Cambodia in 7 days: Angkor, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh

Book four Siem Reap nights and two capital nights

The dated example is 16–22 November 2026: arrive on Monday, stay in Siem Reap until Friday, then spend Friday and Saturday nights in Phnom Penh and depart on Sunday. Search flights into Siem Reap and out of Phnom Penh together before buying either ticket. Reversing the route means reversing the rooms, bus and airport transfers too.

For Siem Reap, use Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI). Book the Bangkok–Siem Reap leg by air.

For Phnom Penh, book flights to Techo International Airport (KTI), which took over major airline services from the old Phnom Penh airport in September 2025. From Bangkok, travel by air.

Choose the Old Market or Wat Bo area in Siem Reap for town evenings, and central Phnom Penh around the riverside or BKK1 for the capital stay. Keep one room throughout each stop. The budget uses Mad Monkey private ensuite doubles at Rose Apple Road in Siem Reap and Street 242 in Phnom Penh; compare other accommodation if a hostel’s social setting does not suit your trip.

For a tourist visa, carry a passport with at least six months remaining when you enter Cambodia.

Check your nationality and passport type through the official channels linked in our entry guide before applying for a visa.

Use our entry guide for the nationality check and official visa and arrival-form steps before the flight.

On 15 October 2026, the UK FCDO advised against all but essential travel within 20 km of Cambodia’s land border with Thailand; Germany warned against travel within 20 km, and France formally advised against travel within 30 km on the Cambodian side. France’s Thailand advice uses 50 km on the Thai side. Our routes keep at least 50 km from the border and use flights from Bangkok; the land crossings are closed. Check your own government’s advice before booking.

Day 1, 16 November: arrive in Siem Reap

Give the arrival day to the hotel-direct airport ride and settling into town, settling into your room and a first walk around the Old Market and river. A Khmer dinner is enough of an evening plan before tomorrow’s early start. Sleep in Siem Reap: night 1 of 4.

The airport operator places SAI 50 km from Siem Reap provincial town. No operator or official page publishes a journey time for this transfer, so allow for the drive as well as immigration and baggage collection before planning the afternoon.

The budget uses Royal Angkor Tours’ hotel-direct air-conditioned car, listed on 15 October 2026 at US$45 one way for 1–3 passengers between SAI and a Siem Reap hotel. Book its own transfer page with your flight and Rose Apple Road address. The operator offers 24/7 service and includes the driver and bottled water, with space for one large bag, one carry-on and a small bag or backpack per passenger. Cancellation is free until 48 hours before pickup.

Buy the Angkor pass and arrange the sunrise tour and breakfast box today. That leaves the early morning for the temples instead of a ticket purchase.

Day 2, 17 November: Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm

Begin at Angkor Wat, where the moat and long approach frame the towers before you reach the galleries. Stay for the bas-reliefs after sunrise. Bayon, in Angkor Thom, brings a different scale: stone faces above terraces and carvings of historical and everyday scenes. Ta Prohm is the forest-grown counterpart, with trees entwined in the ruins. Return for lunch and a rest rather than adding another circuit. Sleep in the same Siem Reap room: night 2.

On 15 October 2026, Angkor Enterprise listed an Angkor pass at US$37 for one day, US$62 for three visiting days with expiry in seven days, or US$72 for seven visiting days with expiry in 30 days.

This route uses the three-day pass for visits on days 2 and 4; you do not have to use every visiting day. A photo is required for this pass.

Buy your Angkor pass on Angkor Enterprise’s official website, select the pass and visit date, enter the quantity and nationality, and pay by credit or debit card or KHQR. Save the emailed e-ticket; digital and printed copies are accepted at entry.

Mad Monkey’s Sunrise Angkor Wat Temple Tour lists daily departures from its Siem Reap lobby at 04:15, visits to those three temples and a return departure at 12:00. Its published tariff read on 15 October 2026 was US$18 per person with lunch and a drink on return, or US$15 for the tour only. Guide, water and air-conditioned transport are included; the Angkor pass is separate. The budget uses the lunch option and a US$6 breakfast box per person, ordered the day before. Select 17 November on the operator’s booking page for your actual booking price.

