6 Days in Siem Reap/Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Feb 2026

I finally made it to Cambodia over Chinese New Year 2026: four days in Siem Reap and two in Phnom Penh. The heat was intense but just about manageable, though midday was so strong I could barely stay outside for more than ten minutes, so my days revolved around early starts and late-afternoon walks. Siem Reap felt almost entirely geared toward visitors—boutique hotels, cafés, tuk-tuks, and tour stands everywhere—yet exploring the Angkor temples still felt magical, like stepping into a stone time capsule that refused to fade. The overall atmosphere reminded me of a more relaxed, small-scale Bangkok, with all the energy but less of the rush.

Phnom Penh, in contrast, felt more local and unfiltered. Traffic tangled around markets that spilled into the streets, and the riverfront filled with families as the air cooled. Here the country’s recent history felt far more present; visiting Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields made the reality of the Khmer Rouge genocide painfully immediate, and that weight seemed woven into daily life. Yet what stood out most in both cities was how incredibly kind people were—drivers who remembered my plans, vendors who offered help with no expectations, strangers who met me with open smiles. Despite what you might read in the news, Cambodia remains one of the most pleasant and quietly welcoming countries I’ve visited in Southeast Asia.

Siem Reap

Accommodation

The Park Hyatt Siem Reap is a beautifully designed, boutique-feeling hotel, though smaller than I expected. It has two pools on different levels, which look great but makes it harder to enjoy both in a single day. Service is a standout, with thoughtful touches like free morning yoga twice a week, a complimentary 15‑minute massage at breakfast, and live performances at breakfast that lead into traditional Cambodian dance every evening, open to the public without needing a dinner booking.

Rooms are comfortable but starting to show some wear and tear. The location is excellent—central and walkable to almost everything in town—which makes exploring very easy. A daily buy‑one‑get‑one‑free happy hour from 5–7 p.m. and an extensive bar snacks menu make the bar an appealing place to spend the evening, rounding out a stylish and convenient base in Siem Reap.

Transportation

Getting around Siem Reap was easy and low‑stress. Tuk-tuks are readily available through Grab, which makes short trips simple and inexpensive to arrange. The airport is about an hour from the city, so a prebooked car is more comfortable for the journey, even though both of the cars I used were older and a bit worn—but they got the job done. Once in town, staying at the Park Hyatt meant almost everything I wanted was within walking distance, so the city felt very compact and walkable, and I barely needed motor transport for daily exploring.

Sightseeing

Siem Reap, for me, really came down to two main experiences: visiting Angkor Wat and wandering the city itself. Having already explored Ayutthaya in Thailand, I didn’t feel the need to go too deep into temple-hopping this time, especially in the heat. Instead of the many 8‑hour day tours on offer (which sound punishing in this climate), I’d recommend splitting your visit into two 4‑hour morning sessions. With a multi‑day pass, you can cover most of the key sites at a comfortable pace and still have flexibility for any farther‑out temples that catch your interest.

Angkor Wat and Surrounding Temples

Getting around the temples by tuk-tuk worked well; in the early morning there’s a pleasant breeze as you move, which makes the heat more manageable. Because this was a solo trip, I decided to hire a professional photographer who also acted loosely as a guide. I found Oun through an Airbnb Experience—he was excellent behind the camera, but didn’t offer much in the way of historical explanation. He took me to most of the major spots on the first day, then arranged a tuk-tuk driver for me on the second day to see some of the smaller temples. It wasn’t an in‑depth, scholarly tour, but for this trip it was perfectly adequate and suited the relaxed, photo‑focused way I wanted to experience Angkor.

Made in Cambodia Market

A compact market with some interesting local crafts and produce, but small enough that you can comfortably see everything in about 15 minutes.

Night Market Street

A typical Southeast Asian night market with cheap souvenirs, lots of restaurants, and bars with hostesses, overall feeling noticeably more divey than Pub Street.

Restaurants / Bars / Massage

Pub Street

Pub Street is Siem Reap’s compact nightlife hub, a short pedestrian stretch packed with neon-lit bars, cheap beer, loud music, and open-front restaurants. By evening it fills with a mix of backpackers and holidaymakers, plus touts and tuk-tuk drivers, creating an energetic but slightly chaotic atmosphere. It feels like a smaller, more laid-back cousin of Bangkok’s party streets: fun for a night out, easy to navigate, and very touristy, with everything from Khmer food to Western comfort dishes, cocktail buckets, and late-night snacks.

Chanrey Tree

Chanrey Tree is a popular riverside restaurant in Siem Reap serving refined Cambodian dishes in a lush garden setting. I had great service and loved the food, especially the fish amok, though it did get a bit warm sitting toward the back of the walled garden.

Thy Phalla Restaurant

Thy Phalla is a no-frills spot next to the Made in Cambodia Market, offering simple, clean local dishes with friendly, welcoming service.

Somaha French Bistro & Wine Bar

Somaha French Bistro & Wine Bar was my first French restaurant in Cambodia: a casual, relaxed spot with very good food and warm service, even if the pacing was a bit slow. Good Wine List.

STREET FOODS by Champey

STREET FOODS by Champey is one of the riverfront street‑food stretches where the options feel almost endless—just wander and take your pick from the different stalls. It’s basic but convenient, with a usable toilet nearby in the adjacent art market, which makes grazing there much more manageable.

Maedy Restaurant

Maedy Restaurant is an upscale spot with more refined, lighter dishes. I went for lunch and some items, including the frog dishes, had already run out, so it’s worth going earlier if there’s something specific you want to try.

