Responsible travel in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It’s easier than you think!

What makes travel to Siem Reap really special? It is the gateway to magnificent Angkor Wat, yes, and it is also a bustling city that is chock-full of responsible initiatives! Supporting sustainable businesses and social enterprises with our travel income was very important to us, and it was very enjoyable and easy to do.

Anyone can do it and have a great time seeing the sights of Siem Reap, even families with young children like us. And if we all do, together we’re ensuring that our tourism has a positive effect on the future of its people.

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We spent the Christmas and New Years period in Siem Reap, and we loved it there with its bustling atmosphere, friendly people and a huge range of activities. And we had a wonderful couple of weeks exploring the region with our children: it is a great destination for Cambodia family holidays.

Most people visit Siem Reap to explore Angkor Wat and the temples surrounding it, and as it is so popular, tourism is the major industry. It is excellent to find so many sustainable programs there, whose aims are to use tourism to help marginalised Cambodians gain skills and knowledge for their future.

One of the trees growing through famous Ta Prohm, near Angkor Wat

Siem Reap continues to be one of the poorest areas of Cambodia despite all the tourists flocking there each year. For this reason, we believe it is vital to support local people and not big organisations who make profits while the majority are struggling.

If these ideals are important to you too, read on for our Siem Reap travel guide, with tips on how to travel responsibly, great places to stay and eat, and sustainable activities throughout the region.  All of our recommendations are suitable if you’re planning a family trip to Cambodia, or if you’re travelling solo or as a couple or group.  

Being a responsible traveller in Siem Reap

Be responsible for your waste

All throughout Cambodia, management of waste is a big issue. It is heartbreaking to see so much rubbish constantly on the streets and even in the natural areas. Trash is often burnt just to get rid of it, but this is not a great solution as many chemicals are then released into the air around them.

Recycling bins at the Lucky Mall, Siem Reap

Being a responsible traveller in Siem Reap definitely means minimising your own trash. There are some great recycling programs that you can support, and taking your own reusable bags with you is an easy way to reduce plastic bag use. Plastic Free Cambodia has some great resources and tips on their website, too.

There is also a small business that makes reusable straws from bamboo in Siem Reap. Many cafés use their straws, and you can buy them and take them around yourself too. Using them instead of plastic straws seems like such a minor thing, but straws are a major polluter and take many years to break down.

Dante with some reusable bamboo straws in Siem Reap.

Take advantage of water refill stations

We were pleased to find that many cafés and restaurants offer filtered water refills in Siem Reap. Taking a large stainless steel water bottle with you everywhere is a great idea to cut down on the need for plastic water bottles. We also took our own water filter with us but we didn’t use it much, as water refills were so easy to find.

You can find refill stations through the Cambodian Refill Not Landfill initiative.

Other ways you can travel responsibly in Siem Reap

• Never buying artefacts that may have been taken from a heritage site
• Not supporting illegal wildlife trafficking and poaching, by eating meats or buying souvenirs from rare and endangered animals. The pangolin and wild elephant are in critical status, and populations of monitor lizards, wild pigs and deer, tortoises, bears and snakes are also threatened by these practices.
• Being mindful of your use of resources such as electricity and water.
• Always asking before taking photographs of other people. Read more about respectful photography here.
• Not visiting orphanages. Children are not tourist attractions, yet many institutions are treating them as such: to the extent that it is now classified as a modern form of slavery.
  New research is showing that up to 80% of children in orphanages are not actually orphans, yet the number of orphanages in Cambodia increased 75% from 2005 – 2010. Friends International and UNICEF have launched a big campaign about it, encouraging people to think before donating or visiting to keep children safe, and discouraging orphanage tourism.
  Read more about Voluntourism & Volunteering in Cambodia from the Cambodian Children’s Trust.
  

  image credit: friends-international.org

  Excellent initiative ConCERT Cambodia has some guidelines for responsible volunteering that are useful to think about, as well as answers and suggestions for other questions you may have as a responsible traveller.
  If you do want to help children in need, please do some thorough research about this issue, and be prepared to do some work that may not be so heart-warming and photogenic. Supporting organisations that work to keep families together rather than orphanages is a proposed solution.

