Classical Cambodia
5 day Holiday (with Private Guide) – from £695
With flights from £1765
Discover the highlights of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Angkor Wat on this activity-packed itinerary, with your own guide and private vehicle.
Highlights:
- Explore Cambodia’s Royal Palace
- Enjoy a cyclo tour of Phnom Penh
- Visit the moving Genocide Museum and Killing Fields
- Admire Banteay Srei and watch the sunset at Angkor Wat
- Take a boat ride to the floating villages of Tonle Sap
Your Itinerary
Expand AllYou can customise your Cambodia holiday by adding extra nights or destinations. Just let us know what you would like to do.
Upon arrival in Phnom Penh Airport, you will be met and transferred by our Tour Guide and proceed to your hotel to check in and freshen up.
This afternoon you will visit The Royal Palace, built in 1866 by King Norodom; the Palace is made up from a number of structures within a pagoda-style compound one of which is The Silver Pagoda. The Silver Pagoda takes its name from the 5,000+ silver tiles and the building itself holds a number of national treasures.
Continue to visit the National Museum, a Khmer temple inspired building that houses the world’s largest collection of Khmer art sculptures, ceramics and bronzes from different periods of Cambodian history. Finish the tour with a local shopping experience at Toul Tom Pong Market (also the Russian Market) where you can find silk, silver and countless souvenirs.
White Mansion, Phnom Penh
Day 2 – Phnom Penh
This morning, our guide will drive you to visit the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school. During the Pol Pot regime, people were taken here for detention and torture.
Then continue to Cheung Ek, a profoundly moving experience, where during the Khmer Rouge years, thousands of Cambodians were moved here from Tuol Sleng to be exterminated. They were buried in mass graves and today over 8,000 skulls are displayed behind the glass of a memorial stupa, erected in 1988 to honour those who died.
This afternoon, you will be transferred to airport for your flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival, pick up and transfer to hotel for check in with the rest of day is at leisure.
The Aviary Hotel, Siem Reap
Day 3 – Siem Reap & Angkor Wat
This morning, take Remok tour to visit the monumental magnificence of Angkor Thom – last capital of the Khmers, with its Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King and the stunning Bayon temple.
Continue your exploration of the Angkor Temples at Ta Prohm, the temple that has been left largely in its natural state since its “re-discovery” by French explorers. Surrounded by jungle, its labyrinth of stone hallways is overgrown with the roots and limbs of massive banyan trees, which envelop the stone like tentacles.
This afternoon, your guide will drive you to visit Angkor Wat, arguably the largest religious building in the world, with a volume of stone equalling that of the Cheops pyramid in Egypt. It is unlike all the other Khmer temples in that it faces west, and is inspired by 12th Century Hinduism. Enjoy the knowledge and history your guide has, whilst watching the sunset in the evening.
The Aviary Hotel, Siem Reap
Day 4 – Banteay Srei & Preah Khan
This morning, visit Banteay Srei; ‘the Womans Citadel’ – a tiny, enchanting temple, which is one of the jewels in this remarkable city. Built of red sandstone in the tenth century and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, the carved male and female figures in the niches are exquisitely executed in both style and proportion. This is the most Indian of all the temples in Angkor and in the words of H.W. Ponder, is “a fairy palace in the heart of an immense and mysterious forest.”
Continue to Banteay Samre, built under Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th century, it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style. Named after the Samré, an ancient people of Indochina, the temple uses the same materials as Banteay Srei.
This afternoon, you will visit Preah Khan “The Sacred Sword”, an extensive monastic complex covering over 56 hectares built by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a monastery and teaching complex. Continue to Pre Rup temple which is about 2 km northeast of Srah Srang and about 500 meters south of the East Baray. The temple was built in 961 during the reign of King Rajendravarman, dedicating to Shiva Brahmanism.
The Aviary Hotel, Siem Reap
Day 5 – Tonle Sap & Farewell
After breakfast visit SATCHA, a brand-new Cambodian handicraft visitor centre that mixes traditional knowledge with contemporary design to showcase Cambodian talents while having a sustainable social, economic, and environmental impact.
Continue to Tonle Sap, the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia, and the heart of the Cambodian fishing industry and lifeblood for millions of Khmers living on and around it. Every year during the monsoon season, the flow of water from the Mekong River changes direction forcing water back into the Tonle Sap bringing nutrients that fertilise the rice fields and support the breeding of over 200 fish species and other aquatic life.
You will board a comfortable boat to see the true way of life in one of the floating villages of the Tonle Sap, here you can see how Khmers and Vietnamese live and work side by side.
Transfer to the airport for your departure flight to another destination.
Your Itinerary
You can customise your Cambodia holiday by adding extra nights or destinations. Just let us know what you would like to do.
