Banteay Srei and Big Tour from Siem Reap: Pink sandstone temples

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Duration6h–7h

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Pink sandstone carvings that outshine size with craftsmanship

A small-group temple tour from Siem Reap visiting Banteay Srei, East Mebon, Neak Pean, Preah Khan and Preah Dak Village over six to seven hours with an English-speaking guide, hotel pickup and shared transport. The route centers on Banteay Srei, a 10th-century Hindu temple 35 kilometers north of the city, where three central towers carved from pink sandstone stand out among Angkor's temples for the quality of the reliefs rather than their scale. Park entrance ticket (37 USD per person) is purchased on arrival; lunch is on your own at local restaurants in the park.

6h–7h

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit temples and local villages

Hotel pickup and ticket purchase
Drive to Banteay Srei temple
Explore Preah Dak Village souvenirs
Visit East Mebon temple
See Prasat Neak Pean temple
Tour Preah Khan temple
Return to hotel or city center

The Experience

Six to seven hours means the day starts early—pickup runs between 7:40am and 8:20am from your hotel, with a stop at the National Park ticket office for anyone who hasn't bought a one-day pass yet. The group travels by shared air-conditioned minivan, and the drive north to Banteay Srei covers 35 kilometers through changing landscape. Once there, the temple itself is small compared to Angkor's sprawl, but the three central towers carry the detail: male and female divinities carved into pink sandstone, the stone contrasting against laterite walls. The craftsmanship is what travelers come back to—the precision of the reliefs rather than the footprint of the structure.

On the return route, the itinerary passes through Preah Dak Village, where most of the handmade objects and arts for sale are made by villagers from the surrounding area. The afternoon temples come in quick succession: East Mebon stands on what was once an island in the artificial lake of the Easter Baray, now dry and ringed by rice fields; Neak Pean is a 12th-century temple with five ponds arranged to represent a Himalayan mountain lake from Hindu mythology; Preah Khan closes the day as a labyrinth of pavilions, halls and chapels enclosed by four walls, built by King Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century. The guide leads the group through each site and back to your hotel or a requested drop-off point in the city center.

Lunch happens during the park's midday hours at local restaurants—you choose where and what to eat. Bottled water is provided throughout the day. The group size varies depending on bookings, so it stays small enough for the guide to move at a steady pace without losing people in the crowds that can form at the major temples.

What’s included

Transport by shared air-conditioned minivan.
hotel pickup and drop-off within Siem Reap.
English-speaking guide throughout the day.
bottled water.
small-group format with variable size depending on daily bookings.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelNot for heart conditions

Operated by Green Era Travel

Is this one for you?This is a shared-group tour on a fixed schedule, so you move with the guide's pace and the group's rhythm rather than setting your own—it suits travelers who want the temples explained and the logistics arranged without building the day themselves, and who don't mind company at the sites. If you prefer to explore at your own speed or need a private vehicle, a different format would serve you better.