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Old Jan 13, 2017, 4:24 am
  #1  
JMR
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Day trips from Phnom Penh/ rail experience suggestions

Any suggestions for day trips from PNH?

Friend and I staying in Phnom Penh in March, no desire to change cities/ hotels, but would like to get outside of the city a few times.

We have the Killing Fields on the agenda, but I'm looking for something a bit more adventurous, something you attack right after breakfast and don't come home from until it's evening/ time for bed.

I understand the trains are running now - is that an experience unto itself? Do they run anywhere interesting with an evening return?

Bus trips to waterfalls, Angkor-era temples?

Really, open to anything.

TIA
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Old Feb 3, 2017, 5:40 pm
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Hello JMR, where did you hear about the train in PNH? I will be there in Feb, and can look it up once I land, but would be great if you had any information in advance.

P
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Old Feb 3, 2017, 5:45 pm
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I found this at the daily guardian, and seems to provide some insight into the rail service.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2...ukville-kampot

Also the website for the Royal Cambodian Railway. (very limited information but gives ticket booth times)

http://royal-railway.com/

P

Last edited by penlin; Feb 3, 2017 at 5:50 pm Reason: added Royal Cambodian Railway Link
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Old Feb 3, 2017, 8:35 pm
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Originally Posted by JMR

I understand the trains are running now - is that an experience unto itself? Do they run anywhere interesting with an evening return?
AFAIK the train only goes to Sihanoukville.

There's a day trip to Udong, I've yet to do it.
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Old Feb 4, 2017, 11:48 am
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Originally Posted by JMR
Angkor-era temples?
Angkor archeological park is certainly not a day trip from PNH.
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Old Feb 4, 2017, 2:25 pm
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you could do Phnom Chisor as a day trip from PNH
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Chisor

It's a long climb, but once you get to the top it's totally worth it. Nice old ruins and a great view over the valley. Should be easy enough to hire a driver to take you there and back
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Old Feb 6, 2017, 10:21 am
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Just in case somebody comes back to this thread months from now....

The passenger train service currently only runs on the weekend. Make sure you check the schedule for your specific dates as it's possible that they expand service. Also I wouldn't recommend taking a train back to Phnom Penh if your flight out of PP is the same day.
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Old Feb 7, 2017, 8:14 pm
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Originally Posted by glennaa11
you could do Phnom Chisor as a day trip from PNH
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Chisor

It's a long climb, but once you get to the top it's totally worth it. Nice old ruins and a great view over the valley. Should be easy enough to hire a driver to take you there and back
Awesome suggestion. Will definately add it to the list. My trip was to be in a few weeks from now, but alas, the scheduling g-ds demand me elsewhere.

Likely now to be in the fall.

Anything like this as a suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by penlin
I found this at the daily guardian, and seems to provide some insight into the rail service.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2...ukville-kampot

Also the website for the Royal Cambodian Railway. (very limited information but gives ticket booth times)

http://royal-railway.com/

P
Thank you for the links. I have some friends "on the ground" in PNH and they told me it was running again.

Weekends only, so have to make sure I'm there for that time.

Originally Posted by Goldorak
Angkor archeological park is certainly not a day trip from PNH.
True, but aren't there temples elsewhere in KH that are from that era? Like the one linked above?

We did Angkor Wat 10 years ago and were amazed.

Last edited by Ocn Vw 1K; Feb 8, 2017 at 12:01 am Reason: Combine consecutive posts of same member.
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Old Feb 7, 2017, 11:44 pm
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Originally Posted by JMR
True, but aren't there temples elsewhere in KH that are from that era? Like the one linked above?

We did Angkor Wat 10 years ago and were amazed.
there is one called Ta Prohm, in the south suburbs of PNH (to not be confused with the very famous one in Angkor). Quite nice, but that won't make an entire day of visit.
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Old Feb 8, 2017, 2:56 am
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Originally Posted by glennaa11
you could do Phnom Chisor as a day trip from PNH
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Chisor

It's a long climb, but once you get to the top it's totally worth it. Nice old ruins and a great view over the valley. Should be easy enough to hire a driver to take you there and back
Good call - I had forgotten about it.

A fun little trip and not too far afield, though definitely not a tuk tuk ride.
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Old Feb 23, 2017, 4:22 pm
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Phnom Bokor & Kampot are located to the south, making for an easy day trip. Phnom Bokor has some French colonial ruins (not quite what you had in mind but very interesting to see) and a casino. Kampot is a nice, smaller seaside town famous for its pepper. They also have a nice central market, and very few western tourists.

Udong is an former capital city located a short drive from PP. There are some very interesting temples on top of a hill, with an amazing view.

Kratie is home to the few remaining Mekong river dolphins. They will probably be extinct soon, which is a horrible shame. There are plenty of boats that go out on dolphin watches in the river, and you have reasonably good odds of spotting a few.

I found PP to be a very walkable city, and you could easily kill a day or two just wandering around aimlessly. It is actually quite compact, and a tuk-tuk is always available if you get tired or lost.
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Old Feb 23, 2017, 4:52 pm
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Originally Posted by downinit
Phnom Bokor & Kampot are located to the south, making for an easy day trip. Phnom Bokor has some French colonial ruins (not quite what you had in mind but very interesting to see) and a casino. Kampot is a nice, smaller seaside town famous for its pepper. They also have a nice central market, and very few western tourists.

Udong is an former capital city located a short drive from PP. There are some very interesting temples on top of a hill, with an amazing view.

Kratie is home to the few remaining Mekong river dolphins. They will probably be extinct soon, which is a horrible shame. There are plenty of boats that go out on dolphin watches in the river, and you have reasonably good odds of spotting a few.
Neither Kampot/Bokor nor Kratie is a day trip from PNH. These destinations are 4 hours by car - minimum.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 1:57 am
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Originally Posted by dsquared37
Neither Kampot/Bokor nor Kratie is a day trip from PNH. These destinations are 4 hours by car - minimum.
correct
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Old Mar 7, 2017, 10:04 am
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Depends on how you define a day trip. Leave early morning and come back in the evening, so 3-4 hour drive each way still leaves plenty of time to explore a destination.

I did Kampot/Bokor as a day trip. I did spend the night in Kratie, but the sun is still up when you go out on the river, and there was plenty of time to drive back to PP that same day if I had to. Of course, it would be ideal to spend more time in every destination, but some people do not have that luxury.
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