Cambodia is a small country, but it offers everything. There are two main reasons why you should visit Cambodia: 1) it offers an incredible amount of history and culture; 2) its nature is amazing: it ranges from the gorgeous National Parks to the relaxing islands.
If you're planning to visit Southeast Asia, Cambodia is a must-visit country. Here you can find reasons why.
Because of its cultural heritage
Home of the Khmer Empire, Cambodia offers a unique experience to every tourist. Two different experiences wait for you: the magnificent past of the Khmer Empire in Siem Reap and the recent past of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh.
You can experience the distant past of the Khmer Empire…
Visited by two million tourists every year, UNESCO's World Heritage Site since 1992, Angkor Wat, is the largest religious monument in the world and the symbol of Cambodia.
Located in Siem Reap, it was built by the Khmer King Suryavarnam II during the 12th century. Initially dedicated to Vishnu, the god who preserves the world from evil entities, the temples gradually became a Buddhist temple. The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City".
With their carvings, their statues and their amazing towers, the temples are a beautiful testimony of the grandeur of the Khmer architecture.
The site of the Angkor Temples it's huge. There are a lot of different temples, each one unique and beautiful. It requires a few days to visit all of them (you can buy tickets for 1, 3 or 7 days). Here are some of the most interesting ones:
- Angkor Wat: The main temple rises up through three rectangular terraces: the central tower is 699 feet high, and it's the perfect spot to admire the sunrise.
- Bayon: With over 200 faces looking in all directions, the temple is in the exact center of the royal city.
- Ta Prohm: The most fascinating of the temples: trees growing out of the ruins show the power of the jungle. The temple was home to 12,500 people, and after the fall of the Khmer empire was quickly abandoned.
- Angkor Thom: Built after the sacking of Angkor by the Chams, the temple is surrounded by massive walls. There are four different gates, each one topped by huge stone faces.
Hiring a guide is a chance to learn more about the temples and the history behind them: a lot of them have beautiful carvings, depicting legends from Hindu mythology and complex symbolism that can be easily overlooked.
Visiting Angkor Wat is an experience that you will never forget.
…and learn about the recent history of the country
Travelling offers you a unique experience: You can get out of your comfort zone, confront yourself with the history of distant countries and learn something new. Sometimes, the lesson can be painful.
In Phenom Penh, you can visit the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school used as a prison by the Khmer Rouge. After winning the Cambodian Civil War, the Khmer Rouge imprisoned, tortured and killed about 17,000 people in the span of five years (1974-1979).
The museum serves as a testament to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. A visit of the museum is a touching experience, and even though it can be sad, it's a unique opportunity to pay your respects to the victims of the genocide and honor their memory.
98.8% Positive Customer reviews among 10,000+
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My experience in Thai
All of this was well organized by the local office. The holiday was wonderful. Our guide, Mr. Longdy( Siem Reap)were exceptional. He shared his extensive knowledge of the many wonderful places we visited, and were flexible to take us to additional places along the way based on discussions. Thank you so much .shared their extensive knowledge of the many wonderful places we visited, and were flexible to take us to additional places along the way based on discussions. More
kelli,
Jul 2023
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Seamless Planning
From the day I submitted an inquiry request, I instantly received a response from Monica asking my preferences for my trip. She has been attentive and responsive to our every needs and we very much appreciate it. Looking forward to our trip in November but many thanks to Monica for making this experience to seamless thus far. More
Sana Samhouri,
Jul 2023
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Very professional agency for a memorable trip to Asia
A special thanks to Albee who worked with us and helped to tailor the itinerary to our taste, she was amazing and always available for whatever we needed. The trip would not have been the same without her and her team. Thank you! More
Daniela,
Jul 2023
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It was our first time in Cambodia and …
It was our first time in Cambodia and we had a wonderful time. The accommodations, food, and sites were really beautiful. We ended our trip with a relaxing massage. Sam was very accommodating to our needs and knowledgeable. Thank you for the laughter and for being so kind. More
Amy Oakes Moon,
Jun 2023
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Our guide Borin - never boring!
Our guide Borin, in Cambodia, was knowledgeable, understanding and thoughtful in every aspect of the plan he put together for our trip to Siem Reap and in its execution. He can read the room, and knew exactly how to pace the tour, when to pause, when to break, and how to prepare us for the maximum benefit. He is extremely kind and caring, and it showed at every turn. He also is a dab hand with the camera, and we have a lot of great pictures to show for it. Kudos to my Asia Highlights coordinator - Cathy Chen, for picking Borin. Borin works with a driver (007) who was also very kind and caring. Whenever we returned to the car, he would have cold towel rolls and chilled water to refresh us. So amazingly considerate. It was an unforgettable experience More
David Muliyil,
Jun 2023
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Great visit!
Our guide, Anna, was fantastic! She was highly informative and a delight to spend our days with. Would request her again if we were to return! More
Alejandra M Almonte,
Jun 2023
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We've had such a great experience…
We've had such a great experience planning our honeymoon with Alisa at Asia Highlights! We gave her our dream itinerary, thinking that it might be impossible to do all the things we wanted, but Alisa made our dreams a reality! She's gone so far above and beyond to answer ALL of our questions and make little adjustments that will make a huge impact on our experience. More
Lauren,
Jun 2023
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Alisa knows how to work fast and please a customer.