On 15 October 2026, Angkor Enterprise listed Angkor Wat at 05:00–17:30, Bayon at 07:30–17:30 and Phnom Bakheng at 05:00–19:00.

Cover your shoulders and knees at sacred sites, follow restricted-area signs, and keep off loose stones and fragile structures. Do not touch carvings, remove objects, smoke or litter. Ask before photographing monks, and do not give money or sweets to children.

Days 3–4, 18–19 November: town, then the Grand Circuit

Day 3 — Siem Reap: have a num banh chok breakfast at SPOONS, browse the Old Market and walk along the river. Keep this day unhurried after the sunrise start. For an indoor addition, Angkor National Museum’s galleries cover Khmer civilisation, beliefs, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and stone inscriptions; our Siem Reap guide gives its access details. This optional museum is not in the budget. Have saraman or Turk Kroeung at SPOONS for lunch, then amok at HAVEN for dinner. Sleep in Siem Reap: night 3.

Day 4 — the Grand Circuit: use the second visit on your Angkor pass for Angkor Friendly Driver’s Big Circuit Option 1. Its itinerary lists Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon and Pre Rup, with hotel pick-up at 08:30 and a return around 15:00. These are the operator’s planned times, so leave the evening free. Sleep in Siem Reap: night 4, your last here.

Preah Khan rewards the slower day. Angkor Enterprise describes rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary, Hindu satellite temples and trees growing among the largely unrestored ruins. Exploring these successive spaces feels different from looking up at Angkor Wat’s towers. Its listed opening was 07:00–18:30 on 15 October 2026.

The remaining stops each add a different detail. At Neak Pean, look at the large square pond and the smaller connected ponds around it. Ta Som has an eastern gate enveloped by a sacred fig tree, a close-up view of vegetation growing around the stone. East Mebon has life-size stone elephants at the corners of its terraces. Pre Rup is a towering brick temple-mountain, a change in material and outline from Preah Khan’s corridors. These are the features Cambodia Tourism Board identifies on its Grand Circuit page; this plan follows the operator’s daytime return rather than adding a sunset stay.

Angkor Friendly Driver’s own tariff read on that date listed Option 1 at US$50 per private air-conditioned car, maximum three passengers. It includes an English-speaking driver, fuel, parking, water and towels; the driver waits outside the temples. Admission, meals and an accompanying guide are separate. A guide costs another US$50 per tour. Book Option 1 through the operator’s website; the two-person budget uses the car without that additional guide.

Have breakfast before pick-up and buy lunch on the circuit. After returning, take a break before dinner and pack for the morning bus. Stay on marked paths around rural sites because of mines and unexploded ordnance.

Day 5, 20 November: the daytime bus to Phnom Penh

For day 5, Giant Ibis’s booking results read on 15 October 2026 for 20 November 2026 listed its 08:45 Siem Reap–Phnom Penh Universe Luxury service at US$17 per seat, arriving at 14:45. It boards behind the Old Stadium on Khmer Pub Street and drops at Road 106, Sangkat Doun Penh, Khan Doun Penh. The listed journey takes six hours; give this day to the transfer. The online payment calculation adds US$1 per passenger, so two seats cost US$36.

Book Giant Ibis directly on its website, choose your departure and seat, and check the fare for your date before paying.

Giant Ibis asks passengers to reach the terminal 35 minutes before departure and permits electronic tickets. Its terms allow one carry-on and a maximum of two pieces of stored luggage not exceeding 25 kg; excess stored luggage may cost extra. Tickets are non-refundable but can be exchanged once, up to one year from purchase, with notice at least 24 hours before departure. If the company adjusts or combines a departure, it offers an alternative or full refund.

