Angkor Wat Cycling Tour: Sunrise by Bike

In the Price

The listing includes a bicycle and helmet, a first aid kit, bottled water, in-vehicle air conditioning, a support van or tuk tuk and an English-speaking biking tour guide. The transport is a tuk tuk or mini-van from your hotel depending on group size, then a mountain bike for the riding part.

One honest note on the meals. A breakfast stop after Angkor Wat is on the itinerary, but the inclusions list bottled water and no meal. Confirm with the operator what breakfast actually covers before you go, or carry cash for it.

• Bicycle and helmet
• First aid kit
• Bottled water
• In-vehicle air conditioning
• Support van or tuk tuk
• English-speaking biking tour guide
• Hotel pickup and drop-off in Siem Reap

What You Pay on Top

Entrance fees are excluded. Viator adds US$37 per person at checkout, which is the one-day Angkor Pass, so the from price of $69 becomes $106. That is the only total this page prints, and it comes from the listing itself. Meals are not listed as included, so budget for breakfast and any lunch. Tips and personal expenses are not mentioned in either list, so ask the operator.

If you would rather compare listings side by side, the comparison table on the homepage shows the price and the price with the pass for each Angkor Wat tour.

Where the Listing Disagrees with Itself

The itinerary shows a breakfast stop of 60 minutes after Angkor Wat, yet the inclusions list no meal. That is a gap worth an email to the operator before booking. If a covered breakfast matters to you, the Angkor Sunrise Tour by Vespa or Tuk Tuk states breakfast and lunch in the price for $76 with the pass.

Meals Against the Other Rides

Breakfast is the honest gap on this tour. A breakfast stop after Angkor Wat sits on the itinerary, but the inclusions list bottled water and no meal, so confirm with Journey Cambodia what the stop covers before you book. Other operators print more.

Angkor Cycling Tour lists breakfast and lunch for its sunrise day, and Guiding Cambodia includes a Khmer set lunch on its private ride. This tour states a smaller meal package, but it adds a guided 3 hours inside Angkor Wat on foot before any pedalling starts. If a guaranteed lunch matters, the Angkor Sunrise Tour by Vespa or Tuk Tuk puts breakfast and lunch in the price from $39 plus the $37 pass.

From Hotel Pickup to the First Pedals

A tuk tuk or mini-van collects you at your Siem Reap hotel between 4:30 and 4:40 AM depending on group size. The drive to Angkor Wat puts you at the temple for the sunrise. After the sunrise the guide walks you through the temple itself with commentary on the history and architecture, a block the listing gives 3 hours to in total. Breakfast and bike set-up then take about 1 hour.

From there the day turns into a ride of about 15 to 25 km on easy backroads through local villages and into the Angkor complex. A support van or tuk tuk follows with the first aid kit. The listing gives no return clock time, only that you are dropped back at your hotel after the Bayon.

What You See at Each Stop

Ta Prohm is famous for tree roots twisting through the ruins, and the ride reaches it by back roads through local villages. The stretch along the Angkor Thom wall runs with the moat on one side and thick jungle on the other. The Bayon closes the day, the 12th century temple with carved faces on its towers.

The listing counts more than 200.

Where the Sunrise Happens

The group is dropped at Angkor Wat before dawn and the pass is checked at the gate. Park entry opens at 5:00 AM and closes at 6:30 PM. Wikivoyage says the best colour comes just before the sun clears the horizon, and Angkor Wat faces west, so the temple silhouette sits against the brightening eastern sky.

Wikivoyage adds that in November and December the far left of the entry tower is the spot. The listing gives Angkor Wat 3 hours on foot with the guide, sunrise included. Other sunrise rides add stops this tour skips, such as the jungle temple Ta Nei and the reservoir at Srah Srang.

For a fuller look at the hour itself, see the Angkor Wat sunrise guide.

Health, Age and the Pre-dawn Start

The listing is not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries, pregnant travelers or travelers with poor cardiovascular health. The child age band starts at 8, adult at 12, so younger children are out, and each booking needs at least 2 adults. The pickup lands between 4:30 and 4:40 AM, which is a hard wake-up for families with small kids.

If any of that rules you out, the Angkor Sunrise Tour by Vespa or Tuk Tuk shows you the same sunrise by Vespa or tuk tuk with breakfast and lunch in the price, or the Angkor Wat Small-Group Sunrise Tour does the day by vehicle for $15 per person.

