Itineraries
First Time in Siem Reap: The Guide to Read Before Anything Else (2026)
Ten decisions a first Siem Reap trip turns on: days, the $62 pass, a $30 visa, clean dollars, covered knees, the 50 km airport and the midday heat.
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A first trip to Siem Reap goes right or wrong on ten decisions made before landing, and the temples are only one of them. How many days, which pass and when to buy it, which visa, what cash, what clothes, where to sleep, how to get in from an airport an hour away, and above all what to do between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., when the stone is too hot to walk on. Get those right and the temples take care of themselves.
What most first-timer guides miss is that the practical facts changed in 2024 and 2025 and the internet has not caught up. The airport moved 50 kilometers out of town in October 2023. The Angkor Pass went online with a QR code and an app. The e-Visa price dropped to $30. The land border with Thailand closed in June 2025, which ended the Bangkok bus. Old advice about the 7-kilometer airport ride, the $36 e-Visa and the Poipet crossing still fills the search results.
This guide settles those decisions in order, from booking to the first evening, and points to the 3-day Siem Reap itinerary for the plan itself. Prices, hours and transport times below were checked against operator websites and official sources in October 2026.
Siem Reap Runs on a Clock, Not a List
The first thing to understand about Siem Reap is that the day is fixed by the sun, not by the list of sights. The Angkor park admits visitors from 5:00 a.m. and closes at 6:30 p.m. Sunrise at Angkor Wat comes between about 5:36 a.m. in June and 6:30 a.m. in January. From 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. the temples have almost no shade, and from March to May the average daily high is about 35°C (95°F). So every good day here has the same shape: an early start, temples until late morning, a pool or a long lunch, then temples again from mid-afternoon to sunset.
A first-timer who plans by list, eight temples in a day, ends up at the Bayon at 1:00 p.m. A first-timer who plans by clock sees fewer temples and remembers all of them. Every decision below follows from that. The best time to visit guide goes month by month on the heat and the rain.
Before You Book
1. How many days
Three full days and four nights is the right first visit. Day one an afternoon in the park and a sunset, day two the sunrise and the grand circuit, day three Banteay Srei and the lake or the forest, as the 3-day itinerary lays out. With less time, the 2 days in Siem Reap itinerary and the 1-day itinerary show what to keep. With more, the 4 to 5 days itinerary adds Phnom Kulen and Beng Mealea, both with their own tickets. The honest verdict: more than five days of temples is temple fatigue for most people.
2. When to go
November to February is dry and coolest, and also the busiest and most expensive, with peak hotel rates from mid-December to mid-January. March to May is dry and hot, with April the hottest month at an average high of 35.8°C (96°F). May to October is the rainy season, when storms usually arrive in the afternoon for an hour, the moats fill, the rice fields turn green and the temples empty. September is the wettest month. The Tonle Sap’s stilt villages are worth visiting only from about August to February, when the water is high. The rainy season guide makes the case for the green months.
3. How to get there
By air. Every land crossing between Thailand and Cambodia has been suspended since June 23, 2025, and was still closed in 2026, so there is no working bus from Bangkok, even though some timetables still list one. The Bangkok to Siem Reap guide covers the flights. From Phnom Penh, Giant Ibis runs daytime buses at 8:45 a.m., 9:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and night buses at 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., and the Phnom Penh to Siem Reap guide compares the bus with the flight.
Before You Fly
4. The visa and the e-Arrival card
Most nationalities need a visa. The tourist e-Visa from evisa.gov.kh, the only official site, costs $30 with the processing charge included since January 1, 2025, for a 30-day stay, and is usually issued within about three business days. Older guides and some lookalike sites still quote $36. The visa on arrival at the airport costs the same $30, paid in US dollar cash at the counter before immigration, with a passport photo. Both need a passport with six months’ validity. The e-Visa skips the counter queue, which matters when two wide-body flights land together.
Separately, every arriving passenger completes the Cambodia e-Arrival card online, free, before the flight. It replaced the paper card. Kiosks at the airport work, with a queue. The Cambodia visa guide has the photo rules and the lookalike sites to avoid.
5. The Angkor Pass
A one-day pass costs $37, a three-day pass $62 and a seven-day pass $72, sold only by Angkor Enterprise. The three-day pass is valid for any three days within seven, and the seven-day pass for any seven days within 30. Older guides still say ten days and a month for those passes. Buy online at angkorenterprise.gov.kh or in the Angkor-Pass app, upload a photo for the multi-day passes, and the QR code goes on your phone. A pass dated for tomorrow admits you from 4:45 p.m. today, a free sunset. Children under 12 enter free. The pass does not cover Phnom Kulen ($20) or Koh Ker ($15). The Angkor Pass guide has every rule.
