One-Way-Flusskreuzfahrt / Straßentour von Phnom Penh nach Siem Reap oder Siem Reap nach PP

We didn’t really want to fly between the two cities and the bus would have been a decent alternative. But the idea of a cruise down the Mekong was attractive. They have actually stopped the Mekong cruise (that’s what our “guide” told us) and now only offer the Tonle Sap river alternative (maybe they should update their marketing). The 1st part, from Siem Reap to the Prek Kdam area is a long 5 hour 300km drive. Our driver, very nice and obliging, almost fell asleep a few times. We ended up buying him a coffee. But I can understand and have compassion for him. Driving for 5hrs on a boring road…. Upon arrival at the river, a quick tour of a silver smith is on offer (not too much pressure to buy their wares). The “cruise” part starts - 4hrs meandering down the river (the speed is slow I suppose to prolong the experience). So you get some 25kms of time on board one of their three boats (depending on how many people are on the trip). Lunch is prepared and served by the onboard “guide” , Samieth in our case (a very nice and helpful person with whom we had a good conversation about all sorts of issues). Lunch is simple but tasty. Upon arrival in Phnom Penh a tuk tuk is provided for the transfer to your hotel. Again a very nice driver (who tries his best to coax you to use his services as a guide for your stay in the capital) What you read in the various reviews gives a good overview of this proposition. But every individual will have a different opinion. A nice alternative to aeroplane or bus, but quite honestly a bit expensive (I’d be happy paying maybe 25% less to feel that I’m getting my money’s worth). Yes, maybe as one reviewer mentioned, a $10 dollar bus ride and a Mekong day cruise in Phnom Penh could be a cheaper alternative. On a final note, thanks to Peter (the owner) for his responsiveness to queries prior to the trip, and bravo to the driver, the boat captain and to Samieth - good team!

Tara Boat adequately transported us from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh but this was in no way a luxury tour. The "western toilet" had no toilet paper and no place to dispose of toilet paper that thankfully I carried with me. The light was broken so just a dimly lit little closet - also no place to wash your hands. Yuck! Good thing i also carry hand sanitizer. There was a guide on the long, boring bus ride but no guide - as advertised - on the boat ride, when you'd actually appreciate some insite to what you're seeing. The only stops were during the bus ride - nowhere interesting - and no village visit on the boat, as advertised. Not only did we not receive a welcome drink on the boat, we weren't even welcomed. No introductions, no safety briefing, no one even bothered to point out where the toilets were - we found them on our own. They did serve a decent lunch but it was limited. We asked for additional mango (one cut up for 5 people) and were told there wasn't any more. One of the staff finally put his phone down to see if we wanted any thing and became personable when Phnom Penh was in sight. Blatantly angling for a tip after ignoring us for close to 4 hours. There are faster, and cheaper ways to get from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh.

Pleasant enough trip, overpriced, no visit to floating village or temple. Unaware that the shop beside where we joined the boat was apparently the silversmith promised in the itinerary. Little to no interaction from staff on the boat until the last 10 minutes, certainly no greeting or welcome drink. Staff spent most of the trip asleep. Food was ok but basic. Wouldn't recommend.

This tour seems to be hit or miss based on reviews. I owe it to my fellow traveler to add mine. To his credit, Peter (the owner, I assume) was very responsive through the booking process, prior to the tour, and even after; but ultimately the marketing of this tour was deceptive. We felt bamboozled. Similar to another reviewer, I wish I would have delved a little deeper during my research of reviews The 4 1/2 hour driving portion was uninformative, and for us, a bit sketchy as the driver seemed sleepy and erratic. He spoke only Khmer so we were unable to communicate our concerns with him. Peter’s associate spoke to him via a phone call, at least, for whatever that was worth. We stopped at a tourist rest area but declined stopping at two other stops because we weren’t able to decipher why we were stopping. And the “master silversmith” stop was essentially meaningless because there was little to no explanation, it seemed like a place to buy mass produced silver and metal products for all we could tell. The boat tour was a little bit better. The guide was friendly and answered our questions, but took very little initiative in offering information. Our stop at a Buddhist temple was interesting and the guide information good, but we certainly did not have any “experience” with a floating village, it was more of a chug down the river looking from afar. Also, the river scenery for the most part is uninteresting. I was expecting something a bit more intriguing and personal. One positive, the temperature on the river was pleasant! Given the description of this tour seemed a bit disingenuous, I am dubious of the claims Tara makes about their social and community commitments. They tout their eco awareness , but we tromped over a pile of trash at landing site for the temple, a place where the tour stops every time! Really?! The aggravating thing is that this tour is QUITE expensive, comparatively speaking. In an attempt to reconcile the cost with myself, I am REALLY hoping that the company’s claim to paying living wages is true. Our guide did speak very highly of Peter. I can’t speak for any of Tara’s other tours, but my advice is to take the bus between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh for $10 and do a river tour in Phnom Penh for a fraction of the price.

