Best of Cambodia — Self-Launched

Land at Phnom Penh (PNH), pick up a local SIM from the airport (Smart or Cellcard, ~£3 for data), and take a PassApp/Grab tuk-tuk into the city (~£2-3) rather than an airport taxi. Settle into a hostel or guesthouse around Street 240 or the riverside. Spend the late afternoon wandering the Royal Palace gardens and Sisowath Quay at sunset, then eat at a street stall or the Night Market — a plate of lok lak or noodles is about £1.50-2.50. Buy your Angkor pass online in advance tonight if you can (3-day pass US$62, ~£49), as it speeds up day 5.

🚌Tuk-tuk from airport ~£2-3 (PassApp/Grab)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, riverside/Daun Penh (~£10-14 dorm, £16-20 private)

• →Sisowath Quay sunset walk
• →Night Market dinner
• →SIM card and data setup

A heavy but essential day. Start early at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) — entry US$5 (~£4), and pay the extra ~£2.50 for the audio guide, which is excellent. Then take a tuk-tuk out to Choeung Ek Killing Fields (~£4-5 each way, entry US$6 / ~£5, audio guide included). Between the two, tuk-tuk drivers will happily wait. In the late afternoon, book onto a GetYourGuide or Klook small-group city walk for context, or simply decompress at Wat Phnom. In the evening try Cambodian cooking with a half-day market-to-table class (~£18-22, bookable via GetYourGuide or Cooking with Chef Nak-style options).

🚌Tuk-tuk to Choeung Ek ~£4-5 each way

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, riverside/Daun Penh (~£10-20)

• →Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21)
• →Choeung Ek Killing Fields
• →Optional Khmer cooking class

Take a morning bus to Battambang — Virak Buntham or Mekong Express minibus, roughly 5-6 hours, ~£7-9, bookable the day before at any guesthouse. If you want the Intrepid rail experience, the slow train from Phnom Penh to Battambang runs intermittently and takes 8-10 hours; the bus is the practical choice and a much more comfortable one. Arrive mid-afternoon; Battambang is sleepy and walkable. Check into a guesthouse near the riverside, walk the colonial-era streets, and take in a Phare Ponleu Selpak circus performance (book ahead, ~£10-14) — a fantastic social-enterprise show.

🚌Bus/minibus Phnom Penh-Battambang ~£7-9

🛏Riverside guesthouse (~£9-15)

• →Bus journey to Battambang
• →Colonial architecture walk
• →Phare Ponleu Selpak circus

Book a half-day countryside bicycle tour directly with a local social-enterprise operator (Soksabike is the one Intrepid uses and takes direct bookings; ~£18-25 for a half day including snacks and local stops). You'll cycle through rice paddies and villages, sample rice wine and sticky rice in bamboo, and meet families making mats, noodles and fish paste. In the afternoon ride the bamboo train (Norry) from O Dambong — ~£4-5 for a 30-40 min out-and-back. Evening: tuk-tuk up to Phnom Sampeau bat cave to watch millions of bats stream out at dusk (~£5 return).

🚌Bicycle hire included in tour; tuk-tuk to caves ~£5

🛏Riverside guesthouse (~£9-15)

• →Soksabike countryside cycling tour
• →Bamboo train (Norry)
• →Phnom Sampeau bat cave at dusk

Take the share taxi/bus to Siem Reap (~4-5 hours by road, ~£6-10 — the faster and more reliable option). The classic Tonle Sap boat crossing from Battambang is the scenic equivalent of Intrepid's private boat, but in recent seasons it's been erratic; ask locally and only take it if a licensed service is running (~£18-20, 6-8 hours, dry season water levels permitting). Once in Siem Reap, check into a hostel near Pub Street or Wat Bo, grab dinner at a Night Market stall, and pick up your Angkor ticket information. Book a GetYourGuide sunrise guide for day 6 tonight.

🚌Shared bus Battambang-Siem Reap ~£6-10 (or Tonle Sap boat ~£18-20 if running)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, Wat Bo / Pub Street area (~£8-16)

• →Travel to Siem Reap
• →Night Market dinner
• →Book Angkor guide

Start at 4.30am — hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day (~£15-18, negotiate the night before) or join a GetYourGuide small-group sunrise tour (~£15-25 including guide). Position yourself by the reflecting pool for sunrise over Angkor Wat, then explore the temple before the crowds, move on to Angkor Thom, the Bayon's stone faces, and Ta Prohm's tree roots. Your 3-day Angkor pass covers everything. Lunch at one of the temple-side stalls, then rest up in the afternoon heat — a £6 massage is practically mandatory. Evening at the Phare Circus if you missed it.

🚌Full-day tuk-tuk with driver ~£15-18

🛏Hostel or guesthouse (~£8-16)

• →Sunrise at Angkor Wat
• →Angkor Thom and the Bayon
• →Ta Prohm
• →Optional Phare Circus

Hire a tuk-tuk or car for the longer loop out to Banteay Srei (the pink sandstone 'citadel of women', ~45 min each way) and Beng Mealea, the overgrown jungle temple that's far less crowded than the main Angkor sites — tuk-tuk with driver ~£22-28 for the day. Back in town by late afternoon, do a Khmer cooking class (~£18-22, bookable via Klook/GetYourGuide) or explore the Angkor National Museum (~£9) if you'd rather keep it low-effort.

