Angkor Wat Tour From Phnom Penh in One Day

What the Angkor Wat tour from Phnom Penh covers

The drive sets the shape of the day. Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is 320 km, five to six hours in an air-conditioned van with toilet and coffee stops, and the itinerary departs at 4:30 AM to reach Siem Reap around 10:00 AM. That timing works in your favour at the park: the Bayon and Ta Prohm only open at 7:30 AM, so nothing on the list is still shut when you arrive.

Time on the ground is split between three temples and a lunch. Angkor Wat gets about 120 minutes, the Bayon 60 minutes after the group passes through the South Gate of Angkor Thom, and Ta Prohm another 60 minutes. The Khmer lunch included in the price is served during a 30-minute stop at Srah Srang, between the Bayon and Ta Prohm. An English-speaking Angkor guide handles the temples; the driver handles the road.

Several start times exist on the booking page, and they change the ending more than the beginning. The 5:30 AM departure returns to Phnom Penh at 9:30 PM. The 7:30 AM departure returns at 11:30 PM and includes sunset. A 10:30 PM night departure travels by hotel bus, includes sunrise and brings you back the following day at 6:00 PM. Check which one your booking option actually covers before you pack.

The Angkor temple pass is a separate compulsory fee and is not part of this tour. Staff scan the pass at every temple checkpoint, so it stays on you all day; a pass can also be obtained through a tour guide, which is one of the five official channels alongside the website, the app, a kiosk and a staffed counter. Dress for a working religious site: covered shoulders and knees, or you can be refused admission.

Go into this one knowing what it is. Ten hours in a vehicle for four and a half hours of temples is a fair trade only if the capital is your base and you have a single day to spend; weekends and Cambodian public holidays can stretch the return drive further. With two free days, the overnight version of the route is the kinder choice.

The day step by step

1. Phnom Penh 300 min
   Wait in the hotel lobby 10 to 15 minutes before your pickup time; the driver holds a sign with your last name and boards the group about fifteen minutes before departure. Five to six hours of road follow, past rice paddies and roadside towns, with toilet and coffee breaks along the way.
2. Angkor Wat 120 min
   Angkor Wat was built around 1150 under King Suryavarman II, a Hindu temple later taken into Buddhist use, covering around 160 ha behind its moat. Two hours covers the causeway, the five-tower silhouette and the bas-relief galleries of gods and epic scenes.
3. Angkor Thom South Gate
   The South Gate, late 12th to early 13th century, is the best-preserved entrance to the walled city of Angkor Thom. Rows of devas and asuras hold naga balustrades along the approach, under towers 23 m high carved with faces in the Bayon style.
4. Bayon Temple 60 min
   The Bayon was the state temple of Jayavarman VII and carries 37 surviving towers (of an original 54) carrying more than 200 carved faces. Its galleries are lined with bas-reliefs of myth, history and Khmer daily life. The monument opens at 7:30 AM.
5. Srah Srang 30 min
   Lunch stop by the Srah Srang reservoir, where the traditional Khmer meal included in the price is served.
6. Ta Prohm 60 min
   Ta Prohm, late 12th century and also built under Jayavarman VII, was left largely unrestored, so trees and roots sit inside the stonework. Parts of Tomb Raider were filmed here. Like the Bayon, it opens at 7:30 AM.
7. Pub Street
   Pub Street, in central Siem Reap, is where the city's bars, music and restaurants are concentrated. It fits into the day only on the later departures, after the temples and before the drive back.
8. Psar Chaa - Old Market
   The Old Market, Phsar Chas, stands near the riverside a few minutes from Pub Street: produce, food stalls, fabric, silverware and souvenirs along narrow aisles.
9. Phnom Penh 300 min
   The return drive takes around five hours and reaches your hotel in the evening, after dark. Weekends and Cambodian holidays can make it noticeably longer.

What is included

Meeting point and pickup

• Pickup: wait in the hotel lobby for 10 to 15 minutes before your scheduled pickup time. The driver will be holding a sign with your last name.
• Departure: the described itinerary leaves at 4:30 AM and arrives in Siem Reap around 10:00 AM; other booking options start at 5:30 AM, 7:30 AM or 10:30 PM.
• Ages: child 0-11, adult 12+.
• Vehicle: air-conditioned van from Phnom Penh, with the night option travelling by hotel bus.
• Angkor temple pass: not included, and needed for every temple on the itinerary.

Other day trips from Phnom Penh compared

The alternatives on this route differ mainly in how many hours they take out of your night. The 17-hour version keeps the same three temples at a slower pace, the taxi-based day runs 14 to 16 hours, the two-day option splits the drive with a night in Siem Reap, and the 23-hour sunrise trip leaves overnight so you are at Angkor Wat for first light.

Pick on duration and sleep, then check the dates on the page of the one that fits.

Tour details from the operator's listing, checked 27 October 2026. Prices and times can change; the booking page has the current ones.

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Phnom Penh to Siem Reap: coaches, flights and timings

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap: coaches, flights and timings

The Angkor pass: types, counters and how it is checked

The Angkor pass: types, counters and how it is checked

Angkor Thom and the Bayon

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