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. Here is my pick of the top 10 things to do in Siem Reap.
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.
Our daughter, who was in Siem Reap at the same time, stayed at a hostel in town, which was much cheaper and more conveniently located. But she kept appearing at our hotel to use the pool. So, swings and roundabouts…
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: Top 10 Things to do
| 1 | Go drinking on Pub Street |
| 2 | Shop for souvenirs at the Night Market |
| 3 | Take a trip to a Floating Market |
| 4 | Visit Angkor Wat at Sunset |
| 5 | Visit Angkor Wat at Sunrise |
| 6 | Visit Angkor Thom |
| 7 | Admire the amazing stone faces at Bayon Temple |
| 8 | Visit the water temple of Preah Neak Poan |
| 9 | Visit the eerily overgrown Ta Promh |
| 10 | Cook your own Cambodian Barbecue |
No 1 – Go Drinking on Pub Street
Once we had settled in to our hotel, we took a tuk tuk into town to Pub Street for dinner and some 40p a pint draft beer. Pub street and the surrounding area is lined with dozens of drinking and dining options.
No 2 – Shop for Souvenirs at the Night Market
After dinner, it’s on to the Night Market for souvenir shopping. I had no clean clothes left – my choices were do laundry or buy some ‘gap year’ trousers. I opted for a snazzy pair with an elephant print motif. Locally produced garments are extremely popular. There’s also plenty of fake designer goods, if you’re into that sort of thing.
No 3 – Take a trip to a Floating Market
I had an upset stomach, so opted out of taking a trip to a Floating Market, which wasn’t actually floating because it was the dry season. There are several options to visit floating markets in the area around Siem Reap.
No 4 – Visit Angkor Wat at Sunset
In the afternoon, we took a Tuk Tuk to the ticket booth to buy our Angkor Pass. We opted to purchase a one day pass. As you can buy a day pass from 5 pm the night before, and most temples don’t close until 5.30, we attempted to squeeze in a quick peak at Angkor Wat at sunset.
Tickets purchased, we got back in our tuk tuk for the ride to the entrance to Angkor Wat.
We just managed to cross the moat and pass the gatehouse before they started to close and usher visitors towards the exit. However, it was still a sight to behold, just as the sun was beginning to set.
No 5 – Visit Angkor Wat at Sunrise
A Siem Reap must is a visit to Angkor Wat at sunrise. This involves a very early start, with a 5 am departure to reach the temple complex before sunrise. Our hotel recommended going to see Ankgor Wat in time for sunrise, returning for breakfast, then setting forth to visit some of the other temples later in the day. So, we hired a tuk tuk driver for the day and did just that.
Angkor Wat at Sunrise
We were actually the first people to arrive at the temple. We crossed the weird squishy squashy bridge over the moat by torch light and waited 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 explored 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. When we visited, there was a long queue to climb the stairs, but it’s definitely worth the wait.
We spent over two hours at Angkor Wat in 34 degree heat. A huge advantage of hiring a tuk tuk for the day is that our lovely driver was waiting under a tree with a cool box full of drinks. Fluids replenished, we returned to the hotel for breakfast.
No 6 – Visit Angkor Thom
Next up is 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.
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.
No 7 – Admire the amazing stone faces at Bayon Temple
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 was time to return to the hotel to cool down once more.
No 8 – Visit the Water Temple of Preah Neak Poan
Later in the day (or next, if you’re hard core), visit Preah Neak Pan; an ornate water temple.
No 9 – Visit the eerily overgrown Ta PromhTa Prohm
Finally, the overgrown temple of Ta Prohm has trees growing through the buildings, which somehow adds to its allure.
No 10 – Cook your own Cambodian Barbecue
A trip to Cambodia isn’t complete without trying a Cambodian Barbecue. We opted to visit 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 more top picks from other destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full Top 10 Things To Do list here.
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