9 Days Cambodia Tour: Cycle, Hike & Kayak

Tour Overview

Including must-see Cambodian attractions and exciting outdoor activities, this 9-day Cambodia trip is sure to provide you with an ideal holiday experience. From Phnom Penh, there is a mountain bike ride around the nearby village to explore the verdant nature and gain a deeper understanding of Cambodian daily life. Hiking through the jungle to see the majestic waterfalls; Immerse yourself in the aquatic forest by kayaking; Try your luck to see dolphins on a Mekong river cruise. The tour ends in Siem Reap, where you explore the Angkor Wat temple complex from a special Angle on a bike.

Highlights of This Tour

• Cycle out of the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh into the tranquil villages and through rice paddies and orchards to enjoy the fresh air.
• Enjoy an adventurous ride on Koh Trong Island and enjoy the natural scenery with lush pomelo trees, a checkerboard rice field, and bamboo forests.
• Take a boat ride to see the dolphins at Kampi Creek.
• Hike through the jungle to a prime spot overlooking the raging Sopheakmit Waterfall.
• Be an explorer to have an interesting bike ride around the ruins of Angkor Wat.

Itinerary

Day 1: Phnom Penh Arrival

Welcome to Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, nestled in the Delta between the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake!

After checking in, take your time to freely explore the vibrant city at your own pace. Stroll through the streets and admire the French architecture of different shapes. Head to a street food stand to find some iconic snacks or head to a rooftop club for a party bash.

Note: Make sure you are available for the welcome meeting at 6:00 pm when we will collect your information. If you are likely to be late, please ask your hotel for the meeting location.

Meal: N/A

Accommodation: Phnom Penh

Day 2: Cycling in Phnom Penh
Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda

Take a local boat across the river to a village on the Mekong River, specializing in agriculture, aquaculture and silk weaving. This is where we start our mountain bike ride.

Enjoy cycling on peaceful country roads, breathing the fresh air, and getting away from the crowds. Ride through rice paddies and orchards and stop at a field to see how the locals farm.

After that, return to Phnom Penh. The guide will show you around Royal Palace, a Khmer-style throne hall that is the residence of the King of Cambodia and his family, and Silver Pagoda, named after the ground inlaid with 5,329 solid silver bricks.

Optional:

A visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum will give you further insight into the brutal past of the Khmer Rouge. Wat Phnom – a tranquil, 30-meter-high temple filled with Khmer-style relief sculptures. You can climb to the top of the pagoda to get a commanding view of the city.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

Accommodation: Phnom Penh

Day 3: Phnom Penh – Kratie – Cycling in Koh Trong Island
Koh Trong Island

After breakfast, depart for Kratie, which is located on the banks of the Mekong River, with the Irrawaddy Dolphin as the highlight. The journey takes about 6 hours with a stop at Skuon. The town is famous all over the country for its special snack, fried spiders. If you’re brave enough, you can challenge yourself.

Continue your car journey to Kratie town, where you will take a boat to Koh Trong Island. The island is just 8 kilometers long, lush with pomelo trees in the front and a checkerboard rice field in the uninhabited center, full of trees and bamboo.

Ride leisurely around the island, through rice paddies, orchards, and traditional Khmer villages. Tonight, you will enjoy a dinner with a host family, which will be a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the daily life of Cambodia.

Note: The total distance of the ride is 9 km (5.6 miles).

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Accommodation: Koh Trong

Day 4: Koh Trong – Kratie – Stung Treng
A One-hour Guided Walk, Wat Phnom Sambok, Dolphins Watching

Wake up early to take a one-hour guided walk to learn about the culture of the area. Most of the island’s forests were deforested during the Khmer Rouge era. Now, to restore the former environment, local villagers have started a planting project at Wat Ty Pram Kbal Koh Trong. If you’re interested, you can optionally experience planting a tree on the pagoda grounds.