🚌Tuk-tuk or car with driver for outlying temples ~£22-28

🛏Hostel or guesthouse (~£8-16)

• →Banteay Srei
• →Beng Mealea
• →Khmer cooking class or Angkor National Museum

Travel by tuk-tuk or shared car from Siem Reap to the Sambor Prei Kuk area (~2.5-3 hours, ~£15-20 split, or arrange a car through your guesthouse). The pre-Angkorian Chenla brick temples here are quiet and atmospheric. Book a community homestay directly through the Sambor Prei Kuk community tourism association or an Intrepid-partnered community initiative — roughly £10-15 including a simple traditional Khmer dinner and breakfast. Spend the afternoon cycling or walking to the temple groups with a local village guide (~£6-8), and eat with your host family in the evening.

🚌Tuk-tuk/shared car Siem Reap-Sambor Prei Kuk ~£15-20

🛏Community homestay, shared room (~£10-15 incl. meals)

• →Sambor Prei Kuk temple complex
• →Village guided walk
• →Traditional Khmer dinner with host family

A travel day: take the morning bus/minibus to Phnom Penh (~3 hours) and connect south to Kampot (~3-4 hours). Combined tickets can be booked through a local agent for roughly £12-16 total; the sleeper-ish midday connection works well. Arrive in Kampot in the evening, check into a riverside guesthouse or bungalow in the old town, and have dinner on the river — crab, prawn and pepper dishes are the local speciality, roughly £4-6 for a good meal.

🚌Bus Siem Reap-Phnom Penh-Kampot ~£12-16

🛏Riverside guesthouse or bungalow (~£10-18)

• →Scenic bus journey south
• →Kampot riverside evening

Rent a scooter (~£5-7/day) or hire a tuk-tuk driver (~£15-18 for the day) and do the Kampot countryside loop yourself: the La Plantation or Sothy's Pepper Farm (free or small-fee tours with tastings), the salt fields along the coast road (best in the dry season when they're glistening white), and Phnom Chhnork, a limestone cave with a 7th-century brick temple inside — entry ~£1-2 plus a local guide. Stop for lunch in Kep if you want the famous crab market (~30 min away). Evening: sunset cruise on the Kampot River, ~£5-7, or a heritage walk through the old shophouse streets.

🚌Scooter hire ~£5-7 or tuk-tuk with driver ~£15-18

🛏Riverside guesthouse or bungalow (~£10-18)

• →Pepper farm tour and tasting
• →Salt fields
• →Phnom Chhnork cave temple
• →Optional Kep crab market and river sunset cruise

Take a shared tuk-tuk or minibus to Sihanoukville (~2 hours, ~£7-9) and catch the speed ferry to Koh Rong (~40-45 min, ~£12-14 return, bookable via Klook or directly with operators like Buva Sea — don't book the slow boat). Continue to Long Set (4K) Beach for quieter bungalows, or stay near Koh Touch if you want the bars. Beach bungalows with a fan run about £12-20 a night. Afternoon swim, sunset on the sand.

🚌Minibus to Sihanoukville ~£7-9; return speed ferry ~£12-14

🛏Beach bungalow, fan or basic AC (~£12-20)

• →Ferry crossing to Koh Rong
• →Beach time at Long Set Beach

Book a small-group boat trip through your bungalow or a local operator (~£15-20 including snorkelling gear and lunch) — typically stops at Koh Rong Sanloem's Saracen Bay and a couple of snorkel spots with luminous plankton swimming on a night trip if you fancy a final evening out on the water. Alternatively, hike across the island on the marked trail to Sok San village (~3-4 hours, no charge) for a very different view of the place. Eat cheap on the beach — grilled fish and rice, ~£3-4.

🚌Walking/local boat

🛏Beach bungalow (~£12-20)

• →Small-group snorkel boat trip
• →Optional hike to Sok San village
• →Plankton swimming

Morning ferry back to Sihanoukville, then the bus north to Phnom Penh (~4-5 hours, ~£10-13; Giant Ibis or Virak Buntham, book the day before). Arrive in the capital in the evening. Final dinner somewhere good — either riverside or along Street 240 — and one last wander through the Night Market for gifts and cheap eats.

🚌Speed ferry plus bus Sihanoukville-Phnom Penh ~£10-13

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, riverside (~£10-20)

• →Ferry and bus back to Phnom Penh
• →Final evening in the capital

Depending on your flight time, walk the riverside early, grab a iced coffee and a bowl of kuy teav, and pick up last-minute souvenirs at Russian Market. Tuk-tuk to the airport (~£2-3). If you've got time to spare, the National Museum (~£4) is a lovely air-conditioned last stop before the flight.

🚌Tuk-tuk to airport ~£2-3

• →Riverside morning walk
• →Russian Market shopping
• →National Museum (optional)