The city of Siem Reap is located just a couple of miles from the spectacular Angkor Wat temple and the equally spectacular ancient city of Angkor Thom. Siem Ream is Cambodia’s second biggest city, with a population of around 250,000, and serves as a base for visiting the many ancient temples of Angkor constructed during the Khmer Empire. The city boasts a wide range of accommodation options to suit all budgets. Its popularity with backpackers means that the town has a vibrant nightlife, centred around Pub Street, where you can cool down and relax after a hard day’s sightseeing.
How to get to Siem Reap
We flew direct to Siem Reap, which has flights from many cities in South East Asia. The newly opened Siem Reap Angkor International Airport is located around 30 miles east of the city centre. Our hotel included airport transport – they sent a tuk tuk to collect us. In Siem Reap, there will always be a tuk tuk nearby to take you wherever you want to go. If you are arriving from further afield, the country’s main airport in Phnom Penh is 200 miles away. From here, you can take an internal flight or catch one of the many bus services which run between the two cities.
Getting Around Siem Reap
The main temple of Angkor Wat is approximately 4 miles north of downtown Siem Reap, with Angkor Thom a little further north. Our hotel always had tuk tuk drivers waiting outside and you can book a driver for a full day’s sightseeing. This has many advantages. Not least, our driver waited for us outside temples with ice cold drinks in a cool box! A tuk tuk can be flagged down pretty much anywhere at any time. Ask the driver his price. Haggle if you like…
Where to stay in Siem Reap
We stayed at the Sokkhak Boutique Resort & Spa. This a a beautiful hotel with a lovely, shady pool. It was extremely hot and humid when we visited Siem Reap, so I would definitely recommend splurging a little and choosing somewhere with a pool. The one disadvantage of the Sokkhak Boutique Resort is that it is a couple of miles out of town. But there were always tuk tuk drivers waiting outside to whisk you away to your destination of choice.
Since our visit to Cambodia, some friends have opened The Secret Garden Hotel. This lovely hotel surrounded by beautiful gardens trains Cambodians to help them find work in the hospitality industry. So you get to stay in a lovely hotel and do your bit for charity. What’s not to love?
Ankgor Pass
To visit Angkor Wat and other temples in the region, you will need an Ankgor Pass. There are three options; a 1 day($37), 3 day ($62) or 7 day ($72) pass. The 3 and 7 day passes don’t have to be used on consecutive days; the 3 day pass is valid for 10 days from the date of issue and the 7 day pass is valid for 1 month.
Angkor Passes can be purchased from the Angkor Park Pass Ticket Counters, located 3 miles north of the city centre. The office is open from 5 am until 5.30 pm every day. It is also possible to purchase tickets online via the Angkor Enterprise website.
Note: 1 day passes are valid on the day they are issued, unless issued after 5 pm, in which case they are valid immediately and for the following day. This means that if you purchase on the dot of 5 pm, you have time to catch the sunset at Ankgor Wat.
We opted to buy the 1 day pass at 5 pm the previous day. So, as soon as we had obtained our tickets, we headed straight to Angkor Wat, arriving just in time to catch the sunset. Then we had a full day of temple visiting the following day, coming back to Ankgor Wat again in time for sunrise. As the ticket must be purchased after 5 pm and Angkor Wat closes at 5.30 pm, there is a very small window for the above option. (Take a tuk tuk to the ticket office, he can then wait for you and drive you straight to the temple entrance, which is about 7 miles away). Alternatively, you could head for Phnom Bakheng, which closes at 7 pm instead…
Temple Opening Times
The Angkor Pass is valid for Ankgor Wat, plus several other temples. Most of the temples can be visited from 7.30 am – 5.30 pm, but there are exceptions:
- Angkor Wat and Srah Srang can be visited from 5 am – 5.30 pm
- Phnom Bakheng can be visited from 5 am – 7 pm
Siem Reap in 3 Days Itinerary
| Day 1 | Flight to Siem Reap Accommodation – Sokkhak Boutique Resort & Spa Drinks and Dinner on Pub Street Night Market |
| Day 2 | Floating Market Purchase of Angkor Pass Angkor Wat at Sunset Dinner at Khmer Kitchen |
| Day 3 | Angkor Wat (including Sunrise) Angkor Thom Bayon Ta Promh Preah Neak Poan Cambodian Barbecue at Paper Tiger Eatery |
Siem Reap Day 1
Flight to Siem Reap
We have a lunchtime flight to Siem Reap so no need to rush this morning; a leisurely breakfast and one last fight through the Vietnamese traffic to reach the airport.
The flight from Ho Chi Minh City only takes 70 minutes; just enough time to fill out my life history in triplicate for immigration/customs.