Day 1
| Welcome to Phnom Penh
Upon arrival in Phnom Penh Airport, you will be met and transferred by our Tour Guide and proceed to your hotel to check in and freshen up.
This afternoon you will visit The Royal Palace, built in 1866 by King Norodom; the Palace is made up from a number of structures within a pagoda-style compound one of which is The Silver Pagoda. The Silver Pagoda takes its name from the 5,000+ silver tiles and the building itself holds a number of national treasures.
Continue to visit the National Museum, a Khmer temple inspired building that houses the world’s largest collection of Khmer art sculptures, ceramics and bronzes from different periods of Cambodian history. Finish the tour with a local shopping experience at Toul Tom Pong Market (also the Russian Market) where you can find silk, silver and countless souvenirs.
White Mansion, Phnom Penh
Day 2
| Phnom Penh
This morning, our guide will drive you to visit the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school. During the Pol Pot regime, people were taken here for detention and torture.
Then continue to Cheung Ek, a profoundly moving experience, where during the Khmer Rouge years, thousands of Cambodians were moved here from Tuol Sleng to be exterminated. They were buried in mass graves and today over 8,000 skulls are displayed behind the glass of a memorial stupa, erected in 1988 to honour those who died.
This afternoon, you will be transferred to airport for your flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival, pick up and transfer to hotel for check in with the rest of day is at leisure.
The Aviary Hotel, Siem Reap
Day 3
| Siem Reap & Angkor Wat
This morning, take Remok tour to visit the monumental magnificence of Angkor Thom – last capital of the Khmers, with its Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King and the stunning Bayon temple.
Continue your exploration of the Angkor Temples at Ta Prohm, the temple that has been left largely in its natural state since its “re-discovery” by French explorers. Surrounded by jungle, its labyrinth of stone hallways is overgrown with the roots and limbs of massive banyan trees, which envelop the stone like tentacles.
This afternoon, your guide will drive you to visit Angkor Wat, arguably the largest religious building in the world, with a volume of stone equalling that of the Cheops pyramid in Egypt. It is unlike all the other Khmer temples in that it faces west, and is inspired by 12th Century Hinduism. Enjoy the knowledge and history your guide has, whilst watching the sunset in the evening.
The Aviary Hotel, Siem Reap
Day 4
| Banteay Srei & Preah Khan
This morning, visit Banteay Srei; ‘the Womans Citadel’ – a tiny, enchanting temple, which is one of the jewels in this remarkable city. Built of red sandstone in the tenth century and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, the carved male and female figures in the niches are exquisitely executed in both style and proportion. This is the most Indian of all the temples in Angkor and in the words of H.W. Ponder, is “a fairy palace in the heart of an immense and mysterious forest.”
Continue to Banteay Samre, built under Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th century, it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style. Named after the Samré, an ancient people of Indochina, the temple uses the same materials as Banteay Srei.
This afternoon, you will visit Preah Khan “The Sacred Sword”, an extensive monastic complex covering over 56 hectares built by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a monastery and teaching complex. Continue to Pre Rup temple which is about 2 km northeast of Srah Srang and about 500 meters south of the East Baray. The temple was built in 961 during the reign of King Rajendravarman, dedicating to Shiva Brahmanism.
The Aviary Hotel, Siem Reap
Day 5
| Tonle Sap & Farewell
After breakfast visit SATCHA, a brand-new Cambodian handicraft visitor centre that mixes traditional knowledge with contemporary design to showcase Cambodian talents while having a sustainable social, economic, and environmental impact.
Continue to Tonle Sap, the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia, and the heart of the Cambodian fishing industry and lifeblood for millions of Khmers living on and around it. Every year during the monsoon season, the flow of water from the Mekong River changes direction forcing water back into the Tonle Sap bringing nutrients that fertilise the rice fields and support the breeding of over 200 fish species and other aquatic life.
You will board a comfortable boat to see the true way of life in one of the floating villages of the Tonle Sap, here you can see how Khmers and Vietnamese live and work side by side.
Transfer to the airport for your departure flight to another destination.
Meals & Inclusions
Flights & More
Ask your FREEDOM Consultant to include Economy, Premium or Business Class flights for a complete ABTA and ATOL protected package.
They can also add extra nights and experiences in places you choose, to create the exact holiday you are looking for. Popular options include:
- Extra nights in Phnom Penh
- A Mekong River cruise
- Time on the beach in Thailand
Next Step
Please get in touch with our Asia Experts to start planning your holiday. You’ll have a single point of contact from your first enquiry through booking.
Classical Cambodia
5 day Holiday (with Private Guide) – from £695
With flights from £1765
All prices are per person, based on two people sharing a double or twin room, and include meals where shown. Talk to an Asian Expert for departure dates and availability.
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