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PEACE OF MIND BOOKING PLAN

ESSENCE OF (11574)

Take in diverse landscapes and incredible historical sites on this 6 day discovery of Cambodia.

Marvel at the ancient temples of World Heritage-listed , wander through the jungle Duration admiring the spectacularly carved riverbed of or embrace local culture with a home- 5 nights hosted lunch at a floating village. Destinations Cambodia Cambodia CULTURAL WALKING & HIKING

PRIVATE ESCORTED TOURS Travel Departs International Airport

Highlights Travel Ends Phnom Penh International Airport Tour of Phnom Penh Visit the famous Angkor Wat

Private guide and driver throughout your 3 days of Freedom of Choice activities Experiences stay Cultural, Walking & Hiking

Travel Style Private Escorted Tours Enjoy the highlights of Phnom Penh visiting the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, National Museum and Wat Phnom Temple – the birthplace of Phnom Penh. Learn about Cambodia’s recent grim history at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum then sample a taste of daily life at the Central Market. Alternatively take a tour behind the scenes discovering lesser known corners of the city. Enjoy a bicycle ride around a scenic island on the Mekong River and stop in to a silk weaving workshop. Finish the day with a stroll through the garden complex of the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda.

Stop in the town of Skuon, also known as Spiderville, and expand your culinary horizons sampling Cambodian’s most exotic delight: the deep fried spider.

A visit to Cambodia wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the iconic Angkor temples. For those feeling a bit adventurous, explore the impressive sites on a bicycle tour or choose to tour by bus and receive a monk's blessing.

Become immersed in the local life and culture visiting a floating village and embrace your inner ‘Indiana Jones” exploring the forgotten temple of . Alternatively combine history and nature visiting the impressively preserved temple and wandering through the jungle, admiring the spectacularly carved riverbed of Kbal Spean. Learn about wildlife conservation efforts at the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity and uncover Cambodia’s painful past at the Landmine Museum. Included Freedom of Choice Activities

3 nights in Phnom Penh For this package we have included Freedom of Choice days in the itinerary.

2 nights in Our per person price includes one tour on each Freedom of Choice day.

Professional English Speaking Local Guides Pre-select one tour on the following days: Private Transportation Throughout One "Freedom of Choice" tour on day 2 5 Breakfasts, 1 Lunch or Dinner One "Freedom of Choice" tour on day 4 Daily Tours and Activities

Freedom of Choice Days

Admission Fees

Tipping for Guide and Driver

2 bottles of mineral water per person per day on days of transfers and sightseeing

Itinerary

Day 1 Phnom Penh International Airport → Phnom Penh

Sua s’dei! Welcome to Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia which was once called "Paris of the East". You are greeted by our guide and driver at Phnom Penh International airport for your transfer to the hotel.

Overnight stay in Phnom Penh at Queen Grand Boutique Hotel in a Deluxe Room.

PHNOM PENH

Day 2 Phnom Penh

Enjoy your pre-selected tour from our Freedom of Choice options:

Phnom Penh Highlights Tour – After breakfast in your hotel, you will meet your guide and visit historic sites such as the famous Royal Palace, the adjoining Silver Pagoda, and the National Museum, a treasure chest of Angkorian and pre-Angkorian artefacts. After the museum, scale the steps up this small hill to see Wat Phnom Temple, the birthplace of Phnom Penh. In the afternoon, you will gain insight into Cambodia's recent history on a visit to the remarkable Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It is a grim but important visit that will help you to understand Cambodia better. Spend the rest of day shopping at the Central Market, where you can get a taste of the bustling daily life of local people. Try some of Cambodia’s local specialties, while appreciating Phnom Penh's mix of Khmer & Colonial architecture styles. Note: To see the Royal palace and silver pagoda in Phnom Penh, visitors are required to wear appropriate clothes. Guests wearing short pants (above knee level) and sleeveless tops are not permitted.

OR

Phnom Penh Behind the Scenes Tour – Get ready for a fun and experiential day around some lesser known corners of the city. The guide will pick you up at the hotel and you will travel by local ‘remork’ to a district outside of the city centre. Enjoy a local coffee on the street, visit a true local market (Orussey Market), wander around narrow alleys and immerse yourself into the fascinating daily life of the locals. Later on, take a ferry to an island on the Mekong River. There we start a 15-kilometre bicycle ride on a small concrete road around the island; offering the opportunity to soak up a bit of rural life just outside Phnom Penh as well as to visit a silk weaving workshop. You will stop for lunch at a local home. Return to the city afterwards and you will have some time to discover the tragic history at the Tuol Sleng museum. The day continues with a stroll in the garden complex of the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda before ending in style with a drink on a rooftop terrace with the best views over Phnom Penh’s riverfront.

Overnight stay in Phnom Penh at Queen Grand Boutique Hotel in a Deluxe Room.

Breakfast

ROYAL PALACE, PHNOM PENH

Day 3 Phnom Penh → Siem Reap

After breakfast, meet your guide in the hotel lobby and take your private transfer towards Siem Reap.

A stop is planned when reaching the town of Skuon, also known as Spiderville as it boasts one of Cambodian’s most exotic culinary delights: the deep-fried spider. Take a stroll around the market and eventually try a bite of spider before continuing onto Siem Reap. Arrival in the afternoon and the rest of the day is at leisure.

Overnight stay in Siem Reap at Tara Angkor Hotel in a Superior Room.

