BATTAMBANG EXTENSION 3D/2NT

Meals: Lunch | Accommodation: included

8:00 AM – Pick up at your hotel to leave Phnom Penh and travel west towards Battambang province, the rice bowl of Cambodia. We will have the chance to visit a local pottery village in Kompong Chhnang which is famous for producing undecorated items for the Cambodian homes.

When we arrive to the small town of Krakor, we will turn off the main road to visit the incredible floating town of Kompong Luong, the largest floating community on the Tonle Sap Lake with almost 10,000 inhabitants living here. Everything floats on water, including the schools, the clinic, the shops and the petrol station. We will explore by boat and experience life in a real floating community untouched by mass tourism.

Lunch will be served a local restaurant in Pursat, a pleasant riverside town in central Cambodia. In the afternoon we will continue northwest, passing through typical Cambodian landscapes of endless ricefields and sugar palms. We will arrive in Battambang late afternoon and check in our hotel. We will have the rest of the day free to soak up the charm of this historic riverside city.

Meals: not any | Accommodation: included

After breakfast, we will head to Wat Koh district to visit a local village and learn about rural life in Cambodia. We learn about the rice harvest, fruit farming and how the sugar palm is used. Afterwards we will board the bamboo train to travel back towards Battambang. These ‘local trains’ are bamboo platforms with wheels that run along the rail tracks offering stunning views of the surrounding countryside.

We will enjoy a lunch in town and then travel to the hilltop temple of Wat Banan. The winding road follows the Sangker River and passes by many traditional wooden homes, offering an authentic glimpse of rural Cambodia. Once in the temple, we will ascend to the summit and will be rewarded with beautiful vistas of the surrounding plains.

Our next destination will be Phnom Sampeau, a sacred mountain dotted with interesting pagodas and stupas. There is also a moving memorial to Khmer Rouge victims who were thrown into one of the many caves that pepper this holy mountain. We then return to Battambang town to spend the night in our hotel.

Option 1: Battambang – Siem Reap (directly, without visits)
Meal: not any | Accommodation: included

We will leave Battambang and travel through Sisophon before veering east to Siem Reap, the atmospheric gateway to the majestic temples of Angkor.

Option 2: Battambang – Banteay Chhmar – Siem Reap
Meal: not any | Accommodation: included

We will leave Battambang after breakfast and travel north towards the trading town of Svay Sisophon and then head deeper into Banteay Meanchey province to the incredible jungle temple of Banteay Chhmar where we will be able to appreciate the magnificent carvings of Lokesvara with 32 arms, nicknamed lok sam-pee (Mr 32) by Khmers, as well as the beautiful Hall of Dancers, similar to the famous Preah Khan.
Afterwards we will continue exploring the outer complex, including the outer gate of Ta Prohm. After a picnic lunch around Banteay Chhmar, we will journey south through Sisophon once more before veering east to Siem Reap, the atmospheric gateway to themajestic temples of Angkor.

Option 3: Battambang to Siem Reap by shared boat (available from Aug to Feb only)
We will leave Battambang after breakfast and board a local fast boat for our journey to Siem Reap. It is a beautiful ride along the narrow Sangker River, offering some intimate glimpses of rural life in Battambang province. We will sail through some incredible networks of bamboo fish traps and may have to slow down many times to avoid snagging lines. We also travel through some areas of water hyacinth where the boat must go very slowly.
As we will be passing close to the Prek Toal Biosphere, we may be lucky enough to see some rare large water birds. We will eventually emerge on the Tonle Sap Lake, which feels like a vast inland sea, and head to the floating village of Chong Kneas where we will be transferred to Siem Reap town.

The boat trip is available from Aug to Feb only (rainy season) and it takes around 5 hours. The wooden boats have shades to cover from the sun but they are pretty basic, with a toilet and wooden bench seats. It’s a very picturesque journey as it gives an insight into life on and along the river and the lake but the experience doesn’t suit everyone. The 1st choice by road would be the most comfortable, nevertheless, if you love travelling by water, then the third option is something that you should consider, always bearing in mind that we are not precisely talking about a luxury cruiser.