3 days in Siem Reap itineraryPink Stone, Still Water & Quiet Ruins

Three days in Siem Reap among fine carvings, quieter temples and the stilt houses of Kampong Phluk

3 days18 stopsSMOVECITY EditorsUpdated November 2026

Siem Reap, Cambodia — Photo: Charles J Sharp (CC BY 2.5)

Day one eases in with an afternoon at Angkor Thom and the Bayon. Day two starts early at the carved pink sandstone of Banteay Srei and at Banteay Samré, continues to the long galleries of Preah Khan, and ends with sunset from Pre Rup. Day three opens with a road trip and boat ride to Kampong Phluk, a village of stilt houses on the Tonlé Sap floodplain, then returns to the park for Ta Prohm and the Terrace of the Elephants. Evenings are spent in town, with dinners ranging from European plates on Pub Street to wood-fired pizza and Cambodian cooking at Malis, followed by drinks at a cocktail bar and a long-running local bar.

culture
food
outdoors
classic

At a glance

3
days: 8
sights: 7
food & drink stops

Day 1Angkor Thom: First Impressions and Bayon at Late Afternoon Light
Day 2Early Start: Banteay Srei, Banteay Samré on the Way Back, Preah Khan: Temple of the Sacred Sword and Pre Rup at Sunset
Day 3Ta Prohm: Roots and Ruin and Terrace of the Elephants

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Day 1 in Siem Reap

4 stops · 13:00 to 19:00 · about 9.9 km between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Angkor Thom: First Impressions and Bayon at Late Afternoon Light.

13:00about 60 min
Arrive & Settle In
Check in, let the heat of the afternoon slow you down, and take stock of the next three days. Your guesthouse or hotel in central Siem Reap puts everything within a short tuk-tuk ride.
14:45about 75 minSight
Angkor Thom: First Impressions
The south gate alone — a causeway of gods and demons flanking a 23-metre tower — is enough to recalibrate your sense of scale. Walk the walls, let the size of the city sink in, and save the interiors for the days ahead. You need an Angkor pass on all three days: buy the three-day pass (USD 62) at the Angkor Ticket Office, open 05:00-17:30, on your way to the park.
About 250 m to the next stop
16:00about 75 minSight
Bayon at Late Afternoon Light
The Bayon's towers, each carved with large, calm smiling faces, are the centrepiece of Angkor Thom. Walk the galleries slowly: the late-afternoon light brings out the detail in the faces, and it looks better in person than in any photograph.
About 9.6 km to the next stop
19:00about 90 minDinner
Dinner at Red Piano
A Pub Street fixture, Red Piano serves a mostly European menu, with Belgian dishes such as Flemish beef stew alongside ribs and risotto. It also pours a Tomb Raider cocktail, named for the 2001 film shot at Angkor. An easy, sociable landing for a first night.

Photos: Charles J Sharp (CC BY 2.5) · Trusty Tuk Tuk (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Day 2 in Siem Reap

7 stops · 07:30 to 21:15 · about 62 km between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Early Start: Banteay Srei, Banteay Samré on the Way Back, Preah Khan: Temple of the Sacred Sword and Pre Rup at Sunset.

07:30about 105 minSight
Early Start: Banteay Srei
The ride of about 32 km north-east is worth every minute: Banteay Srei's rose-pink sandstone is carved with a precision that temples three times its size never matched. Devatas, kala faces, and mythological friezes are stacked so densely you need to slow right down. Arrive before 9 am and you'll have the inner enclosures nearly to yourself.
About 17 km to the next stop
10:00about 60 minSight
Banteay Samré on the Way Back
Tucked just south of the road back toward Angkor, Banteay Samré is a 12th-century temple of near-perfect proportions that most day-trippers skip entirely. Its gallery walls and central tower have a satisfying completeness that the more famous ruins sometimes lack.
About 15 km to the next stop
12:00about 75 minLunch
Lunch at Banllé
Back in town, Banllé is an all-vegetarian restaurant in a renovated wooden house on Street 26, with garden seating beside its own small organic vegetable farm. Everything on the menu is vegetarian, with plenty of vegan options. It is closed on Tuesdays.
About 12 km to the next stop
14:00about 120 minSight
Preah Khan: Temple of the Sacred Sword
Preah Khan was once a city within the city — a monastic university with libraries, shrines, and 1,000 teachers. Its long, root-tangled galleries stretch in all four directions from the central sanctuary, and the rare two-storey structure near the east entrance baffles scholars to this day. Far quieter than Ta Prohm for essentially the same atmosphere.
About 6.0 km to the next stop
17:00about 105 minSight
Pre Rup at Sunset
A state temple built as a pyramid, Pre Rup rewards the climb to its upper platform with an unobstructed panorama across the flat Cambodian plain. It is one of the few temples open until 19:00, so you can stay on the upper terraces until the sun has gone down.
About 11 km to the next stop
19:30about 90 minDinner
Dinner at Il Forno
A short walk from Pub Street, Il Forno is an Italian restaurant known for its pizzas, which come out of a large wood-fired oven.
More about Il Forno
About 400 m to the next stop
21:15about 60 minDrinks
Evening Drinks at Miss Wong
A short tuk-tuk ride across the river, Miss Wong is a cocktail bar on Street 26 in the Wat Bo neighbourhood, styled after old Shanghai with leather booths and a red lantern at the door. The house signature is the Indochine Martini, made with vodka, ginger-infused cognac liqueur and a splash of pineapple juice. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 17:00 to midnight; closed on Mondays.
More about Miss Wong

Photos: Tsui (CC BY-SA 3.0) · RichardSocher at English Wikipedia (CC BY 2.5) · Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Day 3 in Siem Reap

7 stops · 07:00 to 20:45 · about 34 km between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Ta Prohm: Roots and Ruin and Terrace of the Elephants.

