Siem Reap Hotels

Of course, the bulk of the focus in Siem Reap is on peerless Angkor. The UNESCO World Heritage Site ranks with the Giza Pyramids, Borobudur, Great Wall of China and Taj Mahal in epic scale and in a telltale, magical ability to elicit awe. Angkor features ruins from as far back as the 9th century, when it was early days for the capital of the Khmer Empire. The flagship attraction, of course, is Angkor Wat. The stunning, unprecedented temple complex built for Suryavarman II in the early 12th century is the face of Angkor but, happily, just the tip of the iceberg in Siem Reap.

SIEM REAP'S TOP 10

SIEM REAP LOCAL

The capital of Siem Reap province is a small city of less than 200,000 people. On the whole, visitors tend to navigate the core hotel and restaurant enclave of Siem Reap on foot. The bulk of the action in town hinges on the Old Market area. More upscale resorts proliferate between the airport and the city proper.

Without question, Angkor is the lifeblood of Siem Reap. Few grasp the prodigious breadth of the UNESCO World Heritage Site however. Angkor, at 386 square miles, was the largest pre-industrial city in the world by far and may have sustained a population of up to 1 million people. As a result, the ancient area covers much more than Angkor Wat and envelops other archaeological sites like Angkor Thom, Baksei Chamkrong, Banteay Kdei, Banteay Samré, Banteay Srei, Baphuon, the Bayon, Chau Say Tevoda, East Baray, East Mebon, Kbal Spean, the Khleangs, Krol Ko, Lolei, Neak Pean, Phimeanakas, Phnom Bakheng, Phnom Krom, Prasat Ak Yum, Prasat Kravan, Preah Khan, Preah Ko, Preah Palilay, Preah Pithu, Pre Rup, Spean Thma, Srah Srang, Ta Nei, Ta Prohm, Ta Som, Ta Keo, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King, Thommanon, West Baray and West Mebon. Cross them all off your list, if you can spare the time.

SIEM REAP EAT & DRINK

From the vibrant, fresh flavors of Khmer cuisine to typical Western and continental fare, Siem Reap has a small but diverse restaurant scene.

SIEM REAP EVENTS

Siem Reap celebrates Khmer folk and Theravada Buddhist holidays in colorful fashion. The province is also ripe for ecological and traditional village tourism.

Angkor Photo Festival was the first photography festival in Southeast Asia. The emphasis is on talent from the region but a fair number of international photographers share the limelight as well. The festival takes place in Siem Reap in November.

Pchum Ben (Spirit Festival) is a Khmer ancestor worship festival that takes place in either September or October.

The Khmer New Year falls in mid-April and is a joyful time in Cambodia. Games, venerable rituals, temple rites, colorful garb, special foods and processions mark the occasion.

Silk Farm Tours and the Siem Reap Silk Festival both provide a peek at a vital cornerstone of the export economy in Cambodia.

Tonlé Sap Lake Tours allow visitors to commune with traditional village culture and a foremost UNESCO World Heritage Biosphere Reserve. Tonlé Sap is the dominant freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and expands from 1,400 square miles in the dry season to 6,178 square miles at the apex of the monsoon season.

WHEN T O GO

Conditions in Siem Reap-Angkor waver between hot, humid and sticky throughout the year. The tropical wet and dry climate provides one patent tourist window to exploit, however, from November to February. The dry season is not only devoid of rain, for the most part, but features cooler temperatures of 67.5°F (20°C) to 91.5°F (33°C). The downside is that throughout the period, both Siem Reap and Angkor are chockablock with tourists and tour buses. Hotels, restaurants, transportation et al. are duly more expensive.

If you come from March to May, however, tourists pay in other ways. Temperatures run from 79°F (26°C) to 96°F (35.5°C) throughout the three-month span and the swelter is inescapable. The subsequent wet season provides some relief but wreaks havoc with rivers and roads. Most of Siem Reap’s 58 in (1,450 mm) of annual precipitation falls between June and October.

WHAT TO MISS

The mystical charm of Angkor gets somewhat lost amid the myriad distractions of souvenir vendors, buskers and the like. Huge markups for basic crafts and trinkets is the norm at the UNESCO World Heritage Site and, as such, visitors would do well to give opportunistic merchants a wide berth and purchase gifts or souvenirs in Siem Reap proper (or Phnom Penh and Bangkok even). Needless to say, the incipient rise in international tourism to Angkor in recent years - the Cambodian government has a target of 3 million visitors a year in mind - has led to the kind of monument abuse and desecration that UNESCO and cultural conservationists frown upon.

With that, a number of freelance tour guides in Siem Reap give legitimate licensed ones a bad name. Make sure to book a valid organized tour when you venture to Angkor or source out a reliable guide if you plan to go solo. A decent guide will cost somewhere in the vicinity of USD $20 for a day. If you prefer to go it alone, purchase the comprehensive English-language “Ancient Angkor” guidebook at one of the temples on-site. The info therein is accurate down to bas-relief details and serves as a suitable Angkor compass of sorts.

The water villages and markets of Siem Reap Province are of obvious inherent interest to travelers. While must-see, visitors need not book a separate tour to view them as the riverboat from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh offers sufficient glimpses of village life on the water. If this is how you plan to travel to the Cambodia capital, skip the relatively expensive river tours.

Lastly, the Cambodian Cultural Village is a manifest trap. Though popular with tourists, it is much more of a theme park money-grab than a genuine depiction of venerable Khmer culture.

GETTING AROUND

Siem Reap International Airport handles more passengers than any other airport in Cambodia. The government has plans to eventually replace it, however, with a new airport 60 km from Siem Reap. Destinations served by the hub include Bangkok, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Seoul-Incheon, Singapore, Taipei, Vientiane and Yangon.

A host of bus operators offer service from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap-Angkor. A newly paved road makes the journey more comfortable and shorter than in years past. Many travelers to Thailand choose to bus over to the Cambodia border, acquire a quick visa and then split a taxi to Angkor with a few others. Share taxis are a good option from the Cambodia capital as well.

Within Siem Reap, a compact city center makes it easy for pedestrians to get around. Copious vehicles for hire abound in town, from tuk-tuks and motorbikes to conventional cabs. Additionally, many hotels and small guesthouses rent out bicycles for the day. Angkor is approximately 20 minutes from Siem Reap.

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Siem Reap - General information