Luxurious Cambodia (IPC01)

Susadei! Welcome to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

With a long flight (or flights) under your belt, a hostess will be waiting for you with a beaming smile, holding a welcome signboard with your name on it who will help you through the fast-tracked (VIP) process to get your visa stamped. Once you have obtained a stamp for your visa and collected your luggage, your hostess will happily take you to your waiting guide and driver who will transfer you directly to the hotel.

Your knowledgeable guide will be happy to answer any questions along the way regarding your 10-day luxurious holiday in Cambodia. 

Arrive and check into the lovely Hotel Rosewood, a slice of luxury in the charming city of Phnom Penh. Housed within the sleek, modern Vattanac Capital Building, the Rosewood is conveniently located for exploring many of Phnom Penh’s best sights, including the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, National Museum and Central Market.

Please note: You are required to have two passport-sized photos for a visa to enter Cambodia.

Overnight in Phnom Penh

Morning
After breakfast, meet your private guide again and head out to visit the most remarkable sights of Phnom Penh in tuk-tuk and a Cyclo (a three-wheeled bicycle taxi), an original Phnom Penh means of transportation and a fun way to explore this lively city.

The first stop is at the Pshar Kandal, Phnom Pen’s oldest market, to enjoy yummy local delicacies such as fried noodles, BBQ beef with papaya salad, noodle soup, and delicious rice and coconut treats. Then it’s a walk through the French Quarter, which will open your eyes to Phnom Penh’s colonial-era architecture. Admire Belle Epoque and Art Deco design, a train station built during colonial times as wells as the Buddhist Temple, Wat Phnom, the tallest religious structure in the city.

Continue onto the Royal Palace Compound built-in 1866 by the Predecessors of King Norodom, the most conspicuous feature and also one of the most impressive colorful Khmer-style Palaces. Nearside the Royal Palace is the Silver Pagoda (The Emerald Buddha temple), which displays plenty of Buddha Statues that were decorated and made by diamond, emerald, gold, and silver. After touring the pagoda a tuk-tuk will take you back to your hotel for your rest during the mid-day heat.

Afternoon
Gain insight into Cambodia’s recent dark history on a visit to the infamous Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (also known as Prison S21) and listen to English commentary en route. The prison comprises 4 buildings with exhibitions in several rooms. During your visit, you will barely meet a single person who didn’t lose a member of their family during these years, yet they are all willing to talk openly about it with you. They wish you to hear about it and see these places, to ensure that it never happens again.

After visiting the museum, take a 40-minute drive to the Killing Fields, see a documentary on the Khmer Rouge regime. Under the leadership of Pol Pot, his government caused the deaths of more than two million people. There will be around 1 hour and 15 minutes to explore the site. An audio guide is available in 15 languages along with a map of the fields.

Evening
Watch a traditional Khmer show at the sensational Plae Pakka Theater brought to you by the Cambodian Living Arts Association. There are three rotating shows, each lasting about an hour. After the show, your guide and driver will drop you off at your hotel or location of your choice.

Overnight in Phnom Penh
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast and check out of your hotel in Phnom Penh your private driver will pick you up and take you on a three-hour drive to the Shinta Mani Wild, the fabulous luxury wildlife Tented Camp located near Kirirom National Park. Consisting of 16 gorgeously decorated tents all located around a central river and waterfall, this luxury camp is designed the famed hotel designer and architect Bill Bensley to recall the age of exploration and La Belle Epoque. tucked into the wildlife corridor which runs between Bokor and Kirirom national parks.

Afternoon
Arrive and check into your luxury tent. With an ethos of sustainability and conservation at its heart, this eco-luxe tented camp immerses you in nature. You can arrive in intrepid style with a zip line ride over a waterfall, followed by a glass of the resort’s signature cocktail.

Overnight at Shinta Mani Wild
Meals: (B/_/__)

After breakfast, spend your day lazing on your open luxury tent balcony, taking in views of verdant trees, sparkling waters, and the sky peeking through the canopy.

If you want to be active, you can take advantage of the various exciting excursions and tailor-made activities available; explore the nearby estuarine waterway from the comfort of a luxury expedition boat, forage in nature’s larder accompanied by expert naturalists or embark on foot into the jungle with the rangers to study the forest and its resident wildlife and examine findings from camera traps.

You can also indulge in pampering treatments at Shinta Mani Wild’s signature Spa, Khmer Tonics. The spa’s two treatment rooms are nestled amid giant natural rocks perched in the forest canopy. For your culinary experience, join a cooking class with a difference, as the talented local chef guides you through the jungle foraging for wild fungi, plants, and fruits.

Overnight at Shinta Mani Wild
Meals: (B/_/_)

After breakfast, your driver will pick you up and transfer you for two hours to the costal town of Sihanoukville.

Upon arrival, you will be transferred to the pier for the shared speedboat journey to Song Saa Island where you check into your Jungle Villa for two lovely nights at the Song Saa Private Island Resort. Enjoy full-board meals at the resort.

Overnight at Song Saa
Meals: (B/L/D) 

Day at leisure to relax on Song Saa Private Island.

A multitude of activities is included in your stay at the Song Saa resort. Choose between snorkeling around the Song Saa Islands, sea kayaking in beautiful unspoiled coves and bays, in-villa movie experiences, sunrise yoga, or discover the Song Saa Conservation and Community program, where through a range of activities you can experience the beautiful environment and people of the Koh Rong Archipelago.