Bikes, Heat and the Small Print

The ride is rated easy at 15 to 25 km and suitable for all fitness levels, so casual riders are fine. The heat is the real cost. Siem Reap's average high stays above 30 C in every month, so carry the bottled water that is in the price and ride in covered shoulders and long trousers, which the temple dress code requires anyway. The listing notes the booking needs 2 adults minimum and takes up to 9 travelers, so a solo rider must look elsewhere.

The price also reads $69 only until checkout, because Viator adds the $37 pass there. If you want a fuller day in the saddle instead, the Angkor Temples Bike Tour rides about 30 km with a 7:15 AM meeting time that skips the pre-dawn alarm.

What This Tour Gives You

This page's listing includes a mountain bike and helmet with no e-bike mentioned, so ask Journey Cambodia before booking if you need power assistance. For most riders a standard bike is enough. The ride is 15 to 25 km of easy backroads rated suitable for all physical fitness levels. The Planet Edit describes the terrain around Angkor as flat, with dedicated bike lanes on most park roads and shady forest trails. A support van or tuk tuk follows the group, so anyone who runs out of legs can stop pedalling.

Riders who want a motor do have options elsewhere. Angkor Cycling Tour's own site flags e-bikes on eight of its nine tours, including its sunrise day. Rambling Feet prices a power-assisted bike in Siem Reap at $10 for 24 hours if you prefer to ride the temples on your own instead. Wikivoyage puts bicycle rental at $1-8 a day depending on quality, though most rental shops do not open before 07:00, which is after this tour has already collected you at your hotel.

• Ask the operator about an e-bike before booking, the listing states none
• 15 to 25 km on flat roads, all fitness levels
• Support van or tuk tuk follows the group
• E-bike hire elsewhere in Siem Reap is $10 per 24 hours per Rambling Feet

The Angkor Pass

The one-day Angkor Pass costs US$37 and covers 50+ temples in Angkor Temples Park. Viator adds it at checkout on this tour. You can also buy passes online at the official site or through the Angkor Pass app, and children under 12 enter free with their passport.

Park entry runs from 5:00 AM to 6:30 PM, so a 4:30 AM pickup puts you at the gate near opening. Your photo is printed on the pass and it is checked at almost every site.

• 1-day pass US$37, expires in 1 day
• 3-day pass US$62, any 3 days within one week
• 7-day pass US$72, any 7 days within one month
• Pay by credit card, US dollars or riel, though the riel rate is unfavourable

Sunrise, Heat and What to Wear

Sunrise in Siem Reap moves through the year, from about 6:31 am in mid-January to about 5:37 am in mid-June, so the 4:30 AM pickup is well before first light in both months. The wet season runs May to October and the dry season the other six months. Temperatures average a high of 31.7 C in January, 34.9 C in March and 35.8 C in April, and no month's average high falls below 30 C.

The dress code is long trousers or a long skirt with covered shoulders, and a scarf over bare shoulders is not accepted. Carry water, sun protection and cash for anything the inclusions leave out. Details on the dawn hour are in the Angkor Wat sunrise guide and the temple background is in the Angkor Wat guide.

Visas and Street Sense

Cambodia's 30-day tourist e-visa costs US$30, single entry, and the FCDO advises applying at least 4 days ahead. The visa on arrival is officially US$30 for tourism. On the streets, the FCDO says most theft involves motorbike thieves cutting bag straps, so carry bags on the side away from the road.

Why a Guide Covers the Dark Hours

Hotel pickup falls between 4:30 and 4:40 AM, well before first light. Rambling Feet warns against riding alone in the dark: robbers can lurk in undergrowth on unlit stretches before dawn and after dark. This tour handles that stretch by tuk tuk or mini-van with a guide, and the pedals only turn after sunrise and breakfast.

That is the practical case for a guided sunrise ride rather than hiring a $1-8 rental bike and setting out alone. Carry bags on the side away from the road, because the FCDO says most theft involves motorbike thieves cutting bag straps.

How the Rides Differ

The operators in this comparison are different companies, not the same trip sold twice. Journey Cambodia's Angkor Sunrise Cycling Tour is the ride covered on this page. Angkor Cycling Tour's own site lists an Angkor Wat sunrise and ancient city day running 5:00 am to 2:00 pm over 30 km, with breakfast and lunch listed and an e-bike available. Siem Reap Happy Cycling lists a Sunrise Angkor Half-Day Cycling ride and publishes no start time, distance or inclusions. Guiding Cambodia sells a private day ride priced by group size, with the Angkor Pass extra.

Where this tour differs is the order of the day. Angkor Wat comes first, guided on foot for 3 hours, then breakfast, then 15 to 25 km of easy riding to Ta Prohm, the Angkor Thom wall and the Bayon. The $37 Angkor Pass is added at checkout, so the total shown is $106.