Angkor Wat is the most famous landmark in Cambodia (it’s even featured on their flag) and it was on our dream list to check out. Upon arrival in Siem Reap, we realized that it was so much bigger than we thought. We wanted to share our learnings from our amazing visit to make it easier if you are planning a trip. Stick around if you are just here for pictures because we have those too.
So, What is Angkor Wat?
Angkor Wat means City of Temples and is one of the largest religious monuments in the world. It is an UNESCO World Heritage site and has gained a lot of popularity for tourists since the 90’s. Created originally as a Hindu temple, it was later transformed into a Buddhist temple. It was built in the 12th century in traditional Khmer style.
In the area surrounding Angkor Wat, you will find many other temples with similar age. Some have crumbled to just piles of stones and others are maintained as well as Angkor Wat. The pass you purchase to visit includes all the surrounding temples and it takes days to explore.
Seven Tips for Visiting Angkor Wat in Cambodia
Get Your Tickets Ahead of Time & Pick Out Your Outfit
You can choose between 1 day, 3 day and 7 day passes (ranging from $37-$72). The building you purchase them is not at the temples, so make sure you plan for this. You will have your picture taken and then keep your pass with you because they check it at the entrance gates for each temple. The 3 day pass does not need to be used on consecutive days. You simply have to use it within ten days. It was the perfect amount for us.
Purchase tickets here if you’re ready and skip the lines in person.
You will also want to make sure you have the appropriate clothing for your visit. Your shoulders and knees must be covered. Scarves do not count. We saw people with sleeveless dresses and scarves wrapped around them turned away from the temples. Be respectful and wear a long skirt or pants and a shirt with sleeves.
Decide on a Guide
You can hire a guide for everyday that you are there. We just did one day and that was perfect for us. It was seven hours of information and that’s a lot for us to take in and remember. The guide was so knowledgeable about history and gave us a lot of information on the temples and life in Cambodia. Plus, our guide insisted that he take tons of photos of us and we are grateful because we don’t take that many with us both in them.
Our hotel set it all up for us which they all do. You can find guides for hire at the temples themselves, but we didn’t want to run the chance of not finding an English-speaking guide. We’ve had great luck using this site to book tour guides if you want to plan ahead.
Hire a Tuk-tuk
The temples are about 30 minutes outside of town. If you find a Tuktuk driver that you love, ask if you can hire them for the temples. You will pay one price for the full day. They will stick with you the whole day and bring you to each temple that you want to visit. It is so easy.
This is good for the days when you don’t necessarily have a tour guide. Your driver will hang out and wait for you and likely throw in some fun facts while you’re cruising around. Things are pretty spread out and it’s nice to have a ride organized.
Sunrise at Angkor Wat
You are NOT the only person getting up at 5:00 AM for sunrise at the temple. Even if you are surrounded by other people, it is definitely still worth doing. Once that sun rises, you will find yourself exploring Angkor Wat with very few people during golden hour. It’s beautiful. You will pay a little more for the ride that early in the AM. We did it on our second day so we already knew where to go and had gotten a lot of background info.
Visit as many Temples as Possible
Don’t skip the Grand Tour. Our favorite temples were the ones a little off the beaten path. There are two main circles that the tour guides will take you on. We did the “Grand Tour” without a guide. It was nice to go at our own pace, read the signs around the grounds and just take in the different structures.
There are a total of 72 major temples in this area and we did not see all of them, but you can’t leave after only seeing Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and the “Tomb Raider” (Ta Prohm) temples.
Don’t Miss the Details
It’s easy to run around and take the photos that you’ve seen on the internet, but the details are not to be missed. The walls literally tell stories. The carvings are so intricate and it is crazy to think about how old they are. Our tour guide helped point out some of the details and made it easy for us to spot some common themes as we explored on our own.
Bring Snacks
If you follow us on Instagram, you might have seen our story about the “lunch debacle.” Our tour guide had a lunch break, and no one told us we were supposed to bring lunch, so he was telling us to just wait in the tuk-tuk while he ate. If you’ve ever experienced “hanger” then you understand this was not a good idea. Add the heat in and we were not happy. We escaped from the Tuktuk and found a snack cart where they charged us an absurd amount for a can of Pringles. It was not a great moment for us.
Bring some cashews or snacks. Your driver will have water for you so you don’t have to worry about that.
We also found out from following these two that you can get a sunset visit for free when you buy your tickets. That’s a great way to really maximize your time at the temples.
Is this spot on your bucket list to visit?
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