Private City and Silk Island Tuk-Tuk Tour Full or Half Day Phnom Penh

Independence Monument and the riverside statues

The day begins at the Independence Monument, the lotus-shaped tower built in 1958 to mark the end of French rule, whose stacked naga heads echo the towers of Angkor. It stands at the meeting of two grand boulevards and is lit at night, and the guide explains its place in the national story. A short ride along the park brings you to the bronze statue of King Norodom Sihanouk, the late king-father who led Cambodia to independence, set in a small pavilion facing the river.

On the city half-day option the tuk-tuk also passes Diamond Island and the confluence where the Tonle Sap meets the Mekong, the wide stretch of water that defines the city. These stops take about half an hour in total and give the context for everything that follows on a Phnom Penh city tour.

The Royal Palace and the National Museum

The Royal Palace has been the seat of the kings of Cambodia since 1866 and is the finest ensemble of Khmer royal architecture in the country. Inside the walls you visit the Throne Hall with its golden spire, the Moonlight Pavilion where classical dances were performed, and the Silver Pagoda, floored with thousands of silver tiles and holding an emerald Buddha and a life-size gold Buddha set with diamonds. The entrance ticket is paid on site, and an official palace guide can be hired there if you wish; the visit takes about an hour, and shoulders and knees must be covered.

Next door stands the National Museum of Cambodia, a terracotta-red building from 1920 in traditional style, which the tour admires from outside; its collection of Angkorian sculpture can be added at your own expense if time allows. Royal Palace Phnom Penh opening hours include a midday closure, which the guide plans around.

Wat Ounalom and the Central Market

Wat Ounalom, founded in 1443, is the headquarters of Cambodian Buddhism and one of the oldest temples in the city, a walled compound of stupas and halls between the palace and the riverfront. The guide walks you through the main sanctuary and courtyard and explains the role of the monastery as the seat of the Supreme Patriarch; monks are often at study, and the atmosphere is calm despite the traffic outside.

From there the tuk-tuk crosses the centre to the Central Market, Phsar Thmei, the art deco hall of 1937 whose yellow dome was among the largest in Asia when it opened. Its four wings sell everything from gold and watches to clothes, spices and souvenirs, and the food stalls on the edges are a good place for a quick lunch at your own expense. Lunch can be taken at any point of the day you agree with the guide.

Wat Phnom, the hill that named the city

Wat Phnom is a 27-metre hill in the centre of the city, crowned by a temple first built in 1372. According to legend, a wealthy widow named Penh found four statues of the Buddha in a tree trunk washed up by the river and raised this hill to house them, giving Phnom Penh, the hill of Penh, its name. You climb the stairway flanked by naga balustrades and guardian lions through tall trees to the sanctuary, where locals pray for good fortune.

The entrance ticket is paid on site and the visit takes about thirty minutes. A Wat Phnom visit is included on both the full-day options and the city half-day option. From here the tour leaves the city centre and heads towards the river road and the golden temple, which marks the beginning of the countryside part of the day.

The golden temple and Silk Island

On the road north of the city stands the golden temple, a modern pagoda whose gilded towers and roofs shine in the sun; the stop is short, mainly for photographs. A ferry then carries the tuk-tuk across the Mekong to Silk Island, Koh Dach, a quiet island of stilt houses, orchards and vegetable farms where the pace of life changes completely from the capital. The ten-minute crossing is a highlight in itself.

On the island you visit the silk farm to follow the full cycle of silk making, from the silkworms to the dyeing and the hand looms where women weave the patterned cloth; the small entrance fee is paid on site. The tour also stops at a family workshop making soya tofu skin and rides through the villages before the return ferry. A Silk Island tour from Phnom Penh takes about three hours including the crossings.