Cambodia forum

Count on spending at least four nights and three full days in Siem Reap to do it properly. That gives you enough time to spend two to three days at Angkor Wat, and a few evenings for great meals in town.

Siem Reap doesn't have the variety of activities of a Chiang Mai or even a Luang Prabang, but it is a good place to hang out with friends and the food, both Cambodian and Western options, are first rate.

You'll probably be buying a 3-day ticket for Angkor Wat. For many folks, taking the extra day to head out to Bantei Srei is worth it. One thing I would avoid is the boat ride out to Tonlee Sap, since it was pricey, not particularly good, and felt like being in a people zoo.

Other than that, there is some good shopping at the ruins and in town, and seriously, the restaurant options are second to none. Have fun. Cheers.

Thanks for both your replies; sounds like we should plan for at least 3 full days in Siem Reap. Now, I know some people spend a full week exploring the temples including some of the more distant ones, but we're not really history or temple buffs. So from reading about the different sites and reading tons of people's travel stories I've come to believe that 1 to 1 1/2 days of temple viewing will be enough for us.

Please offer advice on whether the following can be seen in one day.

-Angkor Wat
-Angkor Thom
-Phnom Bakheng
-Ta Prohm
-Banteay Kdei and Sras Srang
-Ta Keo

What about the following two?

-Preah Khan
-Pre Rup

Can the two above be done also on day one? If not, which from day one would be best to visit on a second day with the two above?

We'd love to visit the following as well but since they are farther out we may need to give them up. Or can they be combined with either day one or two?

-Beng Mealea
-Banteay Srei (heard that many parts of it have been sectioned off and cannot be accessed)

I apologize for my ignorance if the above questions seem absurd with respect to time and scale. I'd love to hear your suggestions on possible routes if we were to visit 1 day only or 2 days.

Thanks a million!

Hey exKhmer, you're not confusing Bakheng and Bakong are you? Bakheng is walking distance from Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom...

amz155,

Visiting Angkor is a bit like a slow roast -- the longer you spend doing it, the better it tastes. ;-)

Many people do all you're planning to do in a day, but i my opinion you're better off to spread it over at least one and a half days. Here's some pointers:

1) If you purchase your pass after 4pm, you're permitted to enter the park that afternoon for free, thus giving you an extra sunset, during which I'd suggest you consider Angkor Wat and (if you don't mind the crowds) Bakheng.

2) Get moving early -- out of bed and out of your guesthouse early enough that you get to Angkor Wat well before sunrise.

3) Plan to view monuments until around 10:30 then head back to Siem Reap to catch up on sleep and hang out -- this will let you avoid the hottest, brightest part of the day. Aim to be back in Angkor by about 15:00

So, with one and half days, you could do:

First afternoon: Angkor Wat, Bakheng
Day One (morning): Angkor Wat dawn, Bayon and other monuments inside Angkor Thom and Preah Khan

Day One (afternoon): Ta Phrom, Banteay Kdei, Sra Srang, then sunset at Ta Keo/Pre Rup or one of the other outlying sites

Now to do all that you'll be moving along at a rapid rate. If you were to slow down a bit and add an extra day, I'd move Preah Khan, Ta Keo and Pre Rup to day two and fit in another visit at a different time of the day to Angkor and Bayon (at differnt times of the day they look very different).

For outlying sites, Beng Mealea is absolutely 100% worth the effort (and the extra money as it isn't covered by the main fee) to visit -- it is a spectacular site.

Lastly, some ask about a guide, if you really want to get the most out of a visit, a guide can really add to the experience -- particularly for the bas-reliefs at Angkor and the Bayon.

Hope that helps!

Personal experience... checkout www.mandalayinn.com

Highly recommended...

We found it best to be counter intuative by visiting the major temples at noonish... sounds crazy I know, but the HORDS all leave at noonish back to their hotels for a cool down and lunch before coming back later in the afternoon... this way we found we had the place to ourselves.

ps i recommend more komnpong pluck floating village with the flooded forest it s a amazing trip and enjoy the scenery of countriside on the road