Angkor Pass Guide: Prices, Where to Buy & How to Use It

One pass, three prices, and a lot of confusing old advice online. This page is the short, current version: what the Angkor Pass costs in 2026, where the only valid places to buy it are, what it does and does not cover, and the timing tricks that save you a dawn queue and a wasted day.

Last updated: October 26, 2026 · Prices checked against Angkor Enterprise listings in October 2026

Prices and validity, plainly

Pass	Price	Validity	Best for
1 day	$37	That day only	One dawn-to-dusk highlights sprint
3 days	$62	Any 3 days within 7 days	Most first visits — with a rest day built in
7 days	$72	Any 7 days within 30 days	Slow travel, photographers, repeat visits

$2 from every pass goes to the Kantha Bopha children's hospitals. Children under 12 enter free — bring proof of age. Foreign residents who have lived in Cambodia for two years or more may qualify for a separate free annual pass; apply with passport proof rather than assuming it at the gate.

Where to buy — and where not to

There are exactly three valid routes: the official Angkor Enterprise online portal, the ticket office on Road 60 on the way to the park, and official self-service kiosks in Siem Reap. Your photo is taken / uploaded and printed on the pass.

Do not buy from a reseller, a hotel desk markup, or a lookalike website. Angkor Enterprise has warned in 2026 about fraudulent sites selling fake tickets. A cheaper “discount pass” does not exist — pricing is set, and a fake pass fails at the first checkpoint. That warning is also why our Cambodia scams guide tells you to pay only at official counters for entry and visas.

What the pass covers — and what costs extra

The pass covers the main Angkor Archaeological Park temples: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Bayon, Ta Prohm, the small and grand circuits, Banteay Srei, and the Roluos group, among others. Checkpoints open at 5:00am; most temples run roughly 7:30am–5:30pm, with Angkor Wat open from 5:00am for sunrise and its upper Bakan level on stricter hours.

Separate tickets apply at some outlying sites. Recent listings price Beng Mealea at $10, Koh Ker at $15, and Phnom Kulen at around $20. Those prices can change — confirm at the ticket office on the day, and budget them separately from the pass. Boat trips on Tonlé Sap are also separate and vary by operator; agree the total before you board.

The two timing tricks worth knowing

1. Buy the day before for sunrise. A pass bought after about 4:45pm is generally stamped for the next day and lets you in that evening for sunset without burning a day.
2. Use the non-consecutive days. On a 3-day pass, do temples, take a pool / town / Phnom Penh break day, then return — heat and temple fatigue are real, and the pass rewards pacing.

Rules that get people turned away

• Dress code: shoulders and knees covered, enforced — strictest at the Bakan upper level, which also closes on Buddhist holy days and does not admit under-12s.
• Keep the pass on you: it is checked repeatedly, not just at the main gate.
• No sharing: photo ID pass, non-transferable.

For what to wear and carry in the heat, see best sunscreen for Cambodia and buy before you fly. A guided day can add a lot of context to the carvings:

Book an Angkor sunrise small-group tour →

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Which pass should you actually buy?

One day in Siem Reap? 1-day, start at dawn, small circuit only. Two to four nights? 3-day — it is $25 more than a single day and removes every hard choice. A week or returning later in the month? 7-day at $72 is only $10 above the 3-day and is the best value in the park. When in doubt, buy longer: upgrading mid-trip is not the system — a second pass is.

A worked example: three temple days, done well

Here is how the 3-day pass usually plays out for a first-timer who follows the pacing advice in our Siem Reap guide. Day one is the small circuit at a normal hour — no dawn alarm on your first day in the heat. You see Angkor Wat with a guide or a good plan, walk the Bayon faces at Angkor Thom while the light is still kind, and finish at Ta Prohm before the worst of the afternoon. Day two is the sunrise day: pass already in hand from the day-before purchase, out of town by 4:30am, sunrise at the ponds, the temple itself while the breakfast crowd is gone, then the grand circuit's quieter temples — Preah Khan's corridors and Ta Som's single face tower — at a stroll rather than a march. Day three is the choice day, and the non-consecutive window is what makes it valuable: take a rest day in between if the heat wins, then use the final day for Banteay Srei's pink sandstone carving in the morning and one beloved temple revisited in late light. Three days, zero wasted motion, and no day that ends with you too tired to enjoy dinner.

Compare that with the 1-day sprint: the same highlights, but every decision is forced, the midday heat is non-negotiable, and a single rainy morning can erase a third of your only day. The $25 step up to three days is not upsell — it is insurance against weather, fatigue and the simple fact that Angkor is bigger than anyone pictures it. The park covers some 400 square kilometres including forest and reservoirs; nobody “does” it in a day, they sample it. A longer pass lets the sample become an experience.

Money and practical notes

Passes are priced in US dollars, the currency Cambodia runs on alongside riel for small change — our money in Cambodia guide explains the dual-currency habit and ATM fees so the ticket office is not your first surprise. Keep small notes for tuk-tuk drivers and water stops, carry the pass somewhere it will not be crushed or soaked in rainy season, and photograph it as a backup record (the photo copy will not replace a lost pass at a checkpoint, but it speeds up every conversation about one). If a checkpoint queue looks long, be patient and keep the pass out and ready — checks are routine, quick, and the same for everyone.

Finally, a word on expectations for the Bakan, Angkor Wat's upper level: it is the one part of the park with its own stricter regime — limited numbers, a firm dress code, closure on Buddhist holy days, and no entry for children under 12. Build it into a morning rather than making it the whole plan for a day, and you will never be disappointed by a closure you could not have predicted from town.

Planning around the seasons? Our best time to visit Angkor Wat page answers when to come and how many days to allow.