Discover Cambodia

Day 1: Phnom Penh
Upon arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport, your guide will be waiting for you and transfer you to your hotel for free time at leisure at Raffles Le Royal.

Day 2: Phnom Penh
After breakfast, your guide will be taking you for a full-day city tour in Phnom Penh. You will start the city tour with a visit to Wat Phnom, where a 14th-century stupa and small pagoda stand. Then continue to the Royal Palace, built in 1866 under King Norodom for a glimpse of Khmer architecture. After the palace, continue to visit the National Museum with its huge collection of Khmer sculptures and artifacts recovered from the ancient Angkor Empire. Lunch will be at Friends Restaurant, which provides street children and at-risk youth with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the hospitality business. Not only is the food delicious but all profits are reinvested into the training center activities. After lunch, you will be heading out to visit the Tuol Sleng Prison to glimpse the devastating horrors that prevailed during Cambodia's ultra-radical Marxist movement. This excursion may prove distressing for some; it is however an important piece of Cambodia’s recent past. After this visit, you will be going to Choeng Ek, also known as the "killing fields,"- located just outside the city. In the evening head back to your hotel for leisure and overnight at Raffles Le Royal.

Day 3: Phnom Penh - Siem Reap
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival in Siem Reap, you will be taken to the hotel for some relaxation. This evening, enjoy a show at the Cambodian Circus. The show starts at 7:30 PM and takes lasts about an hour. Phare Ponleu Selpak means “Brightness of the Arts” in Khmer. This is a circus-like none other and is a Cambodian non-profit art organization founded in 1994 by eight young Cambodians returning from refugee camps. The purpose is to improve the development of local communities by providing education and professional artistic training. The shows change and rotate depending on the time you visit; all of their shows are fantastic and focus on traditional and contemporary themes. Overnight at Phum Baitang.

Day 4: Siem Reap - Angkor Wat
Early morning at 05:30 am, you will depart to Angkor Wat, the largest and most breathtaking monument at Angkor. Built as the funeral temple for Suryavarman II who ruled from 1112 to 1152, Angkor never fails to reward the first time or repeat visitor with its grand scale, surreal bas reliefs, and unbelievable attention to detail. You enter the temple complex from the quiet east side of Angkor Wat to avoid the crowds and will spend the morning exploring one of man's most magnificent creations before returning to the hotel for a late breakfast. After breakfast, you will start your full-day visit to the South Gate of Angkor Thom and the temples of Bayon, Baphoun, Phimean Akas, The Royal Enclosure, the terraces of Elephants, the Leper King, and Preah Khan. Next, you will explore Ta Prohm. This jungle-clad temple with overgrown trees exudes a haunting and exotic atmosphere. The magnificent tree roots push between the temple's huge stone blocks in a strange embrace. Ta Phrom is particularly amazing in the late afternoon light after most of the crowds have left. Today you will finish the tour with an unforgettable sunset at Pre Rup or Srah Sarong before returning to your hotel for leisure and overnight at Phum Baitang.

Day 5: Siem Reap
After breakfast, you will leave the hotel for a visit to Banteay Srey, which for many years was off-limits due to its remote location and Khmer Rouge activity. If you are interested, you may choose to visit the Cambodian Landmine Museum, Prevention, and Rehabilitation Center. It is estimated that more than 110 million land mines are buried throughout the world. In Cambodia, efforts at clearing mines around Angkor Wat and the major tourist sites have been successful. However, millions of mines remain buried and significantly impact the lives of the Cambodian people. Learn about the center's efforts and work on this visit. Lunch will be served at Devatas Restaurant. After lunch, you will drive to Mechrey Village. Imagine wooden houses on 10-meter tall stilts, surrounded by water in the wet season and on the flood plains of the lake in the dry season.  You will catch a wooden boat from Mechrey Village to the Tonle Sap Lake in the late afternoon. Both sides of the river are lined by floating houses that look amazing nestled on the great lake. From here you have a picturesque view of the floating house and local people’s way of life and take as many photos as you want. You will enjoy a couple of sundowners on the boat before heading back to Siem Reap for overnight at Phum Baitang.

Day 6: Siem Reap
Early morning at 05:00 am, you will be picked by your guide and driver and transfer to the pagoda where you can listen to monks chanting and offer some small alms. The monks will bless you with holy water flicked from the traditional Jasmine flower, for happiness and good health. Then, you will depart to Treak villages for a cooking class. The cooking classes are fun, informative, fully hands-on, and include individual workstations. You will learn to make such delicacies as mango salad and fish amok in a beautifully restored traditional Khmer house surrounded by endless rice fields and sugar palm trees. Classes also include a visit to a local family to earn about cooking in a traditional household, food customs, and superstitions. In the evening, return to the hotel and spend the rest of the day free at leisure at Phum Baitang.

Day 7: Siem Reap
Today you will meet your guide at the hotel lobby for your transfer to Siem Reap International airport for your departure flight.