Your Travel Experience with ARRIVAL
Day 1
ARRIVAL
Touch down in Phnom Penh. Airport pickup sorted, straight to your riverside hotel. Settle in, unpack, shake off the flight. That evening, hosted welcome dinner at a local restaurant – your first proper taste of Khmer cuisine and a chat about what's ahead.
Day 1 - 3
Phnom Penh – Luxcity Hotel
Modern high-rise in the heart of Phnom Penh. Clean, spacious rooms with strong air con, good Wi-Fi, rooftop pool with skyline views. Easy access to major sites, markets, riverside cafés.
Day 2
Cyclo Ride, Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda
Cycle through old colonial Phnom Penh to Wat Phnom Temple built in 1373. Visit the Royal Palace where Cambodia's King and royal families still live, then see the Silver Pagoda's 90kg golden Buddha covered in 2,086 diamonds.
The Killing Fields & Tuol Sleng Museum
Visit the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek and S-21 prison with a guide. Between 1975-78, about 17,000 people were detained, tortured and executed here. Heavy history, essential context.
Sunset Cruise on Tonle Sap & Mekong Rivers
Mekong Sunset Cruise to the point where the Tonle Sap and Mekong burst into 4 branches – watch the city light up from the river
Day 3
Battambang Colonial Walk & Bamboo Train
Walk through Battambang to see beautiful colonial architecture and the central market. Then: wild experience on a homemade funny train sliding along railway tracks at Oudombong Village.
Day 3 - 4
Battambang – Battambang Resort
Quiet escape set among tropical gardens just outside town. Comfortable rooms with private terraces, saltwater pool on site. Great for recharging after the bamboo train and countryside visits.
Day 4
Visit Wat Ek Phnom Temple & Bat Cave Spectacular
Visit Wat Ek Phnom temple and a market where they make Prahoc (Cambodian fish paste). Drive to Phnom Sampeou to see Wat Sampeou and the Khmer Rouge 'killing caves,' then stay until dusk when millions of bats emerge and fly in tandem across the sky.
Day 4 - 7
Siem Reap – Angkor Paradise Hotel
Full-service hotel with large, well-equipped rooms, big pool, close to temples and town centre. Not ultra-boutique, but consistent and comfortable – ideal for early temple starts and afternoon downtime.
Day 5
Wat Bo Pagoda & Les Artisans d'Angkor Workshop
Visit Wat Bo (founded 18th century) with unique Reamker wall paintings from the late 1800s. Watch young Cambodians train in stone carving, lacquer work and traditional Khmer crafts at Les Artisans d'Angkor in Siem Reap.
Day 6
Angkor Temples: Angkor Thom, Preah Khan, Ta Prohm & Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat – 200 hectares of mind-bending architecture. Explore Bayon's 54 towers, the Royal Enclosure, and Elephants Terrace at Angkor Thom. Visit Preah Khan's massive monastic complex. Wander Ta Prohm where tree roots claw through stone.
Day 7
Outer Temples: Banteay Srei, Banteay Samre & Roluos Group
Drive 35km north to Banteay Srei – the "Fortress of the Women" with the most exquisite carvings in all Khmer architecture. Visit Banteay Samre with its Vishnu and Krishna reliefs. Explore the Roluos Group: Preah Ko, Bakong (with its active Buddhist monastery), and Lolei.
Day 7 - 10
Kampot – Glorious Hotel
Clean, modern hotel just outside Kampot's centre. Practical base with good rooms, helpful staff, space to breathe. Not flashy, but dependable comfort while you explore the river, pepper farms, coastline.
Day 8
Floating Village & Oxcart Ride
Traditional wooden boat trip on Tonle Sap Lake past stilted houses and floating schools at Chong Khneas. Oxcart ride through villages – visit local home gardens, meet families, learn their way of life, help with vegetable gardening.
Day 9
Sambor Prei Kuk
Visit the 7th-century former capital built during King Isanavarman I's reign.
Day 10 - 11
Koh Trong (Kratie) – Rajabori Villas
Rustic wooden villas set in lush grounds on a Mekong island. No air con – just ceiling fans, quiet nights, and the feeling of truly being off the grid. Basic, beautiful, immersive.
Day 10
Bike Ride Around Koh Trong Island
9km loop through traditional Khmer villages, fruit orchards and rice fields in the middle of the Mekong River.
Mekong River Dolphin Cruise
Boat trip at Prek Kampi to spot rare Irrawaddy Dolphins – only found in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
Day 11
Departure
Transfer back to Phnom Penh via Kampong Cham. Stop at Pagoda Norkor Bachey with its 12th-century ancient temple and modern pagoda. Visit Koh Paen Island in the middle of the Mekong – once famous for its 1km bamboo bridge (now replaced by a modern bridge, though ferries still service the island). Continue to Phnom Penh International Airport for your evening flight departure. Trip ends at the airport – bags heavier, stories richer.