Planning on visiting Siem Reap with kids? We spent one week in Siem Reap with our then 5-year-old daughter and 5-month-old baby. It was a “visa run” for us from Hoi An, Vietnam, and we had a great time exploring, relaxing, and making new friends.
In this post, we’re sharing five great ideas for one week in Siem Reap with kids, based on our experience there. If you don’t quite have that much time, these suggestions could work for a Siem Reap 4-day 3-night itinerary. We just tend to slow things down a lot with kids and make sure we have time to relax, too.
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Here are our top tips for your Siem Reap holiday with kids!
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1. Visit Angkor Wat and the other temples of Angkor in Siem Reap with kids
We couldn’t come to Siem Reap without seeing the incredible temples of Angkor. Angkor Wat is the biggest, most famous one. However, we’ve spoken with many people who enjoyed the other, less crowded temples in the area a lot more.
We purchased a three-day pass to the Angkor temples so we wouldn’t feel like we had to rush. This is an important consideration when visiting Siem Reap with kids, because temple visits can be hot and tiring (for the whole family!). So overall, we didn’t want to try and cover too much at once.
Here’s the breakdown of what we saw with our 3-day temple passes and which family members were present for each visit!
Angkor Wat
We thought we’d start with the biggest temple of all on day one – Angkor Wat. This was just in case we ended up with temple fatigue. We thought we might risk leaving it out altogether if left till the end!
Angkor Wat is the largest religious building in the world. The city of Angkor was once the largest city in the world, when London was still just a small town.
As you might also be able to appreciate if you’re planning on visiting Siem Reap with kids, it’s not always easy to get out the door quickly. On the day we decided to visit Angkor Wat, we ended up getting up pretty late. We also took a long time to get out the door because we met a few lovely families at the hotel we were staying at, so we ended up chatting for a while.
That meant it was midday before we headed out – the hottest time for temple exploration! It’s definitely recommended to visit temples early in the morning, or in the evening if you can. This will help keep everyone’s energy levels up for a bit longer.
Although we headed out in the heat of the day, the girls did very well. Since we were “living” in Southeast Asia, they were generally pretty used to the heat.
There is a load of other temples you can choose to visit, but Angkor Wat on its own was enough for us in one day!
Sunrise temple tour
If you’ve got kids who don’t mind rising early, you could consider a sunrise temple tour during your visit to Siem Reap with kids. Honestly, Colin wasn’t really that interested in temples, and he’s also not too interested in early mornings. Ayla wasn’t keen either. She normally would be, but we really did meet some lovely families at the hotel, and I think she thought she’d prefer to hang out with them. She didn’t quite realize that we were likely to be back at the hotel before anyone was ready to play for the day!
So on day two, a sunrise tour for me and Romy it was! We left the hotel at 5 am and headed to Sra Srang. The general recommendation for sunrise tours is to head to Angkor Wat, as it’s considered the best spot for sunrise.
However, it was the only place we’d seen so far, and we had only been there the day before. Plus, I don’t always want to go where everyone else is going. Most of the temples are still closed at 5 am, so Sra Srang it was!
Sra Srang used to be a royal bathing pond. Siem Reap was experiencing a severe drought at the time, so the water level was very low. It was still beautiful, lovely, and relaxing because we were the only tourists there.
Afterward, we went for a lovely walk around Angkor Thom and finished at the Bayon Temple when it opened at 7:30 am. It was busy right from opening time and already getting hot! The Bayon is the temple with all the faces etched in stone.
We got home at about 8:30 am. The other half of the family was still asleep, and wee Romy was asleep in the pack, so I even got to enjoy a quiet breakfast too!
Sunset Tour
On your visit to Siem Reap with kids, you could also consider one or more sunset tours, if your family does better later in the day.
Ayla actually had the opportunity to play at a beach club with her world-schooling friends, so she didn’t join us for the sunset tour either. (Angkor Wat was the only one she visited during our time there).
While Ayla was having fun splashing about, Colin and I went out for a sunset tour. We took Romy, but it was still kind of like a date since she was pretty easy-going at five months old.
[By the way, this was still day two, so Romy and I did the sunrise and sunset tours in one day].
On our sunset tour, we visited the Ta Prohm Temple, which is also known as “the jungle one”. It’s one of the popular “other” temples and became a bit more famous when it was used as a setting in Tomb Raider.
What makes it so spectacular is how nature has run riot, and the jungle and temples have become one!
Part two of our sunset date tour took us to Phnom Bakheng Temple, where we hiked 20 minutes up a hill to watch the sunset.
We only used two days of our three-day temple passes
Overall, Ayla did one temple outing, Colin did two, and Romy and I did three. The three tours were over two days. We didn’t end up using the third day of our temple passes because we wanted to allow plenty of time to lounge by the pool. Plus, we unexpectedly met a few world-schooling families in Siem Reap and wanted to spend time with them while we could.
I would have done a second sunrise tour since the rest of the family definitely wasn’t keen for a third day. It’s just a bit limited in terms of what is open for sunrise, so I settled for two days.
