Just to compare apples to apples, Kim San's price includes a SUV. The $35 for a guide isn't inclusive of that - at least, not the last time I checked.

Not sticking up for Kim San as it was my colleague that got fobbed off to another guide but there the prices quoted aren't always similar.

Whether someone thinks a driver is worth $20/day is another discussion. I've seen people doing it in tuk-tuk but the afternoon heat is pretty unbearable. (A bicycle will be almost lunacy.) Tuk tuks are fine for the 2 min ride into town, but that's about it.

I don't entirely agree. I did the tuk-tuk + driver thing in rainy season, when it's glorious and not that hot. It's a much different "up close and personal" feel than being in an enclosed vehicle. I've decided I much prefer doing this and being in a constant temperature, even if a little bit on the warm/humid side, vs jumping from a/c car to hot outdoors, back to a/c car, rinse & repeat. Gives me a headache. I am an avid cyclist but given distances and roads being a bit too crowded without safety lanes for bikes, forego this method of self-transport around Angkor. Usually it's either too hot or too wet for cycling, IMO.

Neither Cycling nor tuk-tuk will come with a guide however, so while cheaper, perhaps best used by those who prefer to study a good guidebook in advance (i.e. Dawn Rooney's book) and self-guide, or have been to the monuments before.

Is it common practice in Siem Reap to tip the tour guide? I have mine booked at $25 per day. What would be an appropriate tip if it is expected?

Did you book with an independent guide or through an agency?

Independent guide named Kanha. Her website is here http://www.angkorjourneys.com/
There are a lot of good reviews for her.

If you're booking straight from the guide, rather than an agency, then why would you tip?

I didn't think that it would be necessary either, but wanted to ask so I would not be disrespectful if a tip was expected.

Everyone has their own views but mine are as follows: When I come to agreement directly with the person giving the service (taxi, guide etc) I don't tip.

If the person giving the service is assigned by a superior (in which case they are contracted and getting only a portion of the payment) then I consider tipping as an option.

A tip might still be expected by the guide. In this case I don't think it's warranted though.

For those who have done the tour of Angkor Wat and stayed in SR, how much time do you think I need to allot to do the area? Right now we have carved out three nights but perhaps we only need two?

Angkor Wat is just one temple among many. It also depends on how you like to travel and share your days between visits and relaxing. I personally recommend 5 days to spend there (I'm serious). If you cannot stay so long, 3 days is certainly the minimum of the minimum. 2 days is crazy IMO.

Any update on good guides to use?
Also looking for a guide or company that could arrange seemless travel by land from BKK if possible.

Why do you want to travel 10+ hours by land when you can fly for $85 per pax with K6?

Also just pick up a Cellcard SIM, pay $3 for 1.5GB of data and access all the info you need for the various temples as you go to. At least that way you're not paying for run of the mill lies and crappy guides.

On that note, this past weekend was the first time I've been to REP since the southeast section of Bayon has opened (and now they're working on my favorite photographic spot :( ) and while we were checking out the area it was humorous that 4 of 6 guides pointed out a bas relief depiction of a cock fight and, verbatim, said, 'but we don't do that anymore in Cambodia. It's illegal.'

Now aside from the fact that pretty much every village indeed has individuals who train cocks the wording was such that Apsara Authority must have given a talking points bulletin to the guides.

Because there are no flights for $85 that I can find. They are all at $213+ and there are five of us. My travel dates are June 13-15.

I am beginning to think I might want to do a one way over BKK-REP and then overland return. That way we see the sights and save some money. One way is $92.

You've found the o/w fare however at 900Baht base (++) it actually comes to $85 per person. Not sure if you're calculating an incorrect currency conversion or have a card which charges forex......

Assuming you have a couple of lil 'uns you could potentially take a Camry share taxi (but buy all the seats) for ~$45 to get to the border and then hop aboard a bus/train to get back to Bangkok. If you're going to travel by land o/w then I'd recommend doing it on the way back to Bangkok.

It looks like the JAL deal would be a waste if it weren't round trip. Really hate to miss the experience of crossing the land border at Poipet, I am sure it would make for some good photos. :)

So we are going to miss Poipet all together. We used SPG to transfer 20,000 points to JMB. That converted to 25,000 miles on JAL. Used the JMB points to purchase 5 round trip flights DMK-REP. Only cost $46.50 each in taxes. I think that was a great deal.

We also chose to stay at the Best Western because of free breakfast, resort, free airport transportation, free transportation into town, and the most important thing is that every time we called they answered the phone. We could also clearly understand the people at the Best Western. The Park Hyatt not only did not answer their phone in the mornings, when we did get them on the phone, they could not answer most questions.

Your profile suggests you're a Hyatt Diamond. You would have gotten free breakfast and been in town.

Something doesn't add up here.... what kind of questions did you have?

Don't make accusations! How many get free breakfast? How many are in my party? What is the cost difference for the extra people? How does that compare to the BW? It adds up plenty!

LOL....he obviously didn't follow the earlier/original query from you.

FWIW, I think BW offers a pretty good deal for you. Enjoy your visit, it will be fun!

^^^

PS: don't forget passport pix for VOA.

Accusations? What on earth are you bantering about. :rolleyes:

You get up to 4 breakfasts with Hyatt Diamond and there are 5 of you. A mere $33 is enough to sway you from one of the top hotels in the town?

If I wanted to make accusations I'd first inquire why you're going to such an expense to plan the trip to REP and yet hem and haw at $33.

DSquared: just booked a last minute trip as I was able to get my mom to BKK, going tomorrow and have three nights at the PH.

What is the best option for getting to from/hotel getting around and last minute guide.
I have been working flat out and had little time to organize this and my Thai gf has never been either!

Lodging and guide for Siem Reap
 

Hello everybody,

Anybody could recommend a lodging with two separate bedrooms at Siem Reap which would not cost more than $50/night?

Also, regarding tours/guides - I did read previous pages but messages are several years old. What is the situation with tours/guides look like right now?