Cambodia in depth, fourteen days
Two weeks, and the only itinerary we run that includes the eastern highlands. Angkor, Battambang, the capital, the Mekong at Kratie, forest elephants in Mondulkiri, and the coast at the end.
At a glance
- Days
- 14 days, 13 nights
- Group
- Maximum 8
- Start
- Siem Reap
- End
- Phnom Penh
- Effort
- Moderate to hard
- From
- USD 1,260 per person
Who this is for
For people giving Cambodia a full two weeks, which is more than almost anyone does, and who want the part of the country that itineraries skip. The eastern arc through Kratie and Mondulkiri costs four days and two long drives, and it is the reason to book this rather than the ten-day route.
Be clear-eyed about the trade. Those four days buy you hill forest, Bunong villages and elephants living in forest rather than working. They also buy you a seven-hour drive back to Phnom Penh with nothing to see out of the window. If that sounds like a bad deal, the ten-day route is the better trip and we will say so.
Day by day
Arrive Siem Reap
Met at Siem Reap - Angkor International. Angkor pass bought on the way in, and Ta Som and Neak Pean at 16:30 if you land early enough.
Angkor Thom and the small circuit
The Bayon at first light, the Baphuon and the terraces, Preah Khan. Back at 11:00, out at 15:30 for Banteay Kdei, Srah Srang and sunset at Pre Rup.
Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei
Sunrise from the north causeway, inside at 06:20, Ta Prohm at 07:15. Midday off, then Banteay Srei at 15:00.
To Battambang, and the bats
Three hours south-west. The town on foot, then Phnom Sampeau: the killing caves above, and the bat exodus below at six.
Rice country and the circus school
Village workshops around Wat Kor, Wat Banan or Ek Phnom in the afternoon, Phare Ponleu Selpak in the evening.
To Phnom Penh, and the National Museum
Five hours to the capital, late lunch, then the finest Khmer sculpture collection in the world, which reads differently now. Riverfront at dusk.
Tuol Sleng, Choeung Ek, and an empty afternoon
Out at 08:00, both sites with audio guides, back by 12:30, and nothing scheduled afterwards. Removable at no cost if you would rather not.
To Kratie, and the dolphins
Four and a half hours north-east along the Mekong. Kratie is a grid of unrestored French shophouses where nothing has been done for visitors. Late afternoon by boat to the Kampi pool, where the last Mekong dolphins live, in a boat that cuts its engine and drifts.
To Sen Monorom, and Bousra waterfall
Four hours east and a thousand metres up. Rice gives out, hill forest and grassland begin, and the temperature drops. Afternoon at Bousra waterfall, 40 km on. Bring a warm layer for the evening.
The elephants, and a Bunong village
The whole morning walking in forest with a Bunong keeper, watching four or five elephants feed and move at whatever distance they choose. No riding, no bathing, no hand-feeding. Afternoon in a Bunong village with a Bunong guide.
Seima at dawn, then the long drive to Phnom Penh
Into the Seima protected area at 06:00 for gibbon calls and a real chance of black-shanked douc. Late breakfast, then seven hours back to the capital. There is no way to shorten it and no flight. Arrive early evening.
To Kampot, and the salt fields
Three and a half hours south, and the pace changes for good. Kampot on foot, then the salt fields at five, and sunset on the river.
Pepper, the cave temple and Bokor
A pepper farm with a grower who sells direct, Phnom Chhngok cave shrine, and Bokor in the afternoon: a thousand metres up through forest to the abandoned hill station, with the modern casino development on the plateau that we mention in advance.
Kep, the crab market, and out
Thirty-five minutes to Kep. The 8 km forest circuit around the hill if you want it, then the crab market: live blue swimmers lifted out of the sea in woven baskets and cooked with fresh green Kampot pepper a few metres away. Four hours back to Techo airport, or 40 minutes to the Ha Tien border for Vietnam.
Prices
| Party size | Simple | Comfortable | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travellers | USD 1,820 | USD 2,800 | USD 5,040 |
| 3 - 4 travellers | USD 1,470 | USD 2,310 | USD 4,480 |
| 5 - 8 travellers | USD 1,260 | USD 2,030 | USD 4,130 |
What is included
What the price includes
- Thirteen nights, every hotel named in your quotation
- Private air-conditioned vehicle and driver for all fourteen days
- Licensed English-speaking guide throughout, plus a Bunong guide in Mondulkiri
- The full-day forest elephant visit, including the project fee and lunch
- Boat to the Kampi dolphin pool with the community entry fee
- All listed entrance fees, including Bousra, Seima, Bokor, Phnom Chhngok, Kep national park, Phnom Sampeau, Wat Banan, the National Museum, Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek
- Arrival and departure transfers, and 24-hour Cambodian phone support
What it does not include
- The Angkor pass, USD 62, bought for you at cost
- International flights, the Cambodian visa and insurance
- Lunches other than the elephant project day, all dinners, and all drinks
- Phare circus tickets, and the village homestay if you add it
- Tips
Photographs
Who this tour is not right for
- Anyone who dislikes long drives. Days 9 and 11 are four and a half and seven hours, and there is no flight to Mondulkiri.
- Travellers who want to ride, bathe or hand-feed an elephant. We do not book those activities anywhere.
- Anyone travelling June to October. The coast does not work, the eastern laterite tracks are slippery, and the shape of the trip depends on both.
- People who need consistently good hotels. Two of the thirteen nights are in places where a comfortable family-run guesthouse is the top of the market.
- Travellers who would rather go deeper in fewer places. Fourteen days here is seven bases; some people are happier with four.
What we would change, if you asked
The single most common variation is swapping the coast for three nights in the Cardamoms, which makes it a forest-and-river trip rather than a forest-and-sea one. The second is dropping Battambang to give Mondulkiri a third night.
If two weeks is more than you have, the honest shorter version is north to coast, 10 days, which is the same trip without the east. If the east is what you actually want, Mondulkiri forest, 4 days does it on its own.
Questions travellers ask most
Is Mondulkiri worth four days of a two-week trip?
If hill forest, Bunong villages and elephants living in forest are what you want, yes, and people consistently name it as the part they remember. If you would rather have four more days at the coast, take the ten-day route instead.
How bad is the drive back from Mondulkiri?
Seven hours on sealed road with two breaks, and there is no flight. We schedule it as a whole day and arrive in Phnom Penh in the early evening rather than pretending it can be combined with anything else.
Can we do this in the wet season?
We would advise against it. The coast at the end does not work between June and October, and the laterite tracks in Mondulkiri turn slow and slippery. The temples are fine; the shape of the trip is not.
Is fourteen days too long in one country?
It is seven different bases with two long drives, which some people love and some find restless. If you would rather go deeper in four places, tell us and we will build that instead. It is often the better trip.
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Tell us what you want out of Cambodia
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.