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Cross multiple rivers on small rafts, longtail boats and ferries.
Plenty of quirky bridges.
Ride through many rivers!
Receive a good luck blessing from buddhist monks.
Discover ancient lost temples.
Incredible off-road riding from start to finish.
Explore remote villages, far off the beaten track - the 'real' Cambodia!
We will traverse the hilltop pine forests of Kirirom National Park, descend into thick jungle, blast along sandy tracks, cross the Tonle Sap river by ferry and discover ancient lost temples. We’ll receive good luck blessings from a monk, ride through rivers, cross dodgy bridges and ride Cambodia’s very own Route 66 – an ancient highway that is now an epic network of trails and 1,000 year old bridges!
If adventure is what you’re looking for, it doesn’t get much better than this. We’ll venture far off the beaten track and explore the real Cambodia – the old Cambodia – the Cambodia that is undeveloped and entirely untouched by western tourism.
You’ll witness spectacular views, experience some of the best off-road riding Southeast Asia has to offer, stay in a wide variety of accommodation, from luxury hotels to riverside camping and glamping. You’ll get to know the Cambodian people as some of the most friendly and welcoming in the World.
This is Cambodia, we just love it & you will too!
Your adventure in Cambodia begins as soon as you touch down at Phnom Penh international airport! Our friendly tuk tuk driver will be waiting for you and will transfer you to your hotel, weaving through the madness of the city traffic en route.
You’ll be met by your team leader in the morning. He will have arranged a tuk tuk tour to visit the Killing Fields and S21 Genocide Museum where you will learn all about Pol Pot’s barbaric regime back in the late 1970’s where an estimated 3 million Cambodian people lost their lives. It’s not a ‘nice’ day out, but it’s one we strongly recommend as it is an incredibly eye opening experience that will stick with you throughout the rest of your journey across this beautiful country.
In the afternoon we will all get together on the rooftop of your hotel (which by the way has the nicest rooftop swimming pool in the city!) for a welcome briefing. We’ll talk you through the entire trip, the various safety considerations and introduce you to the rest of the team and fellow riders. Following this, we will board a private boat that will take us out onto the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers to enjoy a few cold drinks as we watch the sun set behind the Royal Palace. We’ll then be dropped off at an excellent riverside restaurant for dinner. Welcome to Cambodia!
Early in the morning to avoid the madness of rush hour traffic, we’ll hop into a minivan for a 30 minute drive out to our workshop, which is closer to the edge of the city. The bikes will be lined up waiting, all clean, shiny, warmed up and ready for adventure! We’ll have time to make some adjustments to the bikes if required, and then it’s time for your first daily briefing before hitting the road!
The road doesn’t last long though, as we’ll be onto the dirt within the first half an hour and as the day progresses the countryside will feel more and more rural and get more and more beautiful. We’ll pass through villages, weave through herds of cows, ride alongside train tracks & rice fields and be cheered on by the local children as we go.
We’ll meet with our support vehicle at a Buddhist pagoda, where our driver will have prepared a picnic lunch for us. After we’ve devoured our sarnies, we’ll receive a blessing from the local monks… They’ll splash us and our bikes with holy water as they chant words that none of us foeriegners understand. Roughly translated, they’ll be wishing us the best of luck for the trip ahead. But please understand that these blessings do not make you invincible… Previous riders have been known to ride off of the trail into a trench full of muddy water and frogs within minutes of leaving the pagoda, so please exercise the same amount of caution, regardless of how blessed you feel!
After some more fantastic riding, we’ll arrive at our accommodation for the night & round off the day with cocktails in the pool. As far as first days go, this is a good one!
Today’s ride is an absolute corker! We kick off with half an hour of paved road where we will refuel and ride up into the hills. Then it’s trail time! And man are these some good trails! We spend the morning riding tracks that wind through the pine forests, stopping briefly on top of a cliff to try and spot the giant hornbills that glide above the jungle beneath (in case you don’t know, hornbills are huge birds with big colourful beaks (think Zazu from The Lion king) – they’re simply beautiful!).
