Day Trips & Beyond Angkor
Tonle Sap Floating Villages: Kampong Phluk vs Kampong Khleang vs Chong Kneas (2026)
Kampong Phluk at an hour, Kampong Khleang at 90 minutes, Chong Kneas at 25: which Tonle Sap village to pick by month, what each boat costs and what floats.
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For most travelers with half a day between August and January, the floating village to choose is Kampong Phluk. For anyone with a longer day, or traveling between March and May, it is Kampong Khleang. Chong Kneas, the nearest and the one every hotel desk proposes first, is the one to skip. The choice between the three is less about the villages than about the month and the hours you can give.
Most comparisons stop at the village names. They rarely say that two of the three do not float at all, that the same $20 boat buys an hour on open water in October and a muddy channel in April, or that Chong Kneas prices its boats per boat while Kampong Phluk prices them per person. The result is a traveler who books the closest village in March and comes back unsure what was supposed to be special.
This guide compares the three by distance, ticket, season, crowd and what each actually shows, with Mechrey as a fourth option. It details the lake section of the day trips from Siem Reap pillar, and the Tonle Sap lake guide covers the lake as a whole. Prices, hours and transport times below were checked against Angkor Enterprise, operator websites and official sources in October 2026.
Two of the Three Do Not Float
The phrase floating village covers two different things, and the difference decides which village suits which month.
A floating house sits on a raft of bamboo, drums or timber, moored in open water and towed to a new position as the lake rises and falls. Chong Kneas is a floating village in this sense, as is the lake section of Kampong Khleang. A floating house is always at water level, so it looks much the same in April as in October. What changes is the distance: in the dry season the houses are towed far out, and the boat ride to reach them is a long channel through mud.
A stilt house is fixed on hardwood posts, 6 to 9 meters high at Kampong Phluk and taller at Kampong Khleang. The house never moves. The water does. In October the lake reaches the staircases and the village is a town of boats. In April the same village is a town of ladders above dry earth. Stilt villages are the ones whose character changes with the season, and they are the ones in most photographs.
The lake behind both swings between roughly 2,500 and 3,000 km² in April and up to 16,000 km² around October and November. The best time to visit Siem Reap sets that swing against the rest of the calendar. For this comparison, the rule is short: a stilt village in high water is the trip people imagine, and a floating section is the only thing that holds up in low water.
The Three Villages
Kampong Phluk
The honest verdict: the right half day for most visitors from August to January, and a reasonable one in February. Kampong Phluk is a commune of three villages in Prasat Bakong District on the northern shore of the lake, with 3,707 residents in 911 families at the 2019 census. It is about an hour from Pub Street by tuk-tuk and about 45 minutes by car, east on National Road 6 toward the Roluos group and then south on a sealed road to the ticket office. The last stretch to the pier is unpaved and gets longer in the dry season, as the boarding point follows the water south.
The community ticket office, run by Kampong Phluk Eco Tourism management, charges $20 per person for the motorboat and a $2 per person community fee, according to guides updated in 2026. One local guide lists the $20 as a price per boat of up to six, so ask which applies before paying. The paddle boat into the flooded forest costs $5 per person, and a woman from the village paddles two or three passengers for 20 to 30 minutes under the canopy. Boats belong to village families and take turns through a queue. The motorboat ride lasts about an hour, through the stilt village and out to the open lake.
The limitation: Kampong Phluk absorbed the tour groups that left Chong Kneas, and a 2023 report counted around 80 boatloads a day in season against 30 to 40 at Chong Kneas. At 5:30 p.m. the channel is a procession of sunset tours. Go at 7:30 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. instead. The forest paddle is also sold whether or not the water is high enough to make it worthwhile.
Kampong Khleang
The honest verdict: the best village on the lake, and the one that needs the most time. Kampong Khleang is 50 to 55 km east of Siem Reap, one hour to one and a half hours by car on National Road 6 and then south to the water, and longer by tuk-tuk. It is the largest settlement on the Tonle Sap, counted at around 1,000 families in the stilt town or up to 20,000 people across the commune, with a pagoda, schools, a market and a floating section out on the lake. Its stilts are taller than Kampong Phluk’s. At the end of the wet season the floors sit less than a meter above the water. In the dry season the drop to the water is several meters.
