Most people come for Angkor and leave after three nights. The country south of it is quieter, cheaper and almost empty of visitors, and the roads have improved enough to make the overland run genuinely pleasant.
Buy the three-day Angkor pass. Sunrise at Angkor Wat once, then Bayon and Ta Prohm, then the outer temples like Banteay Srei on the third day.
Onward: Road, 3 hr. South-west to Battambang
French colonial streets, the bamboo train, and the bat cave at Phnom Sampeau at dusk — a column of bats that takes half an hour to leave.
Onward: Road, 5 hr. South-east to the capital
Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek take a full and very heavy day. The riverfront and the Royal Palace are the counterweight.
Onward: Road, 3 hr. South to the coast
Pepper farms, a river that catches the sunset, and crab at the Kep market. The most relaxed corner of the country.
On seven nights, do Siem Reap and Kampot and skip the middle. On five, Angkor alone.
Add Koh Rong or Koh Rong Sanloem for three nights of white sand off the south coast, reached by fast boat from Sihanoukville.
Giving Angkor one day. It is not a single temple, it is a city the size of a small county — Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm alone are spread over fifteen kilometres. A one-day pass means a hot, rushed blur. Three days lets you go at dawn and rest through the afternoon heat.
Read the full Cambodia travel guide or take the Cambodia packing list.