Road Trip Cambodia

Road Trip - Cambodia

Only 405€ per week!

Explore the best of Cambodia by going on an adventurous road trip taking you to floating villages,  learning about Buddhism and more!

Enjoy amazing activities, social programs, a stay in authentic rural village, learn about Buddhism, visit Angkor Wat, learn Khmer Rouge history in Phnom Penh, enjoy the beautiful beaches at Kampot province, Kep province and the Rabbit Island. This unique 30-day adventure will give you an experience of a lifetime!

Culture
Learning
Leisure
Community Engagement
Physical Demand





Program Description

This four week long road trip will show you the best of this Southeast Asian country. Not only will you visit well-known places in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Kampot province, Kep province and the Rabbit Island (which cannot be missed on a tour through Cambodia!), but you will also experience the traditional culture of the countryside. Whilst visiting and participating in local community projects, sleeping in rural villages and coming into close contact with the locals, this will be a truly life-changing experience that will bring you closer to the people and culture of Cambodia. The road trip consists of four weeks, each with a different theme and setting.

Week 1: Culture Week

Culture week is designed to introduce you to the culture and pace of Cambodian life. You will get to know your town and its facilities as well as everything required to make your stay comfortable.

You will also be given basic "survival" language classes, as well as learn traditional Cambodian cooking techniques (sampling your work as you go!).

Cambodia is arguably most famous for its glorious and magnificent temples. Samraong is no exception and you will be taken to the finest temples in the area. We also carefully arrange a Q&A session with monks to enhance your understanding of Buddhism.

The rural town of Samraong is where you will live during the culture week. The relaxed and slow paced way of life is sure to leave a mark on all travelers. You will have maximum interaction possible with local people, and they will be keen to learn about your culture too.

Week 2: Village Experience

Get stuck into one of our rewarding projects, either farming or social-work based depending on the season. During rainy season, you can try ploughing, rice planting, dam building, grass cutting in the rice fields, rice sowing and harvesting.

You will soon realize that you have nurtured a close bond with, and are a welcomed member of your homestay family as you share meals with and assist them in their daily routine. You have the chance to help them with making chicken/duck huts, build fences, constructing toilets, planting trees or repairing damaged areas of their home and bathing spaces. What could be a better way to get to know and understand a culture than to live as a part of it?

Week 3: Central Cambodian Tour

Explore some inspiring temples including Bayon Temple, Taprom Temple adorned with trees and once a library for the ancients, Angkor Wat (the largest Khmer temple complex in the entire world).

There will be a relaxing boat trip during which you shall see some incredible floating villages. After this, you will visit the Cheung Ek Killing Fields notorious for its display of human skulls. Then on to visit the exquisite Royal Palace and the National Museum: Cambodia’s largest museum of cultural history and the country’s leading historical and archaeological museum. All of this is topped off by a trip to the beautiful places of Kampot province, Kep province and beach of Rabbit Island.

Week 4: Beach Week

Soak up the golden rays of sunshine as you unwind, reflect upon and contemplate your experiences of the last three weeks. Travel to the tourist attractive places in Kampot, Kep and relax, read, swim in the sparkling ocean Rabbit Island.

Aims & Objectives

  • Offer you a complete experience of Cambodia in 4 weeks
  • Help you get familiar with your local surroundings
  • Teach you helpful phrases in the local language
  • Give you a unique experience giving back to the community while you learn about local culture

Schedule

Week 1: Culture week

Monday

  • Breakfast
  • Introduction to The organisation, House rules, Health and Safety Advice and handling of documents
  • Khmer Do's and Don'ts, Khmer Culture Lessons and Khmer Language Lessons.
  • Tour around the compound and local area; where to find local shops
  • Lunch
  • Visit old market, super markets, bank, ATM , Sim-card if necessary.
  • Excursion to Wat Preah Prom Rath and  Wat Thmey, a small pagoda
  • Dinner
  • Evening at Pub Street and the night market, the liveliest area of Siem Reap

Tuesday

  • Breakfast
  • Excursion to a silk farm and West Baray, a popular place for swimming
  • Lunch
  • Visit to the Museum of War dedicated to the Civil War, guided by ex-soldiers
  • Explore Artisant D’Angkor, a craft shop that brings ancient Khmer arts and crafts back to life
  • Khmer massage salon
  • Dinner

Wednesday

  • Breakfast
  • Depart for Samraong
  • Lunch
  • Introduction to The organisation, House rules, Health and Safety Advice and handling of documents
  • Walk around and discover the local rural Cambodian village
  • Dinner

Thursday

  • Breakfast
  • Visit the rural Greenway School, built from scratch over the years by previous participants
  • Tour around Samraong and visit surrounding villages
  • Lunch
  • Cambodian cooking lesson
  • Dinner

Friday

  • Breakfast
  • Excursion to the local temple: assist the monks with the chores
  • Discussion and Q&A about Buddhism with a local monk
  • Lunch
  • Free time all afternoon to relax
Overnight stay at our center in Samraong

Week 2: Village Experience

Sunday

  • Bruch
  • Travel to the village by taxi in the afternoon. Arrive at the homestay in the village and get to know each other in the family.
  • Dinner at the homestay.

Monday

  • The coordinator will talk to you and introduce you to the village life in Cambodia. You will learn how natives and inhabitants of the area make a living, etc.
  • Visit local market, visit Banteay Chmar Temple, Visit Mebon temple and long wooden bridge.
  • Dinner at the center

Tuesday to Thursday

  • Community work all day. The activities for the day depend entirely on the needs of the village at the time as well as the season. From May to November, work in the fields takes priority because it is the rainy season, but from December to April, hardly any time is spent in the fields at all as it is dry. During the wet season, you will engage in activities such as ploughing, planting rice, building dams to control water flow, cutting grass in the rice fields, sowing rice and harvesting. You will work directly with one family in particular, helping to make chicken/duck huts, building fences, planting trees, constructing toilets and repairing damaged areas of the house or bathing space, etc.

Friday

  • After working through the morning, you will have lunch with the family and then return to the center in Samrong.
Overnight stay in our center in Samraong.

Week 3: Central Cambodia Tour (Siem Reap + Phnom Penh)

Sunday

  • Brunch
  • Leave Samraong for Siem Reap
  • Check in at Siem Reap Centre and dinner

Monday

  • Breakfast
  • Visit floating village
  • Back to the Siem Reap Centre
  • Dinner
  • Head to pub street and the night market
Overnight stay at Siem Reap Centre

Tuesday

  • Breakfast
  • Explore Bayon Temple
  • Visit Taprom Temple, adorned with trees and once a library for the ancients
  • Wander around the famous Angkor Wat, the largest Khmer temple complex in the entire world
  • Lunch at Angkor Wat
  • Back to Siem Reap Centre
  • Dinner at Siem Reap Centre
Overnight stay at Siem Reap Centre

Wednesday

  • Breakfast at the guest house
  • Leave to Phnom Penh
  • Lunch on the way to Phnom Penh
  • Arrive at Phnom Penh
  • Dinner at the guest house
Overnight stay at guesthouse in Phnom Penh

Thursday

  • Breakfast
  • Visit the biggest killing field under the Pol Pot regime (Cheung Ek) where you will see thousands of stacked human skulls belonging to the thousands of victims killed here, as well as some mass graves. Watch a short movie on the Pol Pot regime
  • Visit Tuol Sleng genocide museum, which used to be a high school before Pol Pot transformed it into a prison where soldiers imprisoned and tortured victims prior to their deaths at the Killing Field
  • Back to the guest house
Overnight stay at guesthouse in Phnom Penh

Friday

  • Breakfast
  • Visit the Royal Palace, the National Museum and some markets
Overnight stay at guesthouse in Phnom Penh

Saturday

  • Brunch
  • Leave Phnom Penh to Kampot
  • Dinner in Kampot

Week 4: Beach Week

Sunday

  • Free Day
  • Brunch
  • Dinner

Monday

  • Breakfast
  • Visit Bokor Mountain
  • Lunch at Bokor Mountain
  • Back to Kampot
  • Dinner on the boat along the river

Tuesday

  • Breakfast
  • Visit pepper plantation
  • Lunch
  • Visit Mangrove conservation project
Dinner and overnight stay at mangrove conservation project

Wednesday

  • Breakfast
  • Leave for Koh Tonsay
  • Lunch at Koh Tonsay
  • Relax at the beach
  • Dinner

Thursday

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

Friday

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

Saturday

  • Breakfast
  • Departure to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap

   Note:   This schedule can be changed and/or amended depending on weather conditions, local conditions and unforeseen circumstances.