Alisa is very helpful and works very fast. I am a very difficult client because Inknow what I want in therm of hotels and comfort. She had a lot of patience with me, and moved a lot the plan of the trip, always following my requests. It was a pleasure organizing my trip with her. I recommend her a lot! Thanks Alisa. Malala from Argentina. More
maria laura artola,
Jun 2023
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Trip-of-a-lifetime
In addition, I want to specifically mention the guides provided in certain locations. Rum, in Siem Reap, made the most memorable experience possible. His positivity was contagious - even when it felt like 1000 degrees and we were tired. He brought it all to life, and created a couple days of Ankor Wat, etc. that we will never forget! He heard my daughter's request for specific Cambodian food, and changed our itinerary to go to a village and eat at a locally known shop. He brought the dessert she asked about to us in the car! Overall, he and his driver "Lucky" were a reason to go to Siem Reap. In addition, the other guides (minus one which was switched out immediately) were stupendous. Mon in Bangkok was friendly and provided a great day there; Eak in Chiang Mai gave us a world-class food-tour and day touring the city and its surrounding temples with lots of laughs; Tommy in Hanoi kept us from getting killed in the traffic and gave a stupendous food and architecture/history tour - so very friendly and funny; the fishing village tour in Hoi An, as well as the side-car tour in Saigon, were both unforgettable! Thank you Sharon, and Asia Highlights. Would definitely use again for future trips! More
Teri Simpson,
Apr 2023
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Cambodia and Vietnam adventure!
Our guide in Cambodia, Meas Darapolaith (Pol), was absolutely amazing. He was knowledgeable, friendly and so helpful. His English was excellent and he shared important insights about history and the magnificent sites we visited. We highly recommend him! More
Jennifer Roth Krieger,
Apr 2023
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My daughter and I wanted to discover SE…
My daughter and I wanted to discover SE Asia. Being the first in that region, we wanted to use a tour service company. We ended up using Asia Highlights. From the beginning we were impressed with their services. We left home with of mind because all the pre-travel arrangements were taking care and communicate to us efficiently. All our questions were answered promptly. Once in the countries, we were welcome by our excellent tour guides. Everything was taking care for us. We did not have one issue. They selected the right tours guides for us, they were highly knowledgeable and so much attentive to our needs. We had Dhat in Vietnam and Borin in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I highly recommend Asia Highlights. I came back home so much rested, and with plenty of wonderful pictures and memories. I will definitely use Asia Highlights again for my next trip to Asia. More
Isabelle Dessaux,
Apr 2023
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Fabulous tour and guide in Cambodia
We have been touring Cambodia, guided by Borin ( and driver 007) for the last 2 days. What a fabulous experience! Borin has been a wonderful guide, the best so far in Southeast Asia, explaining the history and culture of Cambodia through his tours of the temples in and around Angkor, as well as the Landmine museum. He has answered all our questions, made sure we were comfortable, and that we have had great food. 007 made sure we always had enough water and cool towels for our face/neck.We highly recommend Borin as a tour guide for Cambodia!! More
Monica,
Mar 2023
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Best Travel Service for Asia Travel
Alisa Liu was in charge of making the arrangements and she helped us from the start to make all of the arrangements and also helped us when we had questions and requested some adjustments. Her service is of the highest professional level. We are 100% confident that our trip will be perfect. We’re also 100% confident that, if anything comes up during our trip, that Alisa will be there to guide us through and take care of us. We won’t even consider using another agency for travel around Asia and we would like to have Alisa work for us again. More
Leo Pospichal,
Mar 2023
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Tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand
The tour guides and drivers were another high point. All were very good, friendly, knowledgeable and spoke English well. There were two that I want to call out for their excellence. Chan Sovannarith in Siem Reap was our guide in Cambodia. He really made the experience special. His knowledge, willingness to answer all my questions, helpfulness and general attitude made him fun to be around. In order to praise the second exceptional guide I have to explain about an unfortunate occurrence that I had. I'm normally a very active senior, but after leaving Cambodia for Laos I was suddenly struck by the most intense back pain I've ever experienced, couldn't even roll over in bed (turned out to be sciatica). The guide, Mr. Sonophet, really went the extra mile. He went with my traveling companion and bought a back brace and medications for me. When that didn't help much he took me to a clinic where I was seen by a doctor, given a shot and pain meds. He hand-made a walking stick for me that I'm still using! He made it possible for me to somewhat participate in the activities, i.e. a bed on the boat down the river. When it was time to move on to Bangkok he got me a wheelchair at the airport. I can't thank him enough for these kindnesses! This problem lasted for the remainder of the trip, through Bangkok and Phuket and these guides were also very helpful getting wheelchairs, etc. It was a terrible disappointment to have this wonderful trip disrupted, but it would have been SO much worse without the great help that I received from the guides and my poor travel companion! More
Deb M,
Mar 2023
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In good hands with Sam