For the 08:45 bus, reach the terminal by 08:10. Giant Ibis’s complimentary hotel pickup requires a listed partner property, tickets bought a day in advance and readiness in the lobby one hour before departure; it excludes night buses. Its list names Mad Monkey on Sivatha Road, not the Rose Apple Road hotel, and no price is published for a pickup from Rose Apple Road, so the ride from the hotel to the terminal is not included in the budget; ask Giant Ibis or the hotel when you book. Have breakfast early enough and carry lunch or buy it during the journey. On arrival, use the two-hour Grab Rent car from the budget from Road 106 to the Street 242 room, then a separate dinner loop. Sleep in Phnom Penh: night 5 of the trip, the first of 2 here.

Day 6, 21 November: palace, sculpture and remembrance

Put the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda first, the National Museum of Cambodia next, and Tuol Sleng in the afternoon. Start early and keep lunch simple. This is the busiest sightseeing day; if you prefer long museum visits, choose the National Museum and Tuol Sleng, and keep the palace to its exterior. Sleep in Phnom Penh: night 6, your final night.

The palace has tiered Khmer roofs, naga balustrades and golden spires. Its Throne Hall is used for royal ceremonies; the Silver Pagoda holds a diamond-decorated Golden Buddha. Cambodia Tourism Board’s page checked on 15 October 2026 lists international-tourist admission at $10, with standard sessions of 08:00–11:00 and 14:00–17:00. Use the entrance ticket counters and check that day’s visitor access there, including any royal-ceremony arrangements. The board says to dress respectfully; clothes covering shoulders and knees are a practical choice.

The National Museum brings you close to Khmer sculpture, ceramics and other cultural objects from prehistory through the pre-Angkorian, Angkorian and post-Angkorian periods. After the temples, this gives you time with individual works rather than another large outdoor complex. On 15 October 2026, its admission page listed daily opening at 08:00–17:00, last ticket sales at 16:30, and US$10 for foreign visitors aged 18 and above. Buy admission at the museum; photography inside the galleries is prohibited.

Tuol Sleng preserves S-21, the Khmer Rouge interrogation and detention centre. Give the memorial its own part of the day and a quiet break afterwards. Its visitor page warns that exhibits may not be appropriate for children aged 14 and younger.

On 15 October 2026, Tuol Sleng listed daily opening at 08:00–17:00, including public holidays. International adults aged 18 and above pay US$5; non-Cambodian audio guides cost another US$5. Tickets are sold at the entrance booth on Street 113, corner 350, and payment is cash in riel or US dollars. National visitors and foreign visitors showing K-VISA confirmation enter free. Keep the evening for dinner rather than another memorial or an out-of-town excursion.

Day 7, 22 November: breakfast and departure from KTI

Have breakfast, check out and travel to Techo International Airport for your flight. This is the departure day, with no seventh hotel night and no intercity bus connection before the airport. Leave enough time for the road journey and your airline’s check-in deadline.

For the Street 242–KTI departure, Royal Angkor Tours’ own page checked on 15 October 2026 lists a one-way city car at US$35 plus a US$20 KTI car surcharge: US$55 for 1–3 people. Book a one-way airport drop-off with KTI selected and give the hotel address and flight details. This is its published drop-off tariff, rather than a reversed airport-arrival estimate.

For the Phnom Penh town legs, Grab Rent’s page checked on the same date lists a four-seat car for two hours at KHR65,000 and a three-seat tuk-tuk for two hours at KHR32,000 or eight hours at KHR90,000. Book in the app for the loops in the budget. The driver waits between stops within Phnom Penh; fuel and driver charges are included. Finish by 20:00. Parking and tolls are extra; overtime is KHR350 per minute for the car or KHR150 for the tuk-tuk, with a minimum extra hour. Package lengths are a plan, not promised journey or visit times.

Across the week, try the five dishes below rather than repeating one order. Menus read on 15 October 2026 listed SPOONS Num Banh Chok at US$3.50 and Beef Saraman at US$8.99; HAVEN Khmer Amok at US$7.50; and Malis Phnom Penh’s Bay Sach Chrouk Ang at US$5 and Beef Lok Lak at US$13. HAVEN’s prices include 10% VAT and it adds no service charge. The SPOONS and Malis menus do not say whether tax or service is included.

