Angkor wat visit

[JaiLai]

Planning a visit end of feb / start of March sometime, would appreciate any experiences ( good or bad )

1. Is this an ok time of year to go ( weather )?

2. How many days do i need, is 2-3 days enough?

3. Hotel recommendations / tour companies?

There's obviously lots of reviews on Trip advisor i have been reading but 1st hand reports are always preferable.

Thanks.

[SoiBiker]

Very hot that time of year. You need at least three days to do it justice in my opinion. I'd recommend renting a bicycle and seeing the sites at your own pace rather than taking a tour.

[JaiLai]

Planning a visit end of feb / start of March sometime, would appreciate any experiences ( good or bad )

1. Is this an ok time of year to go ( weather )?

2. How many days do i need, is 2-3 days enough?

3. Hotel recommendations / tour companies?

There's obviously lots of reviews on Trip advisor i have been reading but 1st hand reports are always preferable.

Thanks.

[JaiLai]

Very hot that time of year. You need at least three days to do it justice in my opinion. I'd recommend renting a bicycle and seeing the sites at your own pace rather than taking a tour.

Thanks for the info.

I've read on trip advisor that without a proper guide it's not easy to find the best photo spots and help in avoiding crowds?

[craigt3365]

Very hot that time of year. You need at least three days to do it justice in my opinion. I'd recommend renting a bicycle and seeing the sites at your own pace rather than taking a tour.

It will be quite hot. I think a scooter is better. Or even better is a scooter guide. They'll drop you off in one spot and pick you up in another. Plus, they know their way around, best ways to avoid the crowds, etc. I had great luck with a scooter guide several years ago.

3 days is good, but could be done in 2. It's an amazing place.

[bizader]

There is never a bad time to visit Angkor Wat. Its really an amazing place and you won't regret it. It will be hot day time. I recommend that you hire a tuk tuk to bring you there before sunrise and you can finish visiting the place by noon. You can ask the driver to wait for you there in case you want to visit other nearly temples. It won't cost you much to hire the tuk tuk for a day (but no need to hire a guide or go on a tour). I also recommend that after the Angkor Wat Temple visit, you ask the driver to bring you to the Angkor Wat Museum. I think they give you a free ticket to the Museum when you purchase the ticket to Angkor Wat. It will help you understand the history of the temple and what you have just experienced.

For accommodation, I recommend that you stay close to Pub street, as it the main place to go for food & drinks.

A 3D2N is enough for Siem Reap / Angkor Wat visit.

[asanee]

1.roughly the same as here in TH-maybe a little more hot

2.no need at all for driver etc-get yourself the free extensive SIEM REAP guidebooklet which also has all basic temple-info+ maps+listings etc. How long obviously depends mostly on your interests in old temples. Going by bike simply means getting up 10 mins more early as for the tukx2. Cambo tukx2 are different; a hang-on to a motocy, much more comfy as here in BKK.

3.cannot answer without more details-SR has by now at least 300s of placestostay, no need at all for the noisy overloud pubstreet-unless nana is your main place of stay in BKK.

There are flites-very exp. on BKKair-, a few on AirAsia,still not that cheap, or 2 daily through buses from Mochit or the usual border hop combo-check out movetocambodia for all the info for the biggest idiot-proof

[phuketrichard]

Very hot that time of year. You need at least three days to do it justice in my opinion. I'd recommend renting a bicycle and seeing the sites at your own pace rather than taking a tour.

i on the other hand recommend u do NOT take a bicycle. its dam hot and the distances are great.

go at 4:30 pm an get in for that day for a free sunset an buy a 3 day ticket for $40.

Get a tuk tuk for $15-18/day. Many of the temples are laid out east to west so you can walk thru them and ur tuk tuk will meet you on the other side.

Head out at 4:30 am for the sunrise, do a few temples, head back to town for a nap and meal and return at 2:30-3 for the sunset.

