Angkor Wat Cycling Tour

Angkor’s temples are famous, but the ride between them is part of the story. This private cycling tour takes you beyond the main temple stops, along back roads and forested paths to smaller sites such as Ta Nei, with a look at rural life around the park along the way.

I like two things here: you can cover several far-apart temples without spending the whole day on foot, and guide Mr K can adjust how much cycling you do. The bike, helmet, water, hotel pickup and drop-off are included, which makes the $45 price easier to assess.

The main consideration is the time commitment. The tour starts at 7:30 am and lasts about six to eight hours, while the listed temple visits add up to eight hours before you account for riding. You’ll want to confirm how the day is paced, and budget another $37 per person for the Angkor pass.

What to know before you ride

• A private ride, not a mixed group: Only your party joins the tour, so the pace and amount of cycling can be adjusted with your guide.
• Quiet routes are part of the appeal: The ride uses back roads and forested paths, with smaller temples that are easy to miss on a vehicle-based visit.
• Six temple stops, with two hours at the major sites: Angkor Wat and Bayon each get a substantial visit, alongside Chau Say Tevoda, Ta Prohm, Ta Nei and Angkor Thom’s East Gate.
• Mr K is a key part of the experience: His friendliness, organization and willingness to adapt the ride are repeatedly praised.
• The listed price is not the full temple-day cost: The tour is $45 per person, but the $37 Angkor temple pass is not included.
• Come ready for a long day: Mountain bikes, helmets and cold drinking water are supplied, but the route combines cycling with hours among the temples.

Riding beyond Angkor’s main paths

Angkor is often seen from a car or tuk-tuk, then explored on foot. A bike changes the rhythm. You move under your own power between sites, passing through forest and along back roads rather than treating every temple as a separate stop. That slower connection to the park is the central reason to choose this tour.

The route is described as leisurely, and the guide can adapt the amount of cycling to suit your group. That matters if you want to make the ride the main event, or if you’d rather use the bike to save your legs for the temple grounds. One rider described the bikes as high quality, and helmets are included, useful details on a day when you’ll be both cycling and walking.

This is a private activity, so you won’t be asked to keep pace with strangers. It also means your group can focus on the kinds of stops that interest you. The stated route includes the park’s best-known temples, but also less-visited sites and stretches of jungle that give the day a different feel from a standard temple circuit.

Starting from your Siem Reap hotel

Pickup is offered, and the tour begins with a 7:30 am departure from your hotel. The guide speaks English, and pickup and drop-off are included in the $45-per-person price. Having transport arranged is useful at the start and end of a day that could run six to eight hours.

The tour combines riding with extended temple visits, so don’t think of it as a short spin with a few photo stops. The listed time at the temples comes to about eight hours in total: two hours at Angkor Wat, two at Bayon, half an hour at Chau Say Tevoda, two hours at Ta Prohm, one hour at Ta Nei and half an hour at the East Gate. That is already at the upper end of the advertised tour length, before counting time on the bike.

The schedule may be flexible, but the difference is worth clarifying before you book. Ask how the guide handles the stop times and cycling sections, especially if you have a fixed plan later in the day. Cold drinking water is included; food is not listed among the inclusions, so don’t assume a meal is part of the package.

Angkor Wat: the day’s grand opening

The first major stop is Angkor Wat, the largest and best-known Khmer temple. Built between 1113 and 1150 under King Suryavarman II, it reaches 65 metres high and offers a striking introduction to the scale of the complex. Two hours gives you more time here than a quick walk-through, though it is still one stop in a very full day.

Angkor Wat is a place where the setting and the architecture both ask for attention. You may appreciate having cycled in rather than arriving after a long stretch of vehicle travel, but remember that the bike does not take the place of walking around the temple itself. You’ll spend time on foot at each site.

The Angkor temple pass is not included. At $37 per person, it brings the basic cost of the tour and admission to $82 before any other personal expenses. That is the more useful figure to use when comparing this outing with other ways of visiting the park.

Bayon and the city of Angkor Thom

Next comes Bayon, a Buddhist-style temple built in the late 12th or early 13th century by Jayavarman VII. Its 54 towers are described as representing the 54 provinces of the Khmer Empire. The planned two-hour stop gives you time to look closely, rather than treating Bayon as a brief pause between larger attractions.

Bayon appears again in the route description after Ta Nei, this time alongside Angkor Thom’s East Gate. The East Gate is one of five gates guarding the ancient city. Jayavarman VII built it in the late 12th century as part of the city’s reconstruction. The itinerary lists 30 minutes for this stop, so expect a shorter look than at Bayon itself.

This second visit is a reminder to check the exact order and pacing with the guide. The schedule names Bayon early and later mentions the East Gate with Bayon again. That may mean a return to the area rather than another full temple visit, but the precise arrangement is not specified.

