Khett Siem Reab Travel Forum

We have only 5 full days in Siem Reap and are thinking of spending a night/day in PP; going there by boat.
Our initial plan in SR was to go on boat cruise on Tonle Sap river (floating village) on the back visit Artsan D’angkor or silk farm the east biggest handicraft in Cambodia. In the afternoon, explore the Cultural Village.
1. Will we be able to enjoy the above lake activities on the way to PP? If so,this would save us time which we are short of if we want to visit PP.
2.Does anyone know about the boat schedule from SR to PP and back?

I did the fast boat trip from PP to Siem Reap back in November. The trip was about 5.5 hours. I sat on top of the boat with most of the other tourists. It was interesting to see the lake, but not the most comfortable ride. I would go by bus next time, which I believe is about 5 hours as well thanks to new roads, and much cheaper.

The boat left early morning, around 7 am, and cost around $25 if I am not mistaken.

The boat I took did not provide any opportunity to appreciate the lake activities.

My personal opinion about Siem Reap is that if you are not particularly interested in seeing every detail of the temples, or if 10 or 12 major temples will be enough, 3 days is fine. I had seen enough by day 3. There were temples that I had missed, but after you see the best ones, and some of the better ones further afield, they all start to look alike.

We took the boat from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh earlier this year - I have pics of the ride on my page. Its an old gunboat with little leg room, and almost nil view from inside. If you want to see the Tonle Sap, you have to get some space on the roof - and it is uncomfortable, and completely exposed - bad sunburn by the time of arrival at PP. I was disappointed, as we didn't schedule a daytrip along the Tonle Sap due to the planned transport out.

Cultural Village did not interest us much, and not sure if its worth a day extra to visit? Only my opinion. Most people get the 3 day pass to the temples, and, agree, you are templed out by then. Might be an option to cut a day and have an extra in Phnom Penh?

SR and PP boats depart early morning (7-9am) once everyday. All the companies do this making it impossible to get an afternoon or evening trip by boat. Only buses transverse from SR to PP several times a day.

You can stop at several villages along the Tonle Sap to visit nearby towns and villages which means you have to make your own way back to SR/PP either by taxi or boat.

No knowledge of SR to PP boat schedules but the short ( 1- 1 1/2hr) boat trip on Tonle Sap to the floating village is a must to me. See my tips page. The Silk Farm I find interesting. It is nice to see local people being taught skills to take back to their villages Thats a gentle half day trip and you could probably fit Artisans d'Angkor in as well. also interesting, theme same as silk farm and includes a number of deaf and dumb trainees. My guide's comment on the cultural village is that it's a fake. Why not see the real thing while it still exists so abundently in Cambodia?