Cambodia Scuba Expedition: 3 Weeks

This expedition is packed full of culture and adventure. Play an active part in important community development work and experience Cambodian culture in its two largest cities, before learning to scuba dive surrounded by tropical marine life.

  • Location Cambodia, Asia
  • Duration 3 weeks
  • Expedition Type Scuba

Cambodia is a truly incredible country to explore. Living alongside local communities, you’ll get to experience the real heart of this South-East Asian gem, learning about its traditional culture and fascinating history and sampling some of its delicious cuisine. Not only will you be playing an active part in vital project work to improve the lives of rural communities, you will get to take on the challenge of mastering the fundamentals of scuba diving, surrounded by an array of colourful marine life in crystal-clear waters.

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A fully supported expedition, from start to finish

Your expedition cost is comprehensive and covers the incredible activities you’ll be taking part in, as well as the extensive support you’ll receive in the lead up to, and during, your expedition.

Don’t forget you’ll also need your vaccinations, visas, kit and some spending money. You can find guidance on all of these on your personal Traveller Gateway once you sign up.

  • Ongoing pre-expedition support
  • Flights and in-country transfers
  • Travel insurance
  • Food and accommodation
  • Adventure challenge
  • Project costs
  • Leader and staff costs
  • Camps t-shirt
  • Orientation and language lessons
  • 24 hour emergency support
  • Reserve location

This sample itinerary will give you an insight into what you’ll be getting up to. Please note, the exact projects, activities and camps may change closer to the time of your expedition.

Day Activities More details
Day 1 Leave for Cambodia This morning you will make your way to your designated meeting point ready to embark on your journey to Cambodia.
Day 2 Arrive in Siem Reap Once you arrive at camp, you will be given an arrival briefing, camp orientation and village tour by our Camp Manager, before enjoying your first Cambodian dinner and settling down for the evening in your traditional longhouse home.
Day 3 – 5 Help support rural communities For the rest of the week, you will be getting stuck into vital community project work. Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Seasonal food shortages and lack of employment opportunities leave rural people vulnerable to continued and increased poverty. You will be involved in important projects such as constructing water storage pots, improving infrastructure at the local school and refurbishing community buildings.
Day 6 Discover the world-famous temples of Angkor Wat Spend the day exploring the UNESCO World Heritage site, Angkor Wat – an incredible bucket-list experience. Enjoy a guided tour as you immerse yourself in the hidden history of Cambodia, exploring temples that were ‘lost’ for hundreds of years. In the evening, you will be treated to a tasty dinner at a local restaurant before experiencing the hustle and bustle of the Siem Reap night markets.
Day 7 Explore Siem Reap After breakfast at your hotel, you will have the day free to explore all that Siem Reap has to offer. Head out to the old market where you can do some shopping for gifts and souvenirs and visit the Angkor Artisans to see some incredible Cambodian crafts being created.
Day 8 – 14 PADI Open Water Scuba Diving Course Today we’ll hit the road and head to the coast, where you will spend the next few days undertaking your PADI Open Water Scuba Diving Course. On your first day, you will meet the PADI dive team and will be given a full briefing as to what you can expect over the coming days. You will learn about your equipment and different diving techniques in a confined environment before undertaking a series of open water dives, surrounded by marine life. Keep your eyes peeled for turtles, dolphins and fish of all shapes and colours.
Day 15 – 18 Environmental project work After transferring to your next camp, you will get stuck into some environmental focused project work. This could include reforestation with native saplings and using cash crops that are both sustainable, and beneficial to the local communities. In the evenings after a day of project work, you will head back to camp for a well-earned dinner and a good night’s sleep in your traditional longhouse.
Day 19 – 20 Visit Cambodia’s capital city – Phnom Penh You will head to Phnom Penh for the next couple of days, where you’ll pay a visit to the infamous S21 prison and Killing Fields. You will learn about the recent tragic events that befell Cambodia when it was under the rule of Pol Pot. You will also visit Wat Phnom, a Buddhist temple. Built in 1372 it stands at 27 metres above the ground and is the tallest religious structure in the city.
Day 21 Goodbye Cambodia It’s time to say your final farewells to the Camp Cambodia team, before we take you to the airport in time for your flight home.

How you’ll make a difference

You’ll work on a range of projects throughout your expedition, each aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and designed to make a significant and lasting impact on the region’s most critical issues.

