Angkor in 3 days: which pass to buy and the order of the temples

Three days is the right length for Angkor, and the 3-day pass is the right ticket: US$62 for any three days within seven. The Siem Reap travel guide covers the town you sleep in and the Cambodia guide the visa and the routes beyond. The order here puts Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom on day 1, the Grand Circuit on day 2, and Banteay Srei with the eastern temples of the Small Circuit on day 3.

Opening hours set the shape of each day. Angkor Enterprise admits visitors to the park from 5:00 AM and closes it at 6:30 PM. Angkor Wat and Phnom Bakheng open at 5:00, Preah Khan at 7:00, and the Bayon, the Baphuon and Banteay Srei at 7:30. So sunrise belongs to Angkor Wat, and the first hours after it to whichever temple opens next on your route. Every day in this plan goes out early and is back in town around midday.

The plan works from any base in town, since none is within walking distance of the temples; where to stay in Siem Reap compares the areas. Prices are the ones Angkor Enterprise listed on 13 October 2026.

Angkor Enterprise sells three passes for the Angkor temples. The arithmetic is short. Three 1-day passes cost US$111 against US$62 for the 3-day pass, and the 3-day pass does not need consecutive days. The 7-day pass costs US$10 more than the 3-day one and stays valid for 30 days, so it pays for itself with a fourth temple morning.

The passes are on Angkor Enterprise's ticket page. You can buy on that site, in the Angkor Pass app, at self-service kiosks, or at the ticket office on Road 60, 4 km from the center of Siem Reap. The counter takes US dollars in cash and major cards. A 3-day or 7-day pass carries your photo, which staff take at the counter, and every pass is scanned at checkpoints, so keep it on you all day. Children under 12 enter free and may be asked for a passport as proof of age.

Three sites have tickets of their own. Kbal Spean (US$5), Beng Mealea (US$10) and Koh Ker (US$15) are each sold as a separate one-day ticket on the same page. Banteay Srei is listed with the Angkor temples.

Be at Angkor Wat when it opens at 5:00. The temple faces west, which is unusual at Angkor, and it is why sunrise works here: from the western approach the sun comes up behind the towers. When the light is up, go in. Inside the moat an outer wall 3.6 km long encloses three galleries, each raised above the one before, with the five towers at the center. Children under 12 are not allowed up to the top level, and the dress rule further down applies here as everywhere.

From Angkor Wat, continue north through the South Gate of Angkor Thom to the Bayon, which opens at 7:30. It was the state temple of King Jayavarman VII, built in the late 12th or early 13th century, and is known for the stone faces that look out from its towers. The Baphuon, a three-tiered temple mountain from the mid-11th century, stands just to the north-west and keeps the same hours. The Terrace of the Elephants is a short walk beyond it. Head back to town by late morning.

Come back out around 4:00 PM for Phnom Bakheng. This hilltop temple from the end of the 9th century stands about 1.5 km north-west of Angkor Wat, and Angkor Enterprise lists it as open until 7:00 PM, later than Angkor Wat or the Bayon. That makes it the sunset stop. Angkor Enterprise calls it a popular spot for sunset views of Angkor Wat, so go up well before the sun drops.

The Grand Circuit is the outer loop, and Angkor Enterprise suggests it for holders of the 3-day and 7-day passes. Its list runs Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Krol Ko, Ta Som, East Mebon and Pre Rup, with four smaller sites. Five of those make the day.

Start at Preah Khan, which opens at 7:00, half an hour before the Bayon. King Jayavarman VII built it in the 12th century to honor his father; its main image was dedicated in 1191. From there the road runs east to Neak Pean and Ta Som, then turns south to East Mebon and Pre Rup. Going clockwise puts Preah Khan in the coolest hour and ends at Pre Rup, the southernmost of the five.

The afternoon is free, which the 5:00 start of the day before makes welcome. If you would rather go out, Angkor Enterprise also sells boat tickets for Chong Kneas on the Tonle Sap lake, under the Boat Ride tab of its ticket page.

Banteay Srei lies 25 km north-east of the main group and opens at 7:30, so this is the longest ride of the three days. Leave early enough to be at the gate when it opens. The temple was consecrated in 967 and is built largely of red sandstone, on a scale far smaller than the royal temples. Angkor Enterprise notes that it is the only major temple at Angkor not built by a king. The sandstone took elaborate wall carving, and the carving is what people come for.

