Angkor in three days
Three days at Angkor with the schedule built backwards from the crowds and the heat. Two half-days at the cool ends, one long morning, and nothing at all between eleven and three.
At a glance
- Days
- 3 days, 2 nights
- Group
- Maximum 8
- Start
- Siem Reap
- End
- Siem Reap
- Effort
- Moderate, steep steps
- From
- USD 310 per person
Who this is for
This route is for people who have three days and want Angkor rather than a photograph of Angkor. It assumes you would rather see four temples well than nine badly, and it gives back the middle of every day, which almost no itinerary does.
It is not a slow trip. You will be picked up before six twice, and you will walk five to eight kilometres on uneven stone each day. What you will not do is stand in a car park at eleven in the morning in 36-degree heat wondering when lunch is.
Why the hours are what they are
Angkor's crowds are a function of the clock, not the calendar. Around three quarters of visitors do the same thing: sunrise at Angkor Wat, then Angkor Thom, then Ta Prohm around ten, then lunch. The park has more than seventy temples and most people are standing in three of them at the same time.
| What most itineraries do | What we do instead |
|---|---|
| Sunrise at the Angkor Wat pools on day one | Bayon east gate at first light on day one |
| Ta Prohm at 10:00 | Ta Prohm at 07:15 on day two |
| Temples straight through 11:00 to 15:00 | Nothing at all in those hours |
| Phnom Bakheng for sunset | Pre Rup or the Bayon at 17:00 |
| Banteay Srei squeezed into a full day | Banteay Srei at 08:00 on its own morning |
A USD 62 pass is valid on any three days within ten and does not have to be used on consecutive days or whole days. That is what lets us split each day around the heat. It is the single most useful fact about visiting Angkor.
Day by day
Angkor Thom, the Bayon at first light, and the small circuit
Pick-up at 05:15. Into Angkor Thom through the south gate while it is empty, and to the Bayon for first light. Around two hundred and sixteen carved faces on fifty-odd towers, and at six in the morning you will share them with a handful of people rather than a coach park.
Then the Baphuon, the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King on foot, and out to Preah Khan, a monastic city of long collapsing corridors that stays quiet all day. Back at the hotel by 11:00.
Out again at 15:30 for Ta Som, Neak Pean and Pre Rup, finishing on the upper terrace of Pre Rup as the light goes. It is the sunset that Phnom Bakheng is famous for, with a tenth of the people.
Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and the middle of the day off
Pick-up at 05:00 for sunrise at Angkor Wat. This is the one crowded thing we do, because it should be done once. We stand on the north side of the causeway rather than at the reflecting pools, where the light is the same and the crowd is a quarter of the size, and we walk into the temple at 06:20 while everyone else is queueing for breakfast.
Two hours inside Angkor Wat: the bas-relief galleries, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, and the upper level if the dress code and the queue allow. Then Ta Prohm at 07:15, which at that hour is the temple people imagine and by ten is not.
Back by 10:30. The afternoon is yours: the Angkor National Museum in the heat, a pool, or Kandal Village. Optional short return at 16:30 to Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang if you still have legs.
Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean and the Roluos group
A later start, 07:30, and 37 km north-east to Banteay Srei: small, pink sandstone, and carved to a depth and precision nothing else at Angkor reaches. At eight in the morning it is calm. By ten it is a car park.
Kbal Spean if you want the walk, a 1.5 km climb through forest to a riverbed carved with lingas and Vishnu reclining, with water running over it in the wet months. Or the Landmine Museum, which is small, direct and run by a former child soldier who cleared mines by hand.
On the way back, the Roluos group: Bakong, Preah Ko and Lolei, ninth century and two hundred years older than central Angkor. Almost nobody comes, and they explain where the whole thing started. Hotel by 13:30 or airport as you need.
Prices
| Party size | Simple | Comfortable | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travellers | USD 450 | USD 690 | USD 1,240 |
| 3 - 4 travellers | USD 360 | USD 570 | USD 1,100 |
| 5 - 8 travellers | USD 310 | USD 500 | USD 1,020 |
What is included
What the price includes
- Two nights at the hotel level you choose, named in your quotation
- Private air-conditioned vehicle and driver on all three days, including the split-day returns to your hotel
- Licensed English-speaking guide throughout, paid a day rate and not on commission
- Both transfers to Siem Reap - Angkor International, 45 km each way
- Entrance to Kbal Spean, the Landmine Museum and the Roluos group
- Cold water and towels in the vehicle on every temple day
- 24-hour Cambodian phone support
What it does not include
- The Angkor pass, USD 62 for three days, which we buy for you at cost
- International flights and the Cambodian visa
- Travel insurance
- Lunches and dinners, and all drinks
- The Angkor National Museum, if you use the free afternoon for it
- Tips
Photographs
Who this tour is not right for
- Anyone who cannot manage steep, worn, handrail-free staircases. The upper level of Angkor Wat and the towers at Pre Rup and Bakong are not accessible, and there is no workaround. A ground-level version of this trip is excellent and we will build it.
- People who want a lie-in. Two of the three mornings start before 05:30, and moving them later removes the entire reason the itinerary works.
- Travellers who want to see as many temples as possible. This route deliberately visits about twelve temples in three days rather than twenty-five.
- Anyone travelling in April who will not accept the midday break. The stone reaches temperatures you feel through your shoes.
- Families whose children will not manage two early starts and long hot walks. With under-tens we would build a two-temple-a-day version at a completely different pace.
What people add to it
The two most common additions are Beng Mealea, an unrestored temple collapsed into forest 65 km east, and the Tonle Sap stilt villages between August and December when the lake is actually full. Both are half days.
If the archaeology is the point rather than the icons, the better trip is Remote temples, 5 days, which adds Koh Ker and Preah Vihear. If you want the country rather than the park, look at Cambodia highlights, 7 days. Background on tickets and hours is on the Angkor page.
Questions travellers ask most
Is the Angkor pass included in the price?
No. It is issued in your name with your photograph, so no operator can include it honestly. We buy it for you at cost on the first morning: USD 62 for the three-day pass this itinerary uses.
Do we really need to start at five in the morning?
Twice, yes. The early starts are what buy you empty temples and a free afternoon. If you would rather start at eight, we will build that trip, and you should know it will be a hotter and busier one.
Can we see Angkor Wat at sunrise?
Yes, on day two. We stand on the north side of the causeway rather than at the reflecting pools, and we go inside at 06:20 when the sunrise crowd leaves for breakfast.
Is three days too much temple?
For some people, yes, and it usually arrives on the third afternoon. This itinerary front-loads the essential temples and keeps day three short and out of town, so if fatigue hits you have already seen what you came for.
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