Family's trip to Cambodia
Cambodia | Jan 7 - Jan 18, 2024

meredith
meredith s.
Australia | Reviewed on Feb 25, 2024

My family's trip to Cambodia was absolutely wonderful
From the first contact with Steve to the fairwell at the airport we could not fault the professionalism the willingness to help for one minute. Our guides Len and Horn where "the best" and our driver "Mr.T" was an absolute gentleman.
We all agreed that Cambodia was our favourite country as the people where so welcoming and kind and not jaded.
Cambodia is an absolute gem and my heart is full of joy when my mind goes back there.

Hotel Reviews
Palace Gate Hotel & Resort
Phnom Penh

Palace gate Hotel was an oasis, an absolute delight to come home to at the end of the day. Loved the roof top bar and the poolside restaurant where a highlight

Authenticity & Character
The decor was cool and cambodian/old time colonial
Location
Very central
Staff
So friendly
Cleanliness & Comfort
Room was spotless
Canvas & Orchids Retreat (formerly 4 Rivers Floating Lodge)
Koh Kong

Loved the boat ride to reach the island was a relaxing experience Extremely warm welcome and felt relaxed the whole stay Our overwater bungalow was wonderful I particularly loved the wooden shower overlooking the river The well looked after orchids where absolutely stunning and where everywhere

Authenticity & Character
"Island life"
Location
Stunning location Loved diving off our balcony in to the river Swam over to the neighbours for a visit
Staff
Warm and friendly Nothing a problem
Cleanliness & Comfort
Bambu Hotel
Battambang

Only thing that stopped this hotel being 5 stars was that on the nights they have the night club, situated next door, going if there is room put guests in the downstairs rooms as upstairs rooms where quite noisy. Our group where there on a weekend and one has downstairs and the other had an upstairs room, didn't hear a thing downstairs. Just a suggestion ... Anyway we absolutely loved this hotel. The pool was a welcome relief and the poolside bar and restaurant where wonderful, very chill 😎

Authenticity & Character
Felt instantly relaxed. Old world Cambodia
Location
Centrally located
Staff
Friendly and relaxed
Cleanliness & Comfort
The Aviary Hotel
Siem Reap

What an absolute plstaying at the Avery Loved the pools, the roof bar, the coffee and our room was spacious with a cool balcony. The decor was funky and light filled

Authenticity & Character
Plenty of character
Location
Staff
Incredibly friendly and helpful Genuine and engaging
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
Dinner at Jaan Bai
Dinner at Jaan Bai
Battambang

Absolutely brilliant food and service Terrific cocktails and amazed that so professional for a training school The staff will go a long way if this is their start.

Quality of Experience
Best place
Food
Food was 10 out of 10
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Half day countryside local industries cycling
Half day countryside local industries cycling
Battambang

Loved visiting the rice paper, fried banana, fruit plantation, rice wine and sticky rice business What a great group of producers Very interesting to hear their stories and see how it is done

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Phare, the Cambodian Circus (Seat B - open seating in the rear half of the middle seating area)
Phare, the Cambodian Circus (Seat B - open seating in the rear half of the middle seating area)
Siem Reap

This was fantastic Must see

Quality of Experience
Very funny and talented performers
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Phnom Sampeau sunset
Phnom Sampeau sunset
Battambang

The caves and the temple along with the bats migrating out of the cave was a great sight

Quality of Experience
Royal Palace
Royal Palace
Phnom Penh

Loved hearing about the royal families past

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Tuol Sleng & Russian Market
Tuol Sleng & Russian Market
Phnom Penh

The genocide museum was shocking. It is a credit to the people of Cambodia to not be full of hate. Found it very informative as we had a great guide

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Champey Academy of Arts
Champey Academy of Arts
Phnom Penh

We all absolutely loved the dancing and seeing the kids creating their art We felt privileged to be at their performance and also lived being involved Please visit and support these great kids as they are keeping their beautiful Cambodian culture alive with this new generation What an absolute delight. A huge highlight ✨️

