We will be at Amantaka and Amansara this October, 6 nights at each resort.

I have already chosen activities for Amantaka (Luang Prabang City Tour, lunch on boat and afternoon Mekong cruise, Kuang Si waterfall and bear sanctuary, Market visit and cooking class within organic farm, mountain tour to Ban Long Lao village and baci ceremony), but find it more difficult to make a choice at Amansara.

They offer loads of different tours of the Angkor and also some possible additional (not included in the pack) activities among which a boat trip (tonle sap cruise) that I think sounds interesting. While we can of course go on "house outings" to different pars of the Angkor ruins twice a day and see "everything" that they have on offer during our six days, I think this might be a bit much for us. We would like to have time to just relax at the resort as well. I would therefore want to make a choice and wonder if some of you could help me in choosing which of the tours that are most scenic and most interesting. I am happy to list the names of the different options if this is necessary for you to help me choose - it is all very overwhelming at the moment and I do not really know if there are "new" and "different" things to see during each individual excursion or if it will feel like rather "more of the same" unless one is "particularly interested". Also I wonder weather you have best experiences with the very early morning outings or the afternoon ones, in case we would go for only one excursions every day instead of two which seems to be the norm.

Hope you can help!

Typically at Amansara the morning excursions start very early, and you get back around 9-10am. The afternoon trips start at around 3pm, and return at 6pm. So, you will have plenty of time during your stay to enjoy the resort and Siem Reap.

It's hard to pick and choose among the temple trips - they're all interesting in different ways. You certainly don't want to miss Angkor Wat. I personally found Bayon very atmospheric - There were very few people there, and we got caught in a thunderstorm, which made it even more photogenic. You'll probably want to do the "Temple in the Jungle" trip, which takes you to the ruins of Prohm.

Can I ask if the hotels contacted you to ask what your interests were and what you wanted to do? Or did you take the initiative yourself?

Thanks for your comments.

I got in touch with the hotel first in connection with the booking. They sent me their activity programme as part of this first contact and we agreed that I would come back to the booking of activities closer to the stay. I contacted them again yesterday saying a little bit about our preferences and asked them for a proposal which I got today. The proposal has taken our preferences into consideration but I am still not sure if we should do everything that they suggest which is why I ask for input from you and other fellow FT-ers experience. All the activities sounds good, but I am sure there are some highlights.

Six days at Amansara is a very agreeable amount of time to spend there (we didn't think four was enough) and October might well be perfect - the rainy season is ending, everything will be lushly green and there will be fewer crowds.

You are served a mini breakfast at around 6am (usually coffee and croissants) and then you go out with your guide and remork driver. Remorks are motorised rickshaws with a hamper on the back for iced water. We knew the Angkor site from an earlier visit and said we wanted to visit some remoter temples along with the usual ones such as Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Ta Promh. Thus we saw some marvellous places a little bit off the track and very often we had these to ourselves. One morning we went to Angkor Wat in pitch darkness and entered the temple compound from the back and walked through to the front in time for sunrise. We also went out to Banteay Srei which has the finest carvings.

We are temple junkies and take a lot of camera gear but even if you do two tours a day you still have a lot of time at the hotel to laze around and swim. It's not an extensive place, there are no large gardens, but on the other hand it's beautifully quiet and
secluded.

Much of the front of Angkor Wat - the classic view - is currently being restored and is covered under an immense green sheet. It's been like this for at least two years.

About Amantaka - perhaps a slightly better hotel than Amansara and Luang Prabang is a great place to wander around on your own. We stayed 4 nights and though that was about right.

We may well be in Siem Reap at the same time as you- we hope to stay at the De La Paix - now the Park Hyatt. My only regret is that we didn't get to stay there in its original form.
I'll be interested in the excursions suggested here although we will probably do most of them independently and not through the hotel.

Six nights at each is quite a bit of time at both. While they are both wonderful properties in their own way and circumstance, you may by the 4th or 5th night wished you had moved on. I would personally suggest you try to do Amano'i or Amanpuri as well, and have 4 nights of pure relaxation.

Thanks for more input from all of you. I will need to study everything quietly another day, compare with what the team at Amansara has proposed and make a choice based on this.

Noone seem to have done the Amansara boat trip??

Regarding number of days: Everything is booked now, so this will not change. I heard also before booking from some people that 6 night at each resort might be much, but we have loved just to do nothing at all other Amanswe have been to, so I am sure it will be OK. Pool, spa, gym, reading, relaxing is enough for us, and the activities will keep us busy as well, so I think it is just right for us. If I would have known upon booking that Amano'i would have been ready by now, I might have booked that as well, but now we will need to save that for next time.

Is there a gym at Amansara now?

Do not think so. But there is one at Amantaka.

Six days without a gym. I know it's vacation, but I'd go crazy. Honestly, as picky as it sounds, this is one of the major reasons that I've not attempted to visit Amansara.

One would think adding a gym would not be a big deal.

Wow, 6 nights at Amantaka and Amansara each, we are extremely jealous
Perfect choices of activities for Amantaka, I believe your son will really enjoy the experience at the bear sanctuary.

For Amansara, if it's your first time in Siem Reap, the "must-dos" are Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm. We have visited Siem Reap a few times and found Ta Nei (a small temple on the outskirt of Angkor Thom) offers a much quieter and jungly feel. Sunset at Bayon is a magical experience

The team at Amansara will time your visits to avoid the crowds, unfortunately that means 5am wake up calls in the mornings and after 3-4 days "temple fatigue" sets in...
I would perhaps take one or two day off from the outings if you have 6 nights. A traditional breakfast at their Khmer house is a great alternative to house outings!

The Tonle Sap cruise "Amanbala" has been launched for about half a year I think, from what I heard from Sally, guests feedback has been amazing. We have yet to try for ourselves though, may be until Feb next year

Did a boat trip out on the lake in 2000 before Amansara was open. You go past floating Vietnamese villages and see these peoples daily life. I think Amansara offers a visit to the Angkor Conservatory (think that's the name) which holds many of the missing pieces of the temples. It has all the missing pieces grouped together ( ie all arms, all heads, etc.). Don't miss a sunrise tour to Angkor Wat which in 2000 you went out front of Raffles and jumped on the back of a motorcycle for $2 USD. Also with the meal plan at Amansara you have the choice of eating one meal off property and I remember Siem Reap having a great vibe and good food.

Agree re addition of a gym, Amansara has an agreement with Raffles right across the road for guests to use their gym. Equipment-wise the Raffles gym was satisfactory.
Unfortunately when we entered the Raffles in our gym shorts and running shoes, the snobby receptionists just stared us down and refused our entry until he made another call to confirm with Amansara, despite staff in Amansara has already called ahead to inform them of our arrival. Not the classiest experience

It would be better if they at least would add a gym villa like Amankila/Amanusa. That is enough for me, but I also survive without a gym. Nothing at all means break from sports or - if I stay long - I request a simple sports mat in the villa and do some exercises there (can bring a small pilates ball and a TheraBand from home or put on a "training without weights" you tube video and do sports in my villa) - or go for a swim. Totally agree that a gym is better, but no gym does not have to mean no sports.

Oh, good to hear that there is a gym to use close to Amansara. Hope we have a better experience when going there, though.