Chau Say Tevoda and the quieter stops

Chau Say Tevoda is a Hindu temple from the mid-12th century, east of Angkor Thom and just south of Thommanon. The planned half-hour visit makes it a compact stop. It gives you a chance to see a smaller temple in the same wider complex, but you won’t have as much time here as at Angkor Wat or Ta Prohm.

Ta Prohm gets two hours. Built in the late 12th century by Jayavarman VII, it was dedicated in 1186 to his mother. It began as a Buddhist temple and was later converted to Hindu worship. Its forest setting is a natural fit for a cycling route that aims to show more than the best-known stone monuments.

Ta Nei is the most tucked-away stop on the listed route. This late-12th-century temple was built under Jayavarman VII and dedicated to the Buddha. It sits near the northwest corner of the East Baray, a large sacred reservoir. The hour allocated here, along with the back-road riding, is a good reason to choose the bike tour if you want more than the headline sites.

The human side of the ride

The route also passes through rural areas where you can see local life. That is a useful counterpoint to a day focused on monumental temples: the park is not only a collection of ancient buildings, but also a place with roads, forest and communities around it. The tour description does not promise a particular village visit or scheduled interaction, so treat this as a view along the route rather than a staged cultural stop.

Mr K is named as the guide, and his personal approach is one of the tour’s strongest features. He is described as friendly, organized and willing to tailor the amount of cycling. That flexibility can make the day work better for a family or mixed-ability group than a fixed-pace ride.

The tour is private, but group discounts are also offered. The discount amount is not specified, so ask the provider for a quote if you’re booking for several people. A private tour can be especially good value when you want your own pace and a guide’s attention, rather than simply the lowest possible price.

What $45 includes, and what it does not

For $45 per person, you get an English-speaking guide, hotel pickup and drop-off, cold drinking water, a mountain bike and a helmet. The $37 Angkor temple pass is extra. That makes the known cost $82 per person before any food or other purchases.

The value depends on what you want from the day. If you only want to see Angkor Wat and Bayon, this is a lot of time and money for a bike tour. If you want to connect the major temples with smaller sites, forest paths and rural back roads, the private guide and included equipment make the price more compelling.

The tour does not list meals or massage as included services. A meal at a private restaurant and a relaxing massage have been part of an individual outing, but they should not be treated as standard inclusions. Confirm any add-ons and their cost directly with Easy Angkor Trip.

You can cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours before the start time. Cancellations made within 24 hours are not refunded, and changes within that window are not accepted. The cutoff uses local time.

Who will get the most from this tour?

This ride suits you if you enjoy cycling and want to see Angkor at a more measured pace. It’s particularly appealing if you’ve already decided that Angkor Wat alone is not enough, and you’d like to include Ta Prohm, Bayon and smaller sites such as Ta Nei without arranging each stop yourself.

It can also work well for families or friends who want a private day and the option to adjust the amount of riding. The tour information says most people can participate, but it does not give a minimum age, route distance or detailed fitness requirements. If those details matter for your group, ask before booking.

If you dislike cycling, have little interest in forest paths, or want to keep the day short, a vehicle-based visit may be a better fit. And if your schedule is tight, the number of temples and the long listed stop times make this a poor choice for squeezing in a short morning outing.

Should you book the Angkor Wat Cycling Tour?

Book it if the journey between temples sounds as worthwhile as the temples themselves. The combination of private guiding, Mr K’s adaptable pace, major monuments and quieter back-road stops gives this tour a clear purpose beyond simply replacing a car with a bike.

Skip it if you want a quick temple sampler or would rather avoid a long day of riding and walking. Before paying, confirm the day’s timing and how the repeated Bayon and East Gate entries fit together. Then budget $82 per person for the tour and temple pass, and treat any meal or massage as an extra unless the provider confirms otherwise.

FAQ

How much does the tour cost?

The tour costs $45 per person. The Angkor temple pass costs an additional $37 per person.

How long does the tour last?

The tour lasts approximately six to eight hours. The listed temple stops add up to about eight hours, so ask the provider how the schedule is paced.

What time does the tour start?

Pickup from your hotel is scheduled for 7:30 am.

Is hotel pickup included?

Yes. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included.

Is the tour private?

Yes. It is a private activity, and only your group participates.

Which temples are included?

The route includes Angkor Wat, Bayon, Chau Say Tevoda, Ta Prohm, Ta Nei and Angkor Thom’s East Gate. Bayon is also named again in the final stop description.

Is an English-speaking guide included?

Yes. An English-speaking tour guide is included. The guide is identified as Mr K.

Are the bike and helmet provided?

Yes. A mountain bike and helmet are included, along with cold drinking water.

Is the Angkor temple pass included in the price?

No. The pass costs $37 per person and is not included in the $45 tour price.

Can I cancel for a refund?

You can cancel at least 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start time are not refunded.