14 Days in Cambodia — The Full Country
5 destinations · 14 days
At a Glance
- ✓ Angkor Wat at sunrise
- ✓ Battambang's bamboo train & countryside
- ✓ Phnom Penh history & Royal Palace
- ✓ Kampot pepper farms & riverside
- ✓ Kep crab market
- ✓ Island time on Koh Rong Samloem
Two weeks is the sweet spot for seeing Cambodia properly rather than rushing through it. This route adds two destinations most short trips never reach — Battambang, the country’s most charming colonial-era city, and Kampot’s slow riverside pace — on top of the temples, capital, and coast every visitor should see.
Day 1–4: Siem Reap & Angkor
Day 1: Arrive, settle in, evening at the Old Market and Pub Street with an Apsara dance dinner show.
Day 2: Sunrise at Angkor Wat, then Angkor Thom and the face-towers of the Bayon, finishing with Ta Prohm in the late afternoon light.
Day 3: Quieter temples — Preah Khan, Ta Som — in the morning, then a Tonle Sap boat trip to the floating village of Kompong Phluk in the afternoon.
Day 4: Banteay Srei for its pink sandstone carving, then a free afternoon — Angkor National Museum, a spa, or simply resting before the road trip to Battambang.
Stay: Siem Reap (4 nights).
Day 5–6: Battambang
Day 5: Drive or bus to Battambang (3 hours). Ride the famous bamboo train — a homemade bamboo platform on rail wheels that flies along the old French-era track. Visit Phnom Sampeau, including the wartime cave memorial, and stay to watch thousands of bats stream out of the hilltop cave at dusk.
Day 6: Cycle the quiet countryside around Wat Banan (a smaller, less-crowded cousin of Angkor Wat with a similar layout). Wander Battambang’s riverside French Quarter — the best-preserved colonial architecture in the country — and catch a show at Phare Ponleu Selpak, the social-circus that trains at-risk youth.
Stay: Battambang.
Day 7–9: Phnom Penh
Day 7: Bus to Phnom Penh (5 hours). Afternoon at the Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda; evening on the riverside promenade.
Day 8: Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Choeung Ek Memorial in the morning — difficult but essential. Afternoon at Russian Market. Evening dinner at Malis or a riverside restaurant on Street 278.
Day 9: Free day — Phnom Penh Night Market, a rooftop bar in BKK1, or a half-day trip to the silk and silversmith villages of Koh Dach and Koh Chen across the Mekong.
Stay: Phnom Penh.
Day 10–11: Kampot & Kep
Day 10: Drive to Kampot (3 hours). Slow riverside afternoon, then a sunset cruise on the Kampot River — watch fireflies light up the riverbank mangroves after dark.
Day 11: Morning at a Kampot pepper plantation (La Plantation or Sothy’s). Afternoon trip to Kep for the legendary crab market — whole crab cooked with fresh green Kampot pepper, eaten by the sea — and a short hike in Kep National Park.
Stay: Kampot.
Day 12–14: Coast & Islands
Day 12: Drive to Sihanoukville (2 hours), then ferry to Koh Rong Samloem.
Day 13: Full island day — swim, snorkel, and a bioluminescent plankton night swim after dark.
Day 14: Ferry back to Sihanoukville for your onward flight, or add a buffer night in Phnom Penh if your international departure is from there.
Stay: Koh Rong Samloem, then onward.
Practical Notes
Route logic: This loop runs north to south — Siem Reap → Battambang → Phnom Penh → Kampot → coast — so you’re never backtracking. Reverse it if flying into Phnom Penh instead of Siem Reap.
Getting around: Buses connect every leg ($8–15 each); private taxi between cities costs $40–70 and is worth it for the Battambang–Phnom Penh leg to stop at sights en route.
Budget guide:
- Budget: $35–55/day
- Mid-range: $80–150/day (assumed for this itinerary)
- Luxury: $200+/day
Book ahead: Island accommodation in peak season (Dec–Feb) should be booked 2–3 weeks out. Everything else — Angkor passes, bamboo train tickets, Kampot tours — can be arranged a day or two ahead in-country.
