KateTab

We have a hotel for 5 days at Siem Reap. What is the best way to use our time there? We want aircon or tuk tuk transport (not cycling). Is it worth taking a tour or doing it independently?

LancasterLad

All tuk tuk drivers will have standard routes, dependent on half or full day.

All hotels will have tuk tuks parked outside, and all hotels will have their favoured drivers. We found our own and negotiated a price.

Don't blame you for not wanting to cycle, the tuk tuk is great fun.

Kathie

Do it independently - you don't want to be among a bus load of people at each temple. Whether you opt for a tuk tuk or a car and driver, the driver works for you and will take you wherever you want to go. I didn't encounter "standard routes." If you don't know where you want to go, sure, let the driver decide, but if you do know, don't hesitate to ask.

LancasterLad

'Kathie<<<If you don't know where you want to go, sure, let the driver decide, but if you do know, don't hesitate to ask.>>>

I can't disagree with that. But if you do know which temples you want to visit, then you have to be realistic with distances and how long you need to book the tuk tuk for. Simply getting to the Angkor ticket office takes over 30 minutes each way from downtown.

The standard routes are obviously aimed at people who just want to take in a morning or a full day at the Historical site. They are realistic regarding distance and time between sites, and you can't fit a lot of the temples into a morning. We aren't temples fanatics, and were more than content with our morning route. The only things that annoyed us were the sheer number of people at Angkor Wat, the blue tarpaulin and No Entry signs, due to the ruins being over trampled over. If the weather forecast is for rain, then I'd go another day.....too slippery.

I realise the following link is from Trip Advisor, but it does contain a lot of useful stuff about what the OP wants to know...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTo..._Province.html

It's also fair to say that a lot of people on Fodor's also regularly contribute to Trip Advisor.

marmot

If you haven't already, try to get a copy of Dawn Rooney's guidebook on the temples of Angkor. [Is it possible that this wonderful book is out of print?]

Getting an overview of Angkor Archaeological Park and the surrounding sites will help you plan your first two days. Don't over plan; it's HOT and crowded and you'll want to revisit your favorites, especially at different times of day.

For us, a couple of guidebooks were sufficient. Others may prefer to use guides. It really depends on your preference.

We used the same tuktuk driver (whom we chose at random from the group outside the hotel) for our entire stay. We gave him general instructions and he contributed suggestions.

The SOP is to start early, take a long mid-day hotel break for lunch/pool/nap, then re-emerge late afternoon. We, however, chose to have lunch at one of the places near the Angkor complex then carry on temple viewing while everyone else is resting. I understand some drivers object to this schedule, but ours seemed okay with it.

There are dozens of temples outside of the main complex, some under an hour's travel time, some quite a bit further. For the nearer temples you can either use a tuktuk or a car. (We used a car.) For the more remote, you need to hire a car and driver.

Kathie

The most recent edition of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Angkor's Wondrous Temples, is, I believe, out of print. Nonetheless, you should be able to find a copy at your local library or used book store or online. You don't need to have the most recent edition for the book to be very helpful. Many years ago (2001) we used her book as our guide at Angkor, The more preparation you do for this trip, the more you will get out of it.

We spent a lot of time reading about Angkor before we went. Indeed, I had been reading about Angkor for over a decade by the time we went. But not everyone is a temple fanatic! We spent a week in Siem Reap and would have enjoyed even more time. Spending some time with Dawn Rooney's book can help you decide how much time you will want/need to spend there.

Enjoy your time at Angkor - truly one of the wonders of the world.

Jackie

We asked for advice at our hotel. They provided a map of the different temple groups, suggested the route and their tuk tuk driver. They also suggested a guide. (I think the tuk tuk was $15/day and the guide $40.) If you have the Dawn Rooney guide, we visited groups 1, 2, and 3 in a day in a half. All are close enough to travel by tuk tuk. We used the guide for the first day; the second day I ventured out on my own. The guide was helpful to get oriented but being on my own was fine.

We also wanted to see temples further out (group 7 and 8). These required a car to get to. A friend recommended a guide/driver. We saw two temples and did the fishing village/lake tour on same day. It was a really full day.

If you only have a driver, he will drop you off at temple site and tell you where he will pick you up. It helps if driver has some command of English language.

The same tuk tuk driver also picked us up from the airport. I was a bit alarmed at first getting into a vehicle being pulled by a motorcycle, but by the end of the trip wasn't phased by it.

aprillilacs

I spent a week in Siem Reap several years ago and appreciated having all that time there. I (and my husband) used tuk-tuks arranged through our small hotel for all our transportation (besides walking in town). Our favorite day was a long, early morning ride through the beautiful countryside to Banteay Srei, a lovely small pinkish temple with incredible carvings. We loved the cool, breezy ride and seeing the villagers along the way engaged their morning routines. On the way back the temperature rose and the scene was a completely different vibe. Highly recommended!

One of my most memorable travel experiences was taking the local boat from Siem Reap to Battambang after our week in the former. The trip took 8 hours and was probably the most uncomfortable public transport I have ever experienced, but it provided an unforgettable immersion in local life on the lake/river. Battambang was fun too. Have a great trip!