There are very few moments during your travel experiences where you feel extremely insignificant, but in a good way. During your trip to the beautiful ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, we guarantee you will feel both small, and completely awestruck at the beauty that surrounds you. This is our full Angkor Wat travel guide
If you have the chance to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World, that in itself is something to look forward to. The both of us both feel that this very special place has the ability to completely transport you into a different time. We have visited Angkor Wat now on two different occasions and feel as though we ‘know the ropes’ enough to hopefully share with you some of our tips and our guide to visiting these amazing ruins!
HOW MANY DAYS?
The question that most people ask is how many days does it take to see these magnificent ruins? Can you truly see them all in just one day? The short answer is not fully, however if money is a constraint, then you can definitely hit the main temples in just one day. That being said, you won’t see them all and you will be slightly rushing through your day!
As of today, the cost to visit Angkor Wat for one day is $37 USD. For a 3 day pass, it will cost you $62 USD. The pricing works this way in an effort to encourage tourists to take their time and spend a full three days at the temples. For us, we choose the single day option. That being said, had this not been our second time, we probably would have purchased the 3 day passes!
Angkor Wat Travel Guide
TIME OF DAY
The time of day in which you choose to visit Angkor Wat can play heavily on the experience as a whole. There are essentially three main times that people visit. Sunrise, Mid-day, or Sunset.
Sunrise: The first time we visited the both of us woke up at 3am to catch this beautiful temple for sunrise. There is just something extremely magical about watching the sun rise over the top of the ruins. You get to see it come to life! That being said, be prepared to be surrounded by hundreds…and we mean hundreds of others doing the same thing! Sunrise is the most popular time of day to visit, which is surprising considering that most of the time waking up at sunrise almost always guarantees having the place to yourself anywhere else!
Mid-day: Even though you are likely to be arriving during the peak heat of the day, this is actually an extremely overlooked time of day to visit! The second time around, we arrived around noon and were pleasantly surprised by how empty it was! You see, when people wake up to arrive at 4am, they max out and are typically done touring the temples around 1pm! This made it great for us especially because we were hoping to get some photos with less people about!
Sunset: Again, much like sunrise, sunset is a magical time to come see these ruins! We really only suggest you come at sunset if you purchase the 3 day pass and you have that flexibility! Or if you are really hardcore, maybe you stay the entire day until sunset!
Angkor Wat Travel Guide
WHAT TO WEAR
Please, please, please always be aware of the dress code requirements prior to visiting any temple!
A quick Google search will tell you:
Appropriate attire when visiting temples in Angkor Wat is long pants (covering the knee) and shirts that cover shoulders. Skirts, small shorts, tank tops, and other items of revealing clothing are not allowed within temple grounds. Also, we heard it is rude to wear flip flops. Try to wear closed toed shoes, or sandals instead.
BEST WAY TO BOOK YOUR TRIP
For us, the best way to see Angkor Wat is by hiring a tuk tuk for the day. Rather than book your trip through your hotel, hostel, or a tour company you can easily do it on your own by using our local friend Ra! It will be much cheaper, private and overall a really fun day we promise!
The price of hiring a tuk tuk driver depends on two things. The amount of time you wish to spend at the temples, and your negotiation skills. Do keep in mind though that many of these drivers make their full time living off this, so please do not take advantage of them. It should cost between $30-$40 USD per day. They will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel and drive you around the enormous grounds to see any temples you would like throughout the day. It is important to note that the temples are very spread out. It may take you 30-40 minutes just to walk from one to the next, thus having a driver is pretty much essential!
Our good friend Ra, is a dear local friend who we met on our first trip to Cambodia. He has a tuk tuk service with both speakers to play music and a cooler to keep waters…and beers for you throughout your day! We really could not recommend him more, not only because he is a friend, but we visited his home and know that any money he makes goes to support his wife and young son! We will put his contact information here! If you book with him tell him we sent you and if you have any issues finding him just shoot us a message!
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Angkor Wat Travel Guide
YOUR DAY
Once you have your driver, you will need to tell them what time you would like to be picked up. They will then take you from your hotel to the ticket office. Which is about a 5 minute drive outside the temple grounds. You must queue up and find the line for the amount of days you want your ticket to be for. They collect your money (TIP: must be in USD) and take your photo for your ticket. After you get your tickets, you will hop back into your tuk tuk which will take you to the entrance. Here this is where they check your ticket.
Once that is finished, they will likely drop you at the main temple first! One great thing about Ra is that whether you are visiting for one day, or three. He knows exactly the best temples to take you to depending on the amount of time you have. He also has a pamphlet with a photo and synopsis of each temple so you can look up which ones you want to see!
Then, your driver will wait for you outside each temple until you’re finished and ready for the next! We absolutely loved riding with Ra. He also had a bluetooth speaker where we could hook up our phones, blast music, and enjoy some cold beers ! Overall, it makes for a great day out!
Overall if you are looking for the best, most cost effective, and fun way to see the temples. You should definitely use our Angkor Wat Travel Guide! We promise you will get an authentic, local experience that you will never forget!
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