Our guide, Hat, speaks fluent English. He is very knowledgeable. He doesn’t only named the bird, but also shared stories about it. He is super friendly, caring, and accommodating. Our... read more first birding experience was amazing, it convinced us to book the half day tour in Phnom Penh next week.

  I did the Phnom Penh sunrise tour. There were three other guests (none of us experienced birders), a driver and our guide, Ladong. The van was very comfortable and easy... read more to get in and out of, and the driver drive well (not too fast or aggressive).

Our tour started with coffee at Farm to Table, before driving/taking a ferry to Areyksat. At first I was skeptical because we just pulled over on a road, motos and cars going by regularly while we tried to find birds. However, after about fifteen minutes, we started spotting different birds. Ladong was patient and pointed things out every few seconds, repeating the names, helping us see things through a small telescope and binoculars provided by the tour company. We also had a small roadside breakfast of coffee, bananas and chocolate brownies. 🙂 We probably saw two or three dozen different birds on the side of the road, in around 1-2 hours.

Then we went to a monastery and walked around in a forested area. It was overcast so a bit dark to spot birds, but we succeeded and it was just a petty place to be. Lots of birdsong and Ladong knew them all.

Highly recommend! Guide and driver were kind, professional, and knowledgeable. And brunch after was delicious and filling. Great experience overall!

  We booked a six-day private tour and it was worth every penny. Our guide Mr. Huon Hat was excellent with a keen eye for birds and other wildlife, next to... read more being a very pleasant and helpful guy. The tour was very well organized, accomodations were...More

  We booked a six-day private tour and it was worth every penny. Our guide Mr. Huon Hat was excellent with a keen eye for birds and other wildlife, next to... read more being a very pleasant and helpful guy. The tour was very well organized, accomodations were located in the immediate vicinity of important birding areas and meals (cooked by locals) delicious.

With regard to birding we first visited Prek Toal birding colony where we saw Asian Openbill, many Painted Storks and Spot-billed Pelicans, a couple of Lesser Adjudants and - very far - a pair of Milky Storks and Great Adjutants. At the end of the day we had seen 58 uniques species and returned to our hotel very satisfied.
Over the next few days we visited the grasslands, BeTreed, Tmat Boey and the Vulture Restaurant and added Bengal Florican, Giant Ibis, White-shouldered Ibis, Green Peafowl, the three species of vultures and countless other birds to our ever growing species list. We ended up with well over 100 unique species on this tour. My personal interest is butterflies which we had ample time to study while birding and take some nice pictures as well. Add in the occasional gibbon, snake and squirrel and we had a very productive look into Cambodian wildlife. Thank you SVC for making this possible, organizing it so well and all the good work that you do protecting endangered animals while cooperating and supporting the local communities.

  We joined a small group for the Prek Toal birding tour today. From start to finish the whole thing went off as planned. The boat trip through, and the stops... read more in the floating village of Prek Toal were just fascinating. But the bird viewing in the wetlands after the village was astonishing. We spent several hours boating through various channels and stopping periodically including an extended stay at a viewing platform. We saw thousands of birds. It was just beautiful to see. Spotted Pelicans, lesser and greater adjuants, eagles, anhingas and many others. The guide spoke English clearly, knew his birds and made efforts to include everyone regardless of birding experience. We had a great lunch too at a restaurant in Prek Toal. Sure there are cheaper things to do in Siem Reap but this is a way to experience beautiful Cambodian nature as well as to see a way of life different from anything that exists in Europe, Canada or the USA. And to top it off, the SamVaesna organization is a non-profit working to preserve the wildlife and wetlands and to help the very poor local population.

  We took the 3 Day Wild Siem Reap in January 2020. This tour took us to Trapeang Thma Lake, Changkran Roi area for camping and the Koh Ker temple... read more site. We made other stops along the way anytime we saw something of interest or good birding locations. The bird hide at Changkran Roi is a well maintained place that attracts many birds. Koh Ker is an undervisted temple site, home to many birds that make this visit very special. We absolutely enjoyed this tour and find it an excellent way to experience Cambodia. Great work is being done by groups like Sam Veasna to protect natural habitats for wildlife.
We were not able to stop at Beng Melea due to a 7x price increase in the entrance fee. If you select this tour, make sure you inquire about this.