Make sure u allow some time to visit the excellent museum in town ( it is NOT FREE) BEFORE you head to the temples not after ( 2 hours is enough) , and 1 day for a boat ride on the Tonle sap Lake to visit one of the many villages on the lake, I like Kampong Phluk

Buy the book "Ancient Angkor " from one of the kids for $5-8. it gives you all the info a guide will

Edited December 19, 2015 by phuketrichard

[SoiBiker]

Great distances? Even the outer loop is only about 15 miles. If you can't manage that sort of distance on entirely flat terrain, then I wouldn't recommend you get on a bike anywhere.

Cycling around Angkor is a great experience, you get to really take in the scale of the place and appreciate it as a whole landscape of sites, and soak up the atmosphere without the constant clatter of a two-stroke engine accompanying you.

[Youaredoomed]

I'd say take a moto or tuk tuk and contribute a little to the local economy and leave the DIY to the skint backpackers.....

[SoiBiker]

I made my contributions on pub street afterwards.

[TEFLKrabi]

Very hot that time of year. You need at least three days to do it justice in my opinion. I'd recommend renting a bicycle and seeing the sites at your own pace rather than taking a tour.

It will be hot for sure. I've done it a few times with different friends. Each time we've taken a guide to understand about the site them gone back on bicycles to see the smaller temples which are dotted around and that you miss on the main tour. A day with a guide and a day on bikes. FYI the bike ride, around the main site, is a very leisurely 25-30kms and the roads are a lot safer than in Thailand ( at least they are around Siem Reap). Enjoy it. It's a magical place.

[JaiLai]

Thanks for the info.

Bikes are not an option, my mother will be with me, don't think she'd be too keen on that...

Any hotel recommendations?

[SantiSuk]

From a weather viewpoint, IMO:

1 December - lovely and cool except for an hour or two early PM

2 January or November - a little bit warmer most years

3 February

4 March/October

5 October

6 April (but can be too bleedin hot)

7 The rest, although August September can be OK if you luck out with the rain and any of the Summer months will give you longer light. Better hotel deals in the May to October period.

2-3 days is ideal, unless you are an antiquities geek. Two full days would be plenty for a temple crammer. Three days more relaxing and time to hang in Siem Reap. Nothing wrong with a one day, 3 to 4 temple, taster - if you can go back again and again thereafter.

Late December to April will be crawling with tourists although the Chinese now go in hordes at almost any time.

Accommodation is too personalised to give recommendations - you want backpacker, budget, mid range or luxury?

Five times visitor - but I stand to be corrected by anyone who lives there and will know tourist patterns even more intimately. The weather is not that much different from Bangkok/Central Plains/Eastern/Isaan - but Cambodia (and Vietnam) is the first to get the monsoons sweeping up from Indonesia and across from the Philippines so can be even wetter than our parts at times

[JaiLai]

From a weather viewpoint, IMO:

1 December - lovely and cool except for an hour or two early PM

2 January or November - a little bit warmer most years

3 February

4 March/October

5 October

6 April (but can be too bleedin hot)

7 The rest, although August September can be OK if you luck out with the rain and any of the Summer months will give you longer light. Better hotel deals in the May to October period.

2-3 days is ideal, unless you are an antiquities geek. Two full days would be plenty for a temple crammer. Three days more relaxing and time to hang in Siem Reap. Nothing wrong with a one day, 3 to 4 temple, taster - if you can go back again and again thereafter.

Late December to April will be crawling with tourists although the Chinese now go in hordes at almost any time.

Accommodation is too personalised to give recommendations - you want backpacker, budget, mid range or luxury?

Five times visitor - but I stand to be corrected by anyone who lives there and will know tourist patterns even more intimately. The weather is not that much different from Bangkok/Central Plains/Eastern/Isaan - but Cambodia (and Vietnam) is the first to get the monsoons sweeping up from Indonesia and across from the Philippines so can be even wetter than our parts at times

Any recommendations for mid range hotels?

Thanks.

[Jip99]

Whilst it is worth going just for the temples, Siem Reap has much more to offer.

VERY subjective but a agree with Santisuk's 'mini circuit' of temples. Seeing the main Angkor Wat, Bayon (faces) and Ta Phrom (Tomb Raider) is sufficient as a 'taster'. Caveat - some people spend 3 days at the temples and say it is not enough.