Accommodation – Sokkhak Boutique Resort & Spa
Upon arrival, we are picked up and taken to our hotel; Sokkhak Boutique Resort & Spa. Our daughter arrived in Cambodia a couple of days ago and is staying at a backpackers’ hostel in town. When we reach our hotel, she is already there, chilling by our pool and drinking wine she has put on our tab. It’s a beautiful hotel, set in a garden with flowers everywhere both inside and out. A sea of cool and calm in this bustling, hot city.
Drinks and Dinner on Pub Street
Once we have settled in to our hotel, we take a tuk tuk into town to Pub Street for dinner and some 40p a pint draft beer. This is usually where I would provide details of where we had dinner. Did I mention that it was very hot and beer was 40p a pint?
Night Market
Then, it’s on to the Night Market for souvenir shopping. I have no clean clothes left – my choices are do laundry or buy some ‘gap year’ trousers. I opt for a snazzy pair with an elephant print motif.
Then we take a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel. It’s not a bad way to ride; the breeze is very welcome in the tropical heat. But getting stuck behind a durian seller at traffic lights isn’t much fun!
Siem Reap Day 2
Floating Market
I have an upset stomach, so opt out of this morning’s activity and chill by the pool instead, which is blissful (notwithstanding the necessity for regular bathroom trips). Meanwhile, the others head to a Floating Market, which isn’t floating because it’s the dry season.
Purchase of Angkor Pass
In the afternoon, we take a Tuk Tuk to the Ankgor ticket booth to buy our Angkor Pass. As you can buy a day pass from 5 pm the night before and most temples close at 5.30, we attempt to squeeze in a quick peak at Angkor Wat. The tuk tuk driver waits for us while we purchase our tickets, then whisks us off to the entrance to Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat at Sunset
We only just manage to cross the moat and pass the gatehouse into Ankgor Wat before they start to close and usher visitors towards the exit.
However, it is still a sight to behold, just as the sun begins to set.
Dinner at Khmer Kitchen
Then we return to the Pub Street area for dinner at Khmer Kitchen. The old man to get squiffy on $1.50 margaritas. We have to abort a trip to the night market to buy fake Havaianas, as he is struggling to walk, and instead return to the hotel for an early night. This is doubly advisable as we are being picked up at 5 am tomorrow so we can watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat.
Siem Reap Day 3
Angkor Wat
Today is temples day, and involves a very early start, with a 5 am departure to reach Angkor Wat before sunrise.
Angkor Wat at Sunrise
We are actually the first people to arrive at the temple. We cross the weird squishy squashy bridge over the moat by torch light and wait for the sun to rise over a lake full of water lilies, so you can see the temple reflected in the lake. It certainly is a spectacular sight!
Bakan
After sunrise, we explore the site of Angkor Wat, including climbing to the top of the Bakan (Inner Sanctuary).
This involves negotiating a flight of around 60 very steep wooden steps. The final step is particularly deep, and as I climb, I hear an almighty tear. There is a large rip in my gap year trousers and I’m at the top of a temple which requires modest dress, flashing my arse to the long queue below.
By this stage, we have been at the temple for over two hours and it’s 34 degrees. We need to cool down. Luckily our lovely Tuk Tuk driver is waiting under a tree with a cool box full of drinks. Fluids replenished, we return to the hotel for breakfast and a change of trousers.
Angkor Thom
Once we have regrouped, we set forth again, this time for Angkor Thom. It’s a huge complex, several times larger than its neighbour. You start by crossing a bridge over a moat lined with carved warriors. I climb out of the Tuk Tuk without checking for traffic, and almost get run over by an elephant.
Baphuon
Over the bridge is Baphuon, a temple sitting atop an artificial hill.
Terrace of the Leper King
Then comes the Terrace of the Leper King, a viewing platform decorated with thousands of carved animals and statues.
Terrace of Elephants
The 350 metre long Terrace of Elephants is decorated with elephant carvings.
Bayon
The pièce de résistance of Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple. Built in the 12th Century, it consist of 54 towers decorated with 216 faces.
Angkor Thom is probably even more impressive that Angkor Wat. However, after another 2 hours sightseeing with the temperature soaring to a brutal 36 degrees, it’s time to return to the hotel again for lunch and a cool down. I’m not feeling well so decide to call it a day. Meanwhile, the others set forth to visit two more temples.
Preah Neak Poan
Preah Neak Pan is an ornate water temple.
Ta Prohm
The overgrown temple of Ta Prohm has trees growing through the buildings, which somehow adds to its allure.
Cambodian Barbecue at Paper Tiger Eatery
The evening takes its familiar pattern; drinks and dinner on Pub Street. We opt for a Cambodian Barbecue at Paper Tiger Eatery. The Regular Degustation Set gets you a selection of raw food (including 6 kinds of meat), a gas stove and some boiling water to cook your own dinner. There are also vegetarian and deluxe options (12 kinds of meat, including eel, kangaroo and ostrich). If you like the food at Paper Tiger, they also offer cookery classes.
- Trip taken: April 2018
- Updated: March 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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