Siem Reap Countryside Private Tour

It is real. Every stop is a working place: a farm where the palm juice actually comes down, a pharmacy a family actually runs, a market villagers actually shop at, a pagoda that is somebody's local temple. Nothing is set up as a performance, and because your group is on its own, you spend real time with people rather than filing past them.

No. There is no commission stop, no showroom and no handicraft centre with a till at the exit. Our page has said "this is not a shopping tour" for years and we mean it literally. If something at the village market catches your eye, buying it is your call and nobody will steer you.

No, and that is deliberate. This is the land-based countryside: farms, rice fields, markets, workshops and village homes. We leave the Tonlé Sap floating-village circuit to other operators, because it has become crowded and heavily commercialised, and it is not the day we want to sell you.

No. This route stays in the countryside outside the Angkor Archaeological Park, so there is no Angkor Pass to buy and nothing to add to the $95. That is a $37 per person saving against a temple day. If you are doing the temples on another day, buy that pass online in advance at angkorenterprise.gov.kh rather than queueing at the gate.

For most of our guests it is the day they talk about afterwards. The temples show you the empire that was; the countryside shows you the Cambodia that is, twenty minutes past the park gates. It is also a complete change of pace, with no climbing, no crowds and no queue for a photograph.

Yes. It is your group and nobody else, with your own guide and your own driver for the whole day. That is worth checking elsewhere, because several countryside tours sold online as "private" are in fact small-group departures capped at four to six strangers. There is no hard cap on ours: bring a larger group and we add guides.

You never drive, on either one. The vintage Jeep is a restored Willys, re-engined with an automatic gearbox, with a soft canvas top for shade and the sides open to the air. The Vespa is one machine per guest, each with its own local driver, and it gets down the narrow paddy paths a car cannot take. Your guide is with you all day either way, so choose on comfort or on fun.

Very little. You are carried from stop to stop, and the walking at each one is short and flat: around a farmyard, through a market, across a pagoda courtyard. That is exactly why this day works for guests who cannot spend it cycling or climbing temple steps. There is a step up into the Jeep, so a hand getting in is sometimes useful. Tell us about any mobility needs when you book and we will shape the day around them.

You pick the start: any time between 7 and 9 AM, from your hotel door. The day runs about seven and a half hours, so you are back at your hotel by around 2:30 PM, a little earlier if you started at 7. Going early means cooler air and the palm climbers still at work.

Yes, and it is one of the better family days here: the pace is gentle, the stops are hands-on, and there is no long walking. Children aged 4 to 12 get 30% off automatically and under-4s go free. On both the Jeep and the Vespa children ride as passengers with the driver, and a child seat can be fitted on the Jeep on request. Mention ages when you book.

Yes. Lunch is a freshly cooked Khmer meal served at a private farm, sitting out over the rice fields, with drinks. The families and kitchens we bring guests to are ones we use ourselves and take our own families to. Tell us about any dietary needs when you book and we will work around them.

The fields are greenest through the rains from June to October, when the rice is growing, and turn gold around the November to February harvest. November to February is also the most comfortable stretch to be out in an open Jeep or on a Vespa. The route runs every day of the year.

Light, loose clothes for the heat, and something that covers your shoulders and knees for the pagoda, out of respect. A scarf or a krama does the job and folds away. Closed shoes are easiest on farmyard and market ground, and because the Jeep and the Vespa are both open to the air, bring a hat and sun cover. Water is with you all day.

The tour still runs and we provide poncho-style raincoats. One thing to be clear about: our cancellation policy has no weather clause, so a wet forecast on its own is not grounds for a refund.

• 14+ days before: full refund
• Less than 14 days before: 50% refund
• Less than 5 days before, or no-show: no refund