We have single track trails, two track trails, rocky sections, creek crossings and possibly some dodgy stick bridges (depending on the route we choose to take). As we descend, the pine forest merges into jungle and we find ourselves ducking beneath bamboo and trying not to decapitate ourselves on spiky vines. It’s an exhilarating ride that certainly requires your full attention!
The tracks in the afternoon open up a bit and we ride on red gravel tracks that vary from ‘nice and smooth’ to ‘steep, rocky and rutty’! We end the day with incredible views as we descend from the hills to our riverside accommodation.
Tonight we ‘camp’ next to a river. But this is more ‘glamping’ than ‘camping’, with proper mattresses and electricity in each of the tents. It’s a stunning location too and we can take kayaks out for a sunset paddle before being served dinner under the stars.
We’ll enjoy breakfast next to the river before bidding farewell to our camp host. We have a big day on the trails today, but we ease into it with some cruisy red gravel roads to start the morning. We then turn off of the gravel, ride through a river and weave through the trails until we reach a tiny village named Kamlot. This is the ‘real Cambodia’ right here!
Sandy trails pass through more tiny villages before venturing back into the forest where there’ll be plenty of creek crossings and some rough rutty sections. It’s thirsty work and you’ll be ready to ride the easier gravel tracks when we pop out into the fields of sugarcane & tapioca that cover the surrounding hills.
We finish the day in a small dusty town at a basic, no frills guesthouse (we are very much in the back of beyond by now) and will enjoy a BBQ in the courtyard.
Leaving our guesthouse behind, we hit the gravel road and visit a particularly random Buddhist pagoda nestled into the side of a rocky hill, home to a monk who speaks surprisingly good English!
From here, we pass through plantations and rough rocky tracks that suddenly open up into wide sandy tracks. If you enjoy sand, you’re going to love this day! With the Cardamom Mountains to our left and Aoral Mountain to our right, we’re riding along a flat valley that frequently floods during the wet season. When it floods here, the locals make new single track routes around the flood on their scooters. What that leaves behind is a criss-crossing selection of winding trails that are an absolute joy to ride! Pick your own line, get up on the pegs and pin it.
We have multiple river crossings, bridges and many small Cambodia villages on the list today. These villages are picture perfect representations of the Cambodian countryside: buffalo lazily jingling through rice fields, stilted wooden houses, towering palm trees and kids playing in the rivers. It’s simply stunning and, if all goes to plan, we’ll be passing through some of the most picturesque villages as the sun is descending into the golden hour.
Today is another big day, so you may not be too excited about the fact that we’re camping tonight. But when you jump into the river with a cold beer at the end of it and then enjoy a BBQ next to a campfire beside the water, it all makes perfect sense. It’s a beautiful way to an epic day and the sound of the flowing water will surely ease into a good night’s sleep on your comfy air bed.
This morning is a real mix of terrain, starting with rough rocky trails through the bush that gradually get less rocky and more sandy. These are old trails that have been used by the local villagers for the past hundred years or more, evidenced by the fact they cut so deeply into the land, often providing towering walls of dirt either side of us as we cross small creeks.
Today we cross the Tonle Sap River. The flow of this river changes twice per year, flowing between the mighty Mekong and Tonle Sap lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. We board the ferry at Kampong Chhnang and enjoy a 20 minute cruise across and along a number of smaller branches of the river before we land in the province of Kampong Thom.
We wind down the afternoon on easy dirt and paved roads, cruising through villages and small towns, navigating herds of cows as we go.
We finish our day in Kampong Thom town where we will stay for two nights and enjoy a well earned rest!
Take some time to relax by the pool in the morning, take a stroll along the river into town or get a massage. In the afternoon, we will take a minivan out to the Beng Mealea temple site and spend a bit of time exploring these impressive ancient temples. We’ll of course bring a cool box full of cold drinks with us so that we can sit among the temples and enjoy a couple of cold ones as the sun sets into the surrounding jungle. Perfect.