Quality of Experience
Very genuine
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Dinner at Canvas & Orchids
Dinner at Canvas & Orchids
Koh Kong

Absolutely delicious and the service was great

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
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{{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Hanuman Shooting Range, Udong & Ondong Rossey
Cambodia

Very professional Safety was five star Weapons where excellent

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Traditional dance performance and dinner
Traditional dance performance and dinner
Siem Reap

Very nice evening The performance was impressive and dinner was delicious

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
A morning with the elephants at Kulen Elephant Forest
A morning with the elephants at Kulen Elephant Forest
Siem Reap

Very professional operation but still felt personal and the staff and keepers where very accommodating

Quality of Experience
Loved being able to move around the elephants a get some great photos
Food
Delicious lunch, plenty of food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Dinner at Chanrey Tree
Dinner at Chanrey Tree
Siem Reap

Very nice evening, quite special event Venue was beautiful in amongst the garden area Food delicious

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Service top shelf
Tatai Waterfall (private excursion)
Tatai Waterfall (private excursion)
Koh Kong

Beautiful swimming spot and highlight was sitting under the waterfalls

Quality of Experience
Food
Cooked lunch on the boat, delicious Enjoyed the whole experience Don't miss out
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Our guide was super informative as to local species of vegetation
Transport
Ta Phrom with optional sunset
Ta Phrom with optional sunset
Siem Reap

Must see

Quality of Experience
Short cyclo tour to Wat Phnom
Short cyclo tour to Wat Phnom
Phnom Penh

Absolute blast !!! Best way to see the city, amongst the thick of it.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Sunrise (and return to hotel for breakfast)
Sunrise (and return to hotel for breakfast)
Siem Reap

The sunrise at Ankor Wat is an unforgettable experience. Our guide's knowledge of the temple and the best vantage point to view the sunrise was so beneficial to our experience.

Quality of Experience
Unparalleled scenery.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Expert knowledge and experience in relation to the temple. Our driver was so helpful in finding one of our party who became separated from us.
Transport
Our driver was extremely helpful.
Banteay Srei & Apopo Hero Rats (same day as sunrise)
Banteay Srei & Apopo Hero Rats (same day as sunrise)
Siem Reap

Banteay Srei is a unique temple with beautiful stone work. It's quite isolated which means there are no crowds. The setting is lovely. The hero rats experience was fantastic. Learning about the problem of land mines and other explosives in Cambodia was fascinating, as was the demonstration of the rats at work. Great to be able to support such a wonderful organisation.

Angkor Thom (morning) by remork
Angkor Thom (morning) by remork
Siem Reap

The scale of Angkor Thom was quite incredible. Definitely worth visiting as part of any trip to Siem Reap. The ride out and back in a remorque (Cambodian Tuk tuk) was a lot of fun.

Guides, Drivers and Staff
Our guides explanation of the history of Angkor Thom and surrounding settlements enriched our experience of Angkor Thom.
Bamboo train ride
Bamboo train ride
Battambang

The ride was loads of fun. Great to be out in the countryside watching the rice fields slip by.

Quality of Experience
Being out in the countryside, almost like a (noisy) magic carpet ride.
Countryside walk & Village Activities
Countryside walk & Village Activities
Siem Reap

A beautiful experience. Watching the sun set over rice paddies while sipping a gin and tonic was truly memorable. The hospitality of our hosts was wonderful and felt truly genuine.

Local specialist: Steve Lidgey
Steve
Steve Lidgey
Local specialist in Cambodia | Replied on Mar 06, 2024

Dear Meredith,
Thank you for writing such nice words about Cambodia and also taking the time to make so many helpful and positive comments. You really did hit the nail on the head by commenting about how lovely and genuine the Cambodian people are - naturally something you wouldn't know from any guidebook or online review site.
I'm glad the whole family of varying ages had a great time and thank you for your visit. We hope you can return one day and see more of authentic Cambodia.
Best regards,
Steve.