3 nights gives 2 full days. The above takes up half a day will cost circa $15/20 max for a tuk tuk plus the $20 AW ticket. One of the host of tuk tuk drivers near your hotel will sort you out.

Find time for the Tonle Sap and I suggest you go to Kompong Phluk... Google it and look at Trip Adviser.

Don't be put off by some TA reports, this is Cambodia and essentially a 3rd world country. The service, accommodation and food in Siem Reap is not.

Pub Street offers a variety bars and many enjoy a Tomb Raider cocktail at the Piano Bar - I prefer a 50c glass of Angkor beer further down the street.

I would avoid peak season (although I spent the last 3 Christmasses there, wonderful atmosphere). Late January or February before it gets to hot or October (can be very wet) or November.

Have a look at the City River hotel as a benchmark.

Edited December 19, 2015 by Jip99

[JaiLai]

Whilst it is worth going just for the temples, Siem Reap has much more to offer.

VERY subjective but a agree with Santisuk's 'mini circuit' of temples. Seeing the main Angkor Wat, Bayon (faces) and Ta Phrom (Tomb Raider) is sufficient as a 'taster'. Caveat - some people spend 3 days at the temples and say it is not enough.

3 nights gives 2 full days. The above takes up half a day will cost circa $15/20 max for a tuk tuk plus the $20 AW ticket. One of the host of tuk tuk drivers near your hotel will sort you out.

Find time for the Tonle Sap and I suggest you go to Kompong Phluk... Google it and look at Trip Adviser.

Don't be put off by some TA reports, this is Cambodia and essentially a 3rd world country. The service, accommodation and food in Siem Reap is not.

Pub Street offers a variety bars and many enjoy a Tomb Raider cocktail at the Piano Bar - I prefer a 50c glass of Angkor beer further down the street.

I would avoid peak season (although I spent the last 3 Christmasses there, wonderful atmosphere). Late January or February before it gets to hot or October (can be very wet) or November.

Have a look at the City River hotel as a benchmark.

perfect, thanks a lot for the info.

[phuketrichard]

Great distances? Even the outer loop is only about 15 miles. If you can't manage that sort of distance on entirely flat terrain, then I wouldn't recommend you get on a bike anywhere.

Cycling around Angkor is a great experience, you get to really take in the scale of the place and appreciate it as a whole landscape of sites, and soak up the atmosphere without the constant clatter of a two-stroke engine accompanying you.

thanks for that, i did over 10,000 miles by bicycle thru india, nepal, sri lanka, thailand, Malaysia, singapore & Java

for fun would not do angkor wat to save a few bucks

[SoiBiker]

It's not about saving a few bucks - it's a great way to see the place.

[Jip99]

Thanks for the info.

Bikes are not an option, my mother will be with me, don't think she'd be too keen on that...

Any hotel recommendations?

You make no mention of budget and there are 1,000's of rooms available in SR.

Have a look at the City River hotel as a benchmark. Max 10 mins walk to Pub Street, $2 by tuk-tuk, decent rooms, rooftop pool, decent restaurant but average breakfast, good service.

If you don't need a pool there are other recommendations.

[JaiLai]

Thanks for the info.

Bikes are not an option, my mother will be with me, don't think she'd be too keen on that...

Any hotel recommendations?

You make no mention of budget and there are 1,000's of rooms available in SR.

Have a look at the City River hotel as a benchmark. Max 10 mins walk to Pub Street, $2 by tuk-tuk, decent rooms, rooftop pool, decent restaurant but average breakfast, good service.

If you don't need a pool there are other recommendations.

2000-3000 baht per night.

Thanks.

[phuketrichard]

for that $$$ use booking.com

ps , i prefer to see the temples without being all hot, sweaty and tired

Plus i carry camera gear

to each their own

Edited December 21, 2015 by phuketrichard

[fredge45]

Great driver service... www.angkorsafedriver.com

He can arrange for a guide if necessary but not a guide, at least when we used him for a week.

