Cambodia, eight travellers at a time
We run private and small-group trips in Cambodia and nowhere else. Eight people to a departure, Khmer guides paid a day rate rather than a commission, and an honest answer about the month you have chosen before you pay anything.
Three ways into this site
Most people arrive here at one of three moments, and each one needs a different page. Pick the one that matches where you actually are.
You know you want to book
Eight trips, two to fourteen days, every price and itinerary published. Start at all tours or go straight to what things cost.
You are still choosing places
Angkor is the reason most people come, and it is not the whole country. Where to go covers eight regions, including Mondulkiri and the Mekong at Kratie.
You are working out the shape of the trip
When to go, how many days you need, and visas and entry. Read these before you book flights, not after.
What we do differently, in mechanisms rather than adjectives
Every tour company in Siem Reap says it is passionate about Cambodia. That is not a difference you can check. These four are.
Eight travellers is the ceiling
Not a target, a ceiling. Above eight you stop hearing the guide inside a temple gallery and you start waiting for the last person at every stop.
No commission stops
No gem showroom, no silk factory with a shop attached, no lacquerware warehouse, no 'local family' pepper outlet paying us per head. A day has room for two temples or three shops. We chose.
Guides on a day rate
Our guides are paid the same whether you buy a scarf or not. That is the only arrangement under which a guide can honestly say a place is not worth your time.
No elephant riding, no orphanage visits
Two things that are still sold every day in Cambodia and that we will not book. Why, in detail.
Angkor, said plainly
Angkor is extraordinary and it is also hot, crowded at predictable hours, and sold badly. Almost every itinerary you will be offered starts with sunrise at Angkor Wat, which is the single most crowded ninety minutes in Cambodia, and then puts Ta Prohm at ten in the morning, which is the second.
The park is large enough that this is a solved problem. Bayon holds a few hundred people comfortably at eight in the morning and feels empty at four in the afternoon. Preah Khan and Ta Som are quiet almost all day. Banteay Srei is worth the 37 km drive if you go before nine or after three, and is a hot, packed car park in between.
A three-day Angkor pass costs USD 62 and is valid on any three days within ten. That flexibility is the whole trick: two half-days at the edges of the heat beat one long day in it, and the pass lets you do that without paying twice.
Full detail on tickets, hours and which temple at which hour is on the Angkor Archaeological Park page.
What a trip here costs
Land-only, per person, two people sharing, guided, with private transport. Excludes international flights and the Angkor pass, which we buy for you at cost.
| Style | Per person per day | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Simple and honest | USD 95 - 130 | Family-run guesthouses, air-conditioned car, guide on temple days only |
| Comfortable | USD 140 - 210 | Good four-star or a strong boutique, guide throughout, all transfers private |
| High end | USD 260 - 450 | The handful of genuinely excellent hotels, private boat days, longer guiding |
Two people pay roughly 35 percent more per head than four, because a car and a guide cost the same either way. The full breakdown, including what a supplier actually charges us, is on the prices page.
How this works, start to finish
- You send the form at the bottom of any page, or an email. Tell us the month, the number of people, and one thing you refuse to miss.
- We reply within one working day with a route, a price per person, and at least one thing we think you should change about your plan.
- You push back. Most itineraries change twice. This is normal and costs nothing.
- You pay a 25 percent deposit to confirm. The balance is due 21 days before you arrive.
- We send the final documents: a day-by-day file, the guide's name and phone number, and a 24-hour number that a human answers while you are in the country.
Start with a question, not a booking
Tell us the month and the number of people. If the month is wrong for what you want, we will say so in the first reply.
Who we are not right for
Written honestly, because a bad fit costs you a holiday and costs us a difficult fortnight.
- Groups of more than eight. We do not run them, and we will not quietly put you on someone else's coach.
- Travellers who want the cheapest possible price. A quote 25 percent below ours is almost always a guide on commission, and you will spend a morning in a jewellery shop.
- Anyone wanting a multi-country Indochina loop as one booking. We know Cambodia. For Vietnam and Laos we will hand you to people who know those countries.
- Anyone set on riding an elephant or visiting an orphanage. We will explain why once, and then decline.
- Travellers who need a guide in a language other than English. Khmer-French guiding exists in Cambodia but we do not have depth in it, and depth is the point.
Questions travellers ask most
Do you only sell Cambodia?
Yes. Every itinerary on this site starts and ends inside Cambodia. We will happily advise on how a Cambodia leg fits with Vietnam, Laos or Thailand, and we will book your border crossing, but we do not guide outside the country.
How far ahead should I book?
For November to February, three to four months for the good hotels and one month for everything else. For May to September you can often book three weeks out and lose nothing at all.
Is Cambodia expensive?
Cheaper than Vietnam for food and beer, similar for hotels, more expensive than both for entrance fees. The Angkor pass alone is USD 62 for three days, and Koh Ker is a separate USD 15. Budget those separately from the trip price so nothing surprises you.
Can we start in Vietnam or Thailand and finish here?
Yes, and many people do. Common shapes are Bangkok to Siem Reap by air, or Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh by road or river. Tell us the arrival point and we will build the Cambodia half around it.
Read next
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.