Ultimate Cambodian Adventure — Self-Launched

Land at Phnom Penh International Airport and take a tuk-tuk or the airport shuttle into the city centre (~£3-4; Grab app is reliable and cheap). Check into a guesthouse or hostel around Street 240, the Riverside or BKK1. Spend the afternoon walking the riverside promenade past Wat Phnom and the Royal Palace exteriors, and grab your first bowl of kuy teav (noodle soup) or a $1.50 draft beer on Street 130. Pick up a local SIM (Smart or Cellcard tourist SIM, ~£3-5 for data) if you haven't already.

🚌Airport tuk-tuk or shuttle ~£3-4

🛏Guesthouse/hostel in central Phnom Penh (dorm £5-7, private twin £14-20)

• →Riverside walk
• →Wat Phnom area
• →Street food dinner

The most important and heaviest day of the trip. Take a tuk-tuk to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) in the morning — entry ~$5, and the audio guide (~$3) is genuinely worth it. Then continue out to Choeung Ek (the Killing Fields), entry ~$6 with audio guide. You can do both independently by tuk-tuk (~$15-20 for a half-day hire) or book a small-group half-day tour via GetYourGuide (~£12-16 including hotel pickup). Afternoon free — the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (~$10) and the National Museum (~$10) are nearby if you have energy; otherwise decompress at a cafe. In the evening, if it fits your dates, Phare Circus is a brilliant socially-conscious acrobatics show (~£14-18, book direct or via GetYourGuide).

🚌Tuk-tuk hire ~£15-20 for the day

🛏Guesthouse/hostel in central Phnom Penh

• →Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21)
• →Choeung Ek Killing Fields
• →Optional Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda
• →Optional Phare Circus

Travel west to Battambang, Cambodia's best-preserved colonial town. Minivans run several times a day from Phnom Penh (~5-6 hours, ~£7-9); book through your guesthouse or on the Virak Buntham/Giant Ibis apps. Some travellers take the slow boat on the Sangker River in the other direction — but from Phnom Penh it's the road. Arrive mid-afternoon, check into a guesthouse near the riverside, and wander the old shophouse streets. Sunset at Phnom Sampeau or simply a beer on the riverside terrace works well. Optional afternoon: countryside bike hire (~£2/day).

🚌Shared minivan Phnom Penh–Battambang ~£7-9

🛏Guesthouse in Battambang (private £10-16)

• →Colonial architecture walk
• →Riverside evening
• →Optional countryside cycling

Morning in Battambang: you can book the famous bamboo train (Norry, ~$5) directly at the site, or join a half-day countryside tour with a local tuk-tuk driver (~$15) covering rice paddies, a fish paste village and Phnom Banan temple. Then take an afternoon minivan to Siem Reap (~3 hours, ~£5-7). Settle in — a hostel or guesthouse in the Old Market/Wat Bo area puts you in walking distance of everything. In the evening, stroll Pub Street and the Night Market, or catch the Phare Circus if you didn't see it in Phnom Penh. Buy your Angkor pass tonight or early tomorrow (1-day $37, 3-day $62).

🚌Minivan Battambang–Siem Reap ~£5-7

🛏Hostel/guesthouse in Siem Reap (dorm £5-8, private £14-22)

• →Optional bamboo train
• →Optional countryside tuk-tuk tour
• →Pub Street & Night Market

The big one. Book a small-group sunrise tour through GetYourGuide (~£20-30 including an English-speaking guide and hotel pickup) or hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day (~$20-25) and self-guide with a good app or guidebook. Start at Angkor Wat for sunrise, then Bayon with its enigmatic faces, and finish at the tree-strangled Ta Prohm. Bring water, a scarf/shoulders covered for temple etiquette, and cash for the $37 day pass. Back in town by mid-afternoon — nap, then eat at one of the locally-run restaurants supporting vocational training (e.g. New Hope, which G Adventures supports — it's open to independent diners too).

🚌Tuk-tuk day hire ~£16-20 or shared tour pickup

🛏Hostel/guesthouse in Siem Reap

• →Angkor Wat sunrise
• →Bayon temple
• →Ta Prohm
• →Dinner at a vocational-training restaurant

Use the day to go deeper. Options: the outer temples (Banteay Srei and Beng Mealea, ~£25 tuk-tuk day), the Tonle Sap floating village at Kompong Khleang (~$25-30), the Angkor National Museum (~$12), a Khmer cooking class (~£15-20), or simply rent a bicycle and explore the back lanes. If you bought a 3-day Angkor pass, head back into the complex for quieter afternoon light. Evening: Phare Circus or apsara dance performance at a community venue.

