Tonle Sap Lake-Floating Villages-Mangrove Forest
Description
Enjoy a day tour as we will pick up from your hotel in Siem Reap and drive 15 km from Siem Reap to the boat docks of Chong Khneas. We will go aboard a local boat for a lovely ride onto the Tonle Sap through the floating villages of Chong Khneas and villages on high stilts. This tour will take you to two different villages along the Tonle Sap floodplains. Discover the distinctive flow cycle of the Tonle Sap Lake and how this fact makes it Cambodia’s most important economic and ecological resource. By visiting Chong Kneas floating villages and market, Kopong Phluk with mangrove forest and Kompong Phluk is the village on high stilts, gain insights to how villagers uniquely live in harmony in this uncommon setting over/on water. Spend about 5 to 6 hours by the lake and its floodplains for this enriching cultural experience. This tour includes snacks, lunch, coke and cold bottled waters .
Tour Options
Itinerary
Enjoy a 5 to 6 hours tour as we pick up from your hotel at 8:00 AM. We will drive 15 km south of Siem Reap to the boat docks of Chong Kneas.
We’ll then board a local boat for a pleasant ride onto the Tonle Sap, passing through the floating village of Chong Khneas. Tonle Sap is the largest lake of Southeast Asia and stretches across the northwest portion of Cambodia. The lake is economically important as it serves as major source of many kinds of fishes. It swells to ten times its normal size during the wet season, bringing diverse aquatic resources. It also serves as habitat for several species of water birds. Chong Khneas is a floating village at the edge of Tonle Sap. Explore the floating households, composed predominantly of Vietnamese people, and recognizable because of the brightly colored houses. Take a glimpse of the floating village life as we pass along floating houses, schools, clinics, sports hall and even pig farms. We will stop at Gecko Environment Center where you can learn more about the ecology and rich biodiversity of Tonle Sap and its surrounding floodplains.
We will continue our boat trip to the fishermen village of Kompong Phluk. Houses here are built on stilts. This village is almost exclusively composed of Khmer origin. The villagers move houses depending on the season. They dwell on stilts during rainy season and move to small huts near at the banks during dry season. You will visit the pagoda, the only building in the village that is not built on stilts, and observe villagers going about their daily activities. You will then transfer to a small canoe (Aug-Jan as optional) to be paddled by villagers, to take you deep into the dense mangrove forest. The mangroves are uniquely adapted to the flooded environment and can impressively survive being completely submerged during a part of the year. We will transfer you back to your hotel in Siem Reap after visit Kampong Phluk Village.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Departure Point: From your hotel in Siem Reap City Return point: Your hotel in Siem Reap City
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Subject to favorable weather conditions. If due to poor weather (In very little chance may happen in rainy season between Jul to mid of Nov), so we will visit only Kampong Khleang and Kampong Phluk Villages by car instead and taking boat ride in Kampong Phluk as well as in Kampong Khleang Village.
Reviews(30)
Overpriced. Disappointing. Dropped us at a floating cafe, caged miserable scared looking animals, baby crocs handed to people to hold, unethical, and tried to rip us off by saying you could only go around the floating village if you paid extra 20USD. We thought that was the trip we were getting! Phoned our tuktuk driver and he made our boat take us around the edge, no stilt village as mentioned, we'd recommend giving this one a miss. Many other disappointed and pissed off tourists here too, they should explain before you go that you need to pay extra if you actually want to go around the village. And no respect for animals here, just put for show. Guide included was angling for tips. Felt pretty unprofessional. Recommend going to a further away lake spot for hopefully a much better and authentic experience, as this one wasn't.
This was one of my favorite things we did in Cambodia. It felt like a sneak peak into rural life here and especially life in the fishing villages. You will stop at the floating villages and then also walk through the town (or canoe though depending on the water levels when you visit). We got to visit some of the locals home and see how they live, prepare food, and work. We also stopped in the school where the children were anxious to show off the English they are learning. Lunch at the restaurant was lovely! Thank you Nak and Sokhen for a great experience.
The trip was amazing! The views are so beautiful, fishing village is something I’ve never seen before. It’s even difficult to find words to express fillings! Special thanks to our guid Choub! He made our tour even more interesting with telling a stories about history and local traditions.
