Cambodia tour, Cambodia encounter
| country: | Cambodia |
| location: | Angkor Wat |
| departures: | 2008: 24 Aug, 28 Sep, 26 Oct, 23 Nov, 21 Dec |
| price: | From £950 (14 days) excluding flights, based on 2 people travelling. Single supplement available, maximum group size 15. Deluxe option available. We can arrange flights from the UK. |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Phnom Penh - Kampot - Sihanoukville - Kampot - Battambang - Siem Reap - Lake Tonle Sap
The Cambodia Encounter combines Cambodia’s highlights with some of her best kept secrets. Beginning in the riverside capital of Phnom Penh, this in-depth journey takes you through stunning rural scenery and villages of the south.
Our route includes the quaint colonial port of Kampot, the ruined French beach resort Kep-sur-Mer and deserted Bokor Hill Station, before culminating with a visit to the stunning temples of Angkor.
Highlights include:
Boat cruise on Prek Kamchay River Charming Kampot Former hill station at Bokor Ancient temples at Sambor Prei Kuk Overland on an ancient royal highway to Siem Reap Cycling at Angkor
Price includes: 13 night's hotel accommodation (2 nights clean, comfortable 1-2 star only), road transport (modern air-conditioned vehicle), sightseeing per itinerary (excluding entrance fees), daily breakfasts & one lunch, tour leader (based on minimum of 7 people) and local English speaking guides.
The Cambodia Encounter combines Cambodia’s highlights with some of her best kept secrets. Beginning in the riverside capital of Phnom Penh, this in-depth journey takes you through stunning rural scenery and villages of the south.
Our route includes the quaint colonial port of Kampot, the ruined French beach resort Kep-sur-Mer and deserted Bokor Hill Station, before culminating with a visit to the stunning temples of Angkor.
Highlights include:
Price includes: 13 night's hotel accommodation (2 nights clean, comfortable 1-2 star only), road transport (modern air-conditioned vehicle), sightseeing per itinerary (excluding entrance fees), daily breakfasts & one lunch, tour leader (based on minimum of 7 people) and local English speaking guides.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-2: | Phnom Penh. Arrive Phnom Penh and transfer to your hotel, then in the evening get to know your tour leader during drinks and a briefing. The next morning we begin our tour of the capital. We contrast the impressive Silver Pagoda and the National Museum with the chilling Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes and the Killing Fields. You will also have free time to explore the waterside ambience, colonial architecture and fine restaurants of this riverside town. |
| Day 3-4: | Angkor Borei, Kampot & Kep. Travel through sugar palm landscapes to the beautiful south coast. En route take a speedboat along rice field canals to a hilltop temple near the Vietnamese border and visit the museum at Angkor Borei, site of a pre-Angkorian capital. In the south of Cambodia, see some of the most beautiful yet least touched scenery in an unknown pocket of Asia. We use quaint Kampot as a base for a river cruise, and explore nearby limestone caves and deserted Kep, once a famous French beach resort. |
| Day 5-6: | Bokor Hill Station & Sihanoukville. Leave Kampot for sunny Sihanoukville and a break on the beaches. On the way we visit the eerie Bokor Hill Station, with its deserted casino and church. Once a famous playground for the rich and famous, Bokor was largely destroyed during the Cambodian civil war. Enjoy a picnic lunch at lovely Popokvil Falls, then continue down the Elephant Mountains to Sihanoukville. There is plenty of time to relax on the gorgeous beaches, visit beautiful Ream National Park, watch the sun set from a hilltop monastery and enjoy fresh, tasty seafood in one of Sihanoukville’s great restaurants. |
| Day 7-9: | Oudong and Battambang. We travel four hours back to Phnom Penh where you have an afternoon and evening to explore at your leisure, then set out the next day on a road trip to Battambang. On the way we explore the hill-top remains of ancient Oudong city, and visit Kampong Chhnang, famous as a centre for pottery production. Late afternoon we arrive in Battambang, nestled aside the Sangker River. Home to atmospheric colonial architecture, Battambang is our base for discoveries of nearby ancient temples, and launching point for our slow boat trip (vehicle in the dry season) to magnificent Angkor city. |
| Day 10-14: | The Temples Of Angkor. Angkor city is one of humankind’s largest and most inspiring sights. We begin at Angkor Wat, taking a thorough foray into the central chambers and bas-relief corridors of this monumental structure before moving onto the fortified city of Angkor Thom and the remarkable stone faces of the Bayon. We see jungle enveloped Ta Prohm and Preah Khan by tuk tuk, and little-visited Boeng Mealea. At Banteay Srei we marvel at pink sandstone carvings considered the finest in the whole of Angkor. During our stay at the ancient city we see Angkor Wat by air from a fixed balloon and enjoy a fun Khmer cuisine cooking demonstration, in a boutique wooden house. We also set out on a dusk horse drawn cart trip through pretty villages and lovely countryside. End your Cambodian encounter with a transfer to the airport for your onward travels. |
travellers' tales
The whole experience was memorable - from Irrawaddy dolphin watching, to the temples at Angkor Wat, to the relatively unexplored north eastern towns (Kratie, Kampong Cham)... (more)
small group adventure holiday
These small group journeys have a maximum of 15 like-minded travellers which ensures that all travellers have an amazing overall experience with the destination and that they enjoy the flexibility that comes with the small group dynamic. On this trip you will stay at boutique accommodation with character. Our numbers are discreet enough for us to interact with local families in their homes and meet people in markets, bazaars and temples – something that’s just not possible when you arrive as part of a large tour group. Along with our unique combination of Western tour leader and local English-speaking guide this will ensure an unforgettable travel experience.how this holiday makes a difference
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We believe that travel should entail an exchange of knowledge and perspectives, a sharing of wealth, and a genuine appreciation of Cambodia’s beautiful natural environments. This philosophy underpins the heart and soul of our style of travel. We recognise that poorly planned itineraries or poorly informed tourists contribute less to cross-cultural understanding and less to the livelihoods of local people.
Our most comprehensive Cambodia journey combines some of her best-kept secrets with the highlights including the temples of Angkor. Here we have facilitated a very significant donation to the World Monument Fund in Cambodia, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the maintenance of a select number of archaeologically precious temples in Angkor. During the Cambodia Encounter we actively encourage our travellers to patronise or financially assist numerous not-for-profit organisations in Cambodia including Friends Restaurant in Phnom Penh (which trains and is staffed by disadvantaged young people), Made in Cambodia in Siem Reap (which sells items made by underprivileged Cambodians) and the Sunrise Orphanages in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Our offices also finance the Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, which provides health care services to poor Cambodians and through which we sponsor the training of a Cambodian nurse. On this journey our local guides are trained to share their knowledge of cultural and other local issues in a balanced, informative way; in this journey alone you are likely to meet several local guides from different areas in Cambodia. They share real experiences from their own lives and insights into their family life, influences and beliefs, thus providing our travellers with a deeper understanding of the places they visit. This is what motivates our guides, not shopping commissions. Our offices in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap are staffed with local people wherever possible and we have a long term aim of filling management roles with competent local staff. This presence in Cambodia means we are much better able to control the content, the actions of our suppliers, and the style of our small group journey. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |