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How long should you spend in Cambodia? This is one of the first questions that you need to ask if you’re planning a trip to Cambodia. It can be very difficult to work out how long to spend in a country that you have never visited. How long do activities take? How long does it take to travel around the country? What kind of pace should you have? If you only have a fixed number of days, do you have enough time to visit all of the must-see attractions?
Don’t worry! We are here to help. In this article, we’re going to help you work out how long you should spend in Cambodia. We will help you picture different trip lengths and get an idea of what you can achieve in different amounts of time in Cambodia. In this article we will share examples of itineraries of different lengths and also share some tips to help you make the most of your time in Cambodia.
We are basing this article on our own first-hand personal experience of both living in Cambodia and visiting many times over the years. We’ve explored Cambodia in depth and have a very good knowledge of the activities and pace that you will need when you are traveling around this beautiful and unique country. We hope that our experience enables you to make the most of your time in the unique and beautiful country.
Don’t miss our guide – How much does a one week trip to Cambodia cost?
Which country is Best to Travel – Cambodia or Thailand – which country is best to travel?
Time guide – Some popular activities in Cambodia
Here is a time guide for some of the TOP must-see attractions in Cambodia. This is an approximate guide to help give you an idea of how long you need to budget for your top activities & attractions.
- Angkor Wat – one day or three days (two day tickets not available)
- Night markets – one evening
- The floating village – half a day
- ICF wake Park (Siem Reap) – half a day to one full day
- Tuol Sleng (Phnom Penh) – 2 hours
- Killing Fields (Phnom Penh) – 2 hours
- Phnom Kulen Waterfall – 1 day
How long should you stay in Cambodia? Things to consider
If you’re trying to work out how long to spend in Cambodia, you will need to consider a few different factors. Firstly, time availability may be a key factor to you; perhaps you only have a certain amount of time off work. Perhaps you have a larger itinerary in Southeast Asia and you only have a fixed amount of time in Cambodia. Even if you have a fixed amount of time for your trip, we recommend that you keep reading so that you can get an idea of how much you can fit into your time.
If you have some flexibility, you may be wondering how long to stay in Cambodia. On a standard tourist visa, you can stay up to 30 days in the country. This sets a natural maximum length to your visit. Tourists rarely stay the full 30 days, and it is easily possible to see all of the best attractions in Cambodia in much less than 30 days. Before you work out how long to spend in Cambodia, we recommend figuring out the things that you really want to see and do. It is also important to reflect on your own personal needs. If you’re looking for a more relaxed and chilled-out holiday, you will need to plan on a lower pace and either stay longer or see less. On the other hand, you may have a very short trip and you want to pack a lot in. This is also possible.
- Your time availability due to other commitments such as family or work.
- Your budget for the trip and whether you can find affordable accommodation.
- The things that you plan to see and do in Cambodia.
- The pace of your trip, whether it is a fast backpacking trip or a slow relaxing holiday.
- The needs of you and your travel companions; for example, if you’re traveling with kids, you will need to slow down.
Travel time in Cambodia
If you’re trying to work out how long you need to spend in Cambodia, you will need to consider how much you want to travel around Cambodia and how long these journeys will take. If you’re planning to travel around Cambodia, we recommend using the night buses. The night buses in Cambodia are relatively comfortable, and they have fully flat beds so you can actually get a little sleep on the journey. Taking a night bus will also save the cost of one night accommodation. An advantage of taking a night bus is to save travel time since you’re doing your journey overnight, you don’t need to lose any of your time in Cambodia to transit around the country.
Night buses in Cambodia are also very cheap, with tickets typically costing around $10 – $20. You can take night buses between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, and also between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. There are no night buses running between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. It is also not possible to take a night bus between Siem Reap and Bangkok.
If you are planning to travel in or out of Cambodia overland from Bangkok, you will need to allow at least one full day for this journey. You can do this journey relatively cheaply by bus, and the journey is generally fairly smooth. However, the journey between Siem Reap and Bangkok often takes 8 – 10 hours overland. When you are planning your trip, we also recommend that you consider the amount of time you will need to recover from your journey. If possible, we recommend taking a day or two to rest and get over jet lag or to recover from your travels before you explore Cambodia.
Is 3 days long enough to enjoy Cambodia?
In our opinion, the minimum meaningful trip length to Cambodia is 3 days. Of course, it is possible to spend less time in Cambodia than this (for example, some people may only spend a day if they are doing a Visa run from a neighboring country). However, if you are hoping to see some attractions and connect with Cambodian culture, you will need at least 3 days in Cambodia. If you only have 3 days to visit Cambodia, we recommend sticking to one destination.
In our opinion, Siem Reap is the most interesting destination in Cambodia, so if you only have a short stay, we recommend getting yourself over to Siem Reap. There are some disadvantages to taking a short 3-day trip to Cambodia; for example, it will take some time to adjust, acclimatize, and rest from your journey. If you only have 3 days in Cambodia, a relatively large proportion of your travel time will be spent in transit. Or, to put it another way, your 3-day trip will feel relatively small compared to the amount of time you spend traveling to and from Cambodia.
