8 days / 7 nights
Start: Phnom Penh (PNH)
End: Siem Reap (SAI)
From $1,400 USD per person
8 days / 7 nights
Start: Phnom Penh (PNH)
End: Siem Reap (SAI)
From $1,400 USD per person
This one-of-a-kind experience travels from the capital city of Phnom Penh, through the vibrant countryside of Battambang, and finishes with a bang in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat’s ruined temples. We’ll discover Cambodia’s incredible cuisine, history, and beauty, and meet the locals who have called this place home for generations.
Join-in trips start at $1,400 USD per person, which may increase slightly due to seasonality. You can browse the calendar for each trip’s specific price. A $500 USD per person deposit is required to reserve your spot. Click here for more pricing details.
Small groups of 4-10 people, or contact us to ask about a private trip.
Boutique guesthouses that offer impeccable comfort and amenities while exemplifying Cambodian hospitality and culture.
This itinerary is subject to changes and adjustments based on seasonality and local operations.
Arrival & Check-In: Airport pick-up is available from Phnom Penh’s PNH airport. Flight arrivals should be at or before 3pm.
Lost Plate’s Phnom Penh Evening Food Tour: Jump in tuktuks for our top-rated food tour of Phnom Penh where we visit 4 safe-to-eat restaurants (with a cold beer in hand). Meet the makers of our favorite local dishes from banana leaf salad to Khmer curry with rice noodles to streetside BBQ ribs.
Driving: Approx. 45 mins from the airport to your hotel.
Hotel: Rambutan Resort (or similar), a boutique guesthouse in the heart of Phnom Penh’s vibrant BKK1 district.
Meals: Dinner
Morning Market, Breakfast, & Coffee Tour: Start with a classic local breakfast of noodle soup and Khmer coffee, walk through a bustling local market, and finish with savory turmeric & coconut milk crepes, plus more!
S21 Genocide Museum: It’s essential to understand Cambodia’s dark past in order to appreciate today’s vibrant culture and growing economy. This museum is the former site of a secondary school which was used as a prison where an estimated 20,000 Cambodians were imprisoned between 1976 and 1979.
After a visit to the museum, our goal is that we gain an understanding for what the country has gone through just a few decades ago. We believe this gives us the insight to truly appreciate the rest of our trip and the local people we’ll meet along the way.
Free Time: Relax by the pool, visit one of our many markets, or take a stroll along the city’s riverside.
River Cruise: Phnom Penh sits on the banks of the Tonlé Sap, Mekong, and Bassac Rivers, providing copious amounts of freshwater fish – a staple in Cambodian cuisine. We’ll hop on a private boat for a happy hour cruise and sail the waters where these three rivers converge.
Dinner: Finish the day with a huge spread of local dishes alongside lush Cambodian vibes.
Driving: All of the rides around the city today will be short rides by tuktuk.
Hotel: Same as previous night.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Drive to Battambang & Hotel Check-In: The vast and rural countryside that sits between Cambodia’s two largest cities is filled with rich-green rice paddies, roaming water buffalo, and incredibly welcoming people. We’ll make a few stops along the way to stretch our legs and grab a local lunch.
Riverside City Walk: Battambang’s low key vibe offers the country’s best natural resources fueled by the presence of artists and a large NGO community. It also makes it one of the best places to eat and explore in Cambodia.
Dinner: In Battambang’s old-town, there’s one restaurant (in our humble opinion) that ranks above all others. Jaan Bai, meaning ‘Rice Bowl,’ is a social enterprise run by the Cambodian Children’s Trust. Not only do they create jobs for underprivileged youth, but their use of local high quality ingredients create some of the best SE Asian inspired dishes we’ve ever tasted (think turmeric pork chops, pork belly baos, and green chili coconut sambals).
Driving: Battambang is a 4-5 hour drive from Phnom Penh, which we’ll enjoy in our own private van.
