Maybe a better title is “The Trip We haven’t taken YET to Cambodia.” You see, we tried to go to Cambodia. Twice. Both times we had issues with our plane tickets and ended up in Bangkok and then Western Australia. But I digress. The point is, I had this trip planned. Planned out to a T. I was so excited about the place(s) I found to stay, the tours to do in Siem Reap and the best restaurants to eat. I spent hours compiling this information and I feel like it shouldn’t go to waste, so I will share it with you here.
I’ve been to Siem Reap before, but it has been a good 20 years, so it was fun to see how things have changed and the possibilities that exist with a few more dollars in my pocket than I had as a 22 year old. Siem Reap is full of socially responsible hotels, restaurants and tours, making this an amazing trip to plan.
Where to stay:
Phum Kmer Lodge. Beautiful traditional wooden houses decorated perfectly. We loved that they had 2 bedroom options, giving us a bit of space. From $70/night
Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel bills itself as an ethical tropical oasis. A social enterprise
promoting responsible travel, this place looks amazing in terms of a lovely place to stay that also helps build up the local community. Rooms start at $60/night, family rooms at $90/night.
What to do:
Obviously we would have toured the famous temples. My goal was to buy the 2 day pass, and maybe hire a guide or just a tuk tuk driver to take us around as I’m not sure my kids would have managed to sit through long explanations.
I was so excited to find this tour company. They are a women owned cooperative and have taken American jeeps left behind from the Vietnam war, painted them purple and now give adventure tours. We were going to do the Banteay Srey tour as it included going to the beautiful temple but also a stop in a local village where one of the drivers is from to share a meal. $125
Phare Circus. This one sounds like a can’t miss. Nightly performances are held in a big top with street food available for purchase beforehand. Prices start at $18 for adults, $10 for kids 5-11 and kids under 5 are free.
Tonle Sap Tour. We wanted to explore the floating village by boat as well as have a local experience. The tour with Osmose Tours included a weaving class with hyacinth leaves that I’m sure my kids would have enjoyed. $224 for all of us on a private tour.
I found a group called Ayana Journeys that offers a course on an Intro to Buddhism that I thought would be fun for the adults.
And if we still needed more to do, there are tons of cycling tours available where you can either travel slowly through the temples and/or into the countryside.
Where to Eat
Siem Reap is famous for having all kinds of food (at every price point). One of the places I had really wanted to visit was Sala Bai, a hotel school training their students in fine dining.
Lum Org farm to table restaurant was recommended by friends and looks so good!
What did I miss? Have you been to Siem Reap Lately? What do you recommend to do? Where to stay?