• Donating blood is a really great way to make a difference in Cambodia. You might actually save a child’s life with your donation. Dengue fever is often life-threatening to children, and dengue rates are high in Siem Reap yet blood donor numbers are low. Visit the Angkor Hospital for Children any day between 8am – 4pm to donate. They only take 300cc and facilities and procedures are modern.
• Supporting landmine victim’s bands and other initiatives that empower disabled adults.
• Not buying items from children working on the streets or at the temples. We found this particularly hard but did stick to it despite their persistence. Although we felt just awful saying no, all responsible travel guidelines ask travellers not to buy from child sellers, as it locks them into the poverty cycle rather than helps their families.

And the easiest and perhaps most enjoyable way to travel responsibly in Siem Reap, is to support the many social enterprises and responsible businesses there. These programs ensure Cambodian people are fairly paid and work in good conditions, and are well-trained and properly skilled for their future.

Responsible accommodation in Siem Reap (that is also family-friendly)

We spent our entire stay at Babel Guesthouse, and we loved it there. Though we didn’t try other places, we still think it’s the best family hotel in Siem Reap! With a friendly atmosphere, happy staff and large rooms, it was perfect for us to relax in for three whole weeks.

Babel runs many excellent social and environmental initiatives, including language and further education for their staff, recycling and plastic bag collection, providing clean water refills and turning used cooking oil into biofuel to power their generator.

Babel staff and owners Simen and Katrine, with baby Eline and the cat!

The atmosphere at Babel is fun and welcoming, and their garden restaurant is great to hang out in and chat with the staff and other guests. We always felt safe with our children there, and our kids loved watching movies on the communal tv, helping decorate for Christmas, and playing with baby Eline!

Babel also has an Eco Shop and Refill Station on the premises, and their menu includes many vegan and vegetarian options. It really had it all for us and they are doing great things for their staff and the wider community of Siem Reap. I know that whether you’re travelling alone or with others, you’ll find it to be one of the best hotels in Siem Reap.

Babel Eco Store and Refill Station (photo courtesy of Babel Guesthouse)

You can book or pricematch Babel Guesthouse on Booking.com

Booking.com

If Babel is booked out, Culture Trip has a list of 10 more eco-friendly places to stay in Siem Reap. The majority of Siem Reap accommodations are not specifically eco-friendly, but you can also try a homestay or small, locally-owned guesthouse to maximise the benefit of your stay.

Responsible food in Siem Reap

The food scene is booming in Siem Reap! Visitors are spoilt for choice with every type of cuisine available, and street stalls, markets, cafés and restaurants to choose from. Produce is fresh and eating out is inexpensive. We had a feast while trying many of the excellent sustainable cafés in Siem Reap, and we didn’t even get to try them all! These were our favourite places:

• The Little Red Fox Espresso
  We enjoyed breakfast here several times. Ant confirms that their reputation for the best coffee in town is correct! He also LOVED their breakfast bagel, and our kids loved being able to get vegemite with their toast and have a babycino.
  I enjoyed their vegan bircher muesli and being able to get alternative milk drinks, and we all loved the happy atmosphere and great service we received there.
  

  Little Red Fox Espresso’s breakfast bagel

  We also appreciated their environmental initiatives and programs for their staff. We we only disappointed that they were closed for training on the last day of our stay, as we wanted to go back again!
  The Little Red Fox Espresso is open from 7am – 5pm every day except Wednesdays.

• Marum
  This place is very popular and it was booked out the first few times we tried to visit, so definitely book ahead. Marum serves beautifully presented and delicious food, and is one of the few places we have found in South East Asia that has a separate kids menu. We spent New Years Eve there and were happy to discover their range of board games too! They made for some extra fun between courses.
  

  Marum’s vegetarian curry with quinoa and wild mushroom and brie rice balls

  Marum works with street children and other marginalised Cambodians. It is part of the global TREE alliance of training restaurants which invest 100% of their profits into their students and social programs. Marum also has a great shop on the premises selling upcycled wares and some clothing.
  Marum is open daily from 11am – 11pm. 

  

  Marum’s chocolate and Kampot pepper cake

• Sister Srey Cafe
  This place is also always busy, and has excellent service and a big range on the menu, including many allergy-friendly, vegetarian and vegan options. The food is fresh, local and organic, and the hearty serves arrive quickly. Sister Srey composts or recycles almost all of their waste, and help their staff with education and participation in further projects in the community.
  