Well rested, we’ll hop back on the bikes and ease back into the riding with a morning of cruisy gravel roads alongside rivers and rice fields…
Tonight we stay in a village named Ta Seng. We’ll stop off at our accommodation to get cleaned up before taking a short ride out to a nearby temple, riding past a couple of smaller temples along the way. Preah Khan is a 1,000 year old temple surrounded by thick forest, and it is just beautiful! We’ll arrive in good time to witness the sun set behind the temple arch, with no other tourrists in sight and nothing but the sound of the jungle around us. This is a very special place.
We will spend the night in a homestay, owned by Mr Duhl – the village chief. It’s basic accommodation with everyone sharing one giant bedroom and your shower being a bucket, but this is Cambodian village life and it’s all part of the experience!
It’s the final riding day of this epic adventure across Cambodia! We start the day with a stroll into the village for a local breakfast and then hit the dirt.
We’re straight onto the trails and soon pass an ancient temple perched right next to the trail. These are our favourite temples… Sure, Angkor Wat and the other major temple sites in Cambodia are impressive, but there’s something special about discovering these lost temples in the forest, where no other tourists ever visit, knowing that the only reason we’re witnessing such incredible sights is because we rode our dirt bikes on challenging trails to get here.
Today we’re mostly riding on Cambodia’s very own ‘Route 66’, but unlike the US version, this route is an ancient highway that connects Preah Khan with the city of Angkor (now Siem Reap). The ancient route has now deteriorated into a fantastic trail that winds through the forest, crossing rivers and cutting through fields. While there is little evidence of the physical highway left, we do occasionally ride over impressive 1,000 year old bridges that are still standing strong.
We’ll roll into the beautiful town of Siem Reap, feeling quite heroic after such an epic journey. We’ll go out for a celebratory dinner and possibly a few celebratory drinks. For those that want to keep the party going, there’s of course the lively Pub Street!
This ride is truly a once in a lifetime adventure and a fantastic way to experience the Kingdom of Wonder!
It’s the end of the tour from our side, but if this is your first time in Cambodia we strongly recommend you extend your stay by an extra day, allowing you time to take a tuk tuk tour of the impressive Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. We can of course arrange this for you.
Our team will load the bikes onto the trailer, bid you all farewell and commence the drive back to our base in Phnom Penh, arranging your transfers from the hotel to the airport before we depart.
Our Cambodia motorcycle tours are accompanied by a Toyota Tundra 4×4, equipped with a winch, off-road bumpers, snorkel, Fox performance suspension and big wheels with off-road tyres.
This will be towing a twin-axle off-road trailer capable of carrying 10 bikes with a built-in generator and air compressor.
The backup vehicle & trailer will carry all of your luggage, spare parts & motorcycle, tools, extensive medical kit (in addition to the kit carried by the tour medic), defibrillator (AED), stretcher, cold drinks and lunch.
Our support truck will meet with us at most lunchtimes and the driver will prepare a picnic with fresh baguettes, imported cheeses & meats, fruit etc.
The truck will then meet us again at the accommodation where the driver will hand out cold beers from the coolbox and have your bags sent to your rooms.
Twin-share accommodation is included as standard. Please see the daily itinerary info for details on that nights accommodation.
On this tour we use 4-5* hotels in the bigger cities and the best available in smaller towns & villages. We also spend a night camping next to a river and at a rural homestay.
Please see the ‘Optional Extras’ section for single room supplement pricing.
You’ll be collected from Phnom Penh (PNH) airport – if possible, we recommend you arrive the day before Day 1.
At the end of the trip we will arrange a transfer to the airport in Siem Reap (REP).
All entrance, boat or river crossing fees that are part of the itinerary.
Ride Expeditions Ltd is committed to customer satisfaction and consumer financial protection. At no extra cost to you, and in accordance with ‘The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018’, all passengers booking with Ride Expeditions Ltd are fully insured for the initial deposit, and subsequently the balance of monies paid as detailed in your booking confirmation form.
The policy also includes repatriation if required, arising from the cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Ride Expeditions Ltd. This insurance has been arranged by Towergate Travel through Evolution Insurance.
During the COVID-19 crisis, every rider that requested a refund was issued a cash refund.
All fuel for your motorcycle is provided by us.
This motorcycle tour is accompanied by a GPS tracker that displays our live location and track history on an online map. We will provide you with the link and login details which you can then share with your family at home so they can track your progress throughout the trip.
