We are planning 2 weeks in Cambodia at the end of January. We'll be with our 2 kids aged 11 & 7. The rough plan is 4-5 days in each - Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanouk Ville. We usually stay in nice places with a pool and in-house movies, because kids can only do "so much" sight seeing before boredom sets in. But, that said,we do like to go "off the beaten track" and we are all seasoned travellers. We've explored a lot of out-of-the-way places in Costa Rica, Vanuatu, Fiji, Europe and USA. We love forests, jungles, waterfalls etc. The kids would love to do some elephant rides and see wild monkeys, and of course the gorgeous temples.

Would love to hear any thoughts that may help.

Thanx...Leonie

Take a look at our site for Cambodia info
www.leightravelclub.com
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www.bayonpearnik.com

I assume you are entering from Thailand and going to Siem Reap first to avoid any backtracking. You have two choices by plane, expensive at $147 one way or by land through Poipet, a 8-10hr trip from Bangkok. With two kids I think that 4 days in SR would be enough time to expolore the temples and to do some non temple activities, Then you could take a taxi (5hrs) to Phnom Penh and spend a couple of days. From there take a taxi to Kratie to see the dolphins staying there 1-2 days. Then back to PP by taxi and onward to Sihanoukville again by taxi.

In the beach town there is a variety of accommodations. The fairly new Sokha Beach Resort and Spa is a great place to stay, the best in Sihanoukville and of 4-5 star quality at reasonable prices ($100). It sits on the best beach Sokha (located between Independence and Ocheuteal beaches) takes up most of the beach frontage. If you do not stay at Sokha hotel then I would recommend one of the mid-range hotel by Ocheuteal beach such as the Crystal, Golden Sands or Seaside. These are good clean hotels that are around $50.

An alternative to going to Kratie would be to spend a few days in Kampot/Kep about a 21/2hr taxi ride from Sihanoukville. This is a very pleasant little town that gets hardly any visitors. The broad, quiet streets are a refreshing contrast to the mayhem of the main tourist towns. They are lined with interesting and colorful Chinese-style houses and there are some beautiful old colonial buildings, along the river. Since visitors are still quite a novelty, the money craze like in Siem reap and Phnom Penh is not evident and the friendly people, especially the school children, will come up to you to practice their few words of english that they know without any interior motives and your kids will have a great time interacting with them. The main reason to come here is to visit Bokor Hill Station on top of Elephant Mountain, a fascinating ghost town that once was a French hill station in 1920, complete with a hotel/casino, old church, school house, etc. From the top there are great views of the south coast and nearby are waterfalls where you can do a bit of trekking. You can do the trip in a day from Sihanoukville but it will be rushed as it takes around 5 hours round trip and then 3 hours to the mountain top and back via a 4wd as the road up the mountain is terrible. It is better to spend a night or two in Kampot (22kms from mountain entrance). There are several fair places to stay. Also visit Kep a short distance away for the best seafood in Cambodia.

To return to Thailand take the noon ferry from Sihanoukville to Koh Kong, taxi to the boarder, minibus to Trat and bus to Bangkok arriving late that night.

These are just suggestions for your thoughts.

The jungle around Angkor, while pretty, is a disappointment as far as birds and animals go. Nothing like Costa Rica. That said, you will almost certainly see monkeys at Angkor-they are used to people and are visible. There are also parrots, they seemed to be the most common bird at the temples. Wat Pnom in PP also has monkeys living on the grounds. The kids should also like the ride on Ton le Sap lake to the floating village. (Mine did). We went in August when the lake was so wide we couldn't see the other side. In January it should be a lot smaller and the floating houses will be in a different place. There are less visited villages but they are further away. Some of Lara Croft Tomb Raider was filmed at Angkor and the kids might get a kick out of seeing it.

For something completely different, you might want to take your kids out to a local village school and make some donations of supplies, yard toys etc. These can be purchased in Siem Reap and your guide can assist you if you have one.

Have a look at www.theplf.org and look at "news from the field" to read of other traveller's experiences.

Your kids may lok at school in a whole new light after spending some time in a local school.

Yes The Mighty Tonle Sap day trip is memorable. Very different. The floating shops schools and houses and one shop has a floating crocodile farm attached to it. If you can take some unwanted kids clothes to give on this trip. They will be very gratefuly accepted. Be prepared to see abject poverty on a scale to match anything you have seen before.

We are taking our four, ages 9, 9, 12, and 15, during the first week of January. We'll spend a day and a half in PP and then 5 1/2 in SR.

We are also visiting schools and making that part of the trip. I'll post a trip report when I return or you can email me the second week of January. [email protected]