Overnight at Song Saa
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
After breakfast and checkout, return to Sihanoukville by shared speedboat and transfer to Sihanoukville Airport for a short flight to Siem Reap, the gateway to the Angkor ruins, a sprawling World Heritage-listed complex of more than 400 ancient temples with the magnificent Angkor Wat as its focal point.

Upon arrival, you will be met by your private guide and taken to the airfield where you will take a 20-minute scenic helicopter ride around Siem Reap to get a bird’s eye view of the massive temple complex including Prasat Pre Rup, Eastern Mebon, Srah Srang, Phnom Krom, and especially Temple of Angkor, the largest temple in the world. You also fly over nearby Tonle Sap Lake, the largest in Southeast Asia, where you’ll see the bright roofs of floating villages spread across the water — which host everything from floating churches to basketball courts.

The helicopter ride allows you to be open to the elements and truly experience Siem Reap from above, up close and personal.

Afternoon
After finishing the flight, you are driven to Phum Baitang, the ’green village’, is a luxury resort near Siem Reap in Cambodia, a gateway to the Angkor World Heritage Site, and numerous natural wonders and cultural experiences. This elegant hideaway is set within eight acres of lush gardens and paddy fields. It comprises forty-five spacious villas, twenty-five with private terrace, and twenty with private plunge pool.

After checking into your luxury villa, spend the remainder of the day at your leisure. Enjoy your complimentary massage, fruits, and sunset sparkling wine at the resort.

Overnight in Siem Reap
Meals: (B/_/_) 

Today you will have a full day of exploration in Siem Reap. You will experience the temple relics in a way that will really let you feel like you’ve escaped the 20th century and traveled a thousand years back to a time when life was simple and nature was surreal.

Morning
After breakfast, you’ll be escorted by a classic 1930s fully restored Citreon. Start your discovery of the temple of the legendary city of Ta Prohm Temple, best known for its gigantic roots of vine that convent down the walls of a thousand years. Worn by time, rain, and overpowered by the jungle, this immaculate structure is hidden under the canopy will leave you feeling like you’ve stepped into the movie set of a treasure hunt adventure. Your private tour guide will give you the history and stories passed through oral tradition.

Leaving the Ta Prohm, you will be transferred to Angkor Thom via the grand South Gate. Here you’ll explore the last capital of the once great Khmer Empire, with the 216 enigmatic faces of The Bayon at its centre. Still, within the ancient city walls, you’ll marvel at the view from the summit of Baphuon, the enormous temple mountain, affording unspoiled views over the surrounding ruins. You’ll round off the morning poring over the intricate bas-relief of the Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King, before having a Royal Khmer lunch at the fine-dining restaurant Le Grand. The fabled Royal Khmer cuisine, handed down over the centuries by the chefs of the Royal Palaces, uses only the finest ingredients carefully blended to create a distinct epicurean experience.

Afternoon
Be prepared to enjoy one of the Wonders of the Ancient World: Angkor Wat. At this point, you most probably have gotten glimpses of the towers over treetops and the gates in front of passing. But now you’ll finally get to satiate that curiosity that’s grown in the last few days.

With your guide, you’ll enter Angkor Wat and learn about the stories and amazing architecture that has stunned archeologists leaving more questions than answers. Angkor Wat possesses some of the most intricate and longest stone carvings in the world. This complex is four times the size of the Vatican City making it the largest religious site in the world. Spend the afternoon adventuring through the many passages, levels, and exploring chambers that once housed one of many treasures of the ancient world. It will be an experience that you remember for a very long time.

Finish the tour and transfer back to your luxury resort where the balance of the day is at your leisure.

Overnight in Siem Reap
Meals: (B/L/_) 

Today you will explore the unique communities and traditional villages dot the rural countryside near Siem Reap and promise an escape to another world.

Morning
After breakfast, you will be picked up by your private guide and driver, and transferred in a Lavender Jeep southeast to one of the largest and least-visited villages on the Tonle Sap Lake, Kompong Khleang, about 55km from Siem Reap. On the way, you will stop for hot sticky rice and then take a detour off the main highway into the countryside. You’ll wind through dirt roads and, in the rainy season, witness families working their rice paddies.

You will then continue to the Floating Village of Kompong Khleang with a population of about 10,000 people, all of whom make a living from the fishing industry. Upon arrival board a private motorized boat to visit the Kompong Khleang,  the two other floating villages, and the Great lake. Explore the canals (wet season) or streets (dry season) of this incredible town. In the wet season, the houses appear to be floating, as water laps at the verandas, but in the dry season towering stilts are revealed, the houses almost like wooden skyscrapers.

During the boat ride, you will make stops to see where Bridge of Lifeworks, visit a Cambodian pagoda and a stilted home in the village to learn a little more about local life. Cruise into the open water of the lake to see a small floating village and learn some more about this incredible natural flood barrier.

You’ll end your tour with a boat ride back to the habour where your driver is waiting to take you back to Phum Baitang resort.

Afternoon
Spend your time to relax and chill out at the resort. Later, meet your guide again and head out to enjoy Champagne and canapes on the 20-minute gondola boat ride through the moats of Angkor to Prasat Chrung Temple to watch the amazing sunset. This lesser-known temple is set on top of a hill in the Angkor complex offering excellent views and it is an ideal spot to watch the sun go down.

Overnight in Siem Reap
Meals: (B/_/_)

Your private transfer greets you at the hotel after breakfast and escorts you to Siem Reap International Airport where you board your flight home or travel on to more adventures, we will help you with the planning.

Meals: (B/_/_)