07:00about 270 min
Tonlé Sap: Kampong Phluk by Boat
Kampong Phluk lies about 30 km by road south-east of Siem Reap. Go via Roluos to the village's own ticket office and pier, just under an hour each way by tuk-tuk or car; the boat trip from there takes about 90 minutes, longer if you add a paddle-boat ride through the flooded forest. Kampong Phluk is a commune of three villages whose houses stand on stilts 6 to 9 metres tall. The water is at its highest from about August to January, and in November and December it is still high enough to boat between the houses. From about February to May the water drops away and the stilts stand on dry ground, so check boat access before you go in those months. Going in the morning avoids the midday heat.
About 20 km to the next stop
12:30about 75 minLunch
Lunch at Chanrey Tree
Back in town, Chanrey Tree is a riverside restaurant on Pokambor Avenue serving a short menu of Khmer dishes, in a modern take on a traditional Khmer house with indoor and outdoor seating among plenty of greenery.
About 9.4 km to the next stop
14:30about 90 minSight
Ta Prohm: Roots and Ruin
The roots of silk-cotton and strangler fig trees have been left to grip Ta Prohm's walls by deliberate conservation policy, creating one of the most photographed scenes in Cambodia. The inner sanctuaries are dim, cool, and genuinely atmospheric once you move past the two or three famous tree-root spots where everyone stops.
About 3.5 km to the next stop
16:30about 45 minSight
Terrace of the Elephants
The 350-metre terrace that Jayavarman VII used to review his armies takes its name from the elephants carved along its eastern face; the middle section of the wall is decorated with life-size garudas and lions. It's a short, satisfying stop that rounds out Angkor Thom's royal square.
17:45about 60 min
Rest & Freshen Up
Two early starts in a row deserve an hour of doing nothing. Back at the hotel, shower, pack lightly, and decide how hungry you are.
19:00about 90 minDinner
Farewell Dinner at Malis
Founded by chef Luu Meng, Malis serves Cambodian cooking in a large restaurant on Pokambor Avenue near the river, open since 2016. Book ahead for dinner.
About 250 m to the next stop
20:45about 75 minDrinks
Final Drinks at Laundry Bar
A long-running Siem Reap bar, Laundry is popular with expats, locals and travellers alike for its pool tables, darts and regular live music.

Photos: Dmitry A. Mottl (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Good to know

What can you see in Siem Reap in 3 days?

Day 1: Angkor Thom: First Impressions and Bayon at Late Afternoon Light. Day 2: Early Start: Banteay Srei, Banteay Samré on the Way Back, Preah Khan: Temple of the Sacred Sword and Pre Rup at Sunset. Day 3: Ta Prohm: Roots and Ruin and Terrace of the Elephants.

Where does this itinerary eat and drink in Siem Reap?

It stops at Red Piano, Banllé Vegetarian Restaurant, Il Forno, Miss Wong, Chanrey Tree, Malis and Laundry. Each one is placed on the day and at the time it fits the route.

How many days do I need for Siem Reap?

Pink Stone, Still Water & Quiet Ruins covers Siem Reap in 3 days, with 18 planned stops. You can follow it exactly as published, or shorten and extend days after opening it in the SMOVECITY app.

Can I customize this itinerary?

Yes. Opening it in the SMOVECITY app turns it into your own editable trip — reorder days, add or remove stops, and invite friends to plan together with live co-editing.

How do I get around in Siem Reap?

The SMOVECITY app shows public transport, shared bikes, e-scooters and other mobility options in Siem Reap on one live map, so you can compare routes between the stops on this itinerary as you go.

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3 days in Siem Reap itineraryPink Stone, Still Water & Quiet Ruins

At a glance

Day 1 in Siem Reap

Arrive & Settle In

Angkor Thom: First Impressions

Bayon at Late Afternoon Light

Dinner at Red Piano

Day 2 in Siem Reap

Early Start: Banteay Srei

Banteay Samré on the Way Back

Lunch at Banllé

Preah Khan: Temple of the Sacred Sword

Pre Rup at Sunset

Dinner at Il Forno

Evening Drinks at Miss Wong

Day 3 in Siem Reap

Tonlé Sap: Kampong Phluk by Boat

Lunch at Chanrey Tree

Ta Prohm: Roots and Ruin

Terrace of the Elephants

Rest & Freshen Up

Farewell Dinner at Malis

Final Drinks at Laundry Bar