I was wondering if this would be enough time to spend in Angkor Wat in July: I was planning arriving on Monday at noon and touring monday afternoon, all day tuesday, and up until my flight back to BKK at 7:30PM on Wednesday.

From what I understand, you could easily spend 5-7 days touring the sites, but is my tentative schedule enough?

I would like to spend more time, but we'll also be in BKK, Chiang Mai and Ko Samui for the other days of a 15 day (total days) trip.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks, KerryW!

If you are at all interetsed in the temples (and there are dozens), consider that to see all of the "major" temples it takes 3 days, and to see many of the minor temples you should plan 6 days. I'd suggest that you buy Dawn Rooney's Guide, "Angkor" to prepare for your visit. She gives a day by day schedule, depending on how long you are staying. Personally, I'd say you don't have nearly enough time. I found I really enjoyed many of the "minor" tempels where we were often the only visitors.

Photos of Angkor: www.marlandc.com

I think you should be fine for a good taste of Angkor. It's such an amazing place that even one day is better than nothing!

I agree with Kathie's advice that you should try to do as much reading in advance as you can (I wasn't as big of a fan of Rooney's book as most people are, but I unfortunately don't know of an alternative. I have a great, comprehensive coffee table type book that would work; you can get the Rooney boook on site).

Reading up on the sites and making your priorities ahead of time will save you time.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful trip!

Ideally, the more days, the better, but with your schedule, you'll get to see the major temple sites such as Ta Phrom, Bayon, Angkor.

We also had a schedule similar to yours and unfortunately not enough time to do justice to the area. But as Andrea stated, it's better than not making the stop at Siem Reap when you're so close.

we had the exact schedule that you describe....we did almost all we wanted to do, but did not go on the lake or to one of the far out places....the one that is red in over-all tone---i've forgotten the name at the moment....

largely it depends on how much you want to concentrate on seeing things and how much in detail you want to see things...

as far as tuesday, the usual way to do touring is to go in the am until noon and then stop for a couple of hours and then return for more after 3....

i strongly suggest, as the people above have, that you do your homework before you go and you will have a better idea....i also cannot strongly enough suggest that you have a driver and guide...they will move you around fast and give you maximum flexibility, plus good advice and commentary...they will take you directly to the xyz relief or the lmo relief, without any searching for it....they will show you shortcuts, etc....they will customize things for you...

remember it is hot as hell there and you can only take so much...you have to pace yourself and the a/c in the car helps you to recover fast as you move to the next area...

its a huge area and involves lots of walking...

i would have liked to have one more day, but am satisfied with what we had...

Thanks for the replies. I plan on reading up on the sites prior to the visit. We'll also be relaxing at Ko Samui for some days before Angkor, so that should help too.

Can you folks recommend the names of guides that you had used? If so, how can I contact them? I'm doing all of my planning on my own and also relying on the concierge services of the hotels we are staying at. So any contact people would help.

Thanks! KerryW

I would highly reccomend my guide - his name is Chhor Elit, called Ta. His e-mail id is [email protected]. His cell number is 855-1284-8553. Give him my reference - quite sure he will remember me. He pairs up with a great driver called Prum Deth (nickname Dad) but his driver selection will depend on how many people u are. He speaks great Eng and is well acquainted with the history of various places. Search the forum and there are also a # of threads for a bro-sis duo guide team. I went to Siem reap for 4 days in Aug and loved it. Am taking my husband back for a night in Feb - we ahve pretty much the same amt of time as u. One suggestion - Bkk Air has earlier flts to Siem Reap than the one u are taking - we plan to kill ourseleves one morning with the 7:30 AM but at least we will get the whole day.

my hotel in siem reap arranged my guide and driver...i just sent them a email and they were waiting for us...

others here prefer a brother/sister team...read on