  Sister Srey’s matcha smoothie bowl, raw chocolate brownie and eggs benedict

  Sister Srey also has a book-swap and small lounge area upstairs, as well as board games and a small clothing boutique. And their menus come inside Little Golden Books, which were great to have a read of while we waited for our breakfast!
  Sister Srey Cafe is open from 7am – 6pm every day except Mondays.

• Blossom Cafe
  Blossom is one of Bloom Asia’s cafés and training centres for women who have experienced significant trauma. They are non-profits who run a VET hospitality program, where students learn incredible cake artistry and baking as well as computing and literacy classes. All graduates are employed full-time and can also learn service skills and paper crafts.
  

  The beautiful cakes at Blossom

  Bloom cafes also serve fair trade coffee and their cakes are absolutely stunning. They have been “Baking a difference since 2009” and are wonderful to support if you’re in the mood for some beautiful sweet treats.
  Blossom is open Monday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm. 

  

  Blossom’s pretty cupcakes

• Haven
  Another awesome social enterprise and training facility, Haven employs young adults coming out of orphanages, safe shelters, and very poor rural communities. Haven takes full responsibility for their student’s financial needs while they are in the training program, which provides vocational and life skills for each young adult.

Dante enjoying his veggie burger at Haven

The food at Haven is excellent, with traditional Khmer and Western foods and a great vegetarian range, but no smaller portions for kids. I loved my vegan version of Amok, a Cambodian specialty.

My vegan Amok at Haven

The setting at Haven is beautiful and even though it’s a little out of town, it is very busy daily so book ahead.
Haven is open Monday – Saturday, from 11:30 – 2:30 for lunch, and from 5:30 – 9:30 for dinner. 

Waiting for our meal upstairs at Haven

• Peace Cafe
  We visited Peace Cafe for dinner and breakfast and enjoyed their fully vegetarian menu. Breakfast there is simple and cheaper than other cafes, and dinner was excellent: fresh and tasty, and Allegra got the biggest coconut we had ever seen to drink!
  

  Allegra’s enormous coconut at Peace cafe

  Peace Cafe also has a yoga studio upstairs and a great shop on the premises selling clothes, crafts, jewellery, puzzles and more. They provide holistic training for their staff as well as eco-responsible and permaculture workshops for Khmer people.
  Peace Cafe is open every day from 7:30am – 9:00pm. 

  

  The colourful Peace Cafe salad

• Joe to Go
  100% of Joe to Go’s profits support a school for former street-working children called The Global Child. This funky little cafe serves breakfast all day and their huge potato rostis are delicious! We had breakfast here on Christmas Day and really enjoyed their big and tasty meals.
  Joe to go is open daily from 7am – 9:30pm.
  

  Joe to Go supports the Global Child and is a water refill station

We also wanted to try Sala Bai and New Leaf Eatery as we have heard about their great work, but we didn’t get to them this time.

Responsible activities in Siem Reap for families, and all travellers to enjoy!

Explore the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat

Intricate details in Ta Prohm, slowly being engulfed by nature

The highlight and main drawcard is, of course, Angkor Wat and its surrounding temples. We have heard a lot about it but it still amazed us; how huge the complex of temples really is, how different and detailed they are, and how they have stood the test of time.

The temples of Angkor definitely deserve their status as a wonder of the world and one of the best places to visit in Cambodia.

Sunset draws the crowds at Phnom Bakheng

As so many people visit it each year (more than 3 million!) it is essential to be a responsible tourist, by not leaving any rubbish behind, and by not harming the structures or taking any ‘souvenirs’ from them. We didn’t notice any water refill stations or recycling bins anywhere, so taking your own full reusable bottles is a great idea.

It is also important to be respectful by following cultural expectations such as wearing modest clothing, and not pointing your feet at any Buddha or sacred object.

At a famous spot in Ta Prohm, a.k.a. the Tomb Raider temple

It is also best to support local people for your Angkor Wat tour. Most tuk-tuk drivers can take you there, so if you have a relationship with a driver it can be a great way to support their family. Cambodia family tours are often best anyway: we also had a wonderful tour guide in Battambang, who created his own local trail which supported people he knew and was tailored to our needs. Getting to know him enhanced our visit so much, as we were blessed with his personal stories as well as his contacts and individualised attention.