No fare is posted at the jetty. Visitors paid $25 per person in April and July 2025, 2026 reports give $20 to $25, and a group of five negotiated $55 for one boat in August 2025. A July 2025 visitor who arrived by motorbike and took no boat was charged $15 to enter. Expect $20 to $25 per person and agree the price before boarding. The boat takes 20 to 30 minutes through the town to the floating houses and the lake. There is no forest paddle.
The limitation: this is a working town, not a circuit built for visitors. There are no signs, little English is spoken, and at the very lowest water in April and May the boat may not reach the floating section. The distance is the other cost, which is why Kampong Khleang is usually paired with Beng Mealea or the Roluos temples in a full day.
Chong Kneas
The honest verdict: skip it unless it is the only lake you will see. Chong Kneas is 15 km south of the Old Market on a sealed road past the foot of Phnom Krom, about 25 minutes by tuk-tuk at $3 to $4 one way, or $13 to $20 for the round trip with the wait. Since February 2022 the tourist boats have been run by Angkor Enterprise, the state company that sells the Angkor Pass. The official price list is per boat, sold at the counter by the pier: $28 for 1 to 5 people, $38 for 6 to 8, $70 for 9 to 14, $90 for 15 to 19 and $120 for 20 to 25. Sunset departures are advised between 4:30 and 5:15 p.m. The trip lasts about two hours, out along the channel to the floating section, which in high water includes houses, a school, a church and shops on rafts.
The limitation is the circuit around the boat. It still stops at a floating shop where rice is sold for a school at $30 to $50 a sack, at a crocodile pen attached to a souvenir counter and at a floating restaurant with a heavy markup on drinks. Google reviews of the village average about 2 out of 5 across more than 1,200 ratings. The one thing nobody regrets on this road is the hill above it: Phnom Krom at sunset, which needs a valid Angkor Pass.
Mechrey, the fourth option
The honest verdict: the quiet near option, for two hours on the water without an hour of road. Mechrey is on the northwest shore, about 30 minutes from town. The community office charges $19 for a small boat of up to 8 people plus a $2 per person fee, and the trip lasts about two hours along a marsh-lined canal to the floating sections. Tour groups are few. The limitation: its circuit also includes a crocodile farm stop, there is no forest paddle, and its floating houses are a smaller version of Kampong Khleang’s.
Side by Side
| Kampong Phluk | Kampong Khleang | Chong Kneas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time from Pub Street | About 1 hour by tuk-tuk, 45 minutes by car | 1 to 1.5 hours by car | About 25 minutes by tuk-tuk |
| Houses | Stilts, 6 to 9 m | Taller stilts, plus a floating section | Floating |
| Boat price | $20 per person plus $2 fee | $20 to $25 per person, not posted | $28 per boat for 1 to 5 |
| Forest paddle | Yes, $5, August to January | No | No |
| Best months | August to January | Any month, best August to January | September to December |
| Crowd | Heavy at sunset | Light | Coach groups, all day |
| Scam risk | Low | Low | High |
| Who runs the boats | Village families via a community office | Boat owners at the jetty | Angkor Enterprise |
How the Season Changes Each Village
From August to January the comparison favors Kampong Phluk. The stilt houses stand in water, the boat is on open lake within minutes and the flooded forest can be paddled. October is the peak, with house floors within a meter of the surface. December is the best all-round month, with full villages and dry roads. The Tonle Sap lake guide gives the full month-by-month table, including the warning that the rise has come later and lower in recent years, so an August visit can look like July.
From February the lake drops fast. By March the boarding points have moved, the channels are long and the forest is dry ground. In March, April and May Kampong Phluk is a long drive to look up at stilts, and the paddle stops. Kampong Khleang holds up better, because its floating section is on open water in every month, although in the lowest weeks the boat may not reach it. Chong Kneas’s floating houses are towed out with the water and the channel to reach them grows longer.
June and July are rising months. The water reaches the lower stilts at Kampong Phluk in July, but the forest is not yet deep enough to paddle. In these months, the lake is a reason to stay in town for a pool afternoon rather than a reason to drive. The rainy season guide explains how to use the wet months for the temples instead.
Time of day matters at all three. The 7:30 a.m. boat has cooler air, working fishermen and almost no other visitors. The 2:00 p.m. boat is hot but quiet. The sunset boats, leaving between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m., get the light and every tour group at once. In the rainy season storms tend to arrive after 2:00 p.m., which makes the morning the safer slot from June to October.
