Oudong Day Trip & River Cruise from Phnom Penh with Guide

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.86 (22 reviews) 91% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/9

Duration8h

GroupUp to 10

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Cruising to Oudong’s hilltop stupas & Koh Chen’s silver village

You’ll cruise slowly up the Tonle Sap River from Phnom Penh, watching daily life unfold along its banks before stopping at Koh Chen Island to meet local silver artisans. A tuk tuk takes you up Oudong mountain where ancient stupas and endless Buddha statues wait in silence. With lunch included and an easy pace, it’s a day you’ll remember long after you’re home.

Step-by-step itinerary

Full Day Cruise and Tour

Cruise from Phnom Penh along riverbank
Visit Koh Chen Island silver village
Tuk Tuk to Oudong mountain
See stupa and 5,000 Buddha statues

The Experience

The first thing I noticed was the smell of the river — not bad, just earthy, like wet wood and something green. We’d barely left Phnom Penh when our guide, Dara, started pointing out little things: a fisherman waving from his boat, kids splashing along the bank. The cruise was slow in a good way. I sat back with a cold drink (unlimited beer is no joke here) and watched the floating villages drift by. At one point I tried to count the different crops growing along the shore but got distracted by a woman balancing baskets on her head — she grinned when she caught me staring.

Koh Chen Island was next. It’s famous for silverwork, which I didn’t know before this day trip to Oudong from Phnom Penh. Dara introduced us to a craftsman who let us try hammering a pattern into a bowl — mine looked like it’d been through an earthquake, but he just laughed and said practice is everything. The air smelled faintly metallic inside their workshop, mixed with something sweet from someone’s lunch nearby. Walking around the village felt honest; people nodded or smiled but didn’t fuss over us.

After that we hopped into a tuk tuk for the bumpy ride up to Oudong mountain. The road twisted through fields and suddenly there were these white stupas rising above everything else — apparently some hold remains of Cambodia’s old kings. There are thousands of Buddha statues up there (Dara said 5,000 but honestly I lost count). It was quiet except for monks’ chanting somewhere far off and the wind rattling prayer flags. I still think about that view down over the plains — kind of humbling, you know?

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off, all entrance fees along the way, unlimited beer and soft drinks during your river cruise, fresh fruit platter on board, an English-speaking guide throughout, lunch at a local restaurant, plus tuk tuk rides between Koh Chen Island and Oudong mountain before heading back to Phnom Penh.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Memorable Cambodia Cruise