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Cambodia – Sanitation, education, food and water security

The remote and rural community of Ta Lek does not have any mains water supply and the small reservoir that they do have is not big enough to last through the long dry season that they experience in this part of Cambodia. Without a water source, sanitation has been poor and the risk of disease high. What they do have is reliable source of ground water that is reasonably close to the surface. As part of our project work here that you may get involved in we are building wells to provide drinking water and water for irrigation to ensure a reliable source of essential food. You may also build toilets and it is our aim to provide a toilet for every household in the community.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
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No poverty

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

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Zero hunger

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

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Good health and well-being

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

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Quality education

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

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Gender equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

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Clean water and sanitation

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

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Climate action

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

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Life on land

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

School improvements

Cambodia – School improvements and jungle garden reforestation

It’s estimated that around 15% of Cambodia’s population never enters the education system and those that do often learn in inadequate schools. You’ll help support a local primary school, through projects such as refurbishing and extending classrooms and constructing a library. You’ll also work on the Jungle Garden at our camp to tackle issues of food production in the dry season.

UN Sustainable Development Goals
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No poverty

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

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Zero hunger

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

e_inverted-sdg-goals_icons-individual-rgb-03

Good health and well-being

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

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Quality education

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

e_inverted-sdg-goals_icons-individual-rgb-05

Gender equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

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Clean water and sanitation

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

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Reduce inequalities

Reduce inequality within and among countries

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Climate action

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Experience the local way of life in our authentic camps

Our camps are the heart of our expeditions. Built and staffed by locals in the traditional style, and located within the heart of communities, they are the perfect place to relax after a day of project work. You’ll get to stay in a number of camps during your expedition, which could include those featured below.

Camp Beng Mealea

Camp Beng Mealea

This delightful rural camp is set on the outskirts of Teuk Lich village within Beng Mealea commune.

Accommodation is in the form of traditional Khmer stilted longhouses positioned in the shade of large banana and papaya trees. The camp is surrounded by paddy fields and pretty amazing views on all sides. On a clear day you can see the impressive ridge line of the Kulen National Park from your longhouse. And if that isn’t enough, there is the ancient ruined temple of Beng Mealea to explore only a short walk away, as well as a large ornate pagoda where the Buddhist monks live. You’d be hard pushed to find a more authentic Cambodian experience!

  • Location: 75 km (1.5 hours drive) from Siem Reap International Airport
  • Accommodation style: Traditional longhouses
  • Bed type: Comfy mattresses & bedding including mosquito net
  • Toilets: Composting toilets
  • Showers: Cold water showers & wash basins
  • Power: Mains electricity. 2 flat pin style power sockets.
  • Social area: Chill out zone, camp fire, hammocks
  • Signature dish: Khmer curry – Mild coconut curry usually served as a meat or vegetable curry.
Camp Beng Pae

Camp Beng Pae

Beng Pae is located in the village of Ta Lek and within the Beng Pae Wildlife Reserve. Surrounded by impressive pine trees, the camp is designed and built in the local hill tribe house style.
The camp is set at the edge of the village and so all your project sites are only a short walk away, allowing you to become a local in no time!

  • Location: 220 km (3 hours drive) from Siem Reap International Airport
  • Accommodation style: Traditional longhouses
  • Bed type: Comfy mattresses & bedding including mosquito net.
  • Toilets: Flushing toilets,
  • Showers: Showers & wash basins
  • Power: Mains electricity. 2 flat pin style power sockets
  • Social area: Chill out zone, camp fire, hammocks
  • Signature dish: Beef Loklak, Stir fried, grilled aubergine.

My trip to Cambodia was amazing, we learnt brand new skills (such as becoming PADI qualified) that I will carry through my whole life. I met extraordinary new people and made lifelong friends. I feel more much grateful for what I have experienced and hope to do it again soon.

Unknown, Camp Cambodia 2019

Our local camp legends

Our camps are staffed by members of the community who will make you feel like a local in no time. These legends will make your expedition spectacular and will show you the very best of their home country.

Han Hoeuy

Camps International provides many jobs for local people like me, enabling us to work together with volunteers on projects which help our communities. Having travellers spend time in camps and surrounding villages helps encourage parents in the community to recognise the importance of education for their own children, paving the way for a bright future for the people of Cambodia.

Interested in this expedition?

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