Why don’t you include the entrance fees and audio guides in your tour price?
Because nowadays travelers have different needs with different status.
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At Prison S21, entry fees are $5, visitors under 18 with ID ( which shows the age ) pay only $3; Free entry for under 12 with ID.
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Children under 12 are free for entry at the Killing Fields. (Over 13 is considered as adult and required to pay full fare at Killing Fields. )
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Audio guides and live guides are optional. Some visitors only want to explore alone, so they only pay for the entrance fees.
Our tour price is designed to meet these needs. Instead of charging $31 all in one, our tour price is only $15, and you have the freedom to decide what you like to do and pay.
How much are the entrance fees and audio tours?
The entrance fees of Genocide Museum (Prison S21) are $5.
The entrance fees of Killing Fields are $3.
Live guide at Genocide Museum is $5 (English or French).
Audio guide at Genocide Museum is $5. It is available in 10 languages.
Audio guide at Killing Fields is $3. It is available in 14 languages.
Why others groups have tour guides and we don’t?
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There are different tour operators on the market. Guided tour in English is $50 per person for half day tour.
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Some groups are in-bound tours; they pay for the tour in their own countries for everything included: accommodation, meals, tour leader, local tour guide, entrance fees etc. In-bound tour group normally spend very little time at each site.
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Some groups hire an live guide at the museum at some cost. Live guide service is about 50 min. You are expected to pay at the end of the service. Please note that some times the live guides are not available if they are all busy with other groups. But you can always ask our bus attendant to organize for you. And when you pay the live guide, please prepare $5 dollar note, as they don’t give change.
To go to Killing Fields, what is the difference among different transportation, tuktuk and taxi or tour bus?
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Tuktuk: Tuktuk is handy to find in Phnom Penh. It will cost $20 – $30 (depending on the numbers of the passengers) for a round trip including S21. But most of the tuktuk drivers don’t speak English, so communication is limited, only “How are you?” “Where do you want to go?”And you cannot get more useful information from the drivers. The main problem is the pollution in Phnom Penh. As there are 1.5 millions motorbikes registered in Phnom Penh, the major transportation for locals is motorbike, and there are a lot of cars on the road, so the air is heavily polluted. And the traffic in Phnom Penh is always busy (Khmer New Year and traditional Khmer holidays are exception, as most of the residents in Phnom Penh go to provincial home town), if you take a tuktuk, you will find yourself surrounded by many motorbikes, tuktuks, cars and trucks on the way to Killing Fields; it is dusty, noisy, extremely hot and smelly when passing by a few open sewage; inhaling the badly polluted air and fume from the bikes and cars for 2 hours (round trip) on a tuktuk is not easy for many tourists who use to live in clean fresh air environment. And tuktuks are not insured in Cambodia, there is no protection for passengers when accident occurred.
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Taxi: taxi fare to Killing Fields varies from different companies. Most taxi drivers speak little English, communication and information is limited. There is no enough leg room for European people.
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Phnom Penh Shuttle Bus
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Free pick up and drop off from most centrally located hotels and guest houses: when the tour is finished, drop off at riverside can be arranged for free of charge for passengers who stay in hotels far away from riverside but want to spend some time at riverside as most activities and other attractions are at or near riverside.
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Choice of morning and afternoon departure: visit time will be efficiently arranged, avoiding lunch time at Killing Fields where food is more expensive.
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Air-conditioning: our tour bus keeps you safe, cool and comfortable with more leg room and bigger sightseeing windows. No dust, no bad smell, no noise, no heat.
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Recorded English commentary: English commentary will be played on board, you get more information about the sites you will visit.
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Documentary: an English documentary of 50 minutes will be played on the way to Killing Fields, you will learn more about Khmer Rouge regime and the recent history of Cambodia.
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Bus attendant: an English speaking bus attendant on board will help you during the tour (but they are not tour guides)
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One bottle of drinking water: drinks sold at Killing Fields are more expensive than in the city.
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Free WiFi on board: you can keep in touch with friends and family.
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Tour price: if you are solo traveler, our price is cheaper than taking a tuktuk and with much more service; if you are couple or travel in pair, our price is same as taking a tuktuk and again with much more service.
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Supporting Working Scheme of Youth Cambodia: we employ university students to work part-time. As most of the universities teach half day, many students will work part-time to support their studies. And we pay our workers higher than the government standard.
Is it a good idea to stay at a hotel/guest house far away from city center cause accommodation is cheaper?
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We would suggest you to stay near riverside area, the reasons are:
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you might save a few dollars on the accommodation if your hotel is far away, but you have to spend $10 or more on tuktuk transport every day.
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And it is not a pleasant experience to bargain the tuktuk fares every time you need to go somewhere.
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The major attractions of Phnom Penh are in riverside area, such as Royal Palace, Wat Phnom, National Museum, River Cruise, Independence Monument, Bus Station, Night market and Central Market, restaurants, bars, cafes, they are all at walking distance, very easy to organize your activities.
Should I hire a live guide or take an audio guide or just visit the museum by myself?
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A live guide can give you more specific information about the exhibition and in-depth stories.
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Many visitors like to visit the museum by themselves. There are a lot of reading information at the museum. If you want to visit the museum by yourself, you can walk freely at your own pace, you can stay longer time at some exhibits which you are more interested.
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The audio guide in 10 languages is available for purchase at the museum; if you take the audio guide, you are advised to take the highlight version which is 50 minutes. The highlight version is printed in RED numbers on the prison map, you just follow the signs, press the number on the handset, and listen. Please do not stay on one stop for too long, just keep moving from one stop to next stop. If you spend too long at one stop, you might not finish the audio tour on time. The full version is not suitable for our tour.
Should I take the audio guide at Killing Fields?
There is not much written information at Killing Fields. We suggest you to take the audio guide.
Audio guide costs $3, just the same price of a cup of coffee.
How far are Killing Fields? How long it will take to get there?
Killing Fields are located outside of Phnom Penh; it takes about 30 min by driving from Genocide Museum to the Killing Fields.
If your hotel is near Riverside, it will take 50 min by driving.