Hotel: Cambana La Riviere (or similar), a boutique guesthouse in the heart of Battambang.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Countryside Bike/Tuktuk Tour: Hop on bikes (or a tuktuk for those who don’t cycle) and explore the nearby countryside’s rural roads, villages, and families who are passing down their craft from generation to generation. Along the way, we’ll try bamboo sticky rice, visit a local market to learn about Cambodia’s most staple ingredient, and meet a local family who has been shelling out fire-cooked rice paper for decades (and then devour some made-to-order spring rolls); plus a lot more surprises!
Free Time
Bat Caves at Sunset: Roam the nearby rice terraces and village by tuktuk to reach the mouth of a hillside cave. Here, millions of bats emerge to go insect hunting every evening – dotting the setting sun with a slow, endless wave that lasts for up to an hour. It’s the most memorable sunset we’ll ever have!
Dinner: Visit a long-standing restaurant in old-town’s quiet lanes that features a balcony seating area and is known for its delicious selection of Cambodian dishes.
Driving: The morning bike ride will be 3 hours, with a lot of stops along the way. Total distance is 20km. The afternoon exploration will involve riding in tuktuks for a total of 1 hour, broken up by plenty of long stops.
Hotel: Same as previous night.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Street-Art Walk: For centuries, Battambang was renowned for their artists – until they were targeted by the Khmer Rouge. After breakfast, we’ll discover today’s street-art scene which is putting Battambang back on the map as the art and soul capital of Cambodia.
Cooking Class & Market Visit: Visit Battambang’s largest local market to shop for lunch – a cooking class where each person will prepare 4 popular Cambodian dishes (including fish amok and a coconut milk dessert). Chef Nary will introduce each ingredient and demonstrate the process in his own kitchen, complete with recipes for to enjoy back home!
Drive to Siem Reap & Hotel Check-In
Phare Cambodian Circus & Dinner: An incredibly unique show where performers use theater, music, dance and modern circus arts to tell uniquely Cambodian stories. After the Khmer Rouge ended, some survivors used art as therapy, and they eventually started a free art, music, and theater school to share their skills with others. The circus allows these students a way to use their skills as a way to make a living.
We’ll pre-game with dinner on the circus grounds before enjoying the 1 hour seasonal show. Enormously different from the circus you may remember as a child, the acting, acrobatics, and high-energy music will captivate you!
Driving: Siem Reap is a 3 hour drive from Battambang, which we’ll enjoy in our own private van.
Hotel: Rambutan Resort, a boutique guesthouse in the center of Siem Reap.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Angkor Wat is just one of over 72 major temples and 100’s of smaller ruins that encompass a 400 square km area outside Siem Reap. Those numbers are mind-boggling, but this UNESCO World Heritage Site is also the largest religious monument in the world. With endless temples, before-its-time architecture, and man-made water systems, the site is a unique concentration of features testifying to an exceptional ancient civilization.
Temple Exploration: We’ll start our day where Indiana Jones searched for the Ark of the Covenant and Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft raided tombs in the tree-entwined lesser known temples. We’ll explore dirt roads with hidden forested ruins, and climb ancient gates for unique views and larger-than-life carvings. We’ll feel like modern day explorers by lunch!
Free Time
Lost Plate’s Siem Reap Sunset Food Tour: Head out on our award-winning Siem Reap food tour. Our collection of stops include the only restaurant in town serving Mekola minority cuisine, a home-cooked meal with fresh-caught fish in a small countryside home, and killer sunset views in the rice paddies. We’ll end the night at a local bar with a cold draft beer or house cocktail.
Driving: Today’s temple exploration will be done by tuktuk. We’ll be out until after lunch with many long stops along the way. Our food tour is 4 hours by tuktuk with plenty more long stops.
Hotel: Same as previous night.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Sunrise at Angkor Wat: The view of Angkor Wat’s three iconic pagodas are a sight to behold at any time of day, but sunrise is when the temple comes alive. Take it all in as it becomes one with the horizon and slowly transforms, minute by minute, as the sky lights up and Angkor Wat emerges from its slumber.
