Angkor Temples, Villages & Island Retreat

Upon landing at Phnom Penh International Airport today, you will meet your tour guide and driver outside Customs. After a warm greeting, you will be transferred to the hotel that we have selected for you in the downtown area. Check into the hotel and have a good rest. The arrangement for the remainder of the day is totally up to you.

This morning, your guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel and start with a visit to the Royal Palace, a majestic palace complex which serves as the residence of the King of Cambodia and his family. Except for the royal residence area, the rest of the palace is open to tourists. Some of the buildings are magnificent, and some are small and exquisite, full of Khmer style and European characteristics. The highlights of the palace are Throne Hall and Silver Pagoda. The murals in the corridor of the pagoda are vivid, as if each mural can penetrate time, thus attracting everyone to stop. Next, you will visit the National Museum. Built between 1917 and 1924, the museum houses a large collection of Khmer art and sculptures from pre and post Khmer age. Afterwards, visit the Wat Phnom Temple, which is one of the Buddhist holy places in Phnom Penh, and from where you can learn about the history of Cambodia's capital relocation and the development of Buddhism. There is also a large number of Khmer-style reliefs and murals in the temple.

In the afternoon, you will be driven around 160 kilometers (99 miles) for about 3.5 hours to Kep, a top seaside destination in Cambodia. On arrival, your guide will help you check into a beach resort. Enjoy sunset view on the amazing beach.

Meals: Buffet breakfast, Lunch

Have breakfast in the hotel and then we will drive for about 30 minutes to Kampot, a nice and quiet town with beautiful natural scenery and many old-fashioned French architecture. There you will visit the Phnom Chhngok Cave Temple, which was built in the 7th century and dedicated to the Hindu God - Shiva. After the cave adventure, we will head to a pepper plantation, where you will see beautiful organic farm, taste different peppers and learn about its history. Pepper growing in Kampot has a long history and enjoys the worldwide reputation.

After lunch, we will drive back to Kep. No planned activities for this afternoon, just enjoy your time with wonderful sea views.

Meals: Buffer breakfast, Lunch

Today we will drive for around 3.5 hours back to Phnom Penh. On arrival, your guide will escort you to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which is the memorial site of the S-21 interrogation and detention center of the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. There display all kinds of cruel torture tools, photos and historical materials, which are horrifying and silently tell people the tragic history. The next stop is the Killing Fields of Choeung EK. It was the killing site for victims from the Tuol Sleng prison, and now is a massive grave and a memorial. Visiting these two sites, although with sadness and pains, it is well worth, especially if you are interested in Cambodian history.

Meals: Buffer breakfast, Lunch

Today we will depart from Phnom Penh to Battambang. The overland distance is around 300 kilometers (186 miles) and takes about 4 hours.

Along the way, you will visit the beautiful Mount Oudong (200 meters/ 650 feet above sea level), the former royal capital of Cambodia, where you will not only visit the unique temples and royal burial stupas, but also enjoy the stunning countryside views. After that, we will continue to drive to Kampong Chhnang, meaning the 'Port of Pottery', where the guide will take you to a village to see the making process of pottery and traditional rice wine. Finally, we will arrive at Battambang, the second largest city in Cambodia, and then check into the hotel.

Meals: Buffer breakfast, Lunch

Today's first stop is Wat Banan Temple, which is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from Battambang. This temple was built between the 10th and 13th centuries by King Udayaditayavarman II and sits on a hill overlooking the Sangkae River. Visitors have to climb 358 steps to reach the temple. The distinctive five towers of the temple are similar to the larger and more famous Angkor Wat. Next, we will experience the famous bamboo train, a unique and thrilling way to see the beautiful countryside scenery of Battambang, with mountains, forests, orchards along the way. It takes about one hour in a round trip. At last, we will drive to Phnom Sampov, a striking limestone mountain and an important religious site, where you will visit the Bat Cave, the Killing Cave and the Hilltop Temple. It will be an extraordinary experience to watch thousands of bats flying out of cave and hunting for food in late evening.

Meals: Buffer breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, take all your belongings and check out from the hotel. Then we will drive around 163 kilometers (101 miles) for about 3 hours to Siem Reap. Upon arrival, you will check into the hotel that we have reserved for you and get some rest.

This afternoon, we will arrange for you a boat trip on the Tonle Sap Lake to see the real life of the floating villages. The houseboats, shops, churches and schools in the villages are all built in the form of stilted houses, which could float on the lake with the change of water level in different seasons. People here mainly live on fishing and tourism. Children only go to school for half day and another half day go out to work, that's why you will see many child crews. Back to Siem Reap, we will schedule a visit to a Khmer Village en route. Then you will be transferred to downtown area to explore the Old Market for interesting handicrafts. The famous Pub Street is just nearby, where you can spend your leisure time to experience the lively nightlife of Siem Reap.

Meals: Buffer breakfast, Lunch

Angkor Wat is not only the largest religious monument but also the best-preserved temple among the Angkor Temple complex. As the only temple there facing west, it is a perfect place to watch sunrise and take great photos. Today, we will set out for Angkor Wat in the early morning. Your guide will find you the best place to see the fascinating sunrise view, and then show you around this temple, which is especially famous for its magnificent architecture and exquisite reliefs. After that, you will be transferred back to the hotel for breakfast.

Having a short break in the hotel, you will continue the tour to Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire, which was built in the 9th century by King Jayavarman VII. Angkor Thom is about 10 square kilometers in size and houses many famous temple sites. Bayon Temple, best known for its mysterious face towers with spiritual Khmer smile, is the masterpiece of Angkor Thom. Then walk for a few yards, you will come to Baphuon, a pyramid temple-mountain, which is known as the world’s largest and most complex three-dimensional building. Although badly damaged, the ruins of this temple remain today are still impressive and shocking. The Elephant Terrace is a few hundred meters to Baphuon. There you will see a 350-meter-long and 2.5-meter-high ornamental wall mostly carved with elephants and garudas.

Afterwards, your guide will lead you to visit Pre Rup. Built in the late 10th century, it is a symmetrical pyramid-shaped temple, constructed of red bricks. If it is the right time, you can also climb up to the top and enjoy spectacular sunset over there. At the end of the day, we will arrange for you an interesting Apsara Dance Show with buffet dinner in a local restaurant.

Meals: Buffer breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, your guide and driver will take you to visit Banteay Srei, with elaborate decorations and artistic reliefs from the exterior to interior. It is also known as the 'Diamond of Angkor Wat'. Next, you will visit Preah Khan, which was built in the 12th century by the King Jayavarman VII and used to honor his father. After that, you will come to Neal Pean. Gracefully standing in water, this palace with five pools was once the herbal bath hospital. Then follow your guide to the Ta Som Temple to see the grand scene of the giant tree wrapping its east gate. It is one of the shooting spots for the movie Tomb Raider.

In the afternoon, you will go on the trip to visit Banteay Kdei, an exquisite temple. Its east gate just faces the royal bath. It was said that this was the place for the royal family to rest after bathing. Then you will visit the Ta Prohm Temple. You will definitely marvel at the wonderful scene of the temple as several python-like tree branches and roots tightly wind the remnants of the temple. It is also well-known as the Tomb Raider shooting spot. Finally, we will transfer you back to the hotel.

Meals: Buffer breakfast, Lunch

This is the last day of your 10 days Cambodia private tour. If flight schedule allows, we will arrange for you a visit to the Angkor National Museum, where a large number of important cultural relics from the complex of Angkor Wat are collected. After the visit, we will transfer you to the airport for your onward flight. We wish you nice journey home!

Meals: Buffer breakfast