6. Money
Siem Reap runs on US dollars. Hotels, tuk-tuks, the pass and restaurants quote in dollars, and change under $1 comes back in Cambodian riel at 4,000 to the dollar. Bring clean bills, with plenty of $1s and $5s, because any dollar bill that is torn, written on or badly worn is refused, including by the bar that just handed it to you as change. Check every bill you receive. ATMs in town and at the airport dispense dollars, often in $100 bills, and charge foreign cards $4 to $5 per withdrawal in 2025 and 2026 reports, so take out fewer, larger sums. Cards work at hotels, the better restaurants and the Angkor ticket office, and not at stalls or with tuk-tuk drivers. The money guide explains the two currencies.
7. What to pack
Clothes that cover shoulders and knees, because the rule applies at every temple in the Angkor park and is enforced at the stairs to the Bakan, Angkor Wat’s upper level, and at Banteay Srei. Lightweight long trousers or a long skirt and T-shirts with sleeves. Shoes with grip for steep temple stairs, a hat, sunscreen, a small torch for the sunrise, insect repellent for the evenings and the rainy season, and a layer for a December dawn. The what to pack guide has the full list, and the Angkor dress code guide explains what actually gets people turned back.
The First Hour
8. The airport is not where older guides say
Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport opened in October 2023 about 50 kilometers east of town, and the drive to the Old Market takes 50 to 70 minutes. The taxi counter in the arrivals hall sells a fixed fare of $35 for a car carrying up to three, and $40 to $45 for a minivan. The official airport bus costs $8 a trip and stops at 7 Makara Road in town, in Wat Bo on the east bank, within walking distance of Pub Street. Grab and PassApp work in town but are unreliable at the airport, where drivers often wait outside the gates. Many hotels include a pickup for longer stays. Smart, Cellcard and Metfone sell SIM cards at counters in the arrivals hall, with Smart’s tourist SIM at $5 in 2026, and an eSIM bought before departure works on landing. The airport to city guide covers every option.
Getting Around and Where to Sleep
9. Tuk-tuks, apps and drivers
The tuk-tuk, a motorbike pulling a covered carriage, is how Siem Reap moves. A ride across town costs $2 to $3 and a short hop $1 to $2. Grab and PassApp show a fixed price before the ride, which settles the negotiation. For the temples, hire a driver by the day: $18 to $25 per tuk-tuk for a small-circuit day in 2026 cost guides, about $5 more for a 4:30 a.m. sunrise pickup, and $25 to $35 for a day that includes Banteay Srei. Agree the route, the times and the total in dollars before leaving. A licensed English-speaking guide costs $30 to $50 a day and is worth it for the Angkor Wat morning. The getting around guide has the fares and the apps.
10. Where to stay
Within 15 minutes of the park, with a pool you will use at 1:00 p.m., and quiet enough to sleep at 9:30 p.m. before a 4:30 a.m. alarm. That means one of four areas. The Old Market and Pub Street grid is walkable and loud. Wat Bo, across the river, is quiet and five to ten minutes’ walk from dinner. The riverside north of town has the colonial-era hotels. Charles de Gaulle Boulevard, on the road to the temples, has the resorts and nothing to walk to.
Six places cover the range. Jaya House River Park on River Road, six minutes by tuk-tuk from the Old Market, has two pools and a plastic-free policy. The limitation: nothing is walkable after dark. Viroth’s Hotel on Street 24 in Wat Bo publishes Deluxe rooms from $139. The limitation: the street-facing rooms hear the street. Angkor Village Hotel on Street 26, also in Wat Bo and five minutes’ walk from the Old Market, has 43 rooms in Khmer-style wooden buildings around ponds, a pool, and its own Khmer restaurant and dance theater in the grounds, and has been a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World since 2008. Two-night packages start at $320 with breakfast. The limitation: wooden stairs, no elevator mentioned on the hotel’s site, and Petite rooms of 20 square meters. Memoire d’Angkor Boutique Hotel at 54 Sivatha Road, three minutes from the Old Market, had aggregator rates of $42 to $62 for late October 2026. The limitation: rooms on the Sivatha side hear traffic from 5:00 a.m. Onederz Siem Reap, two minutes from Pub Street, has four pools and dorm beds. The limitation: it shares the street’s late nights. Lub d Siem Reap on 7 Makara Street in Wat Bo has dorm beds from about $5 and a pool. The limitation: breakfast is extra. The where to stay pillar sorts the whole town, and the best area to stay guide compares the neighborhoods.