After sunrise, we’ll get up close and personal with Angkor Wat itself as we explore its 12th century walls that took over 30 years (and 5 million tons of sandstone) to complete. Decorated with thousands of legendary stories and topped with three pagodas, we’ll have plenty of time to learn, explore, and create our best insta-moment.
Brunch: Enjoy breakfast/lunch at our hotel and get some rest after what already feels like a full day.
Free Time: We’ll have plenty of time this afternoon to relax, sightsee, and/or grab any last-minute souvenirs to bring home. We’ll give you plenty of options to choose from, and our tuktuks are at your disposal.
Farewell Dinner: It’s hard to top the previous 7 days, but we we’ve got a great dinner lined up for your final night in Cambodia.
Driving: Our drive to Angkor Wat and back will take about 30 minutes each way, by tuktuk.
Hotel: Same as previous night.
Meals: Brunch, Dinner
Airport Drop-off: Will be provided for each individual guest to coincide with your flight. Siem Reap’s SAI airport is a 45 minute drive from the city center.
We spent years researching and designing this unique 8-day trip that covers all of our favorite highlights in Cambodia. Yes, this is a food-forward trip -but Cambodia is so much more than their cuisine and use of ingredients, which is why we’ve taken this trip a step further.
We’ll explore the countryside to meet families who have been perfecting their craft for generations. We’ll wind through dirt roads and trails to discover the lesser known ruins of Angkor Wat. We’ll confront Cambodia’s precarious history and see how the country is rediscovering its roots. And of course, we’ll eat (and drink) ourselves silly.
If you want to experience the real Cambodia, everything from the bustling capital of Phnom Penh to remote fishing villages, then this is the trip for you.
Our trips are all-inclusive and do not have any shopping stops where you are obligated to purchase something. The only thing not included is your tourist visa, transportation to/from Cambodia, activities during your free time, and gratuities for your guide.
Accommodations may change based on group size and availability. If so, an equivalent will be used.
We spent years researching and designing this unique 8-day trip that covers all of our favorite highlights in Cambodia. Yes, this is a food-forward trip -but Cambodia is so much more than their cuisine and use of ingredients, which is why we’ve taken this trip a step further.
We’ll explore the countryside to meet families who have been perfecting their craft for generations. We’ll wind through dirt roads and trails to discover the lesser known ruins of Angkor Wat. We’ll confront Cambodia’s precarious history and see how the country is rediscovering its roots. And of course, we’ll eat (and drink) ourselves silly.
If you want to experience the real Cambodia, everything from the bustling capital of Phnom Penh to remote fishing villages, then this is the trip for you.
Our trips are all-inclusive and do not have any shopping stops where you are obligated to purchase something. The only thing not included is your tourist visa, transportation to/from Cambodia, activities during your free time, and gratuities for your guide.
Accommodations may change based on group size and availability. If so, an equivalent will be used.
The Lost Plate Style: Our trips are designed to give you a hassle-free and comfortable experience, focusing on authenticity and unique activities without the luxury price tag. We explore off the beaten path spots, eat authentic local food at family-run mom ‘n pop restaurants, and take care of all logistics so you can relax.
Our Itineraries are personally designed by our founder and local team (psst, that’s her visiting a sun-dried banana producer in Battambang). We do not “plug and play” typical itineraries like everyone else. Instead, we go the extra mile to take you to places that WE would travel to, making sure you get a unique (and delicious) experience.
Our Guides & Trip Leaders are hired and trained by us and lead our trips regularly. This means you’ll get a professional experience led by a team that is passionate about what we do (and eat).
Private trips can be arranged based on availability. This is ideal for families, large groups, or guests who don’t want to join with other travelers. An additional private trip fee will be charged (which is waived for groups of 8 or more). Simply contact us to book so we can check availability.