Getting There and Getting the Price Right
By tuk-tuk
The default for Chong Kneas and Kampong Phluk. Agree a wait-and-return price before leaving: $13 to $20 for Chong Kneas and $20 to $25 for a Kampong Phluk half day in 2025 and 2026 reports. Kampong Khleang by tuk-tuk is $30 to $35 for the round trip and close to two hours each way in an open cab. Buy the boat ticket yourself at the counter and pay the driver only for driving. A driver who suggests “the floating village” on the way back from the temples usually means Chong Kneas and a commission, which the Siem Reap scams guide describes.
By car with driver
The right choice for Kampong Khleang, for families and for April heat. A half day to Kampong Phluk costs $35 for an SUV and $45 for a minivan on one driver company’s published rates, boat tickets not included. Kampong Khleang has no published rate, and a June 2025 report gives $35 to $60 for a car. A full day pairing Kampong Khleang with Beng Mealea or Roluos comes to $80 to $100 for the vehicle.
Shared and private tours
Shared minivan tours to Kampong Phluk sell for $18 to $40 per person, mostly at sunset. At the low end the $22 in tickets is not included. Private half-day tours with a guide, vehicle and tickets run about $60 to $90 per person for two. A guide adds more at a stilt village without signs than at a temple with a guidebook, and hiring a guide explains how to choose one.
By Situation
You have half a day between August and January
Kampong Phluk by tuk-tuk, leaving Pub Street at 2:00 p.m. or 6:30 a.m. Budget $22 per person in tickets, $5 for the paddle and $20 to $25 for the driver.
You are traveling between March and May
Kampong Khleang by car, early, and accept that there is no forest to paddle. If the distance is too much, skip the boat and watch the lake from Phnom Krom at sunset with the pass you already hold.
You have only two hours
Chong Kneas or Mechrey. Chong Kneas reaches the open lake fastest from September to December. Mechrey is quieter. At Chong Kneas, decline the rice, the crocodiles and the donation.
You are traveling with children
Kampong Phluk in high water, by car, in the morning. The forest paddle is what children remember. Avoid Chong Kneas, where the rice pitch and the crocodile pen are hard to explain. Siem Reap with kids covers the rest of the day.
You have a full day and want a temple too
Beng Mealea in the morning and Kampong Khleang in the afternoon, by car, from August to January. Or the Roluos temples at 8:00 a.m. and Kampong Phluk at 3:00 p.m., by tuk-tuk, which is the cheaper version.
What It Actually Costs
All prices in US dollars. Boat prices at Chong Kneas and Mechrey are per boat. At Kampong Phluk and Kampong Khleang they are per person.
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kampong Phluk motorboat | $20 per person | Community office, about 1 hour |
| Kampong Phluk community fee | $2 per person | Paid at the office |
| Kampong Phluk forest paddle | $5 per person | August to January |
| Kampong Khleang boat | $20 to $25 per person | Not posted, $15 entry without a boat |
| Chong Kneas boat, 1 to 5 people | $28 per boat | Angkor Enterprise, counter at the pier |
| Chong Kneas boat, 6 to 8 people | $38 per boat | Larger boats $70 to $120 |
| Mechrey boat, up to 8 people | $19 per boat | Plus $2 per person |
| Tuk-tuk, Chong Kneas round trip | $13 to $20 | Wait included |
| Tuk-tuk, Kampong Phluk half day | $20 to $25 | About 1 hour each way |
| Tuk-tuk, Kampong Khleang | $30 to $35 | Close to 2 hours each way |
| Car, Kampong Phluk half day | $35 SUV, $45 minivan | Tickets not included |
| Car, Kampong Khleang | $35 to $60 | 2025 report |
| Shared tour, Kampong Phluk | $18 to $40 per person | Check whether tickets are included |
Not included anywhere: a tip for the boat driver, usually $1 to $2 per boat, a tip for the paddler, drinks on the water and the tuk-tuk’s waiting time if it was not agreed. Never required: rice, a crocodile farm, a donation. Pay in dollars, keep riel for change below $1, and expect a torn note to be refused, as the dollars and riel guide explains.
What Other Guides Get Wrong
- Writing about “the floating village” as one place. There are at least four piers within 90 minutes of town, run by different organizations at different price structures. A page that does not name the village usually describes Chong Kneas.
- Calling the stilt villages floating. Kampong Phluk and the town of Kampong Khleang stand on fixed posts. That is why they look full in October and bare in April.
- Quoting a boat price without a month. The same $20 at Kampong Phluk buys an hour on open water in October and a muddy channel in April.
