9 Day Off-Road Discover Cambodia Highlights Guided Motorcycle Tour
Cambodia Highlights Motorcycle Tour
Dirt, rivers, temples, paddy fields, mountains; this is a short motorcycle trip which consists primarily of the most adventurous routes of the ‘classic’ Cambodia Adventures motorcycle trip. During this trip, you ride largely on unsurfaced paths, through the jungle, between paddy fields and along the Mekong River. You journey to the miraculous Angkor Wat via inland roads, you take a boat trip along floating villages and find your way south along narrow pathways. The nature highlight is probably the route through the Cardamon Mountains. Part of it is unsurfaced and this can be a real challenge, especially if it has rained a bit.
Key information
- Terrain: 30% off-road
- Bike: rental bike (Honda XR or Baja 250cc motorcycle)
- Mileage: 1,400 kilometers / 870 miles
- Daily rides: 136 - 311 kilometers / 85 - 193 miles
- Riding gear - mandatory: helmet, motorcycle jacket with protection, gloves, good hardwearing (motorcycle) trousers with protection or separate knee protection and solid high (mountain) boots
- Meals: breakfasts
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- Starts and ends in Phnom Penh
- Take a ferry to cross over the Mekong River to avoid the traffic in Phnom Penh
- Visit the beautiful Han Chey Temple, with its scenic views over the Mekong
- See the impressive temple complexes of Angkor Wat
- In Battambang, see of UNESCO-protected French colonial houses along the river
- Cross through the Cardamom Mountains
- Take the new Chinese road, a concrete block path that will lead you to Koh Kong
- 8 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Accommodation
During this trip, you will stay in hotels and basic accommodations. Some accommodations are basic, family-run, but are the nicest options in town.
Program
Brief itinerary
- Day 1: Home country - Departure (not included)
- Day 2: Arrival - Phnom Penh
- Day 3: Phnom Penh - Kratie (237 km / 147 miles)
- Day 4: Kratie - Komong Thom (223 km / 139 miles)
- Day 5: Komong Thom - Siem Reap (156 km / 97 miles)
- Day 6: Siem Reap - Battambang area (170 km / 106 miles)
- Day 7: Battambang area - Veal Veng (136 km / 85 miles)
- Day 8: Veal Veng - Koh Kong (172 km / 107 miles)
- Day 9: Koh Kong - Phnom Penh (311 km / 193 miles)
- Day 10: Phnom Penh - Departure
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Arrival - Phnom Penh
You will arrive at the airport of Phnom Penh. The hotel is around a forty-five minute drive from the airport to the city centre. The journey to the hotel gives a first impression of the crowds, the hustle and bustle of the city and the buildings. The tour leader will outline the rules governing travelling by motorcycle and will go over the details of the full journey again. If you have time, you can explore the city. They will meet you again in one of the many cafes along the Mekong River in Phnom Penh.
Day 2: Phnom Penh - Kratie
An early start for a beautiful and varied day. After just a kilometre of motorcycle riding, you take a ferry to cross over the Mekong River. By doing this, you avoid the busy traffic of Phnom Penh and find yourselves immediately on narrow paths and roads. You ride along the Mekong River, passing through villages and many temples. You will enjoy a local lunch somewhere in the vicinity of Kampong Cham.
You continue on your way, literally passing through the backyards of the local population. After visiting the beautiful Han Chey Temple, with its scenic views over the Mekong, you continue your way along the river, which you cross again towards Kratie. While enjoying a drink in front of your hotel, you can watch the sunset along the river.
Day 3: Kratie - Kompong Thom
You will backtrack along the Mekong to cross the river with a ferry. Now you start a challenging journey of 190 kilometres unpaved and off-road. The track leads you straight through rubber and fruit plantations and goes through a landscape where you can imagine yourself in the African Savannah. You should bring along sufficient water for the journey as there are not many places to have a drink.
Halfway in the middle of nowhere, the road is suddenly blocked with a chain, and you have to pay toll for the bridge that can hardly carry you. You look for a simple lunch along the route as soon as you get back to civilization. If you have time, you will go in Sambor Leek Kuk to the overgrown temple ruin for a cool group photo that would not be out of place in an Indiana Jones film.
Day 4: Kompong Thom - Siem Reap
There is a main road to Siem Reap, but you will soon leave this road in search of gravel and little dirt roads to visit small villages and local markets. As you arrive in Siem Reap from the south, you will soon spot the first impressive temple complexes of Angkor Wat. Siem Reap is one of the liveliest cities in Cambodia. In the centre you will find countless good restaurants and many charming cafés. Moreover, this is the perfect place to shop for souvenirs, send an email or spoil yourself with a massage.
This afternoon you have the time to visit the large temple complex of Angkor Wat. The temples of Angkor are a source of inspiration and pride for all Cambodians and also appeal to the majority of visitors. The period of the Angkor empire covers around 600 years and in that time more than 70 temples, palaces, libraries and other buildings spread over 350 km were built. In fact, Angkor Wat is just one of these temples, but nowadays the name refers to the entire area. To view all the temples of this gigantic complex you actually need several days. Your tour leader can advise you on the optimal times to visit each temple and which you should definitely not miss.