We are happy to make simple customizations to private trips, such as the start time/date or the duration of the trip.
Beyond that, we generally do not arrange customized tours. We work very hard to create our tour routes and build strong relationships with our vendors to ensure the quality and service they provide. It’s also important for us to share the stories of each destination and vendor that we visit. If your request involves visiting a destination or vendor that we don’t have an existing relationship with, we will politely decline.
We generally recommend join-in tours for children aged 8+. With that said, we ask parents to use their own judgement to determine whether the itinerary of this trip is appropriate for their children without impacting the experience of other guests. Due to the schedule each day, it is important that we stay on time and there may not always be an opportunity for you to take breaks or go back to your hotel for rest.
Due to the limited capacity on our join-in trips, discounts are not generally provided for children. This is always determined on a case-by-case basis and depends on the size of your family, the ages of your children, and how many hotel rooms you will require.
Booking a private trip for your family is always an option, based on availability. This allows you some added flexibility during the itinerary to make sure nothing starts too early/late and so you have time to rest when needed.
Travelers with children should always contact us before booking so we can provide detailed prices for you.
We welcome all travelers, but ask that guests use their own judgement to determine whether the itinerary of this trip is appropriate without impacting the experience of other guests. We do not recommend this trip for anyone who is unable to be on their feet for 2-3 hours at a time, or requires mobility assistance such as a wheelchair or walker.
Booking a private trip is always an option. This gives you some added flexibility during the itinerary to make sure you have extra time when needed during the day.
Yes! Our join-in trips are perfect for solo travelers because it gives you the ability to travel with others and the advantage of being able to try a large variety of food.
All of our join-in trips have a minimum of 4 people. Our website will accept your solo booking and we’ll keep in touch to let you know when the minimum number of people has been met. If it’s not met, and we are unable to reschedule you to another date that works for you, we will provide a full refund for your booking.
The single occupancy fee for this trip is $300 USD. This is necessary because accommodation is the largest cost of the entire trip, and it is designed to be split by two people. While we do our best to make this reasonable (the single occupancy fee doesn’t cover the entire gap), it is necessary for us cover this cost.
Feel free to contact us at any time if you’d like us to check your dates of interest and we’ll let you know if anyone else has booked the trip or if there are nearby alternative dates.
If you know anything about Lost Plate, you know that you’ll never go hungry. All meals are included on this trip. You can expect simple yet hearty breakfasts, plus lunches and dinners that offer a huge variety of dishes in large quantities. We often visit family-owned restaurants that specialize in one type of cuisine or dish, and there’s a reason why we visit every single place. Our goal is to make food the highlight of your trip!
Meals include local beer, soft drinks, and bottled water.
We offer separate trips for vegan travelers! For more information, click here.
All dietary requests must be communicated at the time of booking. When booking online, you will have the opportunity to let us know if you have any dietary requirements or special requests. Please use the following information to understand if this trip is right for you.
While we will always do our best to accommodate dietary requests, this trip will be best enjoyed by those who are ready and willing to eat everything. If you can’t, we require your understanding that options will be limited during the tour. We visit small family-run eateries that often specialize in one type of food or regional cuisine and there will not always be direct substitutes for every dish that we try on the tour.
This trip is great for pescatarians, but not vegetarians. Fish sauce is an essential ingredient in Khmer cuisine and replaces salt in almost every dish. This means that vegetarian substitutions are not always available. If you are able to eat fish (Cambodia’s favorite protein) and fish sauce, then it will expand your options greatly.
Please note that most restaurants we visit use meat in their kitchen. It is important for us to know how flexible your restrictions are (ie; are you able to have meat broth used for soup).
Since the carb of choice in Cambodia is rice and rice noodles, this tour is suitable for gluten free individuals. With that said, you will need to exercise extreme caution if you suffer from celiac disease, as soy sauce is used frequently. There will be some wheat-based dishes that don’t offer any direct substitutes.
