Travel Guide Angkor
What to visit Angkor?
Suggested addresses Angkor
When to go to Angkor?
When to go to Angkor? There are three tourist seasons in the Khmer city.
High tourist season: from November to February. Few tourists still come in November, making this month the best time to visit Angkor. Then, it spoils very quickly, the worst is by far the Chinese New Year when all Asia converges on the Khmer city. The advantage is that this period (especially December, January and February) is relatively cool, especially at night.
Middle tourist season: March to May. Corresponding to the dry season, this is perhaps the least pleasant period. It is very hot (the worst being in April), there is a lot of dust, and the number of tourists in Angkor is not negligible. To be avoided.
Low tourist season: from June to October. The rainy season is not what one often thinks: it rains (very hard) only a few hours a day and usually at the end of the day. The show is then superb, wherever you are. Children are wild, their usual playground having become a swimming pool, cities like Phnom Penh are paralyzed for a few hours, their streets become rivers and the skies announcing the storm are of a beauty to fall to the ground. The rest of the time, it is hot. The end of the rainy season is one of the most beautiful: it almost doesn't rain anymore and everything is green and flowery, and there are not many tourists yet... It is true that it is harder to move around, but the feeling of living an adventure is much more present.
To answer the question "when to go to Angkor?", the best answer is around October and November.
Weather at the moment
The climate of Cambodia, hot and humid, is conditioned by the action of the monsoons which determine the two seasons, dry (from November to the end of May) and wet (from the end of May to October). During the dry season, the weather in Angkor is characterized by a beautiful sunshine and a mercury oscillating between 15 °C and 35 °C. In the heart of the rainy season on the other hand, Angkor records average temperatures of 27 °C, which the monsoon can make feel higher.
Cambodia's population is mostly poor, but the cost of living for foreigners is higher than in other Asian countries. Thailand, more developed, is also cheaper. A stay in Angkor is relatively expensive: everything is organized so that tourists spend a maximum of money in a minimum of time. However, by planning in advance and being clever, the wise travelers can get out of it cheaply.
To travel to Cambodia, and therefore to Angkor, a tourist visa will allow you to stay there for one month. Theoretically, this tourist visa Cambodian should cost you US$30 upon arrival (US$32 if you arrive without a passport photo, or US$38 if you opt for the e-visa on the Internet). These are the fares charged at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airports (neighbouring Angkor), but when crossing a land border crossing, an average of US$35-40 is charged (officials are poorly paid...)! To avoid these shenanigans, it may therefore be preferable to obtain a visa in advance.
If no vaccine is mandatory to go to Angkor, nor to enter Cambodia, some are nevertheless recommended. There are risks related to the environment, to insects and animals, to food and drink... Everything will depend on the type of stay you plan to make. If you decide to travel through the jungle, to sleep under the stars, to cross swamps or wild areas, we advise you in these cases and as a priority to vaccinate yourself against viral hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis (prolonged stay in rural areas) and rabies ("adventurous" circuit). As for drinking water in Angkor, it is preferable to carry mineral water bottles.
Practical information
- When to travel?
- Weather forecast
- Budget
- Formalities
- Health
- How to travel by yourself?
- How to get organized?
- Getting around
Media
How to go to Angkor? Our advice & tips
Angkor is a well-known destination for tourism specialists. Cambodia is proposed by tour operators and specialized travel agencies through different trips and themes: cultural, historical, discovery, trekking, farniente stay. You will also be able to choose the formula that suits you, more specifically oriented on Angkor: accompanied tours, individual trips with a French-speaking driver-guide, itineraries to compose according to your desires...
Average price of a flight from Paris to Phnom Penh: €1,000 in high season; €500 in low season. If you wish to land directly in Siem Reap, right next to Angkor, you will make a stopover in Phnom Penh. Please note that the price variation depends on the airline used but, above all, on the reservation delay. Same thing for the accommodation: anticipation = savings. Small budgets will prefer hostels.
There are several ways to travel in Angkor, all of which are land-based. Touk-touk (covered two-seater coaches, comfortable and pulled by motorcycles) and taxi-motorcycle first. It is forbidden for drivers to guide you through the temples just as it is forbidden for guides to use you as a driver. Each profession is thus protected. Then the electric bike, rented by the day. Taxis, which can also be rented by the day. And finally the car, authorized in the park.
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When to go to Angkor? There are three tourist seasons in the Khmer city.
High tourist season: from November...
Read more about it
The climate of Cambodia, hot and humid, is conditioned by the action of the monsoons which determine the two seasons,...
Read more about it
Cambodia's population is mostly poor, but the cost of living for foreigners is higher than in other Asian countries....
Read more about it
To travel to Cambodia, and therefore to Angkor, a tourist visa will allow you to stay there for one month. Theoretica...
Read more about it
If no vaccine is mandatory to go to Angkor, nor to enter Cambodia, some are nevertheless recommended. There are risks...
Read more about it
Average price of a flight from Paris to Phnom Penh: €1,000 in high season; €500 in low season. If you wish to lan...
Read more about it
Angkor is a well-known destination for tourism specialists. Cambodia is proposed by tour operators and specialized tr...
Read more about it
There are several ways to travel in Angkor, all of which are land-based. Touk-touk (covered two-seater coaches, comfo...
Read more about it