Breakfast TARA ANGKOR HOTEL

Day 4 Siem Reap

Enjoy your pre-selected tour from our Freedom of Choice options:

Angkor Wat by Bicycle Tour - The Angkor temples are undoubtedly the main highlight of any holiday in Cambodia. After a short car transfer to the buffer zone of the temple complex, hop onto a mountain bike and venture out on an extraordinary ride. Adaptable in length (from 15 to over 40 kilometres), this tour will take you on the back roads of the temples complex to visit the three major sites: , and Angkor Wat temples; as well as a ride along the top of the city walls. Enjoy photo breaks along the way and let the guide tell you more about these massive pieces of history. As you ride along the single trails through the thick forest of the complex you will also have the chance to spot some lesser known temples lost among the trees.

This tour is for everyone who can cycle, there is no specific level of fitness required and a support car remains nearby in case you want to take a rest from cycling.

OR

Angkor Wat by Bus & Monk’s Blessing – After breakfast, meet your guide in the hotel lobby for today’s tour of the Angkor temples. First you will explore Angkor Wat, easily the most famous and best-preserved of all temples within the Angkor complex. It is a massive three-tiered structure crowned by five lotus-like towers rising 65-metres from ground level. Next, visit the ancient walled city of Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Great under the reign of Jayavarman VII. Bayon Temple, , the royal enclosure, and the Terraces of the Elephants and the Leper King are the main elements of this 12th century masterpiece. A lunch break will be arranged in a local restaurant and will be at your own expense. We continue to Ta Prohm Temple, which, unlike most of other Angkor temples, has been left just as it was when rediscovered: a photogenic and atmospheric maze of trees growing out of the ruins. After your visit to Angkor temples, take a break and meet with a local monk. You will be invited to take part in a blessing ceremony. Witness monks chanting blessings as they sprinkle you with holy water. Afterwards, a sacred bracelet will be tied around your wrist which is said to protect you from evil spirits and misfortune. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon and enjoy the rest of the day at your own leisure.

Overnight stay in Siem Reap at Tara Angkor Hotel in a Superior Room.

Breakfast ANGKOR WAT

Day 5 Siem Reap

You can choose how you wish to spend your day from the 2 Freedom of Choice activities below:

• Kampong Khleang & Beng Mealea - After breakfast, you will head out to Kampong Kleang floating village, which is a stilt-houses settlement of over 20,000 people where structures can tower up to ten metres above the water. Greeted by waves of the friendly locals, here you can glimpse Cambodia’s countryside culture and traditional family lifestyle. To get closer to it, you will have a chance to enjoy a home-hosted lunch and dine on stilts. In the afternoon, we transfer to the forgotten temple of Beng Mealea. After a short walk through a dense jungle, you'll feel like an explorer when entering the completely overgrown temple. Undiscovered for centuries, Beng Mealea has only recently been made accessible and remains unrestored. It is one of the very few temples that will give the opportunity to climb through it, giving a very 'Indiana Jones' feel to the experience. In the evening, enjoy a dinner with the Apsara dance show.

Note: From February to August/September the water level of the Lake is very low. Its muddy and the boat can get stuck. If you are still keen on having a boat trip on the lake we’ll change to Chong Kneas floating village instead of Kompong Kleang where the condition is a little bit better for the boat trip.

• Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean, biodiversity and war history – This tour offers a nice blend of temples, cultural sites and the outdoors. You will depart your hotel early, at 7am, and head to Banteay Srei temple, located about an hour drive away from the town. Easily recognisable by its pink sandstone, the "Citadel of Women" is reputed as being the most beautiful and best preserved of all Angkor temples. Marvel at the sophistication of its intricate bas reliefs before continuing the journey further north to Kbal Spean. This is one of Cambodia’s earliest Hindu sites and refreshingly different from the other Khmer monuments. Take a 3km walk through the jungle to appreciate the scope and beauty of Kbal Spean. The walk ends at the ‘River of 1000 Lingas’, a riverbed featuring stone carvings of Hindu gods, animals and phallic symbols. Learn about the history of in Cambodia while exploring this unique river. After a local lunch, you will visit the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB), the first nature conservation project in Cambodia. A knowledgeable staff member will explain about the threats to Cambodia’s wildlife and the efforts of ACCB to protect the environment and promote wildlife conservation through education. For the last stop on the drive back to Siem Reap will be at the Landmine Museum. This is a private museum founded by Aki Ra who used to be a Khmer Rouge child soldier. After the war was over, he decided to clear the landmines off the fields of Cambodia and devoted his life to help the victims of landmines. We return to Siem Reap in the late afternoon, and the rest of the day is at leisure.

Overnight stay in Siem Reap at Tara Angkor Hotel in a Superior Room.

Breakfast, Lunch BANTEAY SREI TEMPLE

Day 6 Siem Reap → Phnom Penh International Airport

After breakfast in the hotel, meet your private transfer in the lobby for the journey back to Phnom Penh airport for your onward flight.

Breakfast

Additional information

Official language Local currency Khmer Cambodian Riel (US Dollar is commonly used) Hotel options

Queen Grand Boutique Hotel Tara Angkor Hotel Phnon Penh Siem Reap This Elegant Hotel is located near the iconic Extravagant hotel in the mystical land of Royal Palace which is an official Residence of Angkor, conveniently located only 6km from World Beloved King Sihamony. Strategically located in Heritage site of Angkor Wat Temples, a few the heart of financial and arts capital along the minutes stroll to the Angkor National Museum and Mighty Mekong River. Queen Grand Boutique a short ride to the city town center with an array Hotel successfully blends its illustrious Boutique of Cambodian souvenirs, shopping and culture. with contemporary style, personalized service, excellent dining and panoramic view to offer a destination experience.

Important notes

Why are flights not included?

Following customer feedback, we do not include flights in our holiday packages. Many prefer the flexibility to book flights with Frequent Flyer points or travel on specific airlines.

However, we are able to assist, so please just notify us during the booking process or contact our team.

Blackout dates may apply during festive season.