After 7 years, I finally made it back to Siem Reap for a more relaxed trip – and what a remarkable six days it turned out to be. 

While planning my trip, I noticed many itineraries seemed to cram everything into just 2-3 days. Trust me, you don't want to rush this experience. I'm sharing my carefully crafted 6-day itinerary that lets you soak in the majesty of Angkor's temples while still having energy to enjoy them.

Before diving in, here's the most valuable tip I discovered: Siem Reap's heat is no joke. Instead of pushing through sweaty, exhausting mid-day temple visits, I split each day into early morning and late afternoon explorations. This meant returning to town for brunch and a refreshing siesta during the hottest hours – a rhythm that made the whole experience so much more enjoyable.

Settling into Siem Reap After checking into my hotel, I kicked off the adventure with an afternoon visit to the Angkor National Museum. While some travelers skip this, I found it invaluable for understanding the historical context of everything I'd see in the coming days. The detailed exhibits on Angkor's deities and kings helped bring the temple ruins to life later. I wrapped up the day browsing the Made in Cambodia Market, where local artisans sell authentic crafts (much better quality than what you'll find at the night market, though slightly pricier).

This day gives you a perfect contrast between Angkor's earliest temples and one of its most atmospheric sites. I started early at the Rolus Group, beginning with Lolei (the quietest), then Preah Ko, and finally the pyramid-shaped Bakong. These 9th-century temples show where it all began, and visiting early meant having them almost to myself.

The late afternoon was magical at Ta Prohm (yes, the famous "Tomb Raider temple"). By arriving around 2:30 PM, I caught the temple in perfect lighting for photos – when sunbeams pierce through the canopy and illuminate the stone-strangling tree roots. A quick visit to the peaceful Banteay Kdei followed, before catching sunset at Pre Rup temple. Pro tip: The steep stairs at Pre Rup are worth the climb for panoramic views over the jungle canopy.

Day 3: North Gate Exploration Setting out at 6:30 AM

I embarked on what turned out to be my favorite temple circuit. Starting at Preah Khan (which rivals Ta Prohm for atmospheric beauty but with fewer crowds), then moving to the intimate Ta Som, and finishing at the unique Neak Pean – built as a healing sanctuary in the middle of an ancient reservoir. 

The afternoon visit to the APOPO Center, where hero rats are trained to detect landmines, offered a sobering but hopeful glimpse into Cambodia's ongoing recovery efforts.

The iconic sunrise at Angkor Wat lives up to the hype, but here's what most blogs won't tell you: don't leave after the sun comes up! Most tourists depart for breakfast, leaving the temple blissfully peaceful for proper exploration. I spent several hours discovering hidden nooks and admiring the intricate bas-reliefs. The afternoon was dedicated to exploring Siem Reap's living Buddhist heritage at Wat Preah Prom Rath, offering a fascinating contrast to the ancient temples.

Day 5: Remote Temples & the Faces of Bayon

This day requires an extra-early start but delivers some of the trip's highlights. Banteay Srei, known as the "Citadel of Women," showcases the most intricate carvings I've ever seen. The remote Beng Mealea, meanwhile, feels like a true adventure – a largely unrestored temple being slowly reclaimed by the jungle. The day ended perfectly at Bayon Temple around 3:30 PM, when the afternoon light plays beautifully across its famous face towers, and most tourists have already left.

My final morning was spent at Theam's House gallery, an incredible artist's home-studio that offers a window into contemporary Cambodian art. It was the perfect way to connect Angkor's artistic legacy to modern-day Cambodia before departing.

For temple explorations, I hired a scooter for $10 per day. If you're comfortable this allows for a lot more freedom. 

Download Grab or PassApp for easy town transportation

A note on temple passes: While you can get a one-day ($37) or three-day pass ($62), I recommend the seven-day pass ($72) even for a 6-day trip. The flexibility to enter the temple zone multiple times per day makes it worth the marginal extra cost.

The Perfect 6-Day Siem Reap Itinerary

I did a solo 4-day peak of the Balkan hike over the weekend and had a brilliant time. I wanted to share my experiences in case it helps anyone else as I found it a bit confusing when researching.