🚌Local tuk-tuk/bicycle

🛏Hostel/guesthouse in Siem Reap

• →Optional outer temples
• →Optional Tonle Sap floating village
• →Optional cooking class
• →Evening performance

Head east to Kratié on the Mekong — a sleepy river town that's the best place in Cambodia to see endangered Irrawaddy dolphins. Minivan/bus from Siem Reap takes ~5-6 hours (~£8-10). Check into a riverside guesthouse and take a late-afternoon walk along the riverfront. Your guesthouse or the local boat operators can arrange the dolphin boat trip for tomorrow morning — or book through GetYourGuide in advance (~£12-16).

🚌Shared minivan Siem Reap–Kratié ~£8-10

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Kratié (private £10-16)

• →Mekong riverfront walk

Early morning boat trip at Kampi to spot Irrawaddy dolphins surfacing in the Mekong (~1-2 hours, ~£12-16). Back for breakfast, then take a local bus or minivan to Kampong Cham (~2.5-3 hours, ~£4-6). In the afternoon, cycle or tuk-tuk out to the 11th-century Nokor Bachey temple and the Wat Hanchey hilltop with Mekong views, or visit a silk-weaving village and rubber plantation on the road out. Riverside guesthouse for the night.

🚌Dolphin boat ~£14; minivan Kratié–Kampong Cham ~£5

🛏Guesthouse in Kampong Cham (private £9-15)

• →Kampi dolphin boat trip
• →Wat Hanchey / Nokor Bachey temples
• →Silk weaving village

A long travel day south. Take a bus back through Phnom Penh and onward to Kampot — roughly 7-8 hours total via a change in Phnom Penh (~£10-13). Giant Ibis and Virak Buntham both run this route; night buses are an option if you want to save a hotel night. Arrive in the evening and settle into a guesthouse in the old French quarter by the river, where the pace is slow and the pepper farms are just up the road.

🚌Bus Kampong Cham–Phnom Penh–Kampot ~£10-13

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Kampot (private £12-18)

• →Kampot riverside evening

A full day to enjoy the south. Hire a scooter or bicycle and ride to a pepper farm (La Plantation or Sothy's, ~$5-8 for a tour and tasting), then on to the secret lake and the abandoned hill station of Bokor (a moto or shared tour, ~£15-20). Alternatively, take a local tuk-tuk to Kep (~30 min) for the crab market and a seafood lunch, then a boat to Rabbit Island for a swim. Sunset cruise on the Kampot river in the evening (~£6-8, book at any riverside bar).

🚌Scooter/bicycle hire ~£5 or tuk-tuk to Kep ~£10

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Kampot

• →Pepper farm tour & tasting
• →Kep crab market
• →Rabbit Island (optional)
• →Sunset river cruise

Travel to Sihanoukville by minivan (~2.5 hours, ~£6-8), then take the fast ferry to Koh Rong (~45 min-1 hour, ~£9-12 return). Arrange a bungalow or guesthouse on Long Set (4K) Beach or Koh Toch village — booking ahead in high season is wise (beach bungalows £12-25, dorms £6-10). Swim, watch the sunset and eat fresh fish on the sand. Note the island's infrastructure is basic: cash only, patchy power, no ATMs.

🚌Minivan to Sihanoukville ~£7 + speedboat ferry ~£10 return

🛏Beach bungalow or hostel on Koh Rong (dorm £6-10, bungalow £12-25)

• →Beach swim
• →Sunset on the sand

A full day on the island. Swim, snorkel or take a boat trip to nearby islets and the glowing plankton (night snorkel tours ~£12-18). Hiking trails cut across the island to quieter beaches if you want to walk. Kayak hire is roughly £4-6/hour. Alternatively, do nothing at all on a hammock — this is the reward for the long bus days.

🚌On foot / local boat trips

🛏Beach bungalow or hostel on Koh Rong

• →Snorkelling or boat trip
• →Kayaking
• →Plankton night swim (optional)
• →Island hiking

Ferry back to Sihanoukville in the morning and take a bus or minivan up to Phnom Penh (~4-5 hours, ~£7-9). In the late afternoon, do a classic cyclo tour of the capital — hire a driver near Wat Phnom for ~$8-12 for an hour — past the colonial post office, the Royal Palace and the National Museum. Last-night dinner and drinks on the riverside or at the Night Market. If you want a guided version, small-group cyclo tours can be booked through GetYourGuide (~£10-15).

🚌Ferry ~£5 + bus Sihanoukville–Phnom Penh ~£8

🛏Guesthouse/hostel in central Phnom Penh

• →Cyclo tour of Phnom Penh
• →Royal Palace & National Museum exteriors
• →Riverside farewell dinner

Breakfast, a last market coffee, and transfer to the airport by tuk-tuk or Grab (~£3-4) for your flight home. If your flight is late, the Russian Market is a good final stop for souvenirs and coffee beans.

🚌Airport tuk-tuk/Grab ~£3-4

🛏—

• →Optional Russian Market visit