Tell the restaurant about allergies when ordering; these dishes may contain fish, coconut, cashew nuts and egg. Arrange the sunrise breakfast box the day before because that departure precedes SPOONS’ 07:00–11:00 breakfast service.

A dated six-night budget for two adults

For two adults sharing private ensuite doubles on 16–22 November 2026, the prices checked on 15 October 2026 add up to US$792.88 + KHR251,000. That counts all six room nights, both temple days, the daytime bus, the airport car on arrival and departure, palace and museum admissions, the listed meals and the Phnom Penh car and tuk-tuk hire. Room taxes, service charges and breakfast are not included, and neither is the ride from the Siem Reap hotel to the bus terminal.

On 15 October 2026, Mad Monkey’s own rates were: Siem Reap Superior Double from US$105.50 for the four nights of 16–20 November, and Phnom Penh Standard Double from US$35 a night, US$70 for 20–22 November. Both rooms have an ensuite and sleep two.

• All six room nights: US$175.50 = Siem Reap four-night total US$105.50 + Phnom Penh two-night total US$70.
• Airport and intercity transport: US$136 = SAI–Rose Apple Road private car US$45 + two Giant Ibis seats at US$17 plus US$1 online each, US$36 + Street 242–KTI private car US$55. The Rose Apple Road–bus terminal ride is not included.
• Two temple days: US$222 = two US$62 Angkor passes, US$124; two US$18 sunrise tours with lunch and a drink, US$36; two US$6 breakfast boxes, US$12; and Big Circuit Option 1’s US$50 private car for two. The optional accompanying guide adds US$50, outside the subtotal. Select your November dates on the operators’ booking pages.
• Capital admissions: US$60 = two Royal Palace international-tourist tickets at US$10, US$20; National Museum, two foreign adults at US$10, US$20; Tuol Sleng, two international adult admissions at US$5 plus two non-Cambodian audio guides at US$5, US$20.
• Siem Reap town meals: US$101.38 = six US$3.50 num banh chok breakfasts across days 3–5, US$21; three HAVEN dinner pairs of amok US$7.50 and lok lak US$8, US$46.50; and two SPOONS meal pairs of saraman US$8.99 and Turk Kroeung US$7.95, US$33.88. The SPOONS pairs cover day 2 dinner and day 3 lunch; HAVEN covers dinners on days 1, 3 and 4.
• Phnom Penh meals: US$98 = four US$5 grilled-pork-rice breakfasts on days 6–7, US$20; three pairs of Malis beef lok lak US$13 and chicken curry in lotus leaf US$13 for day 5 dinner and day 6 lunch and dinner, US$78. These are menu-price models, not prepaid meals.
• Arithmetic: US$175.50 + US$136 + US$222 + US$60 + US$101.38 + US$98 = US$792.88, plus the KHR251,000 Phnom Penh packages below. HAVEN’s VAT is included with no service charge. Keep the two currencies separate.
• Phnom Penh packages: KHR251,000 = day 5 Road 106–Street 242 two-hour car KHR65,000; day 5 hotel–Malis–hotel dinner two-hour tuk-tuk KHR32,000; day 6 hotel–Malis breakfast–palace–National Museum–Tuol Sleng–Malis lunch–hotel eight-hour tuk-tuk KHR90,000; day 6 dinner loop two-hour tuk-tuk KHR32,000; day 7 breakfast loop two-hour tuk-tuk KHR32,000. Sight and meal stops fit within the selected package; parking, tolls and any overtime are not included.
• Not included: flights and any visas; room taxes, service charges and breakfast; the Rose Apple Road–bus terminal ride and any rides instead of Siem Reap town walks; meals before arrival on day 1 and after departure on day 7, day 1 lunch, day 4 circuit lunch, day 5 transfer lunch and day 7 lunch; the optional Angkor National Museum and the optional US$50 Big Circuit guide; parking, tolls and overtime; drinks beyond the tour inclusion, snacks, tips and insurance; any tax or service on other meals. The total above is not the full trip cost.