4-day Itinerary for Siem Reap, Cambodia

WHERE TO STAY, EAT & EXPLORE

Our second country on our month trip to Asia was The Kingdom of Cambodia! Flying with Jetstar from Singapore to Siem Reap, Cambodia for 3 nights!

Lonely Planet has a book called ‘Ultimate Travel, 500 Places to Visit’ and the number 1 place in the world to see were the temples of Angor Wat. So ever since then, Cambodia has been our top country to visit and Angkor Wat can now finally be crossed off our bucket list! And it did not disappoint!

We were in Siem Reap for 4 days, we felt this was a really good amount of time. This gave us 2 days to explore the temples and two days to travel in and out and relax at the hotel.

WHERE TO STAY

Sabara Angkor Resort and Spa // This 5* hotel was one of our favorite hotels we’ve ever stayed in! Only opening a few months before our visit, it was a 10-minute tuk-tuk drive from the airport and a short tuk-tuk ride from everywhere we wanted to visit. It had the most beautiful garden and pool area and included an amazing restaurant offering the best Khmer cuisine possible.

➜ Links to all accommodation in Siem Reap

WHERE TO EAT

Royal Spice Restaurant // This was the restaurant at our hotel which did such amazing food. They offered a ‘Khmer Creative Cuisine’ set menu and it was our favourite meal of the trip!

The set menu offered a 3-course meal and cost us $16 each. This was definitely the most expensive meal we had in Siem Reap, but goes to show how cheap it is here and how much you get for your money.

Red piano // This is on the very busy Pub Street and has a big balcony you can sit at and watch the action. They do a selection of Asian and international food. They did the best Cambodian curry!

Le Tigre de Papier // Here they serve authentic Khmer food along with other cuisines. They also offer cooking classes twice a day.

WHERE TO GO

Angkor Wat, translates to “City of Temples”- a UNESCO heritage site since 1992 and the largest religious monument in the world! This has been at the top of our bucket list for a while now. It is definitely up there with one of the best things we’ve ever seen!

We paid for the 3-day pass and had a tuk-tuk driver for the day to take us around the site as all the temples are quite a distance from each other. The Angkor ruins stretch over more than 248 square miles so having the tuk-tuk gives you a rest from all the walking and the sun. So we’d definitely recommend hiring either a tuk-tuk or private car.

You can buy a 1 day pass for $37, a 3-day pass for $62, or a 7-day pass for $72. You buy your passes in one location at the official Angkor ticket center which is located about 4km away from Siem Reap town.

We decided to buy the 3-day pass and go for 2 days. There are so many temples and we wanted to take our time and not rush them. Especially with the heat, it was nice knowing we could take our time and 2 days meant we could watch sunrise and sunset as well.

For more info and handy tips read our article “12 Handy Tips for Visiting Angkor Wat, Cambodia”

We came on our first day around mid-day and stayed to watch the sunset over the temple which was stunning!

We read online that there was a general route that every tuk-tuk or guide took while showing tourists around the temples. We asked our driver to go the opposite way and start from the other end. This was by far the best decision we made as for many of the temples we were the only people there and rarely bumped into a big crowd!

Then the next day we got there at 5 am to watch the sunrise. Some people told us not to bother going to watch the sunrise as there are hundreds of people which spoiled it, but we went off-season so there weren’t as many people, but either way, this is one of the most beautiful scenes we have and ever will see so it’s definitely worth it!

WHAT TO DO

Cookery class at Le Tigre de Papier // This was our first time doing a cookery class and we loved it! It was $15 each which is a really good price for a cooking class and it was about 3 hours long. You get to visit the food market to see what type of food you’ll be using and where it’s come from and pick out the dishes you want to make.

Then you all get to sit down after and tuck into your 3-course meal you’ve created! This is a great memory to take home with you along with the new recipes you’ve learned!