact page on my Cambodian weblog - http://www.angkortuktuk.org .

In terms of places to stay, there are plenty of places that are nice and clean, even great and clean, but 'not too expensive' is a huge subjective area. If you share what you would like to spend a night, if you want a place with a pool, looking for a full-on hotel or a smaller guesthouse type place.... then folks can give some good advice. Also check out the hotels and guesthouses overview on Tripadvisor. That is very handy.

Hi kptn82,


Ponheary was still guiding when I stayed at her place in November so I am sure she is still guiding. Try and contact her through Seven Candles Guesthouse ( http://www.sevencandlesguesthouse.com/ ). That is the extended Ly family home annex guesthouse annex offices of the Ponheary Ly Foundation.


In Siem Reap you have guides and drivers. Guides do not drive and drivers are not allowed to accompany guests into the temples. Most people hire only a driver but many people also like to hire a guide. You can first find a guide and have the guide arrange the transport or you can engage a driver and ask him to arrange a guide. But you will need both. Many people who tour on multiple days, hire a guide for only one day when they will be visiting the most major temples. There you will learn about most of the repeating symbols and motifs that you will then see at many of the temples. Be aware, that some guides will not go around in a tuk tuk and only by car. If you need more info or want me to arrange a driver who can then also arrange the guide feel free to reach me through the contact page on my weblog - http://angkortuktuk.org/

Thanks Lenny

Do you know if either of the circuits can be done in one day?,

I probably want to do the following -
- Sunrise @ Angkor Wat
- Ta Prohm then,
- Ankor Thom for afternoon/sunset (sunset can be optional)

We live in Asia and just returned from Siem Reap after the most amazing holiday. We used a guide called Sim that was recommended by friends. Have a look at his website: www.angkor-tourguide.com Sim is helped by an Australian woman called Louise so there aren't any communication problems with bookings etc. She helped set up his website which has all costs etc. Sim speaks excellent English and Spanish (written language is a little different), is incredibly smart and works very hard. What we liked most about him (and you can read about it on his website under Louise's bio) is that he is paying forward kindnesses offered to him a a child and has set up a school for children in his own community. Cambodia is very poor and education is limited so when you visit, you'll understand what an accomplishment this is. It's nice to know that when you visit a place you can leave it a better place than you found it and by using Sim, we felt that we did that. Enjoy your visit...it's an amazing place.

We visited the temples by tuktuk yesterday and the day before. The first day cost us $12, but that is only for transportation. The giude would tell us random tidbits about the temples, and cambodian life, but did not go into the temples with us. That was fine for us because we are not huge Angkor buffs or anything, and were content to just explore on our own, occasionally evesdropping on some english guides. The second day was $20 because we saw the sun rise and went to farther out temples. Again, those figures are for transportation only. The driver will wait at each temple for you as you explore on your own time. PS: HIGHLY reccomend seeing angkor wat at sunrise. It was stunning. I am not an early morning person, and wasn't that up for it, but I am glad we went. I would do the sun rise over sun set if you have to choose.