Tuktuks and Scooters!

 

Siem Reap is a small city, and the tuktuks are everywhere. As a visitor, you could hire tuk-tuks for the day (which is what we did. It was preferable as you will never know the local actual one-way fares and will end up feeling vaguely overpaid). We negotiated US$15 for the day- and Bannu was quite willing to go anywhere we wanted, as well as to take us around the temple routes.

The other way is to hire a taxi (the hotel will do it for you) ; this was US$75 a day in December 2022. We took the taxi to visit the Rolous Group (more of this group of temples later) which is about 30 km distance from Siem Reap. We found this so much more comfortable than a tuktuk on open roads. The roads outside Siem Reap tend to deteriorate a bit, but nothing to break bones.

Many tourists hire the tuk tuk for the day even to visit the temples (we did this). It was quite comfortable and an experience! Usually all the tuk tuk drivers bring waterbottles in a cooler with them, and those that we interacted with were helpful and pleasant. Just don’t expect them to tell you details of the temples you visit; they are not guides. You will need to do your homework – and there’s a ton of information on every temple in Angkor available online. Short of taking a guide (not a bad idea) , this is the best way to really immerse in, and appreciate the scale and history of Angkor.