The service was perfect starting from being picked up from our hotel in Phnom Penh and delivered to our hotel in Siem Reap. In between we had a wonderful journey up river on a boat during which we were served an excellent lunch prepared in front of us. Sa Meth looked after us very well and with good English was a mine of information. This include a guided tour of a village that specialised in silver and copper artworks. We bought a lovely copper elephant for our daughter. He then handed us over to a driver of a most comfortable limosine for the rest of the journey.

Excellent river cruise with our guide Sameth on the river. Sameth is very knowledgeable, friendly and engaging. Lunch was nice and this trip was enjoyable despite it being the dry season which limited the river boat portion due to river depth. Obviously, seasonal rains are not within anyone’s control and we knew this by reading their website. Thoroughly enjoyable to see Cambodian communities along the journey and much better than flying from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh.

We wanted to get from Siem Reap to phnom Pen but didn’t want to drive all the way. The Tara riverboat gave us the opportunity to cruise some of the journey. Through email correspondence we booked our place on the trip. We were picked up from our hotel in the morning by Var our driver. He spoke excellent English and was very knowledgeable giving us interesting facts about Cambodia along the way. It took approximately 4hrs with a stop for refreshments. When we reached the port side to meet the boat, the transfer was seamless. The happy crew were waiting to take us and our luggage onboard. The boat was lovely and clean with sunny and shaded seating areas. Sameth our host prepared us some delicious food and beverages on request. He’s such a friendly man, very attentive and kind. He too spoke excellent English and again we chatted about the history of Cambodia and Khmer. The river trip also took around 4hrs. We felt the whole experience was very straightforward and enjoyable.

A great way to get to SR from PP if you want to take your time. I ended up being the only one going in this direction so felt like a private tour. I enjoyed the leisurely boat ride up the Tonle Sap river. The guide on both this leg and the drive to SR were friendly and knowledgeable. Lunch on board the boat was delicious! At the change from boat to car, there's the chance to take a look at a local silver/goldsmith shop and a pagoda. Would recommend as a different way to travel if you want to experience a bit more culture along the way.

When faced with the challenge of getting from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, we decided to do something different. Booking directly through the website was extremely easy - Peter was able to confirm our booking the same day. Our driver Dara was at our hotel early, and throughout the 4.5 hour car ride to the riverboat, he also made a couple of fun stops for us and filled us in on the local happenings. Travelling via private car was very comfortable and made for some good views of rural life. We then arrived to the Tomle Sap River and boat section of the trip right on time, where we were transferred into the hospitable care of Samath. With the whole crew keeping us safe and fed (lunch was delicious!), Samath in particular was really helpful in answering the many questions we had about life in Cambodia and keeping us entertained for the remaining 4.5 hour trip. We also made a really special stop to a temple en route to PP. All in all, we loved our time on the Tara River Boat. We would definitely recommend this trip to all in SR or PP!

Tara Boat is a complete scam. Only book with Tara tour if you want to be crammed into a small van transported to the vicinity of Phnom Penh, receive a mediocre meal and be ripped of your money. While being talked to by the most racist guide and even threatened to be killed. Worst experience in my whole south east Asia Trip. We’ve Booked a ONE-WAY LAND & CRUISE FROM SIEM REAP TO PHNOM PENH ( $ 139 PER PERSON) wich should have included a cultural experience including a visit to a silversmith and a knowledgeable guide. In the end we were cramped in a minivan. Driven to the vicinity of Phnom Penh, where we were dropped off at a bad touristic shop, no explanations what so ever. Then we went on the boat, Phnom Penh already visible from the starting point only to drift down as slowly as possible to artificially prolong our trip. The guide, who didn’t where any type of official Guide Batches or insignia, was a complete disgrace to his company and country. A full blown racist and disrespectful to anybody else. The guide starter by raging on how much he hates Chinese people, continued that everybody working for the government is a fraud. How they are all second gen Khmer rouge. The King, he said, was gay and weak, and only cares for him self. The rural people were dumb and outrageous. I just figured that this company might have changed its name to Tara Boat but it is still the same. After reaching out to them they don’t see anything wrong with them and then stoped responding. The guide even threatened us to kill me. This was by far the worst experience we’ve had travelling to Cambodia. NEVER EVER BOOK WITH TARA BOAT