The high season for birdwatching in Cambodia starts from November to April (Peak: Jan-Feb-Mar), when water levels are low, Sarus Cranes return to Ang Trapeang Thmor, and Bengal Florican displays are visible. That’s the best time slot for birding and bird photography in Cambodia. I would like to recommend tours starting from mid-February to the end of May. This plan combines Cambodia’s most important birding sites with conservation-based tourism, maximizing your chances of seeing all your target species.
Cambodia birding tour highlights include: Pale-capped Pigeon, Asian golden weaver, Great slaty woodpecker, Giant Ibis, White-shouldered Ibis, Greater Adjutant, Black-headed Woodpecker, Milky Stork, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker,, Spot-billed Pelican, Slender-billed vulture, Indochinese bush lark, Manchurian reed warbler, Javan pond heron, Grey-headed fish eagle, Eastern marsh harrier, Pied harrier, Greater spotted eagle, Rufous-winged buzzard, Alexandrine parakeet, Blossom-headed parakeet, Bengal Florican, Chinese Grassbird, Sarus Crane, White-rumped Falcon, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Spotted wood owl, Brown wood owl, Brown fish owl, Asian barred owlet, Spotted owlet, Brown boobook, Oriental scops owl, Collared scops owl, Oriental bay owl,
This 10-day itinerary combines Cambodia’s remarkable biodiversity with its cultural heritage, offering an unforgettable birdwatching adventure. Read More Detail Itinerary
Tour Cost: per person
Single Supplement: $ (Note: single accommodation is available at Siem Reap, Kratie, and Phnom Penh. However, it will probably not be available at Tmatboey,
Included in the tour cost: All transport including airport transfers, road tolls, national park and all reserve entry fees, all accommodation in Cambodia, including on the final night of the tour, all meals from dinner on the first night to breakfast on the day of departure, bottled drinking water, boat trips, services of English-speaking birding guide and Temple Tours guide.
Not included in the tour cost: International flights, travel insurance, entry visa, alcoholic and soft drinks, tips, laundry, hotel mini bar, phone calls, and any other items of a personal nature.
Accommodation: In Siem Reap, we stay in a very comfortable hotel with air-conditioning, private bathroom/shower, and wifi. At several sites, our stay at Thmat Boey will be in a local eco lodge that has simple private shower/toilet facilities with fans in the rooms. At Kratei, we stay in comfortable, air-conditioned local hotels where wifi is available. Finally, we stay in a hotel in the city of Phnom Penh, where all facilities are available.
Physical effort: This trip does not require any great physical effort in terms of long uphill hikes, but does require that participants are fit enough to walk, sometimes for 3-4 kilometres in hot conditions. The walking is mostly on a flat landscape, but some walking on even ground is needed to search for some key species. The physical effort required is well within the capabilities of most healthy people with the ability to deal with tropical climates.
Weather: Hot and dry weather is expected throughout this tour. There is always the possibility of a shower or two, given the world’s changing climate, but it is likely to be dry most, if not all, of the time. Midday temperatures are likely to be very hot, but most of the woodland sites we visit have low humidity. Wetland sites, however, can be fairly humid by their very nature. The tour has been paced so that we have plenty of time and are not forced to be birding throughout the heat of the day to see most of the birds.
Food: Khmer cuisine is similar to most Southeast Asian cooking, but rather less spicy. The traditional cuisine of the country is recovering after much of the knowledge being lost through the years of war here, but staff at the lodges we visit cook a wide variety of good local food. The former French influence manifests itself in the fact that good bread is available in many areas, and for those who like beer, there is a surprisingly wide range of local brews to try.
Note: Other things to bring: hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent, and binoculars.
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