PRIVATE TOURS
Are you interested in seeing more than just the floating village? We are happy to provide private floating village tours based on your particular interests, needs and time frame. We have worked with everyone from large groups, student volunteers, and families to provide exciting experiences for tourists and meaningful benefits to the community at large.
We typically do private tours that follow the group tour itinerary. They tend to leave earlier in the morning but the time of departure is up to the guest. To participate on this tour, we ask for a $210 donation. We also need to pay VAT tax bringing the total to $231 USD. These private tours can accommodate up to (4) guests. There is a 27.50 per person supplement after (4) guests.
We have also developed some unique private tours and you will find three examples below that we have done in the past with guests. Feel free to mix and match or send us some of your thoughts so we can create the perfect itinerary for you and your group. We are very open to different ideas and are constantly developing the tours so please do not hesitate to send questions or requests.
Lavender Jeep Countryside & Floating Village Jeep Tour with Lunch - $250
Interested in taking on countryside roads while supporting women entrepreneurs? Join us on a private, full-day Jeep tour with a 1975 A2 American Jeep driven by Lavender Jeep Siem Reap.
Guests will depart Siem Reap at your preferred time (before 9am is recommended) and start heading towards the floating village. On the way we will stop for hot sticky rice and then take a detour off the main highway into the countryside. You'll wind through dirt roads and, in the rainy season, witness families working their rice paddies. We will then continue to Kompong Khleang and board a boat the see the floating village and Tonle Sap lake. During the boat ride you will make stops to see where Bridge of Life works, visit a stilted home, and see a Cambodian pagoda. You'll end your tour with a boat ride on the Tonle Sap where you'll have the chance to travel through Kompong Khleang as well as two other floating villages.
The duration of this tour is approximately 6 hours but can be adjusted based on your schedule. We are able to accommodate up to 3 passengers in the Jeep. If you have more than 3 passengers we are able to take an additional Jeep ($150) or Tuk Tuk ($30). To participate on this tour we ask for a $250 donation (which includes VAT). 30% of the Profits are donated to the drivers of Lavender Jeep.
The Forgotten Temple of Beng Melea with Set Khmer Lunch - $275 Donation
While you have probably seen Angkor Wat and other temples in Siem Reap you might not know about Beng Melea. It is one of the largest temples in Siem Reap but, because the temple is far from the city center, much of it is still in ruins. Visiting Beng Melea makes you feel more like an "explorer" than a "tourist".
On this excursion you will leave Siem Reap at your preferred time (before 9am is recommended) and make your way to Damdek, the district where both Kompong Khleang and Beng Melea are located. You'll sidetrack about 45km to Beng Melea and will spend up to 2 hours visiting this unique temple at your preferred pace.
Afterwards, we'll enjoy a set meal at a nearby Khmer restaurant and will then make our way down to Kompong Khleang. On the way to Kompong Khleang we will still stop by a bakery to try some local donuts and visit a rural market. From there we continue to the floating village where we will see the village where we work, visit a local home where we operate our school, and do a brief walking tour. We then head to the boat dock to take the boat through Kompong Khleang and out to the Tonle Sap. We will have the chance to see two other floating villages before returning to Kompong Khleang and heading home.
The duration of this Beng Melea tour is approximately 8 hours and can accommodate up to 4 passengers. We ask for a donation of $275 (including VAT) to participate on this tour. A supplement of $27.50 per person applies after 4 passengers. Please note this does not include tickets to Beng Melea (same ticket as Angkor Wat) or lunch.
Floating Village & Fishing Tour - $250 Donation
As you may know, the majority of residents in the floating villages earn their living by fishing the Tonle Sap. Depending on the time of year, they catch shrimp, small fish, water snails or clams. If you are interested in learning about fishing in the Tonle Sap this is the tour for you!
We will depart from Siem Reap at your preferred time and make our way to Kompong Khleang. On the way we will make stops for fresh sticky rice and donuts and then briefly visit a rural market. During this time you will see some of the commune fish found in the lake. We will then make our way to the village where we work. You will visit a home, learn about our not-for-profit organization, take a brief walking tour.
Afterwards, depending on the time of year, we will meet a local fisherman and learn about how he fishes and earns a living on the Tonle Sap. We will then follow him out into the lake. Typically we can watch the fisherman cast nets or lay shrimp lines in the flooded forest. We will also have a chance to visit his traps so we can see what he caught the previous day. Depending on the guide, we can also visit a fish farm to see how locals are responding to lower stock in the Tonle Sap.
After the fishing experience we continue out to the Tonle Sap to see two other floating villages and then return home. The duration of this tour is approximately 7 hours and we can accommodate up to 4 guests. There is an additional supplement of $27.50 after 4 participants.
Please note that guests will not fish themselves due to safety concerns (we don't want you to get off the boat and enter the lake). Fishing is also seasonal - so you can expect different types of fishing depending on lake levels.