Self-Launched: Cycle Vietnam's Mekong Delta to Cambodia's Angkor Wat

Fly into Tan Son Nhat (SGN). A Grab or metered taxi to District 1 is about 150,000-200,000 VND (~£5-7) — far cheaper than a pre-booked transfer. Check into a budget hotel or hostel in the Pham Ngu Lao / Bui Vien area. Spend the afternoon wandering the old quarter, Ben Thanh Market and the Notre-Dame area, then find a plastic-stool street kitchen for pho or banh mi. Arrange your rental bike tonight (many shops in HCMC hire hardtail MTBs for ~£8-12/day, less for a multi-day deal) or plan to pick one up in My Tho.

🚌Grab/taxi from SGN airport (~£5-7)

🛏Budget hotel/hostel, Pham Ngu Lao (twin/dorm), ~£12-18

• →Self-guided wander of District 1 and Ben Thanh Market
• →Arrange multi-day MTB hire
• →Street-food dinner

Take a local bus or shared minibus from HCMC to My Tho (~2 hours, ~£3-4) — operators leave from Mien Tay bus station. Collect or adjust your bike over coffee, then ride flat canal paths through fruit farms and stilted villages toward Vinh Long (approx. 50-55km). Lunch at a local com tam or pho stall (~£1.50). Cross the Mang Thit brick kilns region — an easy, memorable detour if you have time. Overnight in a Vinh Long guesthouse on or near An Binh island.

🚌Local bus HCMC-My Tho (~£3-4)

🛏Vinh Long guesthouse, twin, ~£10-14

• →Local bus HCMC to My Tho
• →Flat canal-path ride (~54km)
• →Mang Thit brick kilns

Start with a short private sampan through the canals (hire on the spot, ~£5-8/hour shared) past coconut plantations, then ride (~50-52km) through coconut groves and quiet villages toward Can Tho. Terrain is flat and easy. Stop for a market lunch. In the afternoon take a short bus transfer into Can Tho (~£2) and settle into a guesthouse near the riverfront. Evening stroll along the Ninh Kieu waterfront.

🚌Sampan (~£4-6), local bus to Can Tho (~£2)

🛏Can Tho guesthouse near riverfront, twin, ~£12-16

• →Self-hired canal sampan
• →Coconut-grove ride (~52km)
• →Can Tho riverfront evening

Get up early and negotiate a boat trip to Cai Rang Floating Market (self-arranged at the pier, ~£6-8 shared, 2-3 hours). Return, then ride ~60km on quiet roads past orchards and fishing villages as the Delta meets the Gulf of Thailand. Reach Rach Gia by early evening and reward yourself with fresh seafood at the night market (~£4-6).

🚌Self-hired boat (~£6-8)

🛏Rach Gia budget hotel, twin, ~£12-16

• →Cai Rang Floating Market boat trip
• →Ride to Rach Gia (~60km)
• →Rach Gia seafood night market

Take a short local bus (~£2) toward the floodplains, then ride ~60-64km on raised roads to Tra Su Bird Sanctuary. Entry plus a rowing-boat ride through the flooded cajuput forest is ~100,000-150,000 VND (~£4-5). Continue riding to Chau Doc, with Sam Mountain rising above the plain. Overnight in Chau Doc, a culturally rich border town — explore its floating villages and temples on foot in the evening.

🚌Local bus (~£2)

🛏Chau Doc guesthouse, twin, ~£10-14

• →Tra Su Bird Sanctuary entry & boat
• →Floodplain ride (~62km)
• →Chau Doc floating villages

Two options: take the Chau Doc–Phnom Penh speedboat down the Mekong (~4.5 hours, ~£20-25, handles border formalities — check current operating days), or cross overland at the Ha Tien or Chau Doc/Vinh Xuong land border by bus. On arrival in Phnom Penh, check into a guesthouse near the lakefront or riverside. In the afternoon visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (~£8 entry). Dinner is your own — try Khmer BBQ at a riverside restaurant.

🚌Chau Doc-Phnom Penh speedboat or overland bus (~£20-25)

🛏Phnom Penh guesthouse, twin, ~£12-16

• →Mekong speedboat to Phnom Penh
• →Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda
• →Riverside Khmer dinner

Ride out of Phnom Penh on quiet back roads toward Phnom Baset and Oudong Mountain (former royal capital — climb the steps for the view, ~£2 entry). The route mixes tarmac and red-dirt tracks through Longvek and past the Prek Kdam silversmith village, reaching the Tonle Sap River (~60km). Take a local bus/van to Kampong Thom (~£3-4). Find a guesthouse, then eat at a local Khmer family restaurant — fresh fish and fragrant rice.

🚌Local van Phnom Penh-Kampong Thom (~£3-4)

🛏Kampong Thom guesthouse, twin, ~£10-14

• →Self-guided ride to Oudong (~60km)
• →Prek Kdam silversmith village
• →Kampong Thom local dinner

Ride ~60km out via Sambor Prei Kuk, a UNESCO-listed Chenla-era temple complex (~£8 entry) tucked among trees. The route is predominantly off-road with red-dirt tracks. Arrange a transfer toward Preah Khan Kampong Svay (private shared taxi or a hired moto/van, ~£15-25 shared) — the remote jungle temple complex that most tourists never see. Explore its sandstone towers in the late afternoon light, then sleep at a village homestay nearby (~£8-10 with meals negotiable).

🚌Shared private transfer to Preah Khan (~£12-18 shared)

🛏Local village homestay near Preah Khan, ~£8-10

• →Sambor Prei Kuk temple entry
• →Off-road ride (~60km)
• →Preah Khan Kampong Svay temple visit

Wake for sunrise over the temple, then walk the ruins early while it's cool. Ride ~65-70km through rice fields and scattered villages, enjoying nom banh chok (rice noodles with fish curry) at a village stall for breakfast (~£1). Visit a local school or pagoda along the way. Take a local bus or shared van the final stretch into Siem Reap, stopping if you wish at Spean Praptos, a preserved 12th-century stone bridge. Settle into a Siem Reap guesthouse in the Wat Bo or old-market area.

🚌Local bus/van into Siem Reap (~£3-5)

🛏Siem Reap guesthouse, twin, ~£10-15

• →Sunrise at Preah Khan
• →Ride through Cambodian countryside (~70km)
• →12th-century stone bridge stop

Buy your Angkor pass at the ticket office (1-day ~£30, or a 3-day pass ~£50 if you want more time). Ride or hire a remork-moto between sites: start early at Bayon's stone faces, then Ta Prohm, the quieter Ta Nei and Preah Khan, and hike up to Phnom Bok for the hilltop temple and views. This is hard, hot work on a self-arranged schedule — carry plenty of water. Finish at Angkor Wat in late-afternoon light. Farewell dinner in Siem Reap: try fish amok and an Angkor beer (~£6-9).

🚌Own bike or remork-moto between temples (~£8-12)

🛏Siem Reap guesthouse, twin, ~£10-15

• →Angkor temple circuit (Bayon, Ta Prohm, Ta Nei, Preah Khan, Phnom Bok)
• →Angkor Wat afternoon
• →Farewell dinner in Siem Reap

After breakfast, take a shared or private tuk-tuk/remork to Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) (~£5-8). If your flight is later, you can arrange a sunrise return to Angkor Wat independently (day pass valid, remork ~£8-10) before departing.

🚌Remork/taxi to SAI airport (~£5-8)

🛏N/A (departure day)

• →Optional sunrise at Angkor Wat before departure