[phuketrichard]

cant u merge these two together?? http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/879755-angkor-wat-visit

[dddave]

I would recommend four days if this is likely to be a once in a lifetime visit. It can start getting very hot in March and trying to pack the whole experience of this amazing place into 2 days can really lessen a great experience as there is much more to see than just the two major temples, Angkow Wat and Angkor Thom.

To me, the best plan is to find a decent Guest House, unless you really like big hotels. My GH recommendations would be out of date but a bit of time on Trip Advisor will be worthwhile. Your GH will be able to help you arrange a driver, either car or moto-carriage who will stay with you for the day. Go to Angkor Wat early your first day and explore untill afternoon, return to your GH for lunch and a bit of rest, then have your driver take you back later in the day and watch the sun set.

Next day, have your driver take you deep into the complex where there are many beautiful temples and structures without the crowds, some really unique places in there.

Third day, do Angkor Thom the same as you did Angkor Wat the first day and the fourth day do an excursion on the Tonle Sap and see the floating villages and beautiful scenery.

Most of all, I suggest you buy a good guidebook about Angkor Wat before you go and read up and find the sights that interest you in advance. Bring it along with you.

Cambodian guides are well meaning but there presentation is mostly by rote and lacks real understanding of the meaning of many of the stunning things you will see such as the amazing stone carvings depicting life at the time of Angkor's glory years.

Bring insect repellent, good climbing shoes and a brimmed hat for a bit of shade.

Edited December 21, 2015 by dddave

[Spaniel]

From a weather viewpoint, IMO:

1 December - lovely and cool except for an hour or two early PM

2 January or November - a little bit warmer most years

3 February

4 March/October

5 October

6 April (but can be too bleedin hot)

7 The rest, although August September can be OK if you luck out with the rain and any of the Summer months will give you longer light. Better hotel deals in the May to October period.

2-3 days is ideal, unless you are an antiquities geek. Two full days would be plenty for a temple crammer. Three days more relaxing and time to hang in Siem Reap. Nothing wrong with a one day, 3 to 4 temple, taster - if you can go back again and again thereafter.

Late December to April will be crawling with tourists although the Chinese now go in hordes at almost any time.

Accommodation is too personalised to give recommendations - you want backpacker, budget, mid range or luxury?

Five times visitor - but I stand to be corrected by anyone who lives there and will know tourist patterns even more intimately. The weather is not that much different from Bangkok/Central Plains/Eastern/Isaan - but Cambodia (and Vietnam) is the first to get the monsoons sweeping up from Indonesia and across from the Philippines so can be even wetter than our parts at times

Any recommendations for mid range hotels?

Thanks.

Wife and I stayed at this place on two visit to Siem Reap. Great in town location. Check out their website for details: wwwgoldentemplevilla.com

[JaiLai]

From a weather viewpoint, IMO:

1 December - lovely and cool except for an hour or two early PM

2 January or November - a little bit warmer most years

3 February

4 March/October

5 October

6 April (but can be too bleedin hot)

7 The rest, although August September can be OK if you luck out with the rain and any of the Summer months will give you longer light. Better hotel deals in the May to October period.

2-3 days is ideal, unless you are an antiquities geek. Two full days would be plenty for a temple crammer. Three days more relaxing and time to hang in Siem Reap. Nothing wrong with a one day, 3 to 4 temple, taster - if you can go back again and again thereafter.

Late December to April will be crawling with tourists although the Chinese now go in hordes at almost any time.

Accommodation is too personalised to give recommendations - you want backpacker, budget, mid range or luxury?

Five times visitor - but I stand to be corrected by anyone who lives there and will know tourist patterns even more intimately. The weather is not that much different from Bangkok/Central Plains/Eastern/Isaan - but Cambodia (and Vietnam) is the first to get the monsoons sweeping up from Indonesia and across from the Philippines so can be even wetter than our parts at times

Any recommendations for mid range hotels?

Thanks.

Wife and I stayed at this place on two visit to Siem Reap. Great in town location. Check out their website for details: wwwgoldentemplevilla.com

Thanks, i'll have a look.