Discover Cambodia and its golf courses
Until recently, golf was virtually unheard of in Cambodia. With more tourists coming to the country every year, there are now a number of golf courses matching international standards.
This tour offers golfers the possibility of pursuing their hobby while discovering Cambodia’s most famed treasures. In the course of the tour, we visit the majestic temple complex of Angkor and the vibrant capital Phnom Penh and stay in some of Cambodia’s best hotels – the ideal option for golfers who would like to discover this captivating country while indulging their passion.
Overview
6 Days (5 Nights) from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap- Day 1 City tour of Phnom Penh & dinner cruise on the Mekong River
- Day 2 Golf in the Cambodia Golf & Country Club; flight to Siem Reap
- Day 3 Golf in the Phokeethra Country Club, visit to Angkor Thom
- Day 4 Helicopter flight over Angkor; visit to Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and other temples
- Day 5 Golf in the Angkor Golf Resort
- Day 6 Check-out and transfer to the airport or next destination of an extended tour programme
Day 1:After your arrival in Phnom Penh, you are welcomed at the airport by our tour guides and taken to your hotel. After a short break, we go on a city tour by private vehicle. We start with Wat Phnom which according to legend was erected on an artificial hill (phnom) by Lady Penh, a noble woman who the city is named after. We then explore the Royal Palace including Wat Preah Keo Morokat featuring the famous Silver Pagoda with a floor made entirely of solid silver tiles. We next turn our attention to the adjacent National Museum which houses artworks and cultural artefacts from all eras and parts of Cambodia. Our next stop is the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, the former torture prison of the Khmer Rouge. We conclude our tour of the city with a leisurely stroll through the central market built in the art deco style. Having a well-deserved break in the hotel, we enjoy an idyllic dinner cruise on the Mekong River.
Day 2: In the morning, we make our way to the Golf & Country Club. Surrounded by rice paddies and coconut trees, the scenic 18-hole course also features bunkers and water obstacles and thus requires players’ full attention. In the afternoon, you take a flight from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Our tour guide will be pleased to pick you up you from the airport and take you straight to your hotel.
Day 3: After an early breakfast, we go to Phokeethra Country Club where we play a demanding round. Phokeethra beautifully blends into the existing landscape and has numerous palm trees, ponds and impeccably tended greens. All in all a first-class golf course with challenges and excitement for players of all levels..
After lunch, we go to see the grandiose Angkor temples with the royal city of Angkor Thom. Apart from the Bayon Temple with its fascinating towers featuring carved human faces, the formerly fortified complex also houses the Royal Palace and the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. We admire the splendid sunset from one of the temples.
Day 4: After our first impressions gained the day before, we enjoy a bird’s eye view of Angkor. On a scenic helicopter flight, we marvel at the breath-taking view of the temples and the surrounding areas of Siem Reap.
In the afternoon, we visit the imposing Angkor Wat Temple, the world’s largest religious monument and Cambodia’s national symbol. With its perfectly balanced layout and its unsurpassed relief ornaments artfully carved into sandstone, Angkor Wat is seen as an unmatched masterwork of architecture. Following the Small Circuit, we then have a close look at Ta Keo, Angkor’s first construction built entirely of sandstone, and the serene and romantic Ta Prohm. This latter temple has been left exactly as it was found in the 19th century – embraced by the roots of enormous jungle trees. Our excursion would not be complete without a few admiring looks at Banteay Kdei, a flat temple also known as the Citadel of Monks. Back in the hotel, we are treated to a soothing traditional Khmer massage.
Day 5: Today we discover another of Siem Reap’s golf courses, Royal Angkor Golf Resort designed by Nick Faldo. A varied course with generous fairways and bunkers strategically placed in such a way that they pose special challenges, Royal Angkor Golf Resort is nevertheless suitable for players of all levels.
Day 6: Check-out and transfer to the airport or next destination of an extended travel programme.
The above tours are therefore sample itineraries.
Bustling Capital
Cambodia’s bustling capital is situated at the confluence of the Mekong, Bassac and Tonle Sap rivers. Legend has it that Phnom Penh was founded when a woman by the name of Penh found Buddha images washed up on the bank of the Mekong River. In 1373, a temple, Wat Phnom, was built on a hill to house them. With Phnom in Khmer meaning hill, Phnom Penh literally translates as Hill of Penh. Officially the city was founded in 1434 by King Ponhea Yat, following the fall of Angkor.
Today, Phnom Penh is a city of more than 1.5 million people. With continuing urban development it is fast developing into an economic hub of the region, at the same time retaining its distinct atmosphere with its wide tree-lined boulevards, French colonial buildings and an abundance of chic bistros dotted along the riverfront, bustling markets, intriguing boutiques and stylish hotels.
Places of interest include the royal palace including the Silver Pagoda with its spectacular floor made up of 5,000 silver tiles, the National Museum housing treasures from the world’s finest collection of sculptures from the Angkor period, Wat Phnom, the city’s landmark and the notorious Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.
Phnom Penh is also ideal gateway for daytrips to the surrounding countryside. Particularly attractive are boat trips on the Mekong and Tonle Sap combined with a visit to the picturesque Silk Island or a visit of Udong, once the Capital of Cambodia, and the floating villages of Kampong Chhnang.
Tourist hub of Cambodia
As gateway to the temples of Angkor, Siem Reap is clearly the tourist hub of Cambodia. Accordingly, the town offers a vast array of accommodation options, ranging from boutique guest houses to some of the best hotels in the region.
The picturesque town centre hosts many speciality restaurants, lively bars, designer boutiques and a bustling night market.
Apart from temple visits, there are plenty activities that warrant a longer stay than just a couple of days, ranging from photography courses to cycling adventures to excursions to nearby bird sanctuaries or a homestay in a floating village on the nearby Tonle Sap Lake.
World Heritage
The area around the provincial capital of Siem Reap is dotted with dozens of temple complexes, most of them situated in the Angkor Archaeological Park to the North of the town.
Among the countless treasures first-time visitors should at least include Angkor Wat, believed to be the world’s largest religious building, the Bayon with its mysterious face towers and the complexes of Agnkor Thom, a walled fortress which was once the centre world’s largest city.
On the way to and back from these complexes visits of other temples are easily possible, above all of Ta Prohm which has been left to the forces of nature by archaeologists, many parts of its structure being embraced by the roots of gigantic trees.
At least two days are required for a relatively detailed exploration of Angkor Archaeological Park which can be reached conveniently by car, tuk tuk or bicycle. The area is too large to be explored on foot.
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