Kbal Spean is farther north again and is sold as its own US$5 ticket; the ticket page lists it as open from 6:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Add it only if you are content to finish the day in the early afternoon.

On the way back, stop at the eastern temples of the Small Circuit that day 1 left out: Ta Prohm, then Banteay Kdei and the Srah Srang basin just east of it. Ta Prohm is the companion to day 2's first stop: Jayavarman VII commemorated his mother there before he dedicated Preah Khan to his father. Keep to the paths at all of them. UK travel advice says Cambodia is still heavily affected by landmines and tells visitors not to stray off main routes in rural areas, including around temple complexes.

Buy the pass before day 1, online or in the app, so that the 5:00 start goes to the temple and skips the counter. Angkor Enterprise's FAQ adds one rule for the 1-day ticket: bought after 4:45 PM for the next day, it also lets you into the park that same evening for sunset.

Then decide who drives. A tuk-tuk hired by the day suits the Small and Grand Circuits, and a car with air conditioning is the kinder choice for Banteay Srei and for the hottest months. Agree the route and the price for all three days before the first morning. A guide is worth paying for on day 1, where Angkor Wat and the Bayon both have long bas-reliefs to read, and matters less on day 2.

Angkor Enterprise says visitors may rent and ride a scooter to the temples. Before you do, read the UK advice on road travel in Cambodia: it reports one of the highest rates of road accidents in south-east Asia, says travel after dark significantly raises the risk, and tells riders to check that their insurance covers them. A sunrise run is a ride in the dark. Does travel insurance cover scooters? goes through the usual exclusions.

Split every day in two. Leave town between 4:30 and 6:30 AM, finish the first shift before noon, and go back out after 3:30 PM if the day has a second one. The listed hours have no midday closure, but the causeways and upper terraces have little shade, which is why the 5:00 opening matters. Carry more water than you think you need and a hat that stays on in a tuk-tuk.

Rain changes less than heat does. UK travel advice puts the rainy season from May to October, and a downpour is a reason to wait in a gallery and carry on. The pass is the backup: three days within seven means a washed-out morning or a day of heat exhaustion can become a rest day. For anything worse, the UK health advice for Cambodia gives 119 as the ambulance number and says to make sure your travel insurance covers local treatment and medical evacuation. It lists malaria and dengue among the health risks, so wear repellent at dawn and dusk, which are the hours this plan spends outdoors.

That is the wording of the visitor code of conduct. UK travel advice gives the consequence: you may be refused admission to religious sites, including Angkor Wat, in skirts or shorts above the knee. A T-shirt with sleeves and loose pants or a skirt below the knee pass everywhere on this route. Dress codes at temples, mosques and churches sets Angkor's rule beside eight other sites.

The rest of the code is short. Angkor has been a smoke-free site since 2012. Touching carvings, sitting or leaning on fragile structures and climbing on loose stones are prohibited. Backpacks, tripods, umbrellas with sharp tips and high heels are discouraged inside the temples. Ask monks before you photograph them, and women should not touch them or sit close beside them. The code also asks visitors not to buy from children or give them candy or money, because it keeps them out of school.

With one day, buy the 1-day pass and stay on the Small Circuit, which Angkor Enterprise lists as Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng, the Bayon, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei, Srah Srang and several smaller temples. That is day 1 of this plan with Ta Prohm added after the Bayon.

With children, carry their passports, since under-12s enter free on proof of age, and expect to skip the top level of Angkor Wat. Shorten day 2 to Preah Khan, Neak Pean and Pre Rup. With five nights or more, take the 7-day pass and add Beng Mealea or Koh Ker on their separate tickets.

If Siem Reap is one stop on a longer route, check the border first. UK travel advice warns against all but essential travel within 20 km of the land border with Thailand and says the land crossings between the two countries are suspended, so the link to Bangkok is by air. The temples in this plan are well south of that zone. Within Cambodia, the route continues south to Phnom Penh and on to Kampot. Set up an eSIM before you fly so the pass in your app and the ride home both work at the gate.