Trip overview
Phnom Penh sits where three rivers meet: the Mekong arriving from the north, the Tonle Sap draining out of its great lake, and the Bassac splitting off toward the delta and, eventually, Vietnam. This short trip does not try to cover the whole city. Instead it holds to a single well-paced day that carries you from the ceremonial grandeur of the Royal Palace to Tuol Sleng, the former school turned Khmer Rouge prison that most visitors describe as necessary rather than pleasant.
Because everything happens on one central day, arrival and departure stay loose. That makes this a practical add-on if the capital is a stopover on a bigger itinerary rather than the whole point of your trip, and equally workable as a stand-alone weekend if your time in Cambodia is genuinely limited.
Trip highlights
- Royal Palace and the adjoining Silver Pagoda, the working seat of the Cambodian monarchy
- Wat Ounalom, regarded as the historic centre of Cambodian Buddhism
- Tuol Sleng (S-21), the Khmer Rouge interrogation site inside a former secondary school
- A sunset boat on the river past Chaktomuk, where the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac converge
- One tightly sequenced sightseeing day rather than a scattered, half-planned stay
Your day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Phnom Penh
A private car meets your flight and drives you into the city centre, where most hotels sit within walking distance of the riverfront. Nothing else is planned for the rest of the day. If the light and your energy allow, an early evening stroll along Sisowath Quay is a gentle way to get your bearings before the fuller day ahead.
Day 2: Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, Wat Ounalom and Tuol Sleng
The Royal Palace has served as the king’s official residence since 1866, and its compound takes up the first part of the morning together with the Silver Pagoda next door, named for the roughly five thousand silver floor tiles underfoot; inside stand a gold Buddha figure and, separately, one carved from crystal. A short drive brings you to Wat Ounalom, long considered the seat of Cambodian Buddhism and still an active monastery today.
The afternoon shifts register entirely at Tuol Sleng, once an ordinary secondary school before the Khmer Rouge converted it into the S-21 interrogation centre. Your guide keeps commentary factual rather than dramatic and gives you time to move through at your own pace. The day is timed to end on the water: a sunset boat traces the confluence at Chaktomuk, where three rivers meet, before returning you to the hotel for a free evening.
Day 3: Departure from Phnom Penh
The morning is open until a private transfer collects you for your onward or homeward flight. Use whatever time remains for a last coffee by the river or a quick pass through the Central Market before you go.
What’s included
- Hotels in the class you choose, twin or double occupancy, with breakfast each morning, or an equivalent property if the one named is full.
- All meals written into the day-by-day programme below.
- A private air-conditioned vehicle for every transfer and excursion in the programme.
- An English-speaking local guide at each stop on the route.
- Every boat trip, river crossing and cruise named in the itinerary.
- Entrance fees for the sites listed in the programme.
- Drinking water in the vehicle and on boat days.
- Government tax and service charge.
Not included
- International and domestic flights, and rail tickets.
- Visas, and any fee collected at a border post.
- Travel insurance.
- Meals and drinks that are not written into the programme.
- Personal spending such as laundry, phone calls, minibar, souvenirs and watersports.
- Early check-in, late check-out and room upgrades.
- Anything added on the day at your request outside the printed programme.
- Gratuities for your guide and driver.
- Costs arising from weather, flooding, road closures or other events beyond our control.
- Bank transfer charges.
Booking this trip
- Days
- 3 days / 2 nights
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