Siem Reap · Angkor Wat · Cambodia
The honest guide to the temples of Angkor
Sunrise timing, pass prices, the restaurants worth your evenings, and the tours that actually deliver — written like advice from a friend who lives here, updated for 2026.
Explore Siem Reap
Temples of Angkor
Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm, and the rest of the Khmer Empire’s great monuments — with practical detail on passes, dress codes, circuits, and timing.
Tours & Experiences
Sunrise tours, multi-day temple circuits, food tours by tuk-tuk, and adventures beyond the park — the bookings nearly every Siem Reap visitor makes.
Restaurants
From Cambodia’s most celebrated tasting menus to $2 street noodles — where to eat fish amok, beef lok lak, and proper Khmer curry in Siem Reap.
Attractions
Beyond the temples: Phare circus, the floating villages of the Tonlé Sap, world-class museums, and the markets that anchor every evening in town.
Hotels & Resorts
Where to stay in Siem Reap — from the Park Hyatt to riverside boutiques in Wat Bo and pool-villa resorts on the Angkor road.
Shopping & Markets
Psar Chas, the Angkor Night Market, and the artisan workshops — silk, stone carving, and silverwork — that keep Khmer crafts alive.
Travel Guides
Itineraries, seasonal advice, Angkor Pass explainers, and everything else you need to plan a Siem Reap trip that actually goes smoothly.
The Bookings That Make the Trip
All toursNearly every Siem Reap visitor books a tour — these are the ones we would book ourselves.
Angkor Wat Sunrise or Sunset Tour with Guide from Siem Reap
Free cancellation
Booked via Viator
Siem Reap Food Tour By Local
Free cancellation
Booked via Viator
2-Day Angkor Wat With Small, Big Circuit and Banteay Srei Tour
Free cancellation
Booked via Viator
Only in Siem Reap
Editor’s picks — the temples, tables, and evenings that define the city.
Angkor Wat
Sunrise over the reflection pools is the postcard, but the quiet hours after 4pm — golden light on the western causeway, tour groups gone — are when Angkor Wat actually feels sacred.
Bayon
No photograph prepares you for standing on the upper terrace surrounded by faces. Go at 7–8am or after 3pm when the light rakes across the stone.
Ta Prohm
The tree-and-stone embrace is the most photogenic thing in the park. Arrive right at opening or after 4pm — midday queues for the famous root photo can run 20 minutes deep.
Banteay Srei
The carving genuinely is the best in the empire. Go early morning when the pink stone glows and the tour buses haven’t arrived; the site is small enough to see well in an hour.
Angkor Wat Sunrise Small-Group Tour
A guide transforms the Small Circuit from a pile of beautiful stones into a story — and handles the 4:30am logistics so you only have to wake up.
Siem Reap Bites Food Tour by Tuk-Tuk
The fastest way to get over street-food hesitation: someone who eats here every day picks the stalls, explains the dishes, and orders in Khmer.
Where to Stay
Hotel guide
Park Hyatt Siem Reap
Old Market & Pub Street
Walkable luxury: you can stroll to dinner and Pub Street, then retreat behind thick white walls to total calm. The courtyard pool after a temple day is the point of the whole trip.
Jaya House RiverPark
Wat Bo
The service benchmark for all of Cambodia. If your trip has one splurge that is not a tour, make it this.
Viroth’s Hotel
Wat Bo
Consistently one of the highest guest-rated hotels on the planet, a five-minute walk from the Old Market bridge. Design-lovers should look nowhere else first.
Latest Guides
Small Circuit vs Grand Circuit at Angkor: Which to Do (and in What Order)
The Small Circuit has the icons, the Grand Circuit has the atmosphere. What is on each loop, how long they take, which order to run them, and the best sunset spot for each.
Siem Reap with Kids: Temples, Rats, Acrobats, and Staying Cool
Siem Reap is a genuinely great family destination — if you respect the heat and pace the temples. Free entry for under-12s, age limits at Angkor Wat, Phare, hero rats, and the best bike day.
Siem Reap on a Budget: Real Daily Costs at Three Price Points (2026)
What Siem Reap actually costs per day on a shoestring, midrange, and comfortable budget — with the Angkor Pass math, tuk-tuk rates, $1–3 street food, and the money rules nobody explains.
Where to Stay in Siem Reap: The Honest Neighborhood Guide (2026)
Old Market buzz, Wat Bo riverside calm, Angkor-road resorts, or local-feel Sala Kamreuk? A neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to basing yourself in Siem Reap, with our three favorite hotels.
Phare Circus Guide: The Best Evening in Siem Reap
Phare, the Cambodian Circus is the one show in Siem Reap worth planning a whole evening around. What it is, how the 8pm logistics work, and how to build the perfect night before and after.
Angkor Photography Guide: Golden-Hour Spots, Temple by Temple (2026)
Where the light actually falls at Angkor: dawn at the reflection pools, raking light on the Bayon faces, soft overcast at Ta Prohm, and the sunset hierarchy from Pre Rup to Phnom Bakheng.