Discover Cambodia: Self-Launched Bangkok to Phnom Penh (7 Days)

Land at Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang and make your own way in on the Airport Rail Link (Bangkok: ~£1) or a metered taxi (~£8–10). Check into a hostel or guesthouse around Khao San or the BTS Sukhumvit line. Spend the evening eating your way through a night market — pad thai, mango sticky rice, grilled skewers — and get your cash sorted, since ATMs in Cambodia can charge steep fees. Book onward transport to Siem Reap for tomorrow morning either at your hostel desk or directly with a bus company.

🚌Airport Rail Link ~£1 or meter taxi ~£8–10

🛏Hostel or guesthouse dorm/private, Khao San or Sukhumvit (~£12–18)

• →Airport Rail Link or metered taxi to accommodation
• →Khao San / night market dinner crawl
• →Sort Thai baht and US dollars (Cambodia runs on USD for larger spends, riel for small change)

The long haul south-east: take a bus or shared minivan from Bangkok's Mo Chit or a Khao San operator to the Aranyaprathet–Paôy Pêt border, walk across on foot, then pick up a shared minivan or bus onward to Siem Reap. Booking the through-service from Bangkok is easiest (~£15–22 and 8–10 hours). Watch the notorious Poipet border scams — ignore touts offering to 'help' with a visa and buy the Cambodian e-visa online in advance (~£25) or at the official counter. Arrive Siem Reap by early evening, dump your bag at a guesthouse near Pub Street or Wat Bo, and eat at a Khmer kitchen — fish amok and lok lak.

🚌Bangkok–Siem Reap through bus/minivan ~£15–22

🛏Siem Reap guesthouse or hostel, Wat Bo / Pub Street (~£10–18)

• →Through bus/minivan Bangkok–Siem Reap with border walk
• →Cambodian e-visa (apply online in advance)
• →Evening stroll through Siem Reap old town and Pub Street

Your Angkor day, self-arranged. Buy your Angkor pass at the main ticket office (1-day around £28, 3-day ~£52 — a tuk-tuk driver will take you). Hire a tuk-tuk for the day so you can control your own sunrise timing (~£15–18 per tuk-tuk, splittable with hostel mates). Enter before dawn for the classic reflection shot at Angkor Wat, then work the small circuit: the smiling faces of Bayon, the tree-swallowed ruins of Ta Prohm, and Terrace of the Elephants. Book a local licensed guide through GetYourGuide or Klook if you want the history, or go it alone and read up. Back in town by late afternoon.

🚌Hired tuk-tuk for the day ~£15–18

🛏Siem Reap guesthouse or hostel (~£10–18)

• →Sunrise at Angkor Wat
• →Bayon, Ta Prohm and the small circuit
• →Optional local guide (GetYourGuide/Klook) and Phare Circus evening show

Keep the day flexible. Options: head back into Angkor for the outer temples (Banteay Srei, Beng Mealea) if you upgraded to a multi-day pass; take a half-day tuk-tuk trip to the Tonle Sap floating village at Kompong Khleang; join a Khmer cooking class (~£20–25) at a local restaurant; or potter through the Angkor National Museum and the Landmine Museum. Evening: book a Phare Circus ticket direct (~£14–18) — the socially minded circus with acrobatics, theatre and live music, one of Cambodia's best nights out.

🚌Tuk-tuk and shared boat ~£12

🛏Siem Reap guesthouse or hostel (~£10–18)

• →Tonle Sap / Kompong Khleang floating village tuk-tuk trip
• →Khmer cooking class
• →Angkor National Museum
• →Phare Circus show

Ride the highway south. The Giant Ibis or Mekong Express daytime bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh takes 6–7 hours (~£12–15) and is the easiest local equivalent of the tour's private van. Arrive early evening, check in near the riverside or Sorya area, then take a traditional cyclo loop of the centre — start at Wat Phnom, roll past the post office and colonial facades, and end near the Royal Palace and National Museum (a cyclo ride is a bargain at a few pounds; agree the price first). Dinner at a riverside Khmer or street-food spot.

🚌Giant Ibis / Mekong Express bus ~£12–15

🛏Phnom Penh riverside guesthouse or hostel (~£12–20)

• →Sleeping or seated bus Siem Reap–Phnom Penh
• →Cyclo tour of the city centre
• →Riverside dinner

The serious day. Ride a tuk-tuk out to Choeung Ek (Killing Fields), around 30 minutes south of town (~£6–8 return, entry ~£5 including the excellent audio guide). Return to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21), the former school turned prison (entry ~£5, audio guide ~£3). Doing these independently with the audio guides is genuinely as informative as a group tour. Free afternoon — wander the Russian Market, take a riverfront walk, or visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. Eat well: Phnom Penh's street food and cafés are cheap and good.

🚌Tuk-tuk between sites ~£6–8

🛏Phnom Penh riverside guesthouse or hostel (~£12–20)

• →Choeung Ek (Killing Fields) with audio guide
• →Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21) with audio guide
• →Russian Market and Royal Palace stroll

Check out and head to the airport for your onward flight, or continue your own route — Phnom Penh is a good launch point for Kampot, Kep or the Mekong at Kratie. Tuk-tuk to the airport is a few pounds. If you have hours to spare, a last coffee and breakfast by the river costs almost nothing before you go.

🚌Tuk-tuk to airport ~£4

🛏—

• →Airport transfer
• →Optional onward travel to Kampot / Kep / Kratie