Cambodia itinerary help please

Old Oct 17th, 2022, 12:19 PM
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Cambodia itinerary help please

Hello!!

Finally off to Cambodia just in time for my 60th bday the month of December this year. Hooray! I have been doing research on places to go and have created a list of these places. Now if I could have your help with some questions please! There are 3 of us going, we are 60, 67 and 47 and like nature, archaeology and food of course!

1) We have 24 days to travel. Is there sufficient things to see and do in Cambodia for that amount of time or should we plan a quick trip somewhere else as well? I went to Laos and Vietnam 30 years ago...
2) We were planning to only book hotels for our first days and our last days. How easy is it to find hotel vacancy without pre-booking. Since its my 60th I have saved for this trip and would like to stay in nice hotels for this trip!
3) We are flying into Bangkok and leaving from Bangkok back home. So we can take a flight from Bangkok to either SR or PP. Should we start our trip in Siem Riep or Phnom Penh?
4) So far the places we have in mind and lengths of stay (roughly); Siem Riep 4 nights, with possibly a 5th to Banteay Chhmar or Preah Vihear; Battambang 3 nights; Chi Phat 3 nights; Kampot 3 nights; Kep 3 nights; Phnom Penh 4 nights; Kompong Cham 1 or 2 nights; Kratie 2 nights. Would really value some insight into whether to go to some of these places or whether there are other places that people suggest that we should go to. Also please the logistics of the order of travel...the logical order of places...
5) Finally...for my actual 60th, which falls on solstice the 21st, any thoughts of where you would spend it in Cambodia?

Thanks in advance! And feel free to contact me with any questions you have if you are planning to travel to Vancouver!
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Old Oct 21st, 2022, 09:03 AM
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Firstly, congratulations! sound like a great trip . 24 days is a nice amount of time and you could easily spend the whole trip in Cambodia but it could also be nice to split the time with another country.

The first option that spring to mind would be a boat from Phnom Penh to Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta and then on to Saigon via Can Tho and Ben Tre. I would allow say six days for that trip at a leisurely pace plus whatever time you would like in Saigon before flying back to Bangkok.

Alternatively, you could head north from Kratie via Stung Tren to the Siphandon (4000 islands ) area of they Mekong in Laos. from there head north to Luang Prabang maybe via the Bolavens Plateau.

Staying in Cambodia only, I would perhaps look at something like this;

Nights
Phnom Penh 4
Kampot 5 ( I would just take a day trip to Kep)
Battambang 3
Siem Reap 5/6

Other than that I think I would likely give Kratie and Kampong Cham a miss unless heading to Laos as they are a bit out of the way and it will take a lot of time to get back to PP or SR for your return to BKK


We first visited Vietnam and Laos some 35 years ago and have been back many times since - expect MASSIVE changes from your first visit. Especially in Vietnam.

It is alway possible to find somewhere to spend the night in SE Asia as you go but if you know your dates and have even rough itinerary worked out it pays to do the research in advance (part of the fun!) and make fully cancellable reservations with someone like booking.com or, for the big chains, direct on their websites. I have stayed in a huge range of places in Asia from shacks on the beach to five star city and beach hotels. If you would care to provide and idea of what type of place you like and a price range I, and I am sure others will be happy to make suggestions. We tend to do a mixture of booking in advance and just turning up and finding somewhere

As for where to start your trip, see mu previous comments re Vietnam and Laos. if you were to head south into Vietnam, start in SR. north into Laos, PP.

IF I had to choose, with 24 days to play with I would probably fly Bangkok to Saigon, spend a few days there before heading through the Mekong Delta via Ben Are, Can Tho and the amazing Chau Doc. From there take the fast boat to PP and then to Kampot back to PP for the bus to Battambang, boat or bus to Siem Reap and then fly back to BKK.

Where to spend your 60th in a nice hotel?? The best hotels in Cambodia will be in PP or SR . The rest of the country I wouldn't expect too much (though we did stay in one really nice place in Kampot called Rikitiktavi). If you really want to push the boat out with a special hotel, do what our queen used to do and have an official birthday that fits in with your itinerary. There are some truly world class places in Bangkok that would cost a fraction of what you would pay in Canada, the US or Europe.

Finally, a link to our blog which has a lot of photos of and detail of of our travels in some of these places. https://accidentalnomads.com just click on the destination tab and go to the country concerned.

Happy planning


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Old Oct 23rd, 2022, 12:33 PM
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Thank you so very much for that really helpful response. I am going to follow up on researching your suggestions and reading your blog!
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Old Oct 25th, 2022, 11:37 AM
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You are very welcome. If you need any further info, just ask.
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Old Nov 24th, 2022, 07:11 AM
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Siem reap to Phnom penh

Hi,

After leaving Siem Reap we have 5 nights left in Cambodia. We plan to spend two nights in Phnom Penh before flying out. We need to make our way from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. I have checked on flights fro SR to PP but most of them leave only in the evening. Would anyone recommend a three day road trip from SR to PP? IF so, where would you recommend stopping for each night (we do not want to go to Sihanoukville or the islands) and do you recommend any drivers/driving services?

Thank you!
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Old Nov 24th, 2022, 08:46 AM
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Firstly, I would suggest spending 3 nights, two full days in Phnom Penh. There is a lot to see! Possible in one very full day but two would be better.

Battambang is en route and makes for a nice stop. Some interesting bat caves and temples out in the countryside. The bamboo railway was fun but I have a feeling it may have closed down now. Two nights would allow for one full day of sightseeing.

As I recall, we took the “luxury “ Mekong Express minibus between PP and Battambang (6-7 hours) and a big bus from Battambang to SR. I think you may be lucky to find a reliable and safe private driver for long distance routes.

We once spent a couple of nights at a small town on the banks of the Tonle Sap in Kompong Chnang province. It is possible to do part of the journey by boat on the Tonle Sap when river levels are high but only if you are hardy souls!!!

another option would be to fly to PP and take a side trip from there to the riverside town of Kratie. There are photos and more details of our time in these places in our blog linked above.
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