Cambodia for Families: Farms, Temples and Islands

Arrive into Phnom Penh, where your English-speaking guide will be waiting to welcome you and transfer you to your hotel, around an hour away. The rest of the day is free to settle in. Overnight in Phnom Penh.

Set off this morning on a walking tour through one of Phnom Penh's leafy residential suburbs, catching a glimpse of everyday life along quiet streets. Stop at Wat Langka, where resident monks will perform a private blessing ceremony for your family, a memorable and moving experience. Wander through small alleyways past local pagodas, shops and businesses, then through a bustling local market, before reaching the waterfront and the picturesque Wat Botom Park. Follow the riverside, busy throughout the day with locals, street vendors and passing monks, to the Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda. (Modest dress is required at temple sites: shoulders and knees covered.) Lunch is at a local restaurant, with some free time back at the hotel to follow. In the afternoon, choose your own path: learn about Cambodia's recent history at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a sobering but important stop for older children and adults, or discover the Pepper Museum for a guided tasting of Kampot's famous peppers. Overnight in Phnom Penh.

This morning, continue to the National Museum, a traditional Khmer-style building set among lush tropical gardens with nearly 5,000 items on display dating back to the fourth century, then to Wat Phnom, a hilltop temple marking the spot where the city was first founded. Return to your hotel to rest. In the afternoon, if you'd like, browse the stalls of the Russian Market, filled with souvenirs, handicrafts and local jewellery. As evening falls, board a boat for a sunset cruise along the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers, taking in the contrast between the two riversides, one still deeply rural, from the deck with a local beer or soft drink in hand. After the cruise, dinner is at a local restaurant by the riverfront. Overnight in Phnom Penh.

After breakfast, head to Oudong Mountain, a short distance from the city, watching the buzz of the capital fade into small villages and farmland along the way. Climb 509 steps to the summit for sweeping views over the plains below, a vantage point that makes clear why Cambodians once chose this hilltop for their capital, before descending by a different path and learning a little about the mountain's history along the way. Continue around half an hour further to a farmstay resort in Kampong Chhnang province, run as a training hotel by a social enterprise supporting local farming families, set among paddy fields and rolling hills. Check into a beautifully furnished stilt house, built in traditional local style with modern comforts, and spend the afternoon reading, relaxing by the pool, or simply enjoying the surroundings. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense today. Overnight in Kampong Chhnang.

A day to relax, whether that means time in your stilt house, by the pool, or cycling around the resort grounds. A complimentary tour of the wider farming project is also on offer, with additional village tours available directly through the resort for those who'd like to see more. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense today. Overnight in Kampong Chhnang.

Set off this morning for Siem Reap, travelling through the Cambodian countryside and small villages toward Kampong Thom. Stop en route at Skun Market, well known locally for its fried spiders, a curious local snack for the adventurous. Check into your hotel on arrival in Siem Reap. As evening approaches, set out on a walking tour through some of the town's lesser-known corners: the Shrine to Yay Tep, a sandstone image on a small island believed to hold the spirit of a protective ancestral figure, alongside the nearby Preak Ang Chek and Preak Angchom shrine, well known locally for its resident fortune teller. Learn about Cambodia's tradition of spirit houses, then wander the Royal Crusade for Independence Gardens, home to a colony of giant fruit bats, before finishing along the riverside opposite Psar Chas, the Old Market, busy with stalls selling everything from fresh produce to street food. Overnight in Siem Reap.

This morning, head to the ancient city of Angkor Thom by remork, Cambodia's classic tuk-tuk, for a family photography scavenger hunt. Armed with a map, a set of clues and a camera, set off into the sprawling temple complex on a quest to capture a dozen unique photographs, starting at the South Gate, its fifty-metre walkway lined with statues of mythological gods and demons. Work through the clues as they lead past smaller monuments and deeper into Angkor Thom, learning facts about sites like the Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King along the way, exploring the many enigmatic faces of Bayon's fifty-four towers, and finishing with a search through the forested ruins of Preah Pithu for hidden statues and chambers. Compare notes with your guide and the rest of the group at the end, with a prize on offer for completing the hunt. Return to your hotel for a break, before an afternoon visit to Angkor Wat itself, built in the early twelfth century during the reign of King Suryavarman II and constructed to represent Mount Meru, the mythical home of the gods. Its walls are covered in carvings depicting Hindu mythology and Suryavarman II's military campaigns, alongside more than 2,000 carved Apsara dancers; the temple took an estimated thirty years to build and remains a national symbol, featured on Cambodia's flag to this day. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Depart this morning for the plains surrounding Kulen Mountain, around an hour's drive, for a visit to the Kulen Elephant Forest. After an introductory briefing, head down to meet the resident elephants, feeding them a few treats before following along as they wander the forest snacking on leaves (this experience is shared with other visitors rather than private). Lunch is served family-style. Return to your hotel with the rest of the day free. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Spend today in Ta Brak, a village at its liveliest in the early morning, for a genuine look at rural Cambodian life. Share a takeaway breakfast with a local family while observing the morning's activities, then explore the local market on foot, its stalls piled with vegetables, herbs and other fresh, locally grown produce. Continue through the village, with plenty of chances to stop and chat with residents along the way. Visit a Khmer smokehouse to meet a local family and learn the traditional process of smoking fish over fragrant wood smoke, sharing a fresh coconut juice as you talk. Round out the morning with a Buddhist blessing ceremony, as local monks offer wishes of good luck for the journey ahead. Lunch is at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the APOPO visitor centre, home to a fascinating and genuinely life-saving programme (shared with other visitors). Learn about the impact of landmines still buried across the Cambodian countryside, and meet the HeroRATs trained to sniff them out, in a simulated minefield built for training, followed by a short video and Q&A session with a mine-action professional. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Board a wooden boat this morning for a journey along the canals to Tonle Sap Lake, Southeast Asia's largest, for a first-hand look at life on the water among the lake's stilt house communities. Afterward, visit the Angkor Wildlife and Aquarium for a closer look at the lake's marine ecosystems, including a welcome drink and a behind-the-scenes tour with a marine biologist, learning about the environmental threats facing Tonle Sap, from habitat loss to illegal fishing. Return to your hotel for a break. In the afternoon, if you'd like, visit Cambodia's first bean-to-bar chocolate factory to learn how cocoa, sourced ethically from Mondulkiri, becomes chocolate, with a treat to take away. Overnight in Siem Reap.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for a short flight to Sihanoukville, then continue directly to the pier for a boat across to your island of choice, Koh Rong or the quieter Koh Rong Sanloem, around 45 minutes depending on conditions. Check in at your resort on arrival. Overnight on the island.

A full day at leisure to enjoy the island: swim, relax on the beach, or simply slow down after the pace of the past two weeks. Overnight on the island.

Another day free to enjoy the island at your own pace. Overnight on the island.

After breakfast, take a speedboat back to the mainland, then transfer directly to Phnom Penh airport by expressway, around two and a half hours, for your onward flight, bringing your family's journey through Cambodia to a close.