3-Day Siem Reap Tour: Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Bayon and Tonle Sap

Normally when I travel, I do it budget style: no tour guides, public transportation, and hostels. However for this trip, my mom insisted that we make the most out of the experience and spend some money on a tour. It was definitely a great investment and has really me really rethink going on vacation with a budget. We went in June, during the wet, non-touristy season and I found this to be ideal it only rained heavy once and there were only three people total on our tour. Our tour guide I wished I remembered his name, but I lost his business card and its been a few months was phenomenal: he shared with us many eye-opening stories about his life and the background of Cambodia and had great suggestions for extra stops for the tour and restaurants. He was also very accommodating to the needs of everyone on the trip, as we had three very different people of various ages and interests. I would have never had such a great experience in Cambodia without going on this tour. I can't wait to go back in Cambodia and explore more of the country and I have already recommended this tour to many of my friends. I had only one complaint about the tour and it had to do with contacting Interprid Tours the on-site tour company prior to the beginning of the tour. Our flight into Siem Reap was cancelled, resulting in us missing the first day of the tour. Since we were in China, there were a lot of restrictions on communication: we could not make an international call, my cell phone didn't work, and many sites are blocked in China. There was no email for Interprid, so we could only email Viator however, Viator kept informing us that we needed to speak directly to Interprid. We had no idea what was going to happen with our tour when we landed in Siem Reap and we were so frustrated with the whole situation that we considered just cancelling our trip to Cambodia altogether. Luckily, everything turned out okay. Having such a small group made it easier for Interprid to add us to a different group and accommodate our schedule. We did miss out on the first day of the tour, but we were able to make it to Angkor Wat by ourselves. However, increasing the access of communication between the travelers and on-site travel company is highly suggested to ease travel concerns. Most times things run smoothly, but having these lines of communication open would improve the experience when there are delays and interruptions.

This was a fun tour. Darath was a terrific guide. Was there when it was the Khmer New Year so there were some changes made - we had checked into the City River Hotel thinking we wouldnt have to move - turned out that wasnt correct. Claremont was very nice but we werent told there was a change until we called the morning of the tour to confirm pickup. But our guide was great and I think this tour is a bit flexible on timing. The last day, we had others on the tour and it changed - running long - so we left by tuk-tuk to catch a plane. So just know going in that if you have questions, ask and confirm everything cuz the office seems to be short on communication. However, we loved the tours once we realized we just needed to go with the flow.

This 3-day tour provides accommodation for the first and second nights. This will often require the traveller to arrange his/her own accommodation for the night before the first day and the night of the third day. The accommodation provided by the tour was very good, but it would be helpful to advise travellers well in advance of the hotel used by the tour, so that they make their own reservations at the same hotel. It is inconvenient to change hotels twice in the space of 4 days.

Khieu Seavathdy Dy was our guide. She was a fantastic guide. She was very knowledgeable about her country's history.Her english is excellent. Dy kept us moving but we never felt rushed. The first day she took us to several temples. The next day we drove out into the countryside to visit Kbal Spean - it was a 1.5 km hike up hill to visit the rock carvings and waterfall. It was a good hike through the jungle. If you plan on going in the water - bring a towel to dry you feet. On the way back into town we stopped at Banteay Srei, a 10th century temple with beautiful carvings that have withstood time. The last day we visited a floating village on Tonle Sap. What an interesting way to live. Great guide - would highly recommend her services.

Sokhom was an amazing tour guide. Highly recommended!

Excellent tour, fantastic tour guide that was very well versed in the history of the sites, and was very savvy as to which to ones to explore in detail and which ones to just look over.

The tour guide was absolutely amazing. Chamnot was so knowledgable and engaging with his descriptions, explanations. I feel the tour and accommodation as an overall was expensive. My accommodation was very basic, the shower didn't have hot water, wifi only worked in the main reception.

Chanmol, our group leader, provided a fantastic experience in terms of allowing us to be in awe of the most beautiful Angkor Wat complex as well as enjoy Siem Reap. He has a great knowledge of the area in terms of its history, and is very good at engaging his audience. Considering members of our tour were aged between 20s-60s, no one felt left out. He knew where the best places were to take pictures, and this was of great significance, expecially for someone like myself who loves photography. Definitely loved every minute. The hotel, City River was great. Definitely felt better than a 3 star experience. I would certainly recommend it. The location of the hotel was fantastic and the staff are wonderful.

Absolutely incredible! Wonderful guide that was very informative! Simply fantastic!! :D

My wife, daughter, and I arrived in Siem Reap a day early, so we got to see the town a bit before the tour. For the tour, we had a truly wonderful guide, Chanmol. He was prompt each morning, courteous, and respectful, both to us and others. He knew the history of the region, having grown up in a village outside Siem Reap, and he understood the culture of the city, the surrounding villages, and the lake. He had a good command of English, all the more remarkable because he largely taught himself. And importantly, he was respectful of all the different religions represented by the images in the various temples. Truly a wonderful individual. As for the sights, they are hard to describe in words. The architecture of the temples is documented in so many pictures, but what really stood out to me were the detailed carvings covering nearly every floor, wall, and ceiling. Some of these told stories, others were merely patterns with embedded images of Buddha or other deities, kings, or animals. Just remarkable in the complexity and detail. My favorite temple was Prasat Banteay Srei north of the city. This temple is smaller than the others, but exceptionally well preserved. We were there near sunset when the light was perfect...just beautiful. The hike in the mountains to see the wall carvings was good, but I might have skipped the nature conservatory...a bit long and hot. Overall I give this tour 5 stars, but I might have given it only 4 without Chanmol as a guide. He really made the three days a special memory for all of us.