If you want to take a licensed guide along with you (as they must be accredited to enter the temples) you can find one who speaks your language on the Cambodia Tourist Guide website.

One of the huge towers within Angkor Wat

Many accommodations have their own tours and transport options. We used a tuk-tuk driver named Va who works at our guesthouse, Babel. Va explained the history to us and answered our questions in between the temples. He was knowledgeable and helpful even though he couldn’t go inside with us.

Anthony and Va chatting about history and myths while they waited for the kids and me to finish exploring.

If you prefer to book a fully guided tour and transport, there are many companies to choose from. Sustainable or locally-owned Siem Reap tours I have researched include Prek Toal Tours, See Cambodia Differently, and Intrepid Urban Adventures Siem Reap.

There are so many doors and passageways to explore

A great sustainable way to see the temples of Angkor Wat is by bike. Many businesses hire bicycles for a minimal fee and you can just ride around yourself, or get a guided tour from sustainable companies Siem Reaper or Khmer for Khmer Organization. You can also hire a Green E-Bike if you don’t fancy pedalling all day, and recharge it if necessary along the journey.

And if you like a challenge, you can run a half-marathon around the complex too! Miles Less Travelled blog has a great post about What it’s Like to Run the Angkor Wat International Half-Marathon.

Read more about Angkor Wat and other activities (for teens and adults) in this What to do in Siem Reap guide.

The amazing view from the top of Ta Keo temple

Enjoy a quiet afternoon spotting butterflies

The Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre is an example of a new way to provide sustainable income to Cambodian people. It provides training and support to rural communities, which increases knowledge about their local environment and the benefits of conservation.

Dante spotting some butterflies

We spent an afternoon there for a friend’s birthday and it was a lovely place with passionate guides to show guests around. The butterflies have plenty of room to fly around and the gardens are well-maintained and beautiful.

• For another example of ethical animal tourism in Southeast Asia, check out my post about our time seeing elephants in the forest with the Mahouts Elephant Foundation in Thailand. 
• And an excellent conservation program we volunteered with was the Juara Turtle Project on Tioman Island, Malaysia. It was amazing! They are doing excellent work to help sea turtles and accept families for volunteer experiences. 

One beautiful butterfly that we managed to get a good picture of!

Our kids loved finding different butterflies to watch and photograph, and seeing the cocoons and caterpillars was really interesting too. They also have a small cafe on site. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children.

Please note this centre is about half an hour out of Siem Reap city. There is a butterfly cafe within the city that we do not recommend, as the facilities were poorly maintained and the garden for the butterflies was very small. 

A butterfly hatching from its cocoon

Get into nature on the Tonle Sap Lake

I really wanted to do one of these tours but we ran out of time! Tours usually concentrate on the huge Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary and visiting a floating village. The bird sanctuary was created to protect many threatened species and it contains several rare breeds. Now poaching has stopped there are enormous amounts of birds that congregate there in the peak season of December – February, and it’s possible to see smaller numbers from September.

There are several responsible companies running tours on the Tonle Sap: Prek Toal Tours is run by locals and invests 100% of revenue back into their community; Sam Veasna Centre runs a great range of nature tours; Osmose has three different Tonle Sap itineraries to choose from; and Lavender Jeep Tours is a social enterprise run by women which is structured as a cooperative.

Please be aware some of the tours to Tonle Sap are not ethical and are akin to slum tourism. Choosing a responsible provider should ensure that your money benefits local people, and does not treat them as a zoo exhibit.

Be amazed at the Phare Circus

Relax after a big day out while you marvel at the incredible talents of graduates of Phare Ponleu Selpak, an NGO offering education and professional arts training for free to Cambodian youth. Performers come from various disadvantaged backgrounds to transform their lives through art. This initiative does an amazing job of helping many children have a better life while providing a world-class experience for visitors to enjoy.

Phare Siem Reap offers a variety of different performances, all of which combine circus arts with dance, theatre and live music. We actually saw the show in Battambang but after seeing it, we all wished we saw one in Siem Reap as well! It was a wonderful night out for kids and adults, and the performers are truly outstanding.