Phsar Khmer Food Court

Phsar Khmer Food Court felt busy, bright, and clearly geared toward visitors rather than a gritty local market. It was very crowded and warm when I walked through, so I didn’t stay to eat, but the atmosphere was lively and full of food options.

Laundry Bar

Laundry Bar drew more of a tourist crowd when I visited, and although it’s advertised as queer-friendly, it didn’t really feel like a dedicated queer space. The drinks tasted a bit off, so overall it ended up being a disappointing stop for me.

Spin Bar

Spin Bar felt more local-expat than tourist, with better and more interesting conversations than most spots around. It’s cocktail-focused, which I hadn’t expected, but the drinks turned out to be a nice surprise and generally well done.

Barcode

Bar Code is a well-known drag bar with a mixed local and international crowd and a sit-down, show-style setup rather than a wild dance floor. It’s a fun, easy place to ease into the night—great performances, good energy, and a solid spot to start your evening out in Siem Reap.

GOD

GOD Bar is a newer gay bar tucked down an alley, with drag performances and a more intimate feel than the bigger venues. It wasn’t very busy when we visited, but that actually made it better for mingling and chatting with other guests.

Bodia Spa Siem Reap

Bodia Spa Siem Reap is an upscale local spa chain with polished facilities and very professional service. They also produce their own line of skincare products, which are prominently used in treatments and available to purchase afterwards. Prices sit at the higher end for Siem Reap, but the overall experience feels more premium than a typical massage shop. Recommend booking in advance.

Phnom Penh

Accommodation

Hotel KVL is a solid city base in Phnom Penh with a good location and views over the Mekong River. It’s close to the main bar area and a weekend street market, but that also means the road in front is closed from around 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, so it’s worth checking how that might affect your arrival or departure. Make sure you get the exact room type you booked, as there can be discrepancies, and note that the water pressure is on the weaker side, though everything else in the room works well. Breakfast is decent with enough variety, and overall the hotel offers a nice urban contrast to the resort feel of the Park Hyatt in Siem Reap.

Transportation

Phnom Penh felt definitely more car‑oriented than Siem Reap, with distances that don’t lend themselves as well to walking everywhere. For airport transfers, I’d recommend prebooking a car between your hotel and the airport so you’re not negotiating on arrival and have a smoother, more predictable journey.

Techo International Airport (KTI) is a brand‑new gateway for Phnom Penh, designed by Foster + Partners as a sleek, contemporary terminal. Its main building sits under a sweeping canopy supported by sculptural “tree” columns and a latticed ceiling that brings in filtered daylight, creating a bright but calm interior. The architecture uses soft curves and warm, neutral materials to subtly reference Cambodia’s temples in a very modern, resort‑adjacent way, and overall feels clean, spacious, and easy to navigate.

Sightseeing

One Day City Tour

We spent a full day in Phnom Penh getting a feel for the city’s main sights, and being in a small group worked really well. We started at the Grandma Penh shrine and Wat Phnom, where Sina, our guide, used the city’s origin story to set the scene, then moved on to the Royal Palace and nearby pagodas with their neat courtyards and gold roofs. In the afternoon we visited Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek, with Sina giving clear, respectful explanations of what happened there and how recent it all is. I’d been a bit unsure what to expect, but the sites were calm and thoughtfully presented rather than sensational. I was also glad I’d planned this for my last day in Cambodia—it was a good way to round off the trip and get an overview of Phnom Penh’s key historical spots, and I don’t think you need more than one full day to cover these places.

Restaurants / Bars / Massage

Touk

TOUK, just next to Hotel KVL, is a convenient Western option on the first floor, set back from the busy street with panoramic views over the Mekong River. It’s an easy, comfortable choice when you don’t feel like venturing far, and while the food is perfectly okay rather than standout, the calm setting and outlook do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Oyster House 1

Oyster House 1 is a no‑frills but fantastic seafood spot: clean, straightforward, and all about the food. I especially liked the light batter on the fried dishes, which kept everything crisp without feeling heavy. The staff didn’t speak much English, but the English menu made ordering easy enough, and overall it was a solid choice for simple, well‑done seafood.

Sora

Sora is the rooftop bar at Rosewood Phnom Penh, offering one of the best vantage points over the city. Service and cocktails are impeccable, and with live music on the terrace it feels more like a refined, relaxed lounge than a high‑energy party spot.

Blue Chillies

Blue Chilli is Phnom Penh’s longest‑running gay bar, tucked near the National Museum on Street 178 and known as a key LGBTQ+ hangout in the city. It’s a small, lively space with drag shows several nights a week, drawing a mixed crowd of locals, expats, and tourists for reasonably priced drinks and a friendly, come‑as‑you‑are vibe. Good from 10pm.

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is one of Phnom Penh’s longest‑running nightclubs, a late‑night institution on Street 51 that really gets going after 11 p.m. Inside it’s dark, loud, and very clubby, with a big dance floor, heavy beats and a mixed crowd of locals and visitors looking to party into the early hours.

Six days in Cambodia—split between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh—felt short but surprisingly complete. Siem Reap was my softer landing: a walkable, tourist‑friendly base for Angkor Wat, boutique hotels, and easy evenings around Pub Street and the markets. Phnom Penh showed a more everyday side of the country, from riverside bars and new architecture to a full day tracing recent history at Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields. Between resort calm, city energy, and heavy historical stops, what tied everything together was the warmth of the people. Despite the headlines, Cambodia remains one of the most pleasant countries I’ve visited.