This tour cannot accommodate severe allergies as we do not have full control over the preparation for your food. Additionally, peanuts and shellfish are used heavily in Khmer cuisine and are present in most kitchens.
If you have any questions not answered here, please contact us prior to booking.
We eat where the locals eat (not where the tourists eat). These are often small, family run eateries that specialize in regional dishes. It requires extensive research and repetitive testing to ensure the safety of the food we eat. We personally build relationships with each restaurant and vendor that we visit. Further, locals don’t frequent a place if their food isn’t tasty, unsafe, or unhygienic.
Hygiene standards will be different than in your home country, and its important to understand that it doesn’t mean the food is unsafe to eat. For example, a local joint with dirty floors means that its popular and busy and the food is fresh and served hot.
Squat toilets are common in public restrooms, and public hand-washing facilities may not always provide hot water or soap. Always carrying tissues and hand sanitizer (which we will provide to you) is suggested.
We have a zero-tolerance policy with all of our vendors. This means that if we get sick or feel uncomfortable after a meal, we will not visit again. With that said, it’s not unusual for western stomachs to need some time in order to adjust to the local cuisine and ingredients. If you’re well-traveled, you already understand, but everyone should be prepared to tolerate these adjustments.
In general, it is not necessary to receive any special vaccinations when visiting Cambodia. With that said, we always suggest following your local CDC guidelines. Please conduct your own research, ask a medical professional, and make your own personal decision based on what you are comfortable with.
Yes! Feel free to arrive early into Phnom Penh or stay in Siem Reap after the trip. We are able to pass on our special hotel rates to you so you don’t need to switch hotels. Just let us know your dates and we will check rates and availability for you.
All travelers to Cambodia need to apply independently for their tourist visa to Cambodia. We are able to provide documents such as your trip itinerary and hotel confirmations to aid with your visa application. The price of obtaining this visa is not included in the tour price.
Generally speaking, most nationalities can apply for an e-visa before arrival or obtain their visa on arrival. The cost is typically between $30-40 USD per person. More details will be provided in our Cambodia Travel Guide PDF which will be sent to you after booking.
Visa policies vary by nationality. You should do your own research to understand if your nationality will require a visa, and what the process is for your nationality.
We’ve rated this trip a level of 3 out of 3. While there is no strenuous activity required, you will be on and off your feet throughout every day as we sightsee and explore. This will be done during the day, when temperatures and humidity are high, and often on unpaved and/or uneven surfaces. Steep stair climbing will be part of temple exploration.
The itinerary also involves changing hotels twice during the trip, and the longest car ride will be approx. 4 hours. Due to the nature and logistics of this trip, we are not always able to make adjustments for individuals. Therefore, the trip will be best enjoyed for those who are physically fit and have an adventurous spirit.
Cambodia has a tropical climate with warm temperatures throughout the year; it will always generally feel hot and steamy. The good news is that you can throw on shorts and a t-shirt every day without thinking twice. The climate is also characterized by two seasons:
The dry season runs from December through April, when it brings sunny and consistently dry weather. Temperatures in December and January are also the “coolest” of the year, with highs around 30 degrees celsius and lows around 20 celsius. March and April are the hottest months of the year, before the rains come.
The rainy season, which runs from May through November, see hot temps that are accompanied with high humidity. Regular rains help cool things down from the midday sun. Rainy season also means less crowds and stunning, green scenery.
Of course climate these days is not clockwork, so you can expect some fluctuation with each “shoulder season.” There are advantages and disadvantages to each season, and in general, it is fine to visit Cambodia during any time of year. We offer regular departures year-round, but limit them during the hottest months (March-May) and offer more during the peak season (November-February).
We’re excited to provide all of our trip guests a self-curated travel guide to Cambodia. This detailed PDF includes information about the following:
Email: info@lostplate.com
China & Cambodia Tours: +86 156 9210 9030
Portland Tours: +1 503 409 5593
WeChat: lostplate
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