Example of a 3 day itinerary (Siem Reap)
Don’t miss our FULL and in-depth 3 day itinerary for Siem Reap
- Day 1 Sunrise & explore Angkor Wat & Visit the Night Markets
- Day 2 Morning Market & Visit an Authentic Floating Village
- Day 3 Take a Traditional Cooking Class & Visit the Wake Park
What can you do with 5 days in Cambodia?
5 days in Cambodia is still a relatively short trip. If you only have 5 days to visit Cambodia, we still recommend that you stay in one destination. We recommend focusing on Siem Reap. With 5 days in this area, you can explore in more depth and do some more activities compared to the three-day trip we have suggested. Having 5 days in Siem Reap will also give you time to slow down, relax, and immerse yourself in the experience. If you have 5 days in Siem Reap, you can explore in more depth, take a visit to the rural villages, and get off the beaten track. There is also time to discover some of the beautiful hidden gems around Siem Reap. You may also want to consider a longer Angkor Wat pass (for example, the 3-day pass).
Example of a 5 day itinerary (Siem Reap)
- Day 1 Explore Angkor Wat
- Day 2 Visit an authentic Floating Village & the Night Markets
- Day 3 Morning Market & Take a Traditional Cooking Class
- Day 4 Explore the villages by bicycle
- Day 5 Visit the Wake Park & Get a massage
What can you do with one week in Cambodia?
If you have a full week to visit Cambodia, you can start to travel around the country and see and experience more destinations. For example, we have written a full and detailed article on a one-week itinerary which includes Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and Koh Rong Sanloem. This is a very high-paced and intense itinerary. One week is around the minimum amount of time you need if you want to explore more than one destination in Cambodia.
If you’re looking for a slightly more relaxed and chilled-out version of this itinerary, you could either cut out Phnom Penh or Koh Rong Sanloem and keep it to only two destinations. One week in Cambodia is genuinely enough to see all of the best bits; however, you may need to have a pretty high-paced trip and that will not be a lot of time to slow down, relax, and immerse yourself in the experience. So if you are able to stay a little longer in Cambodia, this is a good idea.
Example of a one week itinerary (Cambodia)
Check out this Epic Action-packed One Week Itinerary for Cambodia
- Day 1 Sunrise & explore Angkor Wat & Visit the Night Markets
- Day 2 Visit an authentic Floating Village & Visit the Wake Park
- Day 3 Take a Traditional Cooking Class & Night bus to Phnom Penh
- Day 4 Visit Tuol Sleng, the Killing Fields & and Royal Palace
- Day 5 Bus to Sihanoukvill & boat to Koh Rong Sanloem
- Day 6 Enjoy Koh Rong Sanloem
- Day 7 Boat to Sihanoukville & Night bus to Siem Reap
10 days in Cambodia
In our opinion, 10 days is the optimum amount of time to spend in Cambodia. If you have less than 10 days, you will either need to cut things out or you will need to have a very high-paced trip. However, if you have a full 10 days in Cambodia, you can visit all of the best destinations and also take time to see and do all of the best bits. If you have 10 days in Cambodia, there is enough time to enjoy Siem Reap. You can also spend some time in Phnom Penh and the beautiful islands in the south (we particularly recommend Koh Rong Sanloem). With 10 days in Cambodia, we recommend focusing more of your time on Siem Reap and the surrounding area; alternatively, you could spend more time on the islands. We only recommend spending one or two days in Phnom Penh.
Example of a 10 day itinerary (Cambodia)
- Day 1 Sunrise & explore Angkor Wat & Visit the Night Markets
- Day 2 Visit an authentic Floating Village & Visit the Wake Park
- Day 3 Take a Traditional Cooking Class & Night bus to Phnom Penh
- Day 4 Visit Tuol Sleng, the Killing Fields & see the Mekong
- Day 5 Visit the Royal Palace & Wat Phnom Daun Penh
- Day 6 Bus to Sihanoukvill & boat to Koh Rong Sanloem
- Day 7 – 9 Enjoy Koh Rong Sanloem (climb, trek, snorkel, swim, dive or sunbathe & relax)
- Day 10 Boat to Sihanoukville & Night bus to Siem Reap
Longer trips (2 weeks or more)
If you have more than 10 days to explore Cambodia, we recommend slowing down and getting off the beaten track. With a longer trip, you can take time to slow down and rest. It is also nice to be able to return to things that you have enjoyed; for example, you may find a particular spot where they do a very good massage and you go back a few times, or you may find a place that you love to eat and you want to keep going back. This is the advantage of really slowing down and taking longer to enjoy Cambodia.
Remember, it is possible to stay up to 30 days on a tourist visa, so if you have a good deal on your accommodation and you have the time to spare, slowing down in Cambodia can be a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. We have lived in Cambodia for many years, and we have also taken several longer trips to this beautiful country. The Cambodian culture is warm, friendly, and welcoming, and there are plenty of awesome things to see and do. Staying in Cambodia is very affordable, especially if you eat local food. It is also a great place to meet other travelers and make friends.