Participant Criteria & Requirements

Standard Requirements

Minimum age:

Maximum age:

Minimum English level: Basic

CRB required: On Signup

Passport copy required: No

Resume copy required: No

Required qualification: None

Additional Requirements

There are no further requirements for this program.

Additional Equipment

  • Towel
  • Sleeping bag

Location

A route from Siem Reap to the best places in Cambodia. We are covering a lot of land during these weeks where we’ll pass several temples and beautiful sceneries. Some major stops along the road is Samraong, Phnom Penh and the amazing city Sihanoukville.

About the Accommodation

During your travels, you will stay at various guesthouses as well as our center in Samraong. For a few days, you will also get a taste of the lifestyle of rural Cambodia by staying in a villager’s home and live in very basic conditions.

Rooms in the guesthouses will be single-gender in either twin or dorm style. All are comfortable and clean with adequate toilet and bathroom facilities.

Please bring sleeping bags as these will not be provided. Hand washing your clothes will be a necessity at times.

Food Arrangements

All typical Cambodian dishes will be served unless you eat out as specified.

Facilities

Throughout the program you will have access to the standard facilities, ATMs, shops and restaurants etc.

Activities & Events

No scheduled activities outside the program.

Sights & Surroundings

You will be on a tight schedule.

Transportation

From this location we do not provide free transport to other locations.

Quick Facts

Name: Kingdom of Cambodia

Population: 15.14

Capital: Phnom Penh

Language: Khmer

Currency: Riel (KHR)

Time zone: UTC +7

Country Information

Once known as the Khmer empire, Cambodia is perhaps best known for its monumental temples, especially that of Angkor Wat – finalist in the election of the new 7 wonders of the world in 2006. It is without doubt a country of incredible beauty, scattered with these temples, fertile rice fields and a rich and interesting history. For this reason it is unsurprising that Cambodia has taken a firm place on the tourist map. Having been a protectorate of France for almost 100 years, the country gained its independence in 1953. Following this however, Cambodia experienced years of civil war, turmoil and political corruption, as well as suffering from its involvement in the Vietnam war.

Despite holding this dark history, Cambodia really is an extraordinary country and has prevailed due to what has been described as the unbreakable spirit of the Cambodian people. The people here are known for their friendliness and their smiles.

Climate

Cambodia has monsoon climate with temperatures ranging from 21°C – 35°C (The average year-round temperature is 27.7°C). Its monsoon season spans from May  – October, whilst dry season lasts from November to December . Dry season is the most popular time to visit however rainy season can be incredibly beautiful in Cambodia due to the richer colours that it causes. The rain also can help to make temperatures more pleasant. Post-monsoon season is also a favourite time to visit because of the stunning green countryside

Whilst temperatures do not vary hugely, during the winter the northern parts of the country can be colder.

Culture

Buddhism is an important aspect of Khmer cultural and is practiced by 95% of the Cambodian population.

Gastronomy

In true Asian style, the staple food in Cambodia is rice whilst fish from the Mekong river plays another major part in Khmer cuisine. You can also expect to find use of noodles, soups, stir-fries, curries and salads and so there is something to suit everyone’s taste. The french colonial influence can even be seen in the use of toasted baguette with Cambodian red curry.

It has to be said that the Cambodian cuisine is relatively unknown compared to that of Thailand and Vietnam.

Transportation

Taxi

Taxis are becoming increasingly popular in Cambodia however there are still very few metered taxis, especially anywhere outside of Phnom penh.

Cyclo

This are a cheap and practical way to get around in towns/cities. In Phnom Penh, drivers can be flagged down on main roads or found waiting around markets and hotels. You should expect to bargain and set a price before the journey.

Moto

Motorcycle taxis are a quick and cheap way to get around in a city. Prices may rise at night and like the cyclo, you should expect to bargain and agree on a price before the journey. It should be noted that Cyclo/moto drivers may speak little to no English.

Rotei Ses

Cart rides are common in the more remote/rural parts of Cambodia

Bus

Whilst Cambodia has no train service, buses provide a good alternative for the longer distance journeys/ travel into neighbouring countries.

Flight

Commercial flights connect the main tourist areas in Cambodia

https://youtube.com/watch?v=T9m9H9ZuORc

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