gopp

My friend and I are traveling through S.E. Asia and plan to add Angkor Wat to the itinerary.

We don't have a huge amount of time, but plan to fly round-trip from Bangkok on Bangkok Airways. We would take the first morning flight out, spend two nights, and then leave on the third day. Is this enough time for Angkor, or do we need to add another full day to the itinerary?

Thanks for your advice!

Gpanda

The typical short AW trip is three days of temples. If you leave in the evening on the third day, you can do this and see the major temples. They are very different and are worth seeing individually.

BTW, if you're flying anywhere else in Thailand, Bangkok Air has a Discovery Pass that can save you a good chunk of money. They have a monoploy of the BKK-Siem Reap flights and charge a lot.

PeterN_H

I spent six days there, which allowed taking the better-known nearby temples at a leisurely speed, reaching several lesser-known ones, spending a day reaching some far-flung ones a fairly long drive away, and then spending the last day on re-visiting favourites.

I don't believe two nights is nearly enough to do the site justice. Add more time if you can.

Peter N-H

Kathie

Three full days is the generally accepted length of time it takes just to visit the major temples. If you have an interest in the temples, you'll want longer. We spent a week and would have loved even more time.

Get a copy of Dawn Rooney's guide to Angkor to help you prepare. Reading this guide will help you determine how much time you'll want there. You are also welcome to view our photos at www.marlandc.com

cwn

You can easily see the major site in this amount of time, though you will get msny post telling you need four or more days. If you are really wanting an indepth trip and time to see lots of temples (and there are many) that is true. If not, but you do want Ankgkor Wat, you can fly in one morning and fly out the next day and have a very rewarding experience. With a full day and as much as part of the first day and the third you will be able to see a lot.

We flew in one evening from Bangkok, planning to spend two nights with with a full day, then a half day (morning) touring with Dara and then a afternoon flight back to Bangkok.

We explored the temples we wanted to see including Angkor Wat, both in the morning and afternoon (for the different light) plus Ankgor Thom, the terraces, Banyon, the women's temple and the jungle temple the first day and saw a couple of others from the road. We also had a awim and rest in the middle of the day at the hotel. We did some shopping on the first evening and had two great evening meals, but by the second night, the humidity had started an asthma attack for me and we changed our flight for an earier one, thus skipping the morning trip on the Lake. We were very happy with what we saw..enjoyed our great guide and feel the short time we spent very worth our while!

For a look at what we were able to do and see in our short time, check out our daily trip report with pictures;

www.aroundtheworldin132days.blogspot.com

click on March and then scroll to March 21-23.

BillT

Know thyself and thy partner so that one or both of you do not get templed out. Some can do these for days on end- others a few hours suffices.

Marija

Kathie--
Which of the two Rooney books do you recommend?
http://www.amazon.com/Angkor-Cambodi.../ref=pd_cp_b_0
or
http://www.amazon.com/Angkor-Observe...2896125&sr=1-6

Thanks.

gopp

This is great advice--we may try to fit in an extra day, just so we aren't rushed. And given the high cost to fly there, want to make it worth it!

filmwill

Agreed. 3 days is just the right amount of time, whether you're a temple fanatic or not. You can cram a lot in that time and see a huge amount of temples back-to-back or you can take it easy, see many temples and enjoy your time in SR...which, in and of itself, is a very interesting place. Trying to see the temples in a couple of hours or only just doing a "highlights" version (only seeing the most popular and well-known temples) would be a huge waste of time and money IMHO.

Kathie

Marija, I keep forgetting Rooney's book, Angkor Observed, which is a collection of mostly 19th centurey photographs. It's fascinating, but not a guide book. Angkor: Cambodia's Wonderous Temples is her guidebook. I have quite a collection of books about Angkor, and consider Rooney's book to be the best guide available.

Marija

Thanks, Kathie. We ordered it since a trip to Angkor may be on the horizon.

Kathie

Great! Angkor is simply stunning!

gard

Hi

I went to Angkor Wat last year and I think we had three days there and that was enough to see the tamples but nothing else really. Here is a trip report with some photos and maps http://gardkarlsen.com/Angkor_Wat_Ca...rip_report.htm . Maybe that can help you in the planning process

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

katrinab

We saw a lot in the two days we had. Very full days, but we felt we had enough time. Info and pics in our Siem Reap post at http://patrinadoestheglobe.blogspot.com/

Kathie

People are different from each other.

My rules for planning a vacation you'll love are
1. know thyself
2. know thy destination

With that info, you should be able to estimate how much time you need at Angkor. For me two days would have been totally frustrating. For some others, the week we spent there would have been endlessly boring.

cwn

Kathie is right on with her rules! If you like to do indepth exploring, do give you self that time. On the other hand don't pass up a chance to see Anglor Wat because you only have a couple of days. It is well worth a what ever time you have.

Just remember if you are bothered by heat and humidity, I found it more of a problem in SR than in Bangkok. SR has more open air dinning. Even if there was A/C, it didn't always remove the humidity. That and the insect spray/ insect repellants used in our room at night and around the hotel were a big time problem for me.

Again this is just a heads up...every one is different.