gollum

Hi everyone, I know it is late in the game but my family is flying to Thailand in early July for 2 weeks.
My sister's family from CA is going to meet us there. We will be 4 adults and 6 kids (8 yrs and older).
We plan to do 2-3 nights in Bangkok, one week in Koh Samui and would also love to fly to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. How many days should we do near Angkor Wat - 4,5 days? Does this sound like a reasonable itinerary?
We are all well travelled and have done trips together before but mostly to Europe. We like to stay together in villas if possible.

rhkkmk

Will the kids handle 4-5 days of ruins?? 4 is optimal for most people.

I might skip Angkor and spend more time in bkk at a hotel/apartment with a nice pool...apartments like: Marriott sukhumvit park... Any of the ascots or centre points or I especially like chatrium riverside.

Hotels: anantara riverside, Renaissance

Hire a guide like tours with tong to take you to the floating market at DS, the Stewart to feed wild monkeys and see shellfish farm

Visit bkk aquarium at paragon mall, the bkk zoo

Lolazahra

My kids loved Cambodia and loved the temples/ruins. As one said "these are not ordinary ruins!" We spent 4 nights, 3 full days and it felt good. Could have stayed another but wasn't necessary. Depends on your pace. We had full day and half day visits to break it up. Spent fun evenings on Pub street, volunteered at Ponleary Ly which the kids loved and added a visit to the Land mine museum with this. Had great meals, shopped at unique stores. It was great. The kids loved coming back and showing their friends pics of Angkor and the others! We stayed at a hotel though -- had a few rooms/suites. The pool was a great and needed break. Had a phenomenal guide, who knew how to interact with kids -- makes all the difference too!

Enjoy if you decide to go. I would. I actually am itching to go back to Cambodia and see more. The people are truly amazing too and talking with them about their history and current livelihoods is also why the trip is so unique.

Take care.

Kathie

Pick up a copy of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples to help you decide how much time to spend there. It takes a minimum of three full days (4 nights) just to see the major temples.

It will be very hot in Cambodia. The traditional way to visit the temples is to go out at dawn, return to your hotel for lunch and a swim before noon, and return to the temples about 3 pm until dusk.

I don't know about villas in Siem Reap. I expect you'll need to choose a hotel that can accommodate you all. There are many lovely options in Siem Reap.

You will need a driver with a van to take all of you around. Your hotel can arrange this.

gollum

Thanks everyone, this is all very helpful.
I think the kids will enjoy Siem Reap and the Angkor Wat ruins.
They usually are fine with seeing some history as long as we also do some days at the beach and pool side. Also, sounds like a hotel in Siem Reap makes more sense than trying to find a villa there. We will do hotels in Bangkok and Siem Reap and a villa in Koh Samui. LolaZahra, you mentioned that you had a phenomenal guide in Angkor Wat. Would it be possible for you to pass the name and contact info along? Kathie, thank you for the book recommendation. I will look for it. Would love any more advice or must-dos from people.

LancasterLad

<<<Would love any more advice or must-dos from people.>>>

There's 1,000,001 potential trip hazards in the Angkor Historical Park. Make sure you [children in particular] wear sensible footwear, and be v.careful if it's been raining. Some of the staircases are steep and narrow, and the antics of some tour groups [Koreans come to mind] are foolhardy, so keep your wits about you.

As mentioned further up the thread, Pub Street is a fun place to be after sunset. Lot of pleasant places to eat, drink and observe.

silverwool

Re Siem Reap, I did Flight of the Gibbon last year (ziplining) and there were some children in the group who loved it. Very safe but a bit Indiana Jones if you know what I mean. For something different in the evening take them to Phare, the Cambodian circus. Check which show is on as one of them may be a bit distressing for younger children. Its theme is the recent history of Cambodia including the khmer rouge era.

Some people think its disgusting but they'd probably enjoy a fish massage.

Sensible footwear is a must for everybody but you still see some girls in mini skirts and stiletto heels.

4 or 5 days would be fine. Don't try and do three days templing straight up. Do something different to break it up. Maybe a trip to one of the outer floating villages on Lake Tonle Sap - Not the one closest to Siem Reap.