My route was Theth -> Valbona -> Cerem -> Vusanje -> Theth

Day 1 - Bus journey Skoder to Theth, stayed at Guest House Rrashkadoli

All buses leave at 6.30-7AM. This means you should get to Theth around 9.30. It'd be possible to do the Theth to Valbona hike the first day if you'd like to but instead I rested. I'd really recommend the guesthouse I stayed at (Guest House Rrashkadoli). They have private rooms and 1 dorm room with 5 beds. Breakfast is included and there is an a la carte menu for dinner / lunch.

Day 2 - Theth to Valbone, stayed at Guesthouse Mehmeti

After a hearty breakfast I started on the trail early. It took a few hours to the 'summit' but was more difficult than I expected, although I've not hiked since September last year. This day is really busy with significantly more people on the trail than the other 3 days. The views from the top are spectacular but it was really crowed with people as those from Theth and Valbona both hit it at the same time. My guesthouse in Valbona was nice but an extra few KMs from the trailhead along a fairly flat asphalt road. You could potentially organise a pick up from the guesthouse but it wasn't cheap. The good thing for this trip was you're staying on trail to hike to Cerem so you're not going off route.

Day 3 - Valbona to Cerem, stayed at Guesthouse Kujtim Gocaj Çerem

Day 3 begins with a choice, either to take the high route to Cerem or the low route on the asphalt road. I picked the low route as I was hiking alone and couldn't find a .kml of the upper route and was also told a part of the route is the same as what I would hike the next day to Vusanje. The first part was down the main road however there was not too many cars and still had decent views of the surrounding peaks. Second half was up the access road to Cerem which is not great surfact but also only 3 cars passed in a couple of hours. I stayed the night in Guesthouse Mehmeti, which had really friendly hosts. They were not on Booking so had to message them on Facebook.

Day 4 - Çerem to Vusanje, stayed at Guesthouse Lola

I was a little concerned about this day as it's not on the main Peaks of the Balkans route but it was really well marked. I downloaded the 

 just in case. The hike was a relatively easy one, up through the forests and across the border into Montengero. Beautiful valley views when entering Montengero before descending down into Valbone. I stayed at Guesthouse Lola which was nice, but 2km off trail down into the valley.

Day 5 - Vusanje to Theth, stayed at Guest House Rrashkadoli

The longest day of the hike but my favourite. So many beautiful meadows and not too steep a climb but did cover 22km+ this day. Great views from the top at Peja pass. Careful when descending into Theth at the beginning as it is steep, with mostly gravel and it was windy but spectacular day of hiking.

Trails are really well marked overall but was happy to have a 

 - I left it late (decided on Wednesday, left on Saturday) but they were sorted. I messaged a couple of the other border permit people and they didn't get back to me

Bottled water wasn't avaiable after Valbone but had no problems drinking the mountain tap water

Little snow at the beginning of June. Lucky with 4 sunny days however was told by an Estonian group that the year before there was heavy snow at the same time so be careful

The villages of Valbona and Theth are really spread out, check the location of where you book your guesthouse against the trail head unless you want to walk an extra few KMs away from the trail potentially up hill

The Valbona to Theth day was by far the busiest, on the other days I saw 10-15 people a day

All in all it was an awesome hike - felt very safe but also had plenty of moments of solitude as well. The hospitality and friendliness of the people along the way was awesome. If anyone has any doubts happy to answer any questions but overall very much recommended.

Peaks of the Balkans - 4 Day Trip Report

After a wonderful week on Caye Caulker, it was time to leave the Belizean island and travel onward to Bacalar, Mexico. 

While shuttle services were available, they were quite expensive at $50 USD. Having enjoyed the rewarding and budget-friendly experience of using public transportation a few times previously in Central America, I decided to attempt the journey to Bacalar via local buses and collectivos, despite the lack of readily available information. Here's how I navigated the trip:

Caye Caulker to Belize City – $21USD – 1 hour

I caught the 6.30AM San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi to Belize City. The cost is $21USD for a one-way ticket if needed. True to local expectations, the boat arrived late, but once we departed, the journey was swift, and we reached Belize City around 7:40 AM.

