What makes a truly great site? To me a truly great site is one where you could remove the best parts of the site and still have a great site. E.g. Rome is great even if you were to ignore the Colosseum and the Pantheon. You still have the Forum Romanum, the Roman Walls, the Circus Maximus, ... The same applies to Angkor. Angkor is not just about Angkor Wat or Bayon. Its a huge area with a host of great temples, some smaller, some bigger, but all unique and incredible.

In total I spend 3 nights in Siem Reap and two days visiting the sites of nearby Angkor. I did not have the time to venture further outside to Banteay Srei as recommended by others. My personal highlights were Angkor Wat, South Gate of Angkor Thom plus bridge, Bayon (amazing stonework), Preah Khan and Ta Prohm (the Tomb Raider temple). Most scenic is Neak Pean, tugged away on a small island in a huge artificial lake.

Admittedly, I got into a bit of fatigue each day. Literally, as the temperature and humidity in combination made visiting Angkor quite tiring. And more generally as there is just so much to take in. Personally, I would recommend having a few days and starting with the lesser sites first before making your way to the big ones. The lesser sites also tend to be less frequented by tour busses and less crowded as a consequence.

Getting There & Around

Siem Reap has a small international airport. If you are arriving in Phnom Penh you can take a bus or minibus to Siem Reap. The minibus option comes recommended.

To get from Siem Reap to Angkor you can hire a driver. Most hotels will offer to arrange this at a minor surcharge. I think I paid around 15-20 USD for my Tuk Tuk each day. You can also go by car (more expensive), but I love riding in Tuk Tuks, so this was not an option.

The first stop you will make is at the huge ticket facility. They now have multiple queues for the different types of passes you want to buy: 1 day (37 USD), 3 day (62 USD) and week (72 USD). Prices went up significantly in 2017 and I feel fairly confident that this will continue. At least, you can nowadays pay with credit card. And the ticket is a nice souvenir as it comes with your own picture. Mainly, though, this is intended to prevent sharing/reselling of tickets.

The Tuk Tuks do two circuits (= 2 days):

• Inner Circle (the highlights): Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Thommanon, ... and ending at Ta Prohm.
• Outer Circle: Preah Khan, Neak Pean, ... Pre Rup, ... and ending at Banteay Kdei

I think you could do this in a very long day if you wanted to. I preferred sticking to half day trips.

In general I would have enjoyed just hiking around Angkor for a day. But again thanks to heat and humidity, this was not an option.

While You Are There

I would recommend visiting both Preah Vihear and Sambor Prei Kuk. Both can be done as day trips from Siem Reap. There are also three tentative sites nearby.

Siem Reap itself is very touristy with ever more hotels being added. The city itself offers plenty of amusement options (Pub Street), but very little to actually go and see.