Day 1 Phnom Penh: The Killing Fields
Arrive on your flight in Phnom Penh where you will be met by an air conditioned van and driver and will be transferred to your hotel.
This afternoon, head to the Tuol Sleng Prison Museum where your guide will explain the history of the Khmer Rouge and walk you through the different museum displays. After watching the movie they show every day, continue on to the Choeung Ek Memorial, the site of one of the country’s many killing fields, where a memorial stupa and shallow pits remind visitors of the thousands killed under the Pol Pot Regime. There is an excellent audio headset on site which includes firsthand survivor stories, accounts from guards, traditional music, as well as a guided tour of the site. We recommend using this thoughtful and well-produced audio tour as most visitors to the Choeung Ek Memorial use the personalized headset tours, leaving the somber grounds quiet allowing for introspection. Your JW guide will be on hand if you would prefer to explore the site with them or have any additional questions after you have completed your audio tour. You will be transferred back to your hotel late afternoon.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at The Villa Paradiso – Harmony Suite
Day 2 Siem Reap: Arrival, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Land Mine Museum
This morning you will be transferred to the airport by your guide and driver for your onward flight – Cambodia Angkor Air K6105 departing Phnom Penh at 10:35 & arriving in Siem Reap at 11:20. Arrive in Siem Reap where you will be met by a Journeys Within representative and will be transferred to your hotel.
After lunch head to Angkor Wat with your guide. Explore this majestic temple with your guide and learn about the many stories carved into the wall. You will also visit Angkor Thom, the famous walled city, and see the many temples within its borders, including the fascinating Bayon temple with its many magnificent faces smiling out.
Make a short stop at the Land Mine Museum, a rather humble look at the land mine problem, past and present, in Cambodia.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Heritage Suites Hotel – Bungalow Suite
Day 3 Siem Reap to Beng Mealea, Koh Ker and Preah Vihear
Enjoy an early breakfast at your hotel before leaving the crowds behind and heading to Beng Mealea, one of Angkor’s more mysterious temples located 40km outside of the main temple complex. After an hour you will leave the paved road and head out on to the beaten track running through rice fields and villages of rural Cambodia. At the temple, your guide will help you imagine how it once was as you pick your way through the rubble now surrounded by jungle. After an early lunch, continue on to the dirt road that leads to Koh Ker temple. King Jayavaraman IV made this city the capital after he moved it from Angkor Wat. The temple itself has faced a lot of vandalism and many of the once beautiful sculptures are missing heads, but it still serves as a beautiful legacy to the Khmer Empire. If you have the energy, and aren’t afraid of heights, you can climb to the top of the temple, the second tallest in Cambodia, so you can see above the forest line and enjoy amazing views of the rural countryside and the border of Thailand in the distance. Around mid-afternoon, continue the last bit of your journey to Preah Vihear, where you will check into your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Preah Vihear Boutique Hotel – Deluxe Room
Day 4 Preah Vihear and Anlong Veng to Siem Reap
Leave early in the morning and head towards the Thai border to Preah Vihear, a Khmer temple situated atop a 525-metre cliff in the Dangrek Mountains in Cambodia, close to the Thailand border, but most notably in Cambodian territory. Preah Vihear has long been the subject of intense ownership disputes between the two neighboring countries and Cambodia was officially awarded control of Preah Vihear in 1962 by the International Court of Justice. It is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Preah Vihear sits atop a plateau overlooking the lower lands of Cambodia, making for a stunning view for many kilometers across a plain. It has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-century-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the empire’s spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. The road getting to Preah Vihear varies depending on the season, but you drive through rural Cambodia to get here, passing some beautifully remote villages and markets. The road leading up to the escarpment still has strict regulations about how many vehicles are allowed up per day (roads are steep and not very wide). Therefore at the ticket office, along with your guide, you will need to climb into the back of one of their pick-up trucks and from there you will be driven up the mountain. After taking a couple of hours to explore the area, stop for a quick lunch before continuing on to Anlong Veng. This region is known as the birthplace and last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge. Visit the site of Pol Pot’s grave, and the home of the late Ta Mok, also known as Brother #5. Return to Siem Reap late in the afternoon or early evening.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Heritage Suites Hotel – Bungalow Suite
Day 5 Siem Reap: Departure
Your driver will meet you at your hotel for your private transfer to the airport, where you will arrive in time for your onward flight.
Meals included: Breakfast
Tour Rate: $ 1,290.00 per person based on 2 people traveling (double occupancy) with a single supplement of $ 1,025.00
Price includes:
- Air tickets Phnom Penh – Siem Reap
- Boat tickets as specified above
- Accommodation as specified above
- Air-conditioned car/van with driver
- Licensed English speaking guides
- Tours and admission fees as mentioned above
- Meals as specified in itinerary, including water
Price excludes:
- Personal expenses
- Visa fees
- Airport tax
- Drinks (except water) and meals not mentioned in itinerary
- Tips
