Family-Friendly Package

Upon arrival at Siem Reap International Airport, you will be welcomed by your driver and transferred to your hotel for check-in. Once you arrive at the hotel, you will be welcomed by one of our management team, and it is the opportunity to go through your itinerary again before it gets started.

We depart town as we venture towards an unspoiled floating community called Kampong Phluk, known for its stilted-house villages and flooded forest. 

Along the way, we will stop to have a look around the Rolous Market. This is a great chance to glimpse the local daily life selling indigenously grown vegetables, different fish species, and other local produce. 

We will also see one of the bridges on the Rolous River, built during the period of French dominance in Cambodia. We then board a boat and begin sailing down the river, eventually arriving at the floating community of Kampong Phluk, where we will experience a truly unique way of life.

Within the community, there are fish farms, an island pagoda, schools, and houses built on 8 to 10m high stilts. 

As we venture beyond the villages, we will head into the flooded forest; home to some of Cambodia’s water-bird species. The boat will then set off for the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia, Tonle Sap, where we will explore before heading back to the mainland and returning you back to your hotel for your lunch and the rest of the afternoon free.

And, in the evening, you’ll be wowed by the incredible Cambodian circus, which combines acrobatics, music, dance, and culture. The show is put on by the performing arts school in collaboration with Phare Ponleu, a non-profit organization. They’ve given young Cambodians a forum to grow their talents, and their show has impressed audiences all over the world. 

The circus show is more accurately represented as music, dance, Cambodian storytelling, and acrobatics rather than a circus. This spectacular display is a must-see for anyone visiting Cambodia.

You can either choose to be picked up at 6:15 pm, meaning that you can eat at the Phare Circus restaurant before the show or at 7:15 pm if you want to eat after the performance.

You’ll be taken to the Khmer Ceramics Workshop this morning, where the local potter will lead you.

Your local potter will first show you around the center. They’ll show you how to make an Angkorian bowl and customize it with your own carving. Following the construction of your pot’s framework, we will glaze and fire the pots at 1000°C for the final hour. The next day, your completed artifact will be shipped to your hotel.

In the afternoon, you partake in cooking class. Here you will join the cooking class to make some of the Cambodian classics like Amok. Enjoy the hands-on cooking experience, including three Cambodian dishes in a purpose-built village pavilion. During the class, we will visit a local market and a local family’s home so that you can learn how the locals cook. During the class, you will get to eat what you cook, so we have classed this as dinner.

Rising early, at 8 am, you journey by jeep to the enigmatic and enchanting temple of Bayon. By beginning our tour here, we can avoid the crowds and see the temple at its quietest. This temple, located in the heart of Angkor Thom, is an eccentric expression of Cambodia’s most celebrated king’s creative genius and inflated ego.

Its 54 towers are each adorned with the four faces of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion), who bears a striking resemblance to the king himself. These enormous heads look below every side, exuding power and control with a hint of compassion, simply the mix needed to keep a hang on such a vast empire.

You continue your expedition amongst the walled city of Angkor Thom, the work of art of King Jayavarman VII. Following the Chams’ occupation of Angkor from 1177 to 1181, the new king decided to construct an impregnable fortress in the center of his empire. The causeway is lined by a complex bridge depicting the churning of the ocean of milk from Hindu folklore in which devas (gods) and asuras (devils) play tug of war with a naga (seven-headed snake) to get the elixir of immortality.

Within Angkor Thom, our next stop is the Terrace of the Leper King. This intricately sculpted platform was the royal crematorium, and the statue, which was originally thought to be the leper king, is now figured to be Yama, the god of death.

We proceed along the Terrace of Elephants, which was originally used as a viewing gallery for the king to command parades, performances, and traditional sports. The Baphuon temple, one of the most beautiful in Angkor, is located at the southern end and was built during the reign of Uditayavarman in the 11th century. It has gone through a huge renovation and is now once again open for visiting.

You then move on next to the Mother of all temples, Angkor Wat, believed to be the world’s largest spiritual building. This temple is the perfect combination of symbolism and balance and stands as a huge source of pride to all Khmers. We begin by deciphering the mysteries of the bas-reliefs, which depict Hindu mythology as well as the splendors of the Khmer empire. These intricate carvings stretch for nearly one kilometer and are a contender for the title of the world’s longest unbroken work of art. We then proceed to the upper levels of the inner sanctuary, following in the footsteps of the faithful and the destructive who came before us.

The final steps up to Angkor’s upper terrace are the steepest of all, as pilgrims used to stoop on their way to meet the Gods. We have finally arrived at the pinnacle and sacred heart of Angkor Wat, a perfect combination of spirituality and symmetry that few moments can match. After that, we head to the Ta Prohm temple, which has been left to the elements. The temple acts as a significant reminder that, while empires rise and fall, nature’s riotous power marches on, indifferent to human history’s dramas. The tentacle-like tree roots that French explorer Henri Mouhot discovered in 1860 are slowly strangling the remaining stones that man first conquered nature to build.

We will then pause for a late lunch at a local restaurant (Lunch is on the clients’ own account) before continuing to our final temple – Banteay Kdei. The name translates to `Citadel of Chambers,’ and as the temple exists on one level, it is easy to thoroughly explore the towers and corridors as well as their beautiful carvings.

The temple’s construction had changed many times since its original plans causing a slight lack of consistency in its design. That being said, the final outcome of the temple is superb. As it is far less visited than its neighboring main sites, Banteay Kdei offers a serene and peaceful end to our exploration.

This morning, you will leave Siem Reap behind and travel onward to Cambodia’s capital city – Phnom Penh. Along the way, you will stop shortly in Skuon (commonly known as ‘Spiderville’). There, if your stomach permits it, you will be able to try the local delicacy of deep-fried tarantula!

Upon your arrival in Phnom Penh, you will be transferred to your hotel for check-in.

Then, the Royal Palace complex and the adjacent ‘Silver Pagoda’ compound include many buildings, structures, and gardens set within 500×800 meter walled grounds overlooking a riverfront park.

The high sculpted wall and the golden spired Chanchhaya Pavilion, which mark the approach to the Palace, stand out against the riverfront skyline. The high walls of the Palace grounds muffle street noises, and the various Royal buildings rise like ornate islands from the tranquil, manicured tropical gardens. The silver pagoda is also recognized as the Emerald Buddha Pagoda or Wat Preah Kaew.

After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel for rest with the evening free.

After breakfast, you’ll be picked up for a Cyclo tour around Phnom Penh’s key sites, such as Wat Phnom, the Central Market, Independence Monument, the Royal Palace, and the Silver Pagoda.

You will visit the National Museum, the largest museum of cultural history and is the country’s leading historical and archaeological museum.

Today you will be transferred to the airport for your departing flight back home.