discover floating villages and tonle sap lake by boat
Description
Discover the floating fishing villages and the Great Tonle Sap Lake on a traditional flat bottomed boats, travel in comfort to the lake in an air conditioned minivan/car or tuk tuk with your English-speaking local lake tour guide as you pass by lotus fields and rice paddies. Then, aboard a mini Tara boat(all our boats have life jackets and toilets for your safety and comfort) cruising the Siem Reap River and than out towards the Tonle Sap lake, seeing the floating villages,including schools,churches,homes, shops,service stations,police station,all floating and crocodile and fish farms on the way (crocodile and fish farm dependent on current water levels). Upon arrival at the famous Queen Tara, (ex cargo boat almost 100 years old) in the heart of the floating village, relax on the main decks, enjoy the included food and drinks and take in the stunning views. This unique tour experience is suitable for families, groups or single travelers. Rest assured there are no hidden costs here.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will tour the complete floating villages ,depending on the current water levels,our aim is to get up close to the floating village as possible,we have special unique designed boats that can safely travel in all types of water levels,as the lake itself and in deed the river systems leading into the lake can vary from just half meter to well over 10 meters in a seasonal change,our expert lake guide and also our boat drivers where born in this village,so certainly know the best places to explore,this is a true floating village where every thing floats,including churches,schools,police stations and shops,there are floating vegetable gardens,floating basketball courts,floating pool halls,and lots of floating homes,some 6000 villages call this there home and the village moves in and out as the seasons dictate,(in the high water seasons the actual floating village will be in the river system,and low water they move onto the lake) lunch and cold drinks are supplied on Queen Tara Riverboat
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Please wait for our lake guide in your hotel or Guesthouse foyer/reception area just prior to the tour start times
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Children 10 or under are half price
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions.
Reviews(80)
I loved this tour. Friendly knowledgeable guide. It was all very interesting. We were the only 2 people on the trip. Lots of different things to see and just under 4 hours was great for us as we'd had a very busy previous day. Would recommend.
Hi Lorraine, Thank you so much for the lovely 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that you and your companion had such a great time exploring the floating villages and Tonle Sap Lake with us. Having the trip to yourselves is always a special treat, and we're so glad the relaxed, under-4-hour pace was the perfect match for you after such a busy previous day. I will definitely pass your kind words along to your guide, who will be delighted to know their knowledge and friendliness made your tour so interesting. Thank you for highly recommending us, and we hope the rest of your travels are just as wonderful! Warm regards, The Tara Boat Team
We organized our own tour, traveling by Tuk Tuk from Siem Reap to the ticket office where one can easily purchase a ticket for a wooden boat ride to view the floating villages and unique way of life along the shores of Tonie Sap.
Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed exploring the floating villages and seeing life along the Tonlé Sap. Just a quick note for future visitors: while it’s possible to arrange trips independently, our tours include a licensed local guide, hotel pickup and drop-off, safety-checked boats, and entrance fees—so guests can relax and enjoy the experience without any surprises or extra costs. We’re happy you had a good visit to the lake, and we hope to welcome you aboard one of our tours in the future! Miss Sreymom
Truly memorable experience of the floating village on the Tonlé Sap lake. I had a sprained ankle so felt intrepid about transfers to boats. I was actually so well cared for by Mony our guide with help from fellow traveller, Jason. Picked up in air con taxi from hotel, looked after throughout and returned to hotel door. The speciality of this Tour was a lunch on a beautiful restored 1920s Cambodian boat, moored alongside the floating village, where as well as a delicious lunch we had time (45 mins) to take it all in. Enjoyed conversation with Mony, learning more about local custom and culture. I really loved this experience and appreciated the social enterprise ethics of this particular company which align with my own values. I think it translates into the kind of experience you have with the staff who clearly live what they do and enjoy working for this company. I recommend this tour and this company in a heartbeat. I hope to go back without a sprained ankle. 🙏🏼
Thank you so much Kim for your kind review of our floating villages cruise tour, i will certainly pass on your words to all our staff, i know they all work so hard behind the scenes to ensure the best experience and we wish you safe and happy travel always, a real pleasure to have you on our tour, thanks so much Miss Sreymom
What a serene place and beautiful view of seeing little birds gliding through waters for a drink. Floating villages were awesome and do spend money in their shops to support them.
Thank you so much for your awesome review of the floating villages tours, we wish you safe and happy travel always thanks Miss Sreymom
It was a very pleasant trip. Mr Friday is an excellent guide. He has gone extra miles to comfort us. I would recommend you to take this trip and visit the hidden gem of Siem Reap.
Thank you so much for your lovely review of our floating villages cruise tour, your participation and also your awesome review will have a very positive impact on the floating villages you visited, as all our profits go towards the free education school for the poorer villages children, i will certainly pass on your review to our Mr Friday who after work teaches for free at the floating school which he is the main teacher and creator, safe travel always Miss Sreymom
Very Nice half day on the water and seeing how those fishermen live Our guides ‘r Friday and the driver were great
Thank you so much for your awesome review of our floating villages cruise tour, i will certainly pass on your comments to Mr Friday and the driver also, we wish you safe and happy travels always and hope to see you again thanks again Miss Sreymom
Brilliant, enjoyable trip. Excellent, knowledgable, friendly and helpful guide. Guide was brilliant, extremely knowledgable and was so helpful in every way
Thank you so much for your fantastic review of our floating villages tour, your participation on this tour will have a very positive impact on the local fishing villages school children who we donate all our profits to the free local schools for the poorer families, i will certainly also pass on your great comments to our guide and we all wish you safe and happy travels always, thanks again Miss Sreymom
The guide and driver were amazing. Lots of local information. Was international women’s Day. Stopped and picked lotus flowers. Seen alligators and the floating villages. Had lunch beer beer…It was great! A must see if you are in Seim Reap
Thank you so much for your awesome review, yes we enjoyed women's day here so much , we all think this special day should be everyday, i will certainly pass on your lovely comments to all our crew and we wish you happy and safe travel always, please visit us if you return to Cambodia cheers Miss Sreymom
Even in the dry season, the lake was big enough and powerful enough! It's like the ocean. The guides were friendly and precise, and we had a great time!
Thank you so much for your awesome review and we wish you safe and happy travel always cheers Peter
We had a 3 hours boat trip to floating village Ching Kneas in Tong Le Sap area arranged by Tara Boat Tour. There are lotus farm, village people, crocodile farm along the road. The most impressing part was to met up with kids in the village. Would recommend to bring some candies / tidbits with you to send to the children. They are quite shy and smiley. Tour guide is Poss Poun( Mr Friday) who is also a teacher in the school, a sincere and kind hearted big boy. I would recommend this trip if you do not have the whole day for it. Do meet the village people, you won’t regret.
Hi, Thank you so much for your kind review of the floating villages and our beautiful young Guide Mr Friday, he is such a great guy,recently married and has been a part of the Tara family for 10 years +, he is very smart (university graduated) and more importantly such a big heart, he is from the floating villages and also runs a free school for the poorer children of that village which we at Tara boats are so very proud to support, with all our profits going to education of the children and also environmental issues, your participation on our tours and your great review will have a big impact on the very villages you visited, safe travels always Miss Sreymom
