2 weeks in Cambodia is enough time to tick off many of the highlights but at a pretty fast pace. This guide will start in Siem Reap and finish in Phnom Penh but can be travelled in reverse. Similarly, you can change up the order of visits to Kampot and Koh Rong, which I recommend doing to line up with attending Nestival on Koh Rong, which only occurs on Saturdays. This 2 week guide will cover all the best bits: beaches, snorkelling with plankton, nightlife, temples, the history of Cambodia and adventures in the countryside. Do you have less than 2 weeks in Cambodia? Check out my 7-day itinerary here. Are you looking for a more relaxed pace of travel? Consider 20 days in Cambodia, which I have a guide for here.
Day 1- Siem Reap
Day one of your 2 week Cambodia itinerary is your arrival day in Siem Reap. If you’re coming overland from Thailand or Laos, the earliest you can expect to arrive is 5 pm. If you’re flying and arrive earlier than this, enjoy a free afternoon relaxing at the hostel pool or exploring and shopping in town around Pub Street. Once you’ve arrived make sure you sort out the essentials: get a SIM card, visit an ATM, book a sunrise tour of Angkor Wat and organise a breakfast box or buy some snacks for tomorrow.
For dinner, head to The Christa Restaurant for your first taste of Khmer food. Stay for one or two casual drinks if you like, but make sure you get an early night’s sleep before a pre-sunrise wakeup tomorrow!
Day 2- Siem Reap
Today is an incredibly early wakeup for an amazing bucket list experience: watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat. Your guide will first drop you off at the ticketing office (make sure you purchase a 2-day ticket) and then to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. Afterwards, you’ll take a 1-2 hour guided tour of Angkor Wat itself, before enjoying your breakfast box/snacks.
Spend the remainder of the morning touring temples and religious monuments such as Ta Phrohm (the Tomb Raider temple), Angkor Thom, Bayon Temple and Baphuon Temple. Return to your hostel for lunch and to avoid climbing the temples in the hottest part of the day.
In the afternoon, depending on your energy levels, you have two options. If you’re exhausted, treat yourself to an afternoon siesta or laze around by the hostel pool. If you have the energy, head out to Apopo to learn about the hero landmine detector rats. This will probably only take around 1-2 hours of your afternoon.
For dinner, head to Travancore for a hearty Indian feast. Line your stomach with plenty of rice and Naan, as tonight you’ll experience the best of Siem Reap nightlife: Pub Street. Start your night at Mad Monkey Hostel participating in their nightly event and enjoying their drink specials. As the hostel bar closes for the night, head to Pub Street with all your new friends to dance and play drinking games at Temple Skyline Lounge.
Day 3- Siem Reap
After what may or may not have been a late night, you have the morning at your leisure. If you’re feeling a bit rough, enjoy a sleep-in or morning swim in the hostel pool to wake up. If you feel lively and didn’t make it to Apopo yesterday, the morning is a great time to visit.
Grab a quick lunch at your hostel before heading back to the Angkor Wat Complex to explore more temples. Spend the later afternoon hours visiting Nokor Thum, Banteay Srei, Sra Srang and Pasat Kravan. For sunset, head to either Angkor Wat or Sra Srang to experience a sunset over the temples.
For dinner, hop in a Tuk Tuk bound for Road 60 market. This is a local night market with hardly any tourists, selling authentic Cambodian street food. Grab dinner here, then head to the local fair on this road. Here you can play games such as bumper cars and shooting games. Afterwards, head back to the city centre. If you fancy another night out, head to Pub Street, just be aware tomorrow is a bumpy journey to Phnom Penh.
Day 4- Siem Reap to Phnom Penh
Wake up at any time (sleep in if you wish) and grab a leisurely breakfast at your hostel. Whenever you’re ready, book a shared van transfer heading to the next destination on this 2 week itinerary: the city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.
The journey will take around 6 hours with one food/bathroom stop. Pre-warning, the journey is pretty sweaty and bumpy so better not to be deathly hungover. Ideally, the best time to get this transfer is at around 11-12, so you arrive in Phnom Penh around dinner time.
