Everything you need to know: Booking a Tour of Angkor Wat

Seeing the monumental temples of Angkor is a must for anyone visiting Cambodia.  Booking a tour of Angkor Wat is the best way to explore the temples. 

Some of the links in this post contain affiliate links. What does that mean you ask? I may earn a small commission, but you won’t pay any extra. These links also help fund and support my page.

Why should you book a tour of Angkor?

Joining a group (or private) guided tour is the best way for a first time visitor to learn the history of Angkor and see the most popular sites.  This is especially true for solo travelers, as it is a great way to meet other travelers. 

The tours will take you to the most famous temples, but also some you may not know to visit otherwise. 

Solo traveler bonus: If you a traveling alone, your guide will offer to take additional photos of you at the temples. My guide in particular went above and beyond making sure I had photos and even took some unique ones as well.

What is included on a tour of Angkor?

When you book a tour of Angkor, it will include a driver and tour guide. They will pick you up from your hotel (or a designated location) in an air conditioned van or bus.  There will also usually be water and cool towers given during the day. This is helpful as Cambodia is very hot, and very humid. Your tour will not include entry tickets into the temples. You must purchase tickets ahead of time, or at entry to any other museums (such as the Landmine Museum) that you may visit.  Food and gratuity is also not included with the price of the tour. 

While tips are generally not required in Cambodia or SE Asia, it is a nice gesture to tip your tour guide and driver, especially if you have a full day tour or multiple day tour.  Tips can be paid in Cambodian Riel or US Dollars. 

What to expect from a group tour

Most tours of Angkor will either be a single day or 2-day tours. You’ll have a full 8+ our day day(s) of exploring temples.  A single day tour will only hit the major highlights, whereas a 2 day tour of Angkor will take you to some of the secondary temples in addition to the most famous temples.  Another benefit of the 2 day tour, is you will have fewer groups at the other temples than you will find at Angkor Wat, Bayon, etc. because those sites get both single and two day tours. 

A single day tour will likely have (3) temples, plus a stop for food. 

2 Day tour of Angkor itinerary 

This is based on the tour that I purchased through Viator.  To read more about each temple, read 8th Wonder of the World: The Temples of Angkor Wat

Day 1

• Your tour company will pick you up at your hotel between 730-815am.
• Pre Rup Temple – spend an hour learning the history of the temples and exploring.  
• Neak Poan Temple – you’ll have an hour here to explore, use the restrooms and shop from local vendors
• Preah Khan Temple – you’ll have an hour here to explore
• Lunch – The tour company will take your group to a tour restaurant.  There will be other tour groups there as well. The food was pretty good for a tourist spot. You will have to pay for food out of pocket.  The restaurant we went to accepted credit cards. 
• Banteay Srei Temple – this is the final temple of the day.  Roughly 45 minutes to explore
• Cambodia Landmine Museum – this was an add on at the end of our day.  Here you will learn about the tragic history of war and genocide that shrouded Cambodia from the 1960s through late 1970s. 
• Drop off at your hotel between 530-615pm

Day 2 – Sunrise viewing

• Your tour company will pick you up at your hotel between 4-430am.
• Angkor Wat –
  • you will walk through the temple grounds in the dark (you will be given small flashlights). There will be a brief history as you walk through the entry gates and get in your position at the reflecting pool.  Here you will wait about an hour before the sunrise begins.  The earlier the tour starts the easier it is to guarantee a good spot for photos.
    • Bring layers for the morning chill and ideally something you don’t mind sitting on the ground (plastic bag, towel, small blanket) while you wait.  
    • I recommend bringing a travel tripod to ensure you get clear (not fuzzy) photos with a longer exposure. 
  •  After the sunrise you will have time for more photos in front of the main temple structure before entering.  You’ll tour the interior, and have a chance to climb one of the towers before heading out.  
  • Expect to spend almost 4 hours at Angkor Wat between the sunrise and tour time.
• Breakfast – you will go to a (different) restaurant for breakfast around 9am. Here you can order food or coffee.
  • Your tour guide will suggest on day 1 that you order the “breakfast box” from your hotel to take with you.  I cannot stress this enough.  The breakfast box sucks. You will pay $5-10 for 2 hard boiled eggs, some stale toast and a tiny banana. You’re better off ordering from the restaurant for the same amount of money (or less). 
• Ta Prohm Temple – Here there will be some photo shoot opportunities and over an hour to explore the site. 
• Bayon – The last temple of the tour.  This one is the shortest visit at only 45 minutes.
• Angkor Thom South Gate – Before you head back to Siem Reap the bus will stop for one last restroom break, or for you to take photos of the city wall entrance. 
• Drop off at your hotel by 1pm. 

I recommend this group tour through Viator which costs roughly $40-50 depending on date and availability. 

Should you book a sunrise or sunset tour? 

There are pros and cons to both.  You’ll find most 2 day tour options include the sunrise at Angkor rather than a sunset.  If you really want to get the most out of your time with a tour of Angkor you should do a 2 day tour.  While there are a lot of people at the sunrise tour, there is something kind of fun about the shared experience of seeing the sunrise with this group of strangers. 

However, if you only have a single day then I would suggest finding one with a sunset tour at Angkor Wat, not Angkor Thom.  The sunset at Angkor Wat is exceptionally beautiful to see the buildings highlighted in the golden shades of the fading sun with the cotton candy sky in the background. 

Visiting Angkor without a tour

Another option is instead of a tour of Angkor you can visit on your own.  There are pros and cons to this. 

• Your only timetable is when the sites open or close.
  • Also to note, the group tours have earlier access to sites like Angkor Wat for sunrise than the general public.  Even if you want to do a sunrise on your own, you will not be able to enter as early as a tour. 
• You can go to as many or as few temples as you choose. 
• There is no organized transportation, you will have to find your own way to the temples.  This can mean hiring a car or tuk tuk for the day (or a few hours) or taking a bike. 

If you have 3 days in Siem Reap, and plan to sign up for a 2 day tour, you can also spend part of your third day at the temples as you will have to purchase a 3 day pass. I went back to Bayon and Angkor Wat on my final day and saw the most magical sunset at Angkor Wat.  It was worth the cost to get a driver for a few hours.  The benefit also is you don’t have a tour guide or group waiting on you, so i could stay until the last few minutes as the staff walked everyone out of the site. 

Additional posts on Cambodia: