Silhouetted towers of Angkor Wat rise above mist and trees at dawn, with visitors walking the causeway in Siem Reap.

Cambodia

Angkor, planned backwards from the crowds

Siem Reap is a small town that exists to serve the greatest temple complex in Asia. Give it three nights and a three-day pass, and build the days around where everyone else is not.

Plan my trip

Orientation

What you are actually visiting

Angkor is not a temple. It is the remains of a capital that was, for several centuries, one of the largest cities on earth, and the stone buildings that survive are the religious ones — hundreds of them, scattered over an area far larger than most visitors expect. Angkor Wat is the famous one. The Bayon, with its two hundred carved faces, and Ta Prohm, with trees growing through its galleries, are the two most people remember best. Then there are dozens more that most groups never reach.

Siem Reap is the town beside it, about seven kilometres south of Angkor Wat. It is pleasant, easy, full of restaurants and small hotels, and it is where you sleep. Nobody comes for the town, but after a morning at the temples its riverside, its markets and a long lunch are exactly what you need.

Nights: 3 — two at a push
Pass: 3-day, valid over 10 days
Airport: SAI, roughly an hour to town
Best months: November to February
Hardest months: April and May — 35 to 40C at the temples

Tickets

The pass, briefly

Angkor passes come in one-day, three-day and seven-day versions. They are bought in your own name at the official ticket centre or online, and carry your photograph. The three-day pass can be used on any three days within ten, which is the single most useful fact about visiting: you can take a day off in the middle, sleep late, go to the lake, and come back fresh. The seven-day pass suits people who want the remote temples and a slow pace.

Dress

The upper levels of Angkor Wat and several other shrines require covered shoulders and knees, and the guards turn people away. A light shirt and trousers or a long skirt solve it; a sarong over shorts sometimes does not.

What to do

What is worth your time

Angkor Wat — at sunrise once, knowing you will share it with a crowd, and then again in the late afternoon when the western face is lit and the galleries are half empty.
The Bayon and Angkor Thom — the walled city with the faces. Midday is fine here because the crowds come in waves; wait five minutes and a gallery clears.
Ta Prohm — at opening time, before the coaches. By ten the famous tree roots have a queue for photographs.
Banteay Srei — small, pink sandstone, the finest carving at Angkor, about an hour north-east. Combine it with the countryside villages on the way.
The outer temples on your third day: Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, and further out Beng Mealea, a collapsed jungle temple you climb through rather than walk around.
Tonle Sap lake — the stilt villages are interesting, but the trips vary enormously in quality. We use the smaller villages further from town rather than the one closest to it.

Massive tree roots engulf ancient stone walls at Ta Prohm temple near Siem Reap as visitors explore below.

Stone towers carved with faces rise above the ancient galleries of Bayon temple in Angkor Thom, Siem Reap.

An intricately carved pink sandstone gateway stands amid ruined walls at Banteay Srei temple near Siem Reap.

A long-tail boat speeds past stilt houses on the water at Kampong Khleang near Siem Reap.

Advice

The things visitors get wrong

One day at AngkorA single day becomes a hot circuit of the three famous temples at the three busiest hours. You leave having queued more than you looked. Three days, spaced out, costs less per hour of enjoyment.

Doing it in the wrong orderEveryone follows the same loop at the same time. We run it largely in reverse: the famous places early or late, the big circuit when the tour groups are at lunch.

Going without a guideThe buildings are stone books, and without someone to read them the fifth temple looks like the fourth. A good guide for the first two days, then explore on your own on the third.

Underestimating the heatBetween eleven and three, from March to May, the temples are an oven with little shade. Go back to the hotel pool. Nobody is timing you.

Practical

Getting here and getting around

The new Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport opened in 2023 and replaced the old airport on the edge of town. It sits roughly 40 to 50 kilometres east, and the transfer is about an hour depending on traffic and where you are staying — longer than the ten minutes that older guidebooks promise, so plan arrival days accordingly. The flight from Saigon is around an hour and a quarter, and it is the sensible way in from Vietnam.

Overland, Phnom Penh is five to six hours by road, and Battambang about three. At the temples you move by car with a driver or by tuk-tuk; the distances between temples are longer than they look on the map, and bicycles are pleasant for the inner circuit only if the heat allows. Visas: most nationalities need one, and the Cambodian e-visa is simple to get, but it is not accepted at every land border. We confirm your gate before booking, and rules change, so we check again close to travel.

Route	Time	Note
Saigon to Siem Reap by air	About 1h 15m	Our default from Vietnam
Airport to town	About 1h	New airport, well east of Siem Reap
Phnom Penh by road	5-6h	Fly if the day matters
Battambang by road	About 3h	A good onward leg

The towering spires of Angkor Wat rise above a dense green forest canopy near Siem Reap. — Angkor Wat faces west, which is why the late afternoon is its best hour.

Timing

When to come

November to February is dry, with cool mornings, and it is the busiest stretch of the year — Christmas and Chinese New Year especially. March to May is very hot and the sunrise crowd thins. From June to October the rain comes in afternoon bursts, the moats and reservoirs fill, the stone darkens and the jungle is green again; this is the season we like best for photographs and for quiet.

JFMAMJJASONDSiem Reap

3 ideal · 2 workable · 1 difficult. April and May are the hardest on people; the wet months are quieter than their reputation.

Not for everyone

Who should skip it

If ruins bore you, three days at Angkor will not change your mind and one day will not either — save the flight. If you cannot walk on uneven stone or manage steep steps, a good part of the complex is still accessible, but the upper levels of Angkor Wat and the jungle temples are not, and you should know that before you plan around them. And if your only window is April, come knowing the heat will set the day’s timetable, not you.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

How many days do I need at Angkor?

Three days on a three-day pass, ideally spread over four or five. Two days covers the essentials. One is possible but it is mostly heat and queues.

Is sunrise at Angkor Wat worth it?

Once, yes — accept that you will share it with a large crowd. The more rewarding hour is late afternoon, when the western face is lit and the galleries empty.

How far is the new airport from Siem Reap?

Roughly 40 to 50 kilometres east of town. Allow about an hour for the transfer, a little more at busy times.

Can I visit Angkor with children?

Yes, and Ta Prohm and Beng Mealea are the ones children love. Keep the days short, start early, and stop at midday; the heat tires small people fastest.