Belize City to Corozl – 12 Belize Dollars ($6 USD) – 2.5 hours

From the port, I took the short walk to the bus station. Some people take a taxi to the bus station but the felt very safe in the morning. Luckily, a bus to Corazol, the town nearest the Mexican border accessible by public transportation, was waiting when I arrived in the bus station. The 12 Belizean ($6 USD) bus departed at 8.15AM and arrived in Corozal a couple of hours later. Tickets are bought from the conductor on the bus.

Corozal to Santa Elena (Mexican border) - 4 Belizean Dollars ($2 USD) – 30 mins

On the bus to Corozal, I luckily met a couple of Belizeans who were heading to Chetumal for a few days. When we got off the bus, a collectivo was waiting at the roundabout, and we all hopped on together. The driver took us through the older border crossing at Santa Elena. Initially, he tried to leave without waiting for us to get our Belizean exit stamps, but the local guys persuaded him to wait and then continue on to the Mexican border.

Santa Elena to Chetumal - 20 pesos ($1 USD) – 30 mins

After completing the usual border formalities, I had made it into Mexico. Just outside the immigration office, a white collectivo (shared taxi van) to Chetumal was sat waiting. . It's worth noting that these collectivos stop running at 6 PM (Mexico is one hour ahead of Belize), so aim to arrive before then to avoid the need for a more expensive private taxi.

Chetumal to Bacalar – 50 Pesos (2.50USD) – 1 hour

When boarding the collectivo from Santa Elena, inform the driver of your intention to travel to Bacalar, and they will drop you off at the appropriate location to catch the next collectivo. These shared vans run regularly, providing a relatively quick, inexpensive, and authentic local transportation option for reaching Bacalar. It took 1 hour and cost 50MXP.

All in all, the journey from Caye Caulker to Bacalar took approximately 6 hours and cost only $10.50 USD from Belize City onward, significantly cheaper than the $50 USD shuttle option. While not drastically longer in travel time, the public transportation route offered a far more adventurous and culturally immersive experience. Happy travels!

How to Travel from Caye Caulker, Belize to Bacalar, Mexico on Public Transport

When I first arrived in Taxco and looked at things to do, seeing the largest Cave network in Mexico stood out as a must do. The next question was how could I get there?

There wasn’t collectivos passing through the town every 30 minutes, like with the posas, and Googling it yielded little in the way of up to date information therefore I decided to make this guide to getting from Taxco to Parque National. Note the same bus goes from Taxco to Ixtapa and also from Taxco to Toluca

The bus goes from the terminal containing Estrella Blanca, Costalines and Flecha Roja - 

Note that this is a different terminal from the ADO bus terminal.

What time are the buses from Taxco to Parque Nacional Grutas de Cacahuamilpa?

Departure times change slightly depending on the day. As of April 2023, the bus departures are:

What time is the last bus from Taxco to the Grutas?

No matter which day you get the bus, technically the last bus is at 6:30, however the last entry to the Grutas is 5PM so you need to be getting the 3:20 / 3.50PM bus if you want to make it to the entrance before closing time.

There is a small walk from the top where the bus drops you off to the entrance of the Grutas. Entries to the Caves are every hour on the hour. I took the 3:20PM bus and arrived at around 4:10 to the entrance and had to wait until 5PM to enter the cave. As the caves close at 6PM, we only got to see half of the cave system but did pay half the price.

So if you want to do the full tour, the last bus you should aim for is the 1.20PM on Monday – Thursday, 2.20PM on Friday’s and Sunday’s and the 2:50PM departure on a Saturday. 

Getting from Taxco to Parque Grutas de Cacahuamilpa

I have been 3 times to Mexico City and, in search of something new to explore, I asked a friend for her top 5 underrated Mexico City recommendations. She suggested: 

 - I grew up by the zone, it is so beautiful 

 - I went to College there and the place is breathtaking 

 - I mean, even bigger than Central Park 

 - I have so many memories from High school... And cool art cinema 

 - in Dia de Muertos. It's a whole experience in a little village town

Wander Wise

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