Once you arrive in Phnom Penh, head to Bassac Lane for dinner and drinks. Highly recommend Backstreet Bar for its amazing pizzas and great vibes. Enjoy bar hopping along Bassac Lane, but make sure you get an early night before a big (and sombre) day tomorrow, that it will be best not to be hungover for.
Day 5- Phnom Penh
Grab a quick breakfast at your hostel, before a big day learning about Cambodia’s tragic history of genocide and the Khmer Rouge Regime. After breakfast, head to your first stop Tuol Seng Prison (also called S21 Prison). Spend the morning listening to the audio guide tour detailing the history and stories of those who lived and died in this prison. You will be here for roughly 2-3 hours.
After you’ve finished your visit to the Tuol Seng Prison, grab a quick lunch at Siso Bakery (less than a 5-minute walk from the prison museum). Afterwards, grab a Tuk Tuk and head towards The Killing Fields (also called Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre). Here, you’ll spend the remainder of the afternoon listening to the audioguide detailing the tragedies that occurred here. This should take around 2 hours.
Next, make your way back to Phnom Penh City centre and treat yourself to a good dinner after what is a very heavy day. Sample any one of the restaurants on Bassac Lane (I recommend Elia Greek Restaurant). After dinner, enjoy a drink or two on Bassac Lane, if you feel up to it. Then, get an early night before a big day of sightseeing tomorrow.
Day 6- Phnom Penh
Wake up early for a morning of shopping at the Russian Markets. It’s best to get here as early as possible (between 7 am and 9 am is recommended) to avoid the heat. Spend this period shopping for and trying on designer brands for a fraction of the price. Once you’ve shopped enough to run out of room in your luggage, drop your clothes back at your hostel and head for brunch. The best brunch spot in Backyard Cafe!
After a busy morning of shopping and brunching, head to the National Museum to learn more about Cambodia’s history (not as heavy as yesterday I promise). After spending an hour or two exploring the exhibits, walk to the nearby Royal Palace. Make sure you enter the Royal Palace before 3:30 pm as they close early. You should only spend an hour or so in the Royal Palace complex.
In the late afternoon, walk through Riverside Park along the riverbank to Wat Phnom Penh. Explore this famous temple, which the city of Phnom Penh is named after. You should spend around 45 minutes exploring Wat Phnom Penh, and then make your way back to Bassac Lane for dinner.
After dinner, head to Mad Monkey Hostel to participate in their nightly events like trivia, beer pong competition or a pub crawl. After you’ve made friends and taken advantage of the drink specials, head to Club Love for a late night of dancing.
Day 7- Phnom Penh to Kampot
Wake up early (maybe slightly hungover) and grab a quick to-go breakfast before saying goodbye to Phnom Penh.
Your next destination on this 2 week Cambodia itinerary is Kampot, which is only a 3-4 hour van journey away, but it is a very bumpy journey! I would recommend leaving at around 9 am so you’re in Kampot mid-afternoon to make the most of the day.
Grab lunch at a local spot: Ecran Noodles before a big afternoon of drinking and adventure. That’s right, you’re heading to the famous Arcadia Waterpark. Spend the afternoon enjoying slides, swings, kayaking and making friends with the other backpackers over a few beers. In the late afternoon, head on the sunset party boat to enjoy drinks, dancing and jumping off the boat with a stunning backdrop.
Stay at Arcadia for dinner and to party for the rest of the night. Have as rowdy or as quiet of a night as you can handle, just keep in mind tomorrow is a big adventure day.
Day 8- Kampot
Wake up early and grab a quick breakfast at your hostel, before a big day of exploring. Either by renting a motorbike or via Tuk Tuk, you’re going to explore to countryside to the east of Kampot.
After you’ve sorted your transportation, make your way to your first stop: Kampot Pepper Farm. Enjoy a free guided tour of the farm and pepper-tasting. Once you’ve explored the pepper farm, make your way to Kep Beach. Here you can relax on the beach or swim. For lunch head to Kep Crab Market to try some fresh seafood, cooked to your liking.
After lunch make your way through the stunning Cambodian countryside, spotting many cows and pigs to Phnom Chngok Cave Temple. Explore the temple within the cave and enjoy the picturesque views from atop the staircase of the lush countryside. After the cave temple, it should be late afternoon, so make sure you get back to the city before dark.
