Siem Reap, Cambodia - How to do Angkor with kids and without crowds

Contemplating Angkor Wat

Without any doubt, Angkor Wat is Cambodia's most famous tourist attraction. The number of visitors to this UNSCO World Heritage Site increases year by year and in 2013 it received around 2 million visitors. It had been done to death and I feared that we were too late for Angkor. And then there were the questions of which temples to see , whether these would be suitable for young children and the best way to see Angkor Wat. Here's what we found out:

1)   Temples to see

There are hundreds of temples within the Angkor Archeological Park but unless your kids didn't mind being dragged from temple to temple, it's best to limit to the major ones. We decided that we would only see Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Bayon in  Angkor Thom and Sras Srang for the sunrise. Even then, we spent nearly 8 hours there from 5.30am  to 1.00pm. More than that and we would have been templed-out.

2) Timing and order

The temples that we wanted to see were pretty much on the (very) beaten path. So the only way to try to beat the crowd would be to strategise the timing and the order of the visit.

Now,  if you intend to follow the Small Circuit to cover the major temples, you would probably be advised to start at Angkor Wat and end at Sras Srang. This would be a great idea if you like to pretend that you're in a One Direction concert whilst on holiday. We wanted to be there first thing in the morning and catch the sunrise but practically every Tom, Dick and Harry would be at Angkor Wat at 6am to watch the sunrise, a reason enough for us to avoid it altogether. A less touristy option to watch sunrise is Sras Srang so this was where we started. We then worked our way to Ta Prohm, then Bayon and lastly Angkor Wat. The main advantage of this was that we had Ta Prohm practically to ourselves.

3) Tour vs DIY

There are probably hundreds of companies offering all kinds of tours to Angkor, private or other wise. I have been asked whether it would be better to get a tour guide when you are going there with children. In my opinion, Angkor could be done on your own even with children. We hired a tuk-tuk for the day for $15 and told him which temples we wanted to see. We had our Lonely Planet guidebook which gave good context and comprehensive info on the temples in Angkor. It was enough for us - we were not doing a thesis on the Khmer Empire anyway.

The only "downside" to this was when we spent ages trying to locate the "Tomb Raider" tree in Ta Phrom on our own. But hey, that's part of the adventure.

4) Suitability for children

I know some people who have been putting on hold their visit to Angkor Wat to wait until their kids are bigger. Of course it all depends on what the parents think is best for their own kids but I think it's doable if your kids are used to walking. Pushchairs are out of the question due to the uneven ground and stairs to climb. Our son was 4 when we went and we made sure that we paced the walking, had lots of rests and of course plenty of water to drink.

Exploring Bayon

Overall, I think Angkor Wat is the most kids-friendly, provided you did not take your kids climbing to the upper level. Bayon has endless flights of stairs and Ta Prohm is an obstacle course for most of the parts. But again, all are perfectly doable.

5) Food

There's no shortage for places to eat within the Park but the most decent one that we found was Blue Pumpkin Cafe (also known as Angkor Cafe). At 10am, between Bayon and Angkor Wat, we had our first proper meal of the day (not counting the pre-packed breakfast provided by the hotel). It's located opposite the causeway leading to Angkor Wat, and linked to Artisan d'Angkor. You can gaze at Angkor Wat or browse for souvenirs as you refuel. Ice-cream for bribery can also be bought here.

More photos and and our experience at the temples in the next post.

Note:-
Entrance fees: Passes are sold in one-day ($20), three-day ($40) and seven-day ($60) blocks. Free for children under 12 years old. The three-day pass is valid for one week, i.e. 3 days to be used within the week, not necessarily consecutively.

Angkor one-day pass

Passes may be purchased at the main entrance on the road to Angkor Wat. Your photo will be taken on the spot. One-day tickets only can be purchased at the secondary tollgate on airport road entrance near Angkor Wat and at Banteay Srey. One-day tickets purchased after 5pm is valid until the end of the next day.
 
How to get there: Transportation options include: two-person tuk-tuks (moto-romauk) average $10-$15/day; car taxis $20-$30/day; motorcycle taxi (motodup) for $8-$10/day; bicycles for $2-$3/day.

Opening hours: Visiting hours are 5:00AM - 6:00PM. Angkor Wat closes at 6:00PM. Entry and exit to Angkor Wat can only be accessed from its west gate.