- Pricing Chong Kneas per person. The official tickets are per boat, $28 for up to five. A traveler paying $20 a head is paying a margin.
- Selling the sunset as the only slot. At Kampong Phluk the sunset is when every tour arrives. The 7:30 a.m. boat shows the same houses with no queue.
- Treating the rice for the school as charity. The rice is resold to the next boat. Decline it, and give to an organization with published accounts, such as those in social enterprises in Siem Reap, if giving matters.
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.
Where to Go Next
The three villages compete for the same half day as Banteay Srei, Phnom Kulen and the far temples, and the day trips from Siem Reap pillar ranks them all by road time. The lake behind the villages, with its month-by-month levels and the bird colonies at Prek Toal, is covered in the Tonle Sap lake guide and the Prek Toal bird sanctuary guide. For where a lake afternoon fits after a temple morning, the three-day itinerary places Kampong Phluk in the right slot.
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
Which floating village is best in Siem Reap?
For a half day between August and January, Kampong Phluk: about an hour from Pub Street, a community-run ticket office, stilt houses 6 to 9 meters high standing in water and a paddle through the flooded forest. With more time, or in the dry months, Kampong Khleang: the largest town on the lake, 50 to 55 km east, with a floating section on open water in every month and few visitors. Chong Kneas is the closest at 25 minutes and the only one with official per-boat prices, but its circuit of scams and shops makes it the one to skip unless nothing else fits.
Is Kampong Phluk or Kampong Khleang better?
Kampong Khleang is the better village, and Kampong Phluk is the better half day. Kampong Khleang is bigger, taller on its stilts, less visited and has a floating section on the lake that survives the dry season, but it is 50 to 55 km east, an hour to an hour and a half each way by car. Kampong Phluk is about an hour by tuk-tuk, has a clear ticket office at $20 per person plus $2, and adds the flooded forest paddle from August to January. Pick Kampong Phluk for a short afternoon in the wet months and Kampong Khleang for a longer day or for March to May.
Is Chong Kneas floating village worth it?
Rarely. It is 15 km south of town, 25 minutes by tuk-tuk, and its boats have been run by Angkor Enterprise since February 2022 at fixed prices of $28 for up to five people and $38 for up to eight. The boat is fair value. The circuit is not: a floating shop selling rice for a school at $30 to $50 a sack, a crocodile pen attached to a souvenir counter and donation requests on board. Google reviews average about 2 out of 5. The one case for it: a traveler with only two hours who wants to see the open lake from September to December.
How much is the boat at Kampong Phluk?
The community ticket office charges $20 per person for the motorboat and a $2 per person community fee, according to guides updated in 2026, plus $5 per person for the paddle boat into the flooded forest when the water is high. One local guide lists the $20 as a price per boat of up to six people instead, so ask which applies before paying. Pay at the office, not to the driver. Two people in November typically spend $44 in tickets and fees and $10 for the paddle, plus $20 to $25 for the tuk-tuk half day.
When is the best time to visit the floating villages?
August to January, with October and November as the peak. In those months the lake is near its largest, the stilt houses at Kampong Phluk and Kampong Khleang have water at their steps and the flooded forest can be paddled. From February the water drops fast. From March to May the stilt villages stand over dry ground, boats follow long muddy channels to reach the lake and the forest is dry. June and July are rising months, with the villages still above water. In the low months, Kampong Khleang's floating section on open water is the best of the three.
Do floating village tours from Siem Reap include the boat ticket?
Often not, and that is how a shared tour can cost less than the ticket. Shared minivan tours to Kampong Phluk sell from about $18 to $40 per person. At the low end, the $20 boat and $2 fee are paid on arrival. At the high end they are included and the group is smaller. Read the inclusions line before booking. For Chong Kneas, the official price is per boat, $28 for up to five, so a tour charging $20 per head for the boat is adding a margin. Independent travelers can pay every ticket at the counter themselves.
What are the scams at the floating villages?
They are concentrated at Chong Kneas. The boat stops at a floating shop where rice is sold at $30 to $50 a sack to be donated to a floating school, then resold to the next boat. A crocodile pen with a souvenir counter is presented as a cultural stop. Children or the driver ask for donations on the boat. None of this is part of the ticket and declining all of it is normal. A fourth pattern is the tuk-tuk driver who takes a commission on an overpriced boat. At Kampong Phluk and Kampong Khleang such pitches are uncommon.