We got to meet some of the Phare Circus performers after the show!

Learn more with cultural activities, foodie tours and exploring the countryside

Backstreet Academy is a new platform that connects visitors with small local businesses, for authentic experiences that support local people. In Siem Reap these include making medieval knives and copper bracelets, stone, leather, soapstone and wood carving, cooking, boxing and dancing classes, traditional rice farming, fishing and hunting, and much more!

A Khmer boxing class in Siem Reap

Ayana Journeys also offers sustainable tours to help you learn more about Siem Reap life than the usual tourist trail. Travel deeper with local guides to show you around Siem Reap and beyond, where more ancient temples and friendly villages await. Or take a cooking class or foodie tour around town and get the authentic taste of Cambodia from a knowledgable local guide.

Shopping with heart

There are many shops and markets in Siem Reap, and some great ones to support have recycled, upcycled and eco-friendly wares. Anywhere you shop, supporting local people is the best way to ensure your tourist money is making a difference to the people that need it most.

Friends shop at Marum

Sustainable cafes with a retail store on the premises

• Sister Srey Cafe which has a small selection of clothing.
• Peace Cafe which has quite a large and varied store that includes clothing and scarves, accessories, puzzles and bags.
• Marum which has some upcycled products and a range of t-shirts. We bought some beads made from old magazines, and Allegra and I had a lot of fun making necklaces together from them!

Allegra and her dolly wearing their new necklaces.

Other places to shop and feel great about your purchases

image credit: artisansangkor.com

Artisans Angkor produces beautiful homewares, crafts, and accessories that keep Cambodian traditions alive while looking after the environment and their workers in a sustainable manner.

Saomao is a social enterprise that produces beautiful scarves and jewellery in accordance with fair trade ethics.

Smateria produces amazing bags, purses, and accessories from a diverse range of materials, including old fishing nets, reclaimed leather and plastic bags. They are also a social enterprise and take pride in providing a clean and safe workplace, where the mostly female workforce can learn and thrive. They even provide free onsite childcare for staff.

image credit: smateria.com.au

The Made in Cambodia Market is dedicated to artisans and projects from Cambodia. It is open daily from noon until 10pm, and it includes stalls from Saomao and Rehash Trash amongst many other local businesses.

Check out this post for many more things to do in Siem Reap, including seeing trained animals searching for explosives, the night market and the landmine museum.

Some final thoughts from our trip to Siem Reap

I read a book about a child’s experience in the time of the Khmer Rouge while we were there. It really helped me to feel empathy for the pushy tuk-tuk drivers and constant stream of street sellers, and to forgive the dusty and dirty streets that irritated me when we arrived.

Reading the book and talking to local people helped me see how hard they are working just to have a reasonable life, as they rebuild their country from atrocities that are still fresh in people’s memories. It takes a long time for any culture to thrive after war or genocide.

Cambodians receive no assistance from their government and education levels are often very low, so there is little opportunity for many people to earn money. The social enterprises, NGOs and other responsible businesses are really driving change to this situation, by focusing on education and skills they can use for life.

I really encourage you to talk to local people and change-makers in Cambodia, and to read up on their history. The book I read is now a film on Netflix too, produced and directed by Angelina Jolie. Hearing real stories and gaining an understanding for yourself is one of the best ways to travel with an open heart and mind.

We enjoyed our stay in Siem Reap even with the difficulties we faced sometimes. We left knowing more about Cambodian culture, and happy that our visit had helped ethical initiatives to make a difference to many lives there. We also left with new friendships made, and a great appreciation of everyone working hard to ensure Cambodia has a brighter future.

We hope you enjoy your travels to Siem Reap too, and you find even more ways to make your trip sustainable! Let us know your ideas and discoveries in the comments below.

Are you interested in more ideas for travel in Cambodia?

• My post about Thing to do in Battambang with kids covers many activities, sustainable travel tips, food recommendations, and travel information from Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.
• My friends at Dream Big Travel Far have a great post all about beautiful Kampot. 

More responsible travel guides:

• Social enterprise cafes, restaurants, coffee and catering in Melbourne, Australia.
• How to be a responsible traveller in Vienna.

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