Your Cambodia motorcycle tour will be guided by an experienced local who knows the trails like the back of his hand!
Breakfast, lunch and dinner is provided on most days.
Please see the daily itinerary to see what meals are included on each day.
A mechanic will be riding at the back of the group, ready to attend to any issues that may arise.
Your tour leader is trained Wilderness First Response medic and will be carrying medical kit with him on the bike.
A more extensive medical kit, including a defibrillator (AED) & stretcher, is carried in the support vehicle.
We also have consulting doctors on call, 24/7, who are always ready to assist in the case of an emergency. Our doctors are fully briefed on all riders medical info prior to the tour, they know what we do, where we are riding, exactly what we have in our medical kit and what training our medics have.
Tours are accompanied by GPS trackers and a satellite messenger device so our doctor and office can see exactly where we are and can maintain communication.
Please see the Dates & Prices section for available bikes.
The cost of shipping the motorcycle back from the end destination is also included.
If you have you your own suitable & reliable motorcycle at the start point, you are quite welcome to use that for this trip. If not, we will provide a rental motorcycle for you.
Since the day Ride Expeditions started running tours in Cambodia back in 2012, we have been dedicated to supporting the local community.
Part profits from every motorcycle tour are donated to M’Lop Tapang – a local Cambodian charity dedicated to bettering the lives of young children & their families.
A Ride Expeditions riding jersey with your name printed on the back. We can provide additional jerseys (in additional colours also) at an extra cost – please contact us at least 6 weeks before departure if you’d like us to arrange this.
We’ll welcome you with a bag of Ride Expeditions goodies which will include:
We can also provide hoodies, beanies, baseball caps or additional t-shirts at an extra cost. Please inform us at least 6 weeks prior to departure if you’d like us to arrange this.
You’ll need to book a flight to Phnom Penh (PNH) airport to arrive on or before the morning of Day 1 of this trip. You will then fly out of Siem Reap (REP) on or after the final day of the trip.
It is important you either:
It is a condition of booking that you obtain appropriate travel insurance that covers you for riding the same capacity motorcycle that you’ll be riding on this motorcycle tour.
The insurance must cover emergency evacuation, medical bills, repatriation etc.
Enduro / motocross style kit will be the way to go on this motorcycle tour, rather than adventure / road riding kit. We recommend you bring an extra layer and waterproofs to keep out the wet stuff.
You'll also want some decent armoured protection and please do bear in mind that we will sometimes be riding on the road... 'dress for the slide, not the ride!'
Yes, there are ATMs in the larger towns, but not the villages.
Don’t forget to tell your bank you are heading to Cambodia, as without this information they will most likely think some rogue hacker is dipping into your account and promptly block your card!
Yes, and we advise you do. Upon arrival at the airport, in both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, there are booths selling SIM cards. We recommend the Smart network. Top up $5-10 and be sure to ask the staff for the special promo codes. This should easily last you the entire trip. The 3G/4G network in Cambodia is very, very good – you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
While the Cambodian locals love their meat, it’s no problem for the restaurants / hotels to prepare vegetarian meals. Fresh vegetables & fish are plentiful in Cambodia.
As for food allergies, we will make every effort to communicate your requirements to the kitchen. If you have concerns, please do get in touch so we can discuss these with you.
Most nationalities do, yes. Whilst you can obtain a 30 day tourist visa upon arrival, we strongly suggest you obtain an e-visa prior to your arrival. The process is simple and visas are usually granted within a few days, but here’s the best part… when you land in Cambodia, you’ll be able to smugly walk past the long queues of tourists applying for their visas upon arrival!
Follow this link for Cambodian entry requirements. This is link to the UK foreign office website – if you are not a UK resident, please search for the equivalent info from your home country’s foreign office.
Visa costs, if applicable, are not included in the tour price.
To secure your place we simply need a £500 non-refundable deposit. The remainder does not need to be paid until 60 days prior to the tour start date.