Food, Evenings and Pub Street
Khmer food is not Thai food with less chili. It is built on fermented fish paste, kroeung herb pastes, sour soups and fresh herbs, and the dishes to know are fish amok, beef lok lak, kuy teav noodle soup and samlor korko. Pub Street, the bar street by the Old Market, serves a mild version of all of them to passing trade. Drink there and eat elsewhere.
Three meals cover the range. Breakfast at the Psar Chas market stalls before 9:00 a.m., where bai sach chrouk, grilled pork on rice, costs $1 to $2. The limitation: prices are rarely posted. Dinner at Chanrey Tree on Pokambor Avenue by the river, where fish amok costs $10.50 plus 5 percent service and 10 percent tax. The limitation: the fermented flavors are toned down for visitors. One special dinner at Cuisine Wat Damnak, chef Joannès Rivière’s $45 tasting menu, Monday to Saturday from 6:30 p.m., booked 24 hours ahead. The limitation: no children under 12. The food guide covers every price range.
For one evening, Phare, the Cambodian Circus, plays at 8:00 p.m. every night on Ring Road, with adult seats at $18, $28 and $38. The limitation: it is acrobatic theater, not classical dance. The evening shows pillar compares it with the dance shows.
What to Decline
Three requests come to most first-timers, and the answer to each is no.
Orphanage visits. Tuk-tuk drivers and tour desks still offer visits to orphanages, and some guesthouses still advertise volunteering. A national survey found that 79 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds in Cambodian residential care have at least one living parent, and visitor money has kept children in institutions. UNICEF counted about 10,000 children and young people in residential care in 2022, down from 35,000 in 2015. The orphanage tourism guide explains why, and what to support instead.
Rice and formula for a school or a baby. A request to buy a sack of rice for a floating school at Chong Kneas or a tin of baby formula at a market shop usually ends with the goods sold back to the shop, as the orphanage tourism guide describes. Decline it.
Chong Kneas. The lake village closest to town is the one most organized around visitors’ money. If the water is high, go to Kampong Phluk instead. The Tonle Sap lake guide explains the difference.
By Situation
You have one first day and are jet-lagged
Do not set a 4:30 a.m. alarm. Start in the park at 2:00 p.m. at Ta Prohm, watch the sunset from Pre Rup, which stays open until 7:00 p.m., and keep the sunrise for day two.
You are traveling with children
Children under 12 enter the park free and may not climb the Bakan. Plan two hours of temples per session, a pool every afternoon and Phare in the evening. The Siem Reap with kids pillar has the details.
You are on a tight budget
Dorm beds cost $5 to $9, street meals $1 to $4, and the pass is the one cost that does not shrink. A bicycle replaces the tuk-tuk on the small circuit if the month is cool. The daily budget pillar prices each style.
You are arriving in April
Out of the temples by 11:00 a.m. and back at 3:30 p.m. Two liters of water per person per half day. Khmer New Year falls mid-month, and some restaurants close for three days. The hot season guide covers it.
What It Actually Costs
A first visit of three days, before flights and the hotel, for two people sharing a tuk-tuk. Change under $1 comes back in riel at 4,000 to the dollar.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | $30 per person | e-Visa online or cash on arrival, same price |
| e-Arrival card | Free | Online before landing |
| Airport to town | $35 per car, $8 by bus | Each way |
| SIM card | $5 | Smart tourist SIM at the airport, 2026 |
| Angkor Pass, 3 days | $62 per person | Children under 12 free |
| Tuk-tuk, 3 temple days | $60 to $80 per tuk-tuk | Sunrise and Banteay Srei surcharges included |
| Licensed guide, 1 day | $30 to $50 per guide | English, 2026 rate lists |
| Meals | $20 to $60 per person per day | Stalls to tasting menus |
| Phare | $18 to $38 per adult | 8:00 p.m. nightly |
| ATM fee | $4 to $5 per withdrawal | Foreign cards |
| Three days, per person | about $230 to $330 | Plus the hotel: dorm $5 to $9, boutique from about $140 |
What is not included: the hotel, tips, which are welcome at a few dollars for a good driver or guide, and anything beyond the Angkor Pass, such as the Tonle Sap boat at $15 to $22 per person.
