Seven days is enough for Cambodia's classic loop if you do not try to add every island and province to it. This itinerary does Phnom Penh properly, travels once, gives Angkor three unhurried temple days, and ends with a slow day instead of a sprint to the airport. Every leg links to the detailed guide for that place.
Last updated: October 26, 2026
By Sophea Khim · Host & Editor, Wander CambodiaDays 1–2: Phnom Penh. Day 3: travel to Siem Reap. Days 4–6: Angkor (small circuit, sunrise + grand circuit, Banteay Srei / rest). Day 7: slow Siem Reap morning, depart. Enter on the right visa — see visa on arrival and the free e-Arrival card — and remember Thailand land borders are closed, so any Thailand leg is a flight.
Start with the Phnom Penh in 2 days guide: Royal Palace and riverside on day one, Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields on day two with time to decompress after — do not stack the heavy history into a rushed hour. Evenings are for the riverside and a proper dinner, not a second museum. Arriving at the new airport? Our Techo International Airport (KTI) guide walks you from the gate to town.
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Choose once, and book the leg that fits your budget: the full comparison is in Phnom Penh → Siem Reap: bus, flight or boat. Bus is about 5–6 hours; flying is faster in the air but SAI airport sits 45–50 km from Siem Reap town, so door-to-door the gap shrinks. On arrival, buy your Angkor Pass late in the afternoon if you can — the day-before trick gives you sunset entry and a queue-free sunrise start.
Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm — in that order, with a long lunch out of the midday heat. This is the day from our Siem Reap & Angkor guide: hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day (typically $15–25 for the small circuit) and agree the total before you set off, as in our tuk-tuks and Grab guide.
Leave town by about 4:30am for sunrise at Angkor Wat, stay inside while the crowd leaves for breakfast, then loop the grand circuit in the cooler hours. Early bed tonight — two dawns in a row is how people burn out by day six.
Your 3-day pass (any 3 days in 7) makes this flexible. Head out to pink-sandstone Banteay Srei, revisit a favourite temple slowly, or take the day off entirely for Siem Reap town, a cooking class, and the markets in our food guide: what to eat in Cambodia.
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No temples before a flight. A slow breakfast, one last market run, and a buffer for the 45–60 minute ride to SAI. If you have ten days instead, add Kampot & Kep after Phnom Penh; if you have fourteen, add Koh Rong or Battambang — do not squeeze them into seven.
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Budgets vary wildly by comfort level, but the shape is predictable. Temple costs are fixed: a 3-day Angkor Pass at $62, a tuk-tuk driver at roughly $15–25 a day for the small circuit and somewhat more for Banteay Srei distances, and a licensed guide at around $30–45 a day if you hire one for a day or two. Intercity travel is the swing item: the Phnom Penh–Siem Reap bus is a small fraction of the flight price, and on a seven-day trip most people feel the time saving of one flight more than the saving of a second bus. Food is the pleasant surprise — local meals and market breakfasts cost a few dollars, and a good dinner in either city can still sit in the low teens. For the full picture, read money in Cambodia before you set a daily allowance, and keep a small cash buffer in clean US notes for visas and rural stops where cards mean nothing.
History first, temples last is the default in this itinerary for a reason: Phnom Penh's museums give Angkor its context, and ending at Angkor Wat leaves the biggest impression last. Reverse the loop if your flights demand it — SAI arrivals often do — but protect two things either way: do not schedule Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields on your arrival day, when you are jet-lagged and least able to take them in, and do not schedule a sunrise start the morning after a late intercity arrival. Both mistakes are common, both are avoidable, and both quietly ruin a day people flew a long way for.
One more trade-off: this week deliberately leaves out the coast and islands. Sihanoukville and the Koh Rong ferries deserve two nights minimum and a weather window; bolting them onto day six turns a good week into a transport diary. If islands are non-negotiable, swap out the second Phnom Penh day and day six, accept a tighter Angkor visit, and read our Koh Rong islands guide before you book a ferry — which beach you choose changes the whole stay.
From roughly June to October, build the temple days to start early and forgive afternoon rain: front-load Banteay Srei and the grand circuit into mornings, and keep day six genuinely free as a weather swap day. In November, check whether your dates meet Bon Om Touk — if they do, be in Phnom Penh for at least one festival evening and book that hotel early. Around Khmer New Year in April and Pchum Ben in autumn, intercity buses sell out and many family businesses close; the itinerary still works, but every booking moves earlier.
Seven days covers the classic loop well: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Angkor, plus one slower stop. Five days can do Phnom Penh plus Angkor if you fly between them. Ten to fourteen days lets you add Kampot, Kep or the islands without rushing.
Either works. Starting in Phnom Penh suits most international arrivals at the new Techo International Airport (KTI) and lets Angkor be the finale. Starting in Siem Reap suits arrivals at SAI airport. Pick based on your flights, not habit.
No. Thailand's land borders with Cambodia have been closed since June 2025, so Thailand to Cambodia is fly-only for now. Vietnam and Laos crossings covered on this site remain the overland routes.
The bus takes about 5-6 hours and is far cheaper; the flight is about an hour in the air plus airport time at both ends, and Siem Reap's SAI airport is 45-50 km from town. For a 7-day trip, one flight and one bus ride is a good balance.
Got two weeks instead of one? Our 14-day Cambodia itinerary keeps this backbone and adds Kampot, the islands or Battambang, and a spare day — the version most first-timers wish they had booked.
Short on time? Our 3-day Cambodia itinerary shows the short-trip version.
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