For dinner, treat yourself to a hearty Italian meal at L’osteria. Afterwards, head to Karma Trader Hostel to participate in their nightly events or have an early night if you need it.
Day 9- Kampot
In the morning, head to Cafe Espresso Roastery for a chilled brunch. Spend the morning exploring Kampot town. Take a walk along the river, marvel at the massive durian statue in the middle of town and just generally enjoy the hustle and bustle of Kampot. In the early afternoon, either by scooter or Tuk Tuk head to Bokor Hill Station.
Spend the afternoon touring through the eerie abandoned area, while hopefully spotting wild monkeys and other wildlife that have reclaimed the previously commercial area. Make sure you hit key sites such as Bokor Hill Station, The Black Palace, Lok Yeay Mao Statue and Popokvil Waterfall.
For dinner, head to Karma Traders Hostel rooftop bar to watch the sunset and eat good food. Stay for a few drinks and participate in their social events. Make sure you get an early night, before a big travel day tomorrow.
Day 10- Kampot to Koh Rong
Grab breakfast at your hostel, before departing on an early morning transfer to Sihanoukville, bound for the next stop on this 2 week itinerary: the beautiful islands of Cambodia. Once you’ve arrived in Sihanoukville, jump on the next ferry to Koh Rong, which should have you arriving by 1-2 pm that day. After arriving at your beachfront hostel, jump on a boat headed for Long Beach.
Spend the afternoon lazing on the beach, swimming and then watching the best sunset on Koh Rong! After sunset, jump on a return boat back to the main area of Koh Rong and try some traditional Khmer food at White Rose Restaurant. At night, head to either Nest Hostel or Mad Monkey to participate in their nightly event and make friends to form a team for Nestival.
Day 11- Koh Rong
If today is Saturday then that means it is the famous Nestival day. If it’s not Saturday, you can skip ahead to the activities on day 12 of this 2 week Cambodia itinerary and circle back to this day when it is a Saturday.
Start the day of Nestival, with a hearty breakfast at your hostel and a chilled morning lounging on the beach. When it gets to midday, head to Nest Beach Club for pre-drinks, to brainstorm your team name and apply your bodypaint.
Nestival kicks off at around 2 pm with wheelbarrow races, sac races, tug of war and other fun team events. Spend the afternoon drinking, hopefully winning games and making friends. You can order food from Nest Beach Club throughout the day and night to sustain yourself. Continue partying into the night when the hostel turns into a big dancefloor with more drinking games like beer pong.
Day 12- Koh Rong
Wake up (probably feeling pretty hungover) after a big day of drinking yesterday and just take it easy. Grab a greasy breakfast/lunch at your hostel, before boarding a day boat tour around midday.
Spend the afternoon snorkelling, stopping off at remote beaches, swimming, relaxing on the boat and even trying your hand at fishing. The tours usually include a beach BBQ with fish you’ve caught that day followed by a night snorkel to see Plankton.
You should arrive back at your hostel by 9-10 pm (depending on the time of year). If you feel like drinking, you can head to either Nest or Mad Monkey Hostels again.
Day 13- Koh Rong
Grab a quick breakfast at your hostel, before a morning boat transfer back to Sihanoukville. From there, transfer to the town to board a van transfer back to Phnom Penh. What time you leave is up to you, as transfers run throughout the day. You may want an extra morning on the island to enjoy the beach.
Personally, I preferred to leave around 10-11 so I was in Phnom Penh for dinner time. Enjoy your last dinner on this 2 week Cambodia itinerary at a restaurant of your choice along Bassac Lane. Depending on your departure time tomorrow, you may want to bar-hop along this street again to have one last night out in Cambodia.
Day 14- Koh Rong to Phnom Penh
This last day of your 2 week Cambodia itinerary is at your leisure, depending on where you’re going next and what time you’re departing. Many backpackers head to Vietnam, which is an early morning bus to get across the border.
If you have the day, spend it shopping again at the Russian Markets, brunching at Backyard Cafe or chilling at one of the many pools at Onederz Hostel.
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