What Other Guides Get Wrong
- The airport. Siem Reap’s airport has been 50 kilometers out of town since October 2023. Plans that assume a 15-minute ride lose an hour on arrival and miss flights on departure.
- The Bangkok bus. The Thai land border has been closed since June 2025. There is no Poipet route for now.
- The e-Visa price. It has been $30 with processing included since January 2025, not $36.
- The pass validity. The three-day pass is valid for seven days and the seven-day pass for 30, not ten days and a month.
- Sunrise on the first morning. After a long flight, the first temple should be Ta Prohm at 2:00 p.m., not Angkor Wat at 5:00 a.m.
- Treating Pub Street as the place to eat. It is the place to drink. The Khmer cooking is by the river, in Wat Bo and at the market stalls.
Where to Go Next
The plan itself is the 3-day Siem Reap itinerary. Before booking, the Angkor Pass guide and the airport to city guide settle the two decisions with the most money attached, and the best time to visit guide decides the month.
Addresses, hours, prices and transport times checked against operator websites and official sources in October 2026. Hours change seasonally and prices change often. Confirm anything time-critical with the operator. Found an error? Tell us and the guide's review date will be updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do I need in Siem Reap for a first visit?
Three full days, which means four nights. Two days cover Angkor Wat, the Bayon, Ta Prohm and the grand circuit temples. The third buys Banteay Srei, 40 to 60 minutes north, and an afternoon on the Tonle Sap or in the Kulen foothills. One day is possible, with a 4:45 a.m. start and a pool at midday, but it leaves out everything beyond three temples. Four or five days make sense for travelers who want Phnom Kulen's waterfall or the jungle temple at Beng Mealea, both with their own tickets. Most first-timers who stay longer than five days run out of interest in temples before they run out of temples.
Do I need a visa for Cambodia?
Most nationalities do, and there are two ways to get it. The tourist e-Visa from evisa.gov.kh, the only official site, costs $30 with processing included since January 1, 2025, and is usually issued within about three business days. Print it. The visa on arrival at Siem Reap airport costs the same $30, paid in US dollar cash, with a passport photo. Both need a passport valid for six months. Separately, every passenger completes the free Cambodia e-Arrival card online before landing. Lookalike visa sites charge far more for the same document, so check the address before paying.
Should I bring US dollars to Siem Reap?
Yes. Prices for hotels, tuk-tuks, temples and most restaurants are in dollars, and the Angkor Pass is charged in dollars. Bring clean, untorn bills, including plenty of $1 and $5 notes, because damaged bills are refused everywhere, even by the businesses that handed them out as change. Change under $1 comes back in riel at 4,000 to the dollar. ATMs dispense dollars, often in $100 bills, and charge foreign cards $4 to $5 per withdrawal in 2025 and 2026 reports. Cards work at hotels, the better restaurants and the Angkor ticket office, not at stalls.
What should I wear to Angkor Wat?
Clothes that cover the shoulders and the knees, at every temple in the park. The rule is enforced at the stairs to the Bakan, Angkor Wat's upper level, and at Banteay Srei, where staff turn people back. Loose cotton or linen trousers or a long skirt, and a T-shirt with sleeves, work better in the heat than shorts with a sarong. A scarf over the shoulders is not always accepted. Wear shoes with grip for the steep stairs at Pre Rup and the Bakan, a hat and sunscreen. A layer helps for a December sunrise, when 5:00 a.m. is about 20°C (68°F).
Is Siem Reap safe for first-time visitors?
Siem Reap is a low-risk town for visitors, and the common problems are small. Bag snatching from moving motorbikes happens on dark streets at night, so carry a bag on the side away from the road. Change is sometimes counted short in riel on Pub Street, and a driver may forget to mention a boat fee until the pier. The real health risk is the heat from March to May: drink two liters of water per half day and stay out of open temples at midday. Check travel insurance for medical evacuation, because serious cases go to Bangkok.
Is it OK to visit an orphanage in Siem Reap?
No. Orphanage visits and short volunteering stints are a recognized harm in Cambodia. A national survey found that 79 percent of teenagers in residential care have at least one living parent, and visitor money has drawn children into institutions rather than out of them. UNICEF counted about 10,000 children and young people in residential care in Cambodia in 2022. Do not visit, do not volunteer, and decline the tuk-tuk driver who suggests it. The better uses of goodwill are the training restaurants, such as Haven and Sala Baï, and the craft workshops at Artisans Angkor, which employ adults.