Transfer from Phnom Penh to Kompong Cham with your guide who will accompany you for the duration of your visit. 

A short distance outside of Kompong Cham visit Wat Hanchey, offering excellent views over the Mekong River. Close to town is Wat Nokor, an 11th century temple built of black sandstone and laterite and one of the last built under King Jayavarman VII. Stop for lunch at a restaurant in Kompong Cham, which serves as a training centre for disadvantaged youths.

Continue along the Mekong until reaching Kratie a town with a distinctly French feel to it. Take a boat across to the island of Koh Trong which will be your home for the next 2 nights. 

Meal included:                 Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation at:          Selected hotel, Kratie

Today is your chance to experience life on a Mekong River island. The island of Koh Trong is a friendly place and great for walking, jogging, cycling and just relaxing.

A local community project offers you the chance to plant a tree and leave a positive trace on the island for years to come. After continue by horse cart to a local homestay where a traditional Khmer meal will be served.

Meal included:                 Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation at:          Selected hotel, Kratie

Depart Koh Trong this morning and return to the mainland. Drive the short distance outside of Kratie to the starting point for a local boat cruise in search of the rare Irawaddy dolphins. These creatures spend most of their time in ‘dolphin pools’ or certain stretches of the Mekong River.

Continue to the largest pagoda in Cambodia, Wat Sorsor Moi Roi or 100 Columns Temple. Within the temple grounds visit the Mekong Turtle Conservation Project, set up to increase the wild population of the endangered Cantor’s Softshell Turtle in the nearby Mekong River, through turtle hatchlings from a community-led turtle nest programme. 

Later continue on the drive to Ratanakiri province. Arrive into Banlung and check in at your hotel.

Meal included:                 Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation at:          Selected hotel, Ratanakiri

Spend the full day exploring the beauty of Ratanakiri.

Cross bamboo forests before reaching the village of Voen Sai located on a bank of the Tonle San river. Visit a Chinese enclave where Khmer is hardly spoken. Upstream of the Tonle San is Kaoh Peak, a village of the Kachok minority that practices funeral statuary or totems.

On the way back to Banlung stop at Boeng Yeak Lom, a beautiful blue, perfectly round, crater lake surrounded by forest. The clear waters are inviting and it is time for a relaxing late afternoon swim.

Meal included:                 Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation at:          Selected hotel, Ratanakiri

A full day is spent once again to learn about the minority peoples of Ratanakiri province and also to take in some delightful countryside.

In the morning head northwards, almost to Laos and the village of Taveng. Cross the volcanic lava field of Veyrum Plang. Later on, stop at some Kroeung villages located in the forest on both sides of the road. Learn about the minority tribe who have a centuries old tradition of erecting bachelor houses standing on long poles.

Meal included:                 Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation at:          Selected hotel, Ratanakiri

This morning you can make a short visit to the local market. After it is time for the full day’s drive to either Phnom Penh or Siem Reap with a lunch stop on the way. 

Meal included:                 Breakfast and Lunch

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