Stroll the riverside boulevards, and explore Kratie’s local market. Then say goodbye to Kratie and head north to Stung Treng. Stop off to visit Wat Phnom Sambok, a beautiful Buddhist temple. From the top, visitors can enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. Then take a boat ride to see the dolphins at Kampi Creek before arriving in Stung Treng.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Stung Treng

Day 5: Hiking & Kayaking in Stung Treng
Voeun Kham Village, Sopheakmit Waterfall, Anlong Cheuteal Irrawaddy Dolphin Pool

Stung Treng is a unique province, quite different from other Cambodian provinces along the Mekong River. It is not only dotted with dense forests, crisscrossing rivers and streams, and few inhabitants, but also with hundreds of stunning islands.

Take a two-hour private minibus ride to Voeun Kham Village, where you can board a local boat cruise on the Mekong river to see the raging Sopheakmit Waterfall. Disembark at a local home and hike for 2 hours through the jungle to a prime spot overlooking the falls. We’ll have lunch while enjoying the magnificent view.

Return to the boat and continue sailing across the beautiful Mekong river to Anlong Cheuteal Irrawaddy Dolphin Pool, where freshwater dolphins are occasionally spotted. We will then go kayaking (2 hours) through the water forest and immerse ourselves in the awesome natural beauty. Then take a private minibus back to Stung Treng for 1 hour.

Meal: Lunch

Accommodation: Stung Treng

Day 6: Stung Treng – Siem Reap
Old Market

Take a minibus through villages and towns to Siem Reap with a stop at Beng Mealea en route. It is a temple unlike any other, where you can see Angkor Wat sleeping in the jungle before it was discovered.

After arriving in Siem Reap, go to the Old Market to experience the local customs. This is the most lively place in Siem Reap, where you can find all kinds of daily necessities and tourist souvenirs, such as wood carvings, clay sculptures modeled after Angkor architecture, hand-embroidered silk shawls, silver ornaments, chopsticks, and so on.

Meals: N/A

Accommodation: Siem Reap

Day 7: Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)
Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple, Ta Prohm Temple, Phnom Bok, Phare Circus Show

Once the capital of the ancient Khmer Kingdom, the mysterious Angkor Wat was rediscovered in the 1860s. The whole building is symmetrical, combining two basic elements of Khmer temple architecture – the altar and the cloister. Visitors can see huge stone carvings and exquisite reliefs everywhere.

We will visit some very famous scenic spots, including Bayon, Ta Prohm, and Phnom Bok.

– Bayon Temple, the heart of Angkor Thom, is where you’ll find the famous carving of the Khmer Smile.

– Ta Prohm Temple offers a variety of exquisite sculptures. Today, the temple has been swallowed by nature, creating a wonderful landscape.

– Phnom Bok sits on a 212m high hill with views of the Angkor plains to the south.

After the tour, return to Siem Reap. If you’re interested, pay an extra USD18 to enjoy the Phare Circus Show, a wonderful evening performance of traditional and modern arts combining acrobatics, drama, dance, and music to tell the unique folk stories of Cambodia.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Siem Reap

Day 8: Cycling in Angkor Wat
Bike Ride around the Ruins of Angkor

Breakfast is followed by a mountain bike ride around the ruins of Angkor. Follow the path along the river to the Angkor complex. Avoid the crowds on foot and get a unique view of the ruins of Angkor Wat. Cycle along the walls of Angkor Thom with a moat on one side and lush jungle on the other as you return to Siem Reap. You feel like you’re an explorer in a pile of undiscovered ruins.

In the evening, celebrate the end of your tour with a guided dinner at a local restaurant.

Note: The total cycling distance today is about 60 kilometers (37 miles).

Meal: Breakfast

Accommodation: Siem Reap

Day 9: Siem Reap Departure

We are not planning any events for you today. If you have extra time, you can experience a ziplining course in Angkor, which will let you soar through the rainforest like an eagle. Or join a Khmer cooking class.

That’s it for your 9-day Cambodia itinerary. The driver will transfer you to the airport for your return flight.

Optional:

If you would like to stay longer in Cambodia, we will be happy to arrange subsequent tours for you.

Meal: Breakfast

Accommodation: N/A