Sam Ol took very good care of us - lots of information, listened to and answered all our questions, was passionate about the places we visited and about his people and country. He was kind, had a great sense of humor, and made sure we felt safe and comfortable at all times. He helped us to fall in love with Cambodia in 3 short days. More
Carol Jones,
Feb 2023
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Best tour guide in Cambodia
When we first arrived at the airport in Siem Riep it was so nice to be greeted by Mr Sam Ol. We instantly fell at home when we saw his friendly smile. We were impressed by his great English and knowledge of the temples. On the tour to the temples Sam took care of us every step of the way. He took awesome pictures of us. It felt like we were on a tour given by our brother who is also a professional photographer. Also, we appreciate his humor as well as the fact he had an answer for every question we had. I give Sam 5 stars, best tour guide ever :) More
Len S,
Feb 2023
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Mr. Sam
Mr. Sam our guide in Cambodia, he and the driver out standing service they went above and beyond touring, my wife so amazed beautiful country, we're planning back here near the futures. Thank Mr. Sam,We'll feedback the whole trip next week when we be home in US More
Pho Lover,
Feb 2023
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Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand
We are still in the middle of our trip, but we are just finishing up our time in Cambodia and our guide, Borin, has been AMAZING!!! He has truly made our time here unforgettable and I plan on referring all of my friends and family to come visit this beautiful country! Thank you, Borin, for everything you did to make our trip so fantastic! More
Danielle Blount,
Feb 2023
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Excellent service and Wonderful Guides
All of our guides have been terrific. Mr. Sam in Siem Reip was especially wonderful. Both he and our driver were polite, safe knowledgable and informative. Sam made our trip memorable and enioyable. We will definitely recommend Sam and Asia Highlights to our friends. More
Kaaren,
Feb 2023
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Great tour guide Charity at Siem Reap
Our experience in Siem Reap could not have been any better thanks to our outstanding and cheerful guide, Charity. Her very good English speaking made it so easy to learn so much from her. She understood and answers all of our questions.She was relaxed and very knowledgeable. She went out out her way to help us make amazing pano photos of the cotton trees at Siem Reap and on our sunset cruise. She also advised us on Chanrey Tree restaurant—what we found to be the very best vegan restaurant on our first three weeks of our Asia tour. So glad to have vegan meals with very little oil!!! We are not supposed to have oil and is very hard to find vegan with no oil. Went went back the next night. More
Barbara Cornyn,
Jan 2023
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Because of its natural beauty
Away from the big cities, nature reigns in Cambodia.
You can relax or party on an island…
The South of Cambodia offers a bunch of different islands, each one of them unique in their own way.
- Koh Rong: The most famous island in Cambodia is renowned for its ongoing night life.
- Koh Rong Samloem: On the other hand, you can relax on this peaceful island which offers low-impact and sustainable tourism.
- Song Saa:The most exclusive island experience: with rooms that cost up to $(??) 3,000 per night.people, and after the fall of the Khmer empire was quickly abandoned.
- Koh Thmei: Home to more than 100 different species of birds, monkeys, lizards, etc., Koh Thmei is the best island for nature watching.
- Koh Totang: With no internet and just places to stay, this is the place to choose if you want to totally disconnect from the rest of the world.
…or enjoy the National Parks' wildlife
Cambodia offers also some beautiful national parks, where nature is totally untouched. Enjoying the luxurious flora and fauna is something that you cannot miss and, most importantly, you'll never forget.
- Ream National Park: Just 11 miles from Sihanoukville, it is the most important national park in Cambodia and is home to a wide variety of animals and ecosystems, such as rivers, estuaries, beaches, coral reefs, etc. A small population lives inside the reserve: the villagers live a simple life, with no industry, and fishing as their main occupation. Accommodation is inexpensive and provides first quality services.
- Kirirom National Park: Kirirom ("happy mountain") is a mountain plateau composed by natural and semi-natural vegetation. You can hike with a ranger along the footpaths surrounded by nature, ride horses, or do bird watching.
- Bokor National Park: the park consists of jungles, waterfalls, and fresh mountain streams, home to rare animals such as the Indian elephant and the Asiatic black bear. Something you cannot miss, is the stunning view of the ocean from 3000 feet. The ranger stations have available beds if you want to spend the night on top of the mountain.
Some useful tips when visiting Cambodia
Travelling in Cambodia is easy and inexpensive. Here are a few useful tips to avoid any sort of problems:
- Plan in advance: Booking hotels and transportation in advance will save you a lot of trouble.
- When visiting Angkor Wat: Rent a private car or tuk-tuk for all the days you need it. You can easily bargain and get a good price. Your hotel can help you.
- Another good thing to do is to visit the temples as early as possible during the day.
- Money: Cambodia uses mostly dollars, so you don't have to worry about exchanging money.
- Be aware of scams and pick-pocketing, especially in crowded areas.
Visit Cambodia with Asia Highlights
Asia Highlights welcomes the chance to help you design your perfect trip to Cambodia. Our knowledgeable staff will assist you in selecting destinations, accommodation and activities that best suit your requirements.
Check out the following links to learn more about our tours and get a head start today on planning your hassle-free vacation!
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12-Day Cambodia and Vietnam Highlights
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