Another idea would be to do a bike riding tour of the country side. I did one with Grasshopper tours a couple of years ago. We visited a few small villages, a wat or two and ended up at a crocodile farm. With your numbers I suspect they'd be happy to tailor a tour for you. From memory it was only about 15 -20 kms so not too arduous.

Finally its probably educational for the children to realise that some children are not as lucky as they are.

momentsofyugen

Recently we did a 101 days trip through Southeast Asia and we gathered some experiences and information about the countries we visit!
One of the places was the Angkgor Complex where we spent three amazing days exploring such magical place. Feel free to check it out - A travel guide for a 3 days visit to the Angkor temples -> http://momentsofyugen.com/siem-reap-...emples-part-1/

Happy Travels

Lolazahra

Hi -- I will look up my tour guide for you but I may not have his exact contact details. The Vietnam-based company I used to put together a lot of our trip details found him for me. We were on a multi-country trip of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. But I know I have his name and probably his cell still. If I cannot find an email, once you book your hotel, the concierge can arrange a guide and just ask them for one who works with families with kids.

I do agree wholeheartedly with Kathie that you should use van with a driver. Your guide will be separate but hop in and out with you and communicate with the driver. This will allow the whole group to move together, and quite honestly, the van with cold water waiting was a necessary respite for us after touring and kept everyone (kids included) even-keeled on the hottest days.

The ziplining sounds like a lot of fun. We did go to Tonle Sap lake too. A nice way to see how people live, work and go to school on the lake. Its a floating village and a pretty eyeopening experience for any age, but the kids will really get a kick from moving from the boat to a floating restaurant for a snack. You can also visit a floating school and clinic too. Just watch out for scams and there are many with inflated donations being asked for that probably do not make it into the hands of those who need it. Much better ways to help through the wonderful fair trade artisan shops in town.

Also, I cannot express how gratifying it was to volunteer as a family at one of Ponleary Ly's school. Not only are you making a monetary donation that you know goes right into the children she is helping through education, but you are able to really participate as well. We added a small temple to this visit called Banteay Srei -- only needed an hour and a tour of the landmine museum -- all in close proximity and it was a fabulous day enjoyed by all. Her website is: http://theplf.org/wp/get-involved/help-for-a-day-2/.

Ponleary is also an awesome tour guide who has taken many families to the temples, so you might want to consider using her as well. She was unavailable during our time there.

The kids will love the beat of Pub Street at night. It comes alive and is a lot of fun. And yes, my kids tried the fish pedicure. It was too gross for me, but they loved it and could not stop giggling as the fish ate the dead skin off of their feet. Ugh! My oldest girl said no nail salon since has given her a better pedicure! Our boy cousin hopped in too!

After you do your research, it will become apparent which temples you personally want to visit and which ones need a lot of time to tour thoroughly. Of course, Angkor Wat requires the most time IMO. Not only is it large and detailed but part of the fun for us was being able to observe the Cambodians who come there daily for prayer. It was a wonderful look into their faith to witness their spiritual reflections. There were also many monks and other celebrations going on. Leaving there are many shopping stalls and I allowed my kids to browse and shop for themselves and to buy gifts for their friends. My children really also enjoyed trying to get the bests photos of it. Of course, all children and adults alike will love Ta Prohm, dubbed the "Indiana Jones" temple. IMO, we did not give enough time to this temple and got there when the kids were a bit bushed. I wish we would have started the day there. Bayon was majestic and also a highlight. You cannot go wrong in your choices, just plan according to the temperment of the kids and the heat.

My kids have not ever let me live down the moment I said, "Stop talking to me, stop hanging on me, I am too hot to parent!"

Have fun!

Mutti

I highly recommend Angkor Journeys as a tour guide. The owner, Kanha Reath is a well educated woman who guided my family last year. She put together a custom tour for our party of 4 which included a van with AC and a driver. One thing your kids might enjoy is trying different insects which serve as snacks for Cambodians! The video we have is still a family favorite. In addition to the footwear caution, please make sure no one in your party has on a tank top or very short shorts--we wore pants most of the time. Check with the local customs about what to wear to show respect in the temples. Enjoy Cambodia--our family can't wait to return to her people and lovely country.