Siem Reap is a popular tourist town, located a short distance from the Angkor temples.

Things to do

Explore Angkor and surrounding temples

Honestly, the biggest attraction for this town are the Angkor temples. Spend a day or three exploring these beautiful architectural wonders. It costs $20 USD for a one-day pass or $40 USD for a three-day pass. You can get there by booking a tuk tuk for the day or renting a bike!

Here are the top three you need to visit:

1) Angkor Wat

The infamous Angkor Wat is a definite must-see. It's best to see this one first, before the crowds come in. Most tours offer a sunrise or a sunset option.

2) Ta Phrom

AKA the Tomb Raider temple! It's a good second stop after Angkor Wat.

3) Bayon

This is the main temple in Angkor Thom. It's known for the huge stone faces.

Pub Street

Located in the centre of town, Pub Street is a tourist street filled with restaurants and bars. It's really nice to see at night since the lights are on.

Old Market and Night Market

The Old Market, Psar Chas, is filled with produce. You'll see dried and fresh meats, as well as fruits and vegetables for sale.

Head to the multiple Night Markets if you want to shop. From clothing and souvenirs to artwork and paintings, the night market has it all. We found shops selling tourist pants and tops for around $2 USD.

Where to eat

Pub Street

Head to Pub Street for an abundance of food options. It offers Mexican, Cambodian, Indian and Italian cuisine. Although, Pub Street is pricier than the restaurants located further out. Typical pricing for Cambodian dishes were around $5 USD. International restaurants were pricier.

Night time is when the food carts come out. Try the ice cream, leek rice cakes and lot chaa. If you're adventurous, look for the cart selling fried crickets, spiders, snakes and water insects.

Meng's

This little local restaurant was located two doors down from our hostel. It was very affordable. We managed to get two appetizers, two entrees and one dessert for under $10 USD. We were also given one free beer/soft drink included with our meal.

Where to Stay

HI Siem Reap

We stayed here because we noticed that the private room was cheaper than dorms. The basic private room is $15 USD and dorms are $8 USD/bed. Granted, the private room doesn't have A/C whereas the dorm does. We stayed in both the private room and dorms. Both were quite pleasant.

They have a pool table and offer free breakfast (coffee, tea, eggs, fruit, toast, butter and jam). You also have access to their other hostel, HI Siem Reap Deluxe, which has a swimming pool.

Happy Travelling!

Seeing Angkor Wat at sunrise is one of the most popular attractions, and it's definitely worth it. I mean, maybe not so much for the view since there's so many people in front of your. But because you can time it so you can beat the crowds at other temples.

After realizing how big the area around Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom was, we decided it would be better to take a tuk tuk around the temples. You can book a tuk tuk for the Small Circuit Tour for around $18 USD for the day, including sunrise. Without sunrise, it's $13 USD. This includes seeing Angkor Wat, Bayon, Takeo, Ta Prhom and Banteay Kdei.

If you want go a second day and see the Grand Circuit Tour, this will cost around $20 USD for the day, including sunrise. Without sunrise, it's $15 USD. This tour includes Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon and Pre Rup.

This pricing isn't so bad if you have four people with you. There's an entrance fee of $20 USD/day or 40 USD/3 days. We also heard that if you go past 5 p.m., the entrance fee is free. But you won't have too much time before sun down.

For the adventurous with time, it's worthwhile to rent a bicycle and ride there. Renting a bike costs $1 USD, so it should fit your budget. We heard it takes about an hour and a half to get there. Just keep in mind that it's better to only see a few temples a day, since they're pretty far from each other. Unless you're a biking fanatic, the heat and distance might exhaust you.

Our Experience

When you book the tuk tuk, make sure that the driver knows your route. We left at 5 a.m. and headed over to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise. Knowing how crowded these temples can get, we opted for leaving Angkor Wat after it started getting a little bright and went off to see Ta Prhom, the Tomb Raider Temple.

Just note that most temples open at 7:30 a.m. So, it helps to time it so you don't end up waiting around at the entrance. Getting to Ta Prhom early was a great decision, since it was fairly empty there. We had the chance to take pictures without crowds of people.

From here, we saw Takeo, Banteay Kdei, Bayon and then Angkor Wat again. As the day we went, the crowds started getting bigger and bigger. By noon, it was super packed. We finally templed out and called it a day.