Day 5: Siem Reap - Battambang
After breakfast you ride through the Angkor Wat area towards Battambang. You will try to avoid the busy chaotic highway as much as possible. In the direction of Sisophon, 100 km from Siem Reap, this part of highway no. 6 is still easy to ride on, but from Sisophon onwards major road constructions are carried out on Highway no. 5 to Battambang. Partly because of this, it is an incredible chaos and a real challenge. You try to avoid the highway by taking minor (dirt) roads towards Battambang. In Battambang, the second biggest city of the country, there are many UNESCO-protected French colonial houses along the river.
Day 6: Battambang - Veal Veng
If it has been raining recently, today can be a strenuous and challenging day. Riding to and crossing through the Cardamom Mountains can be a muddy event. Even though Cambodia has received lots of tourists for many years, the Cardamom Mountains is discovered by very few foreigners. The mountains form the border between Cambodia and Thailand and has long been a Khmer Rouge stronghold. Initially, the gravel roads are wide and flat, but they will get more bumpy and smaller when you get into the mountains. Agricultural plains turn into tropical rainforests. You spend the night in a simple guest house in the small village of Veal Veng. You will need to order food and drinks ahead of time so that the guest house can prepare these for you on time.
Day 7: Veal Veng - Koh Kong
Today the route can get pretty challenging as well, especially when a rain shower has changed the surface into slippery smooth red clay. You take your time for this adventurous route through the green forest. The civilized world will be very far away for a while. You will also have a provisional lunch along the way. After lunch, you will look for the new Chinese road, a concrete block path that will take you to Koh Kong. If you have time you will see if you can take a refreshing dive in the sea somewhere along the way. Koh Kong is a small town on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, a few kilometers from the neighboring country.
Day 8: Koh Kong - Phnom Penh
You leave the mountains on a freshly surfaced road in the direction of Sre Ambel. It is still reasonably quiet on this section. After lunch, you continue your way to Phnom Penh. You take a look at life in the country and exchange it again for the hustle and bustle of the city. In the evening you take a moment on the boulevard to review all the adventures of the preceding week. The “Night Marketâ€, located at the beginning of the promenade, offers the opportunity for some last souvenirs.
Day 9: Phnom Penh - Departure
You will have to get used to taking a bus again as you head back to the airport. Enjoy one last opportunity to soak in the city’s vibrancy before entering the airport and setting off on the journey home.
Skill level(s)
Beginner:
- can ride for 2-3 hours
- minimal riding experience
- assistance required
- comfortable with curves and leans
- basic experience with unsurfaced roads
- short distance ascents and descents
Intermediate:
- can ride for 3-4 hours
- average riding experience
- little assistance required
- comfortable with extreme curves and leans
- average experience with unsurfaced roads
- steep ascents and descents
Advanced:
- can ride for 5-6 hours
- extensive riding experience
- assistance on demand (if required)
- experienced with riding a variety of motorcycles
- comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions
Motorbikes
During this trip, you will ride either a Honda XR or Baja 250cc motorcycle. If you would prefer to have a lower Honda degree, please mention this when booking.
Tour leader
This trip will be led by the local guide who also is the mechanic, with a small group. This person has been the permanent mechanic on the Vietnam trips for the past 12 years. He knows all the routes, hotels, and restaurants well and speaks good English. A multilingual tour leader will lead this tour with a larger group.
Support vehicle
A support car will accompany this trip starting from 4 participants this will be driven by the permanent local driver. The support vehicle will transport the luggage, spare parts, and tools. There is space in the support car for any companion passengers who do not wish to or cannot double up on a motorcycle.
Difficulty and off-road
Roads in Cambodia have been improved over the years and are tarred with great speed. It remains a challenge for them to keep the trip adventurous; so far so good. As they discover new adventurous routes each year and incorporate these into the trip, they have decided to keep the name. Regardless, motorcycling in Cambodia remains a great adventure. The physical challenge of the trip will depend almost entirely on the quality of the unsurfaced roads. They do not aim to make this a 100% off road trip. The aim is to keep about a third to half of the routes on unsurfaced trails. These unsurfaced parts vary from narrow paths along the Mekong to wide gravel roads through the jungle. Basic off-road skills are recommended.
Instructors
Mick Sonnenfeld
Now that the children and his Italian restaurant can more or less stand on their own two feet, Mick can now fully focus on his other passions: in addition to good food, these are traveling and motorcycling. Throughout his life, this was mainly limited to holidays in which he saw all corners of the world by motorcycle, car or camper, but now there is also room beyond that. Thanks to his experience, Mick can be deployed anywhere, but is currently mainly active in South-East Asia.
Location
This motorcycle trip will lead you through Phnom Penh, Krati, Kompong Thom, Siem Reap, Battambang, Veal Veng, and Koh Kong.
Food
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
What's included
- All airport transfers
- 8 nights accommodation with breakfast included most days
- Motorcycle hire
- Support vehicle with local driver
- Accompanying mechanic in support vehicle
- English-speaking tour guide on motorbike
What's not included
- International flights
- Airport taxes and fuel surcharges
- Fuel for motorbike
- All other meals and drinks
- Personal expenses
- Travel and cancellation insurance
- Visa expenses
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Phnom Penh International Airport
9 km
Transfer included
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 15% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 15 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.