As this is a largely inclusive tour, you won’t need much. You will only need money for the items not listed as inclusions, which is mainly just alcohol, souvenirs, a couple of meals and any other personal spending. Unless you go mad in the gift shops and bars, around $100 – $150 should easily be adequate. Shopping in Cambodia tends to be very reasonable so you can get quite a lot for not much!
Yes. Here at Ride Expeditions, we take the necessary precautions to ensure that we protect both ourselves and you as the customer, with insurances covering financial failure, public liability, professional indemnity and employers liability (you will need your own travel insurance).
To obtain this insurance we must meet strict safety standards and local regulations. We must also carry out thorough risk assessments about all aspects of a tour before tyres can hit tarmac (…or dirt!).
Yes. All passengers booking with Ride Expeditions Ltd are fully insured for the initial deposit, and subsequently the balance of monies paid as detailed in your booking confirmation form. The policy also includes repatriation if required, arising from the cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Ride Expeditions Ltd. This insurance has been arranged by Towergate Travel through Evolution Insurance.
Despite what you might expect, the internet and mobile coverage across Cambodia is excellent! There are a couple of overnight locations on this motorcycle tour where wifi might not be available… Even here, there will be decent 4G coverage.
For the most accurate and up to date info, we advise you visit the ‘Travel Health Pro’ website. Follow this link to visit the site.
Please also consult with your own doctor at home at least 8 weeks before your trip.
To be legally riding in Cambodia you are required to carry your local driving licence, which must cover the size of bike you will be riding. This will also be a stipulation of any travel insurance company too.
You will also need an International Driving Permit (IDP). An IDP is basically an official, multi-language translation of your driving licence.
Average group sizes are 8-9 riders and we limit the groups to 12 riders.
If you cancel your booking before departure, cancellation charges will be applied as follows:
Please refer to our Terms & Conditions for further info regarding cancellations, changes and transferring your trip to a friend.
The official local currency of Cambodia is ‘Riel’, however you do not need to acquire any of this prior to your arrival. Bring US dollars with you. US dollars are used across the entire country and you will naturally acquire a pocket full of Cambodian Riel as you go.
For the most accurate and up to date info on travel advice for Cambodia, we advise you to visit the foreign office website.
Follow this link for Cambodian advice from the UK foreign office. As we are a UK company, this is the official government advice we follow. If you are not a UK resident, we advise you search for the equivalent info from your own country’s foreign office, as travel advice may differ.
We’d like all of our riders to have at least two years active riding experience.
As this tour is predominantly off-road, it is more than preferable if you have a good amount of off-road riding experience before booking up. Should you have any doubts, give us a call and we can talk you through it in more detail.
You need to be comfortable riding a wide variety of terrain, including deep sand, steep rocky hills, rutted trails and gravel roads. A good level of fitness is also important. This tour is NOT suitable for inexperienced off-road riders.
As a very rough guideline, we’d recommend a minimum of 2 years of active (frequent) off-road riding. If you are unsure of your experience, please let us know so we can have a discussion. We may also recommend you take an off-road training course prior to signing up to the trip – not only to get more experience, but so a professional instructor can assess your riding ability.
Cambodia is a pretty hot country all year round. The dry season runs from November – May. The first 3-4 months of this season are less humid and generally cooler at night. April & May are very hot and humid months.
The wet season runs from June – October. Don’t be put off though – some of the best riding is in the wet season… There is no dust, some muddy conditions are incredibly fun and the landscapes are filled with lush greenery and full rice paddies. That said, September and October are statistically the wettest months of the year – to ride out here during these months you must have a great sense of adventure as plans can change quickly! You must also be prepared to get very very wet and possibly go swimming with the bike.
The minimum required number for this trip to run is 6 riders. We reserve the right to cancel the tour if this number is not met and we will provide you with a minimum of 56 days notice. Please know that this is an absolute last resort for us and we will always do everything in our power to avoid this happening.
We accept GBP payments by Visa, Mastercard & American Express and direct bank transfers. Please get in touch if you would rather pay in another currency – we’ll do our best to accommodate!
For Cambodia there are three associated plug types, A, C and G. Plug type A is the plug which has two flat parallel pins, plug type C is the plug which has two round pins and plug type G is the plug with three rectangular pins, in a triangular pattern.