2. Visit Cambo Beach Club in Siem Reap with kids
If you’re visiting Siem Reap with kids, check out Cambo Beach Club. This is the place that Ayla ditched us for when we took our sunset tour.
In the interest of spending time with our new friends, we also took a family visit. Ayla was extremely happy for a second visit! Cambo Beach Club is a good option for a chilled-out afternoon lounging by the pool. They also have a restaurant, and it’s easy to get to by tuk-tuk from anywhere in town.
3. Plan relaxation/chill time in Siem Reap with kids
If you’re wondering where to stay in Siem Reap, Cambodia, stay somewhere with a pool! It’s hot, so you’ll want somewhere to cool off each day, and downtime with kids in tow makes the holiday more enjoyable for everyone. That’s why we’re including relaxation time among our recommendations, even though it’s not a “sight” as such.
Another way we enjoyed relaxing in Siem Reap with the kids was by spending time at cafes and restaurants. Those without kids will likely make a beeline to the famous “Pub Street, Siem Reap”. Honestly, we did go there for dinner once since our friends were already there. But it was our least favorite place to eat with kids in tow. It’s very loud and is “tourist-central”. I also found it hard to get vegetarian food there.
In general, we loved the food throughout Southeast Asia. However, we didn’t really find any restaurants in Siem Reap where we could say we enjoyed the local cuisine. We did find some amazing places to eat, though, mostly for Western-style dishes. We loved Footprint Cafe and Banlle vegetarian restaurant (across the road from each other). The Village Cafe was also excellent.
Our favorite place to eat overall was Peace Cafe, which has the most delicious menu (with plenty of plant-based goodness), and a lovely outdoor setting where it’s easy to hang out with kids for a while.
4. Take tuk-tuks wherever you want to go in Siem Reap with kids
Maybe you’re wondering how to get from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat or how to travel around Siem Reap with kids? Ride a tuk-tuk!
We really enjoyed getting around by tuk-tuk in Siem Reap, and it can be an experience in itself (which is why we’ve included it in our list!) There’s just something special about riding in a tuk-tuk with the wind blowing your hair!
It’s easy to flag one down, and you can get one wherever you need to go, whether it’s out for food, to Cambo beach club, or to visit the temples. Your hotel will probably be able to call you a tuk-tuk or recommend a driver. Chances are, your driver will want to take you on all your outings during your stay.
If you want to do a temple tour, agree on a time frame and price with your driver before you leave. They will wait for you while you explore the temple and will drive you from temple to temple if that’s what you want to do. Negotiate the price for your ride, even if you just want to get dropped off somewhere local.
Our experiences of using transport in South East Asia
There seem to be several common threads around SE Asia (e.g., rice, motorbikes, and very friendly people).
Each area seems to have its own transport themes, however. In Hoi An, Vietnam, it’s motorbikes, electric bikes, and bicycles, with a few cars and buses, that like to honk their horns as loud and long as possible. Not a tuk-tuk in sight.
Siem Reap, Cambodia, on the other hand, is tuk-tuk central! When I arranged a taxi to pick us up from the airport, I didn’t quite realize it would be a tuk-tuk.
My thoughts (in very quick concession, in this order) were :
“How are we all going to fit in there with our luggage?”
“I’m glad we only brought hand luggage. How did they know we’d only have hand luggage?”.
“I bet they’d manage to fit us all in with our luggage no matter how much we had”
“I hope the baby is happy to stay in the pack!”
“Oh my gosh, can you believe how comfortable and luxurious these seats feel!”
They even have waterproof sides that can be pulled down when needed.
Yep, the traffic is rather chaotic in SE Asia. Red lights mean “you can still go” in Hoi An, Vietnam, but somehow it seems to work.
We have noticed that, in general, traffic is much slower in Southeast Asia. Defensive driving is essential (because you should expect that people will pull out in front of you all the time), and road rage seems non-existent.
5. Cool off at “kids park”
Our final recommendation for a one-week trip to Siem Reap with kids is to visit the “kids park”. It’s an indoor playground in the heart of Siem Reap.
We love to live an outdoor lifestyle and crave time in green spaces (well, at least I know I do). And I don’t mean the fake green spaces like this one! But indoor playgrounds like this are still a bit of fun for us, and a lot of fun for the kids. They were our best option during certain times in SE Asia.
We found some great outdoor playgrounds in Malaysia and Singapore. Not so much in Bali, Siem Reap, Laos or in Hoi An.
Of course, there are “nature” playgrounds in most places, which we make the most of too.
When it’s almost 40 degrees and high humidity outside, and you’ve had enough of mozzies, biting ants, or sand, I will admit that these air-conditioned indoor playgrounds offer a welcome alternative for kids and grown-ups!
For this great wee indoor playground in Siem Reap, search “kids park” on Google Maps.
Is Siem Reap worth visiting?
So is Siem Reap worth visiting with kids? It gets a thumbs up and an “absolutely” from us! We enjoyed exploring the ancient wonders and having plenty of relaxation time (well, as much as you can get with kids around!) Overall, Siem Reap proved to be a great choice for a visa run for us.
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