Helo 546nataliiaz, Greeting from Green Era Travel! We are appreciated for your value time to review and highly recommend us on Trip Advisor. We truly appreciated your kind words about your tour. It is definitely a boost for us every time we hear positive reviews such as this. Furthermore, we are thrilled to hear that you love our tour. We will pass this comment to guide and team as well. Sure they will be happy to hear that. Last but not least, we would like to wish you and your families have a great day. We do hope to see you again soon in next trip in Cambodia. Best Regards, GET Team
On a very hot day we had a lovely cruise on the largest freshwater lake in southeastern Asia. Although a long drive from Siem Reap, the journey was worth it. The floating village was fascinating with every conceivable facility available including Churches and restaurants.
Hello BobBonHere, Greeting from Green Era Travel! Thank you so much for taking time to review us on Trip Advisor. We are astonished to read your remark and overall you loved the tour. We will pass this comment to guide and team as well. Last but not least, we would like to wish you and your families enjoy the four blessings of the Buddha: Longevity, Happiness, Good Health and Physical strength. We do hope to see you again soon in next trip in Cambodia. Best Regards, GET Team
Tom, the guide, was very good. Hope to see him again next year. And the sunset was amazing! Will definately be back next year.
Hello Tuttefar, Greeting from Green Era Travel! Thank you so much for taking time to review us on Trip Advisor. We are thrilled to read your remark and overall you loved the tour. We will pass this comment to guide and team as well. Last but not least, we would like to wish you and your families enjoy the four blessings of the Buddha: Longevity, Happiness, Good Health and Physical strength. We do hope to see you again soon in next trip in Cambodia. Best Regards, GET Team
Nak was an amazing tour guide, went above and beyond to cater to our interests and personalise our experience! My favourite was Kamplong Pluk village, the floating village where you can see the culture of the temples and schools. Highly recommend if in Siem Reap.
Hello E H, Greeting from Green Era Travel! Thank you so much for taking time to review us on Trip Advisor. We are thrilled to read your remark and overall you loved the tour. We will pass this comment to guide and team as well. Last but not least, we would like to wish you and your families enjoy the four blessings of the Buddha: Longevity, Happiness, Good Health and Physical strength. We do hope to see you again soon in next trip in Cambodia. Best Regards, GET Team
Educational experience! Mr Van Lonh was knowledgeable and provided insights into how the people in the floating villages lived. Mr Wong was a great driver who brought us safely everywhere. Thanks
Hello 667allc, Greeting from Green Era Travel! Thank you so much for taking time to review us on Trip Advisor. We are astonished to read your remark and overall you loved the tour. We will pass this comment to guide and team as well. Last but not least, we would like to wish you and your families enjoy the four blessings of the Buddha: Longevity, Happiness, Good Health and Physical strength. We do hope to see you again soon in next trip in Cambodia. Best Regards, GET Team
This was a refreshing trip to Tonle Sap Lake! It was fascinating for me to learn about the two floating villages in the area as well as the respective adaptations have to cope with the weather conditions. Highly recommended!
Hello tsienfc, Greeting from Green Era Travel! Thank you so much for taking time to review us on Trip Advisor. We are astonished to read your remark and overall you loved the tour. We will pass this comment to guide and team as well. Last but not least, we would like to wish you and your families enjoy the four blessings of the Buddha: Longevity, Happiness, Good Health and Physical strength. We do hope to see you again soon in next trip in Cambodia. Best Regards, GET Team
Our family of 4 had a highly interesting trip to two floating villages guided by Mr Van Lonh. We learnt a lot from his sharing of the villager’s way of life and the eco-system in Tonle Sap. He was teamed by the driver, Mr Vong whose MPV is spacious and clean. We were assured by his safe driving. The highlight for me was to paddle the canoe among tall mangroves in the lake. I highly recommend this trip. 👍
Hello SMey F, Greeting from Green Era Travel! We are appreciated you for taking your value time to provide us with such detail feedback on Trip Advisor. The fact that you had mentioned that our tours were without doubt the best run tours that you have ever been on means a lot to us! The itinerary suited you perfectly, that is exactly what we want for you and our visitors. Otherwise, we will pass this comment to the guide and the rest of the team as well and sure they will be happy. Last but not least, we would like to wish you and your families enjoy the four blessings of the Buddha: Longevity, Happiness, Good Health and Physical strength. We do hope to see you again soon in next trip in Cambodia. Best Regards, GET Team
I really recommend this outing , everything was great starting with the NAK guide which is besides being super nice is an inexhaustible source on the history of Cambodia , perfect day thank you very much to NAK
Hello ericC284, Greeting from Green Era Travel! Thank you so much for taking time to review us on Trip Advisor. We are thrilled to read your remark and overall you loved the tour. We will pass this comment to guide and team as well. We do hope to see you again soon in next trip in Cambodia. Best Regards, GET Team
