Ask us anything.
Most of it is answered here.

Private tours: by credit card when you book online, confirmed instantly, or in cash on the day. Group tours: by credit card once we confirm your seats (we email you a secure payment link), or in cash to your guide on the day, in US dollars or Khmer riel at 4,000 riel to the dollar. We accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

Online bookings close 2 hours before pickup. After that, WhatsApp us and we will do our best to arrange something, even on the day. For a guide in a language other than English, book a day or two ahead.

Yes, free of charge up to 4 hours before your pickup time, by WhatsApp or email. Card payments are refunded in full.

Children under 2 travel free. On the daily group tours, children under 12 pay $10 less. Private days are priced for the group, and children 2 and over count as guests like adults.

From your hotel, guesthouse or Airbnb anywhere in Siem Reap, including outside the city centre. If you would rather meet us, the meeting point is Elia Greek Cafe near Pub Street.

Back at your hotel, or anywhere you prefer: Pub Street, the Old Market, a restaurant. Tell your guide on the way back.

Both daily sunset tours pick up at 2:00 pm. Private days can be picked up any time from 6:30 am; sunset days leave at 2:30 pm. The latest we can do is 3:30 pm, and only for Kompong Phluk: it is tight on timing and we do not recommend it. One guest is enough for a private day.

We go. The boats are covered, the rain usually passes, and the lake after a storm is the best light of the day. Bring a light rain jacket between June and October.

August to January, when the water is high, the forest is flooded and the canoes run. The dry season, February to July, shows a different village on dry ground beneath the stilts. Our lake guide has a month-by-month table.

At the ticket centre before you board. There are no toilets on the boats, so go before the boat trip; the lake part of the afternoon is about two hours.

Walking sticks and bad knees are no problem; boarding involves a few wooden steps and the crew help. Wheelchairs are not recommended: the landings, boats and village walkways cannot take them.

Yes. The boats are stable and there are life jackets in both the main boat and the canoes. We do not have car seats in the vans, so bring your own if you need one.

Group tours are in English. On private days we can provide guides in most major languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, German and Russian, with a day or two's notice; a non-English guide cannot be guaranteed on last-minute bookings.

Local snacks and water are included on every tour. Lunch is included on the Countryside day and all the street food on the Street Food tour; on a day you design yourself, lunch is an add-on. The food is cooked, never raw, and vegetarian and vegan options are available. Tell us about allergies when you book.

Shoulders covered for the pagoda stop (no tank tops), sunscreen, a hat, a light jacket for the boat after sunset, and a little cash if you want extra snacks at the village stalls. Local snacks and water are included on our tours.

Photos are welcome; please ask before photographing people in their homes, and never take close-up photos of children. Drones are allowed on the lake.

About two hours on the water on the Kompong Phluk tour, including the flooded forest rowboat, and a little longer at Kompong Khleang. The whole afternoon is 4.5 to 5.5 hours door to door.

Kompong Phluk for the flooded forest and the shortest drive; Kompong Khleang for the biggest, most authentic village and the fewest tourists; Mechrey for the countryside on the way; Prek Toal for the birds. Chong Kneas only if you have an hour. Our villages page compares all four.

Not with us. Boat tickets and entrance fees are included and paid to the community cooperatives at the official price. We make no school, orphanage or souvenir stops and take no commissions.

We use the community boats and pay the community price, so every ticket goes to the boat crews and the commune. Our guides are from the villages, and the stops we make are at village stalls and family businesses.

The Tonle Sap Experience is locally owned and operated in Siem Reap since 2017, with the widest reach of any operator on Tonle Sap Lake: three provinces and six villages, with a representative in each: Kompong Phluk, Kompong Khleang, Mechrey, Chong Kneas, Prek Toal and Kompong Luong. Our guides grew up in Kompong Phluk and Kompong Khleang.

Our guides are trained in child protection. We ask guests not to give money or sweets to children, not to photograph children close up, and not to visit schools or orphanages as tourists.

WhatsApp +855 97 691 9784 is fastest, any time of day. Or email [email protected]. Our office is at #14 Wat Enkosai, Siem Reap.