Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to my website!
Angkor Guide Sam – Private Tours are really the private tour services only that offer a group of specialized, highly trained and long-time experienced tourist guides with the license issued and recognized by Ministry Of Tourism and A/C vehicle transportation services in the Angkor archaeological and surrounding sites. This website is operated by Sam Sophea who strongly supports the employment of local tour guide team. We do not rely on oversea travel agencies to make a living; we prefer to keep our business local and of the people.
If you wish to immerse yourself in a thorough and well-informed explanation of the history, art, cultures and architecture of ancient temples or other tourism sites so make sure you get a licensed tourist guide (only certified tourist guides are allowed to accompany tourists into all the temples) and please kindly let book one of our team to guide you for exploring all sites in Siem Reap_Angkor.
My name is Sam Sophea, a tour organizer / team-leader of longtime-experienced, professional and highly trained English-Speaking Tour Guides, born on 6th July 1975 during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975 to 1979). When Cambodia was taken over by the Khmer Rouge, they forced the people, including my family, to march out from cities and towns. Just as my mother reached a village called Phumi Preah Dak, inside the Angkor Archaeological Site, I was born. My father was killed the day that the Khmer Rouge came into power, because he was a soldier in Lon Nol’s regime, which was bankrolled by the USA. After the regime, my mother moved back to the city of Siem Reap. Although my family experienced this terrible tragedy, we were a bit more fortunate than many other families, because my mother, three brothers, and two sisters survived. Many other people lost both parents, siblings, or their entire families.
In 1995, I graduated high school. In Junior and Senior high school, I studied English for one hour per week so it was not enough. Every day I studied one hour each day, six days per week in a private class with a local English teacher. From 1995 to 1997 I helped my mother sell groceries and volunteered as an English teacher for the Buddhist school in the Wat Bo pagoda. During this time, I also learned English through the kindness of an American family who built the Protestant Assembly of God church in Siem Reap. Thanks to these lessons, my English improved a great deal.
From 1998-2005, I worked as a driver for Khiri Travel Cambodia and for the Sofitel Angkor Hotel. I learned many things from the elderly tour guides while working as a driver, including history, culture, politics, sociology, and more. I also invested in many guidebooks (e.g., Lonely Planet, Ancient Angkor, Dawn Rooney, History of Cambodia, Sacred Angkor of Hindu Mythology, etc) and purchased an Oxford dictionary. I always call Mr. and Mrs. Oxford my best teachers! I still read a lot, but mostly from the Internet.
From 2005 until 2009, I worked as an English speaking driver and tour guide without a license, which was driven by my true and passionate love for the history and culture of my country. When the government enforced stricter tourism laws in 2009, I enrolled and excelled in an English-Speaking tour guide training course.
Why Travel With Us?
FlansHouseWatford2024-02-19Ankor Wat with Sam Our tour guide, Sam, was fantastic, he communicated quickly by email and was always polite and informative. We were taken to Ankor Wat temple early morning for sunrise, the car and driver were punctual, the car had AC and was comfortable, Sam certainly knew the subject and where to get the best photos, he was easy to understand and spoke great English, we visited two other temples and had an early lunch at a good restaurant with clean toilets. We were returned to our hotel having had an exciting day, we would recommend this trip with Sam
ruchelaya2024-02-13Experienced and reliable! Sam was everything we had hoped for. First, he was extremely responsive and very clear about our itinerary (and flexible) inn advance of our trip. Next, once we arrived, he was always on time, accompanied by an excellent driver and a clean, comfortable SUV. We were never without cold water and cold washcloths every time we entered the car. And finally, as a tour guide, he is knowledgeable, patient, and indefatigable!
Prithvi M2024-02-05Amazing experience - the reviews don’t lie! Amazing experience. The reviews left for this service 100% accurate. I e had the pleasure of spending our two days touring siem reap with the our guide Tivorn and our driver Mr Serey. They were punctual, professional and thoughtful. They not only took us to the main attractions of Angkor, but also some of the lesser traveled. This combined with their thoughtful timing always gave us minimal crowds and rush. Tivorn is not only hilarious but incredibly knowledgeable. I will say this - the weather isn’t easy to navigate. With many hours in the sun, the cold water bottles, cold towels, and ac in the car made us comfortable enough to enjoy the sights.
Simon2024-01-30Perfect tour to explore Angkor We had a tour with Sam this week and it was perfect. In one day we hit 5/6 of the main temples, packed with information and he answered so many of our questions about the Angkor temples and beyond. Private tour with cold water and towels after each temple stop too. Perfect way to introduce yourself to the wonders of the Angkor.
DeepakGuptaHere2024-01-27Great trip thanks to Sam We were a group of 4 adults and two kids, from India. We spent a week from 13th Jan to 20th Jan in Cambodia and Sam was our Guide for first half of the trip (Siem Reap) and Driver for the rest of the trip (Phnom Penh and Koh Rong). Sam was always punctual, a through professional, with clear and transparent communication. He is knowledgeable about the Siem Reap region and all the monuments and the mythology associated with them. I got in touch with him over whatsapp weeks before the trip and he helped plan the trip as well, to make best use of our time in Cambodia. Highly recommended! All the best to you Sam. Thanks Again for a great trip.Chris M2024-01-23Sam: Your must book guide for Siem Reap Sam was an incredible guide for our tour of the temples and Siem Reap area. He was funny and very knowledgeable on the history of the temples. He knew all the spots that were less crowded. Having the driver helped our day move along very efficiently and we got to see a lot more because of that. The temples can see a lot of visitors but Sam made our experience very authentic and local. Not touristy like other tours we have been on. 100% recommend Sam if you are visiting Siem Reap.
Matt B2024-01-13Temple time with Tivorn and Gna We booked a two day private tour as a family of four with two children 7 and 10. Two full days visiting historic temples in the Cambodian heat with children was always going to be a challenge. Sam recommended different itinerary options to suit us. We were very happy with the sites recommended. A great mix of the most significant but very busy sites and some quieter, more peaceful temples that we found more enjoyable. Tivorn was our guide and Gna was our driver. Both were highly responsive, extremely considerate and led us on a highly memorable tour. Tivorn shared his vast knowledge of the temples and their history. He offered great insights to the adults and was extremely patient, caring and adaptive with our children. Particularly in answering their random questions, which made it fun! We have been on a number of tours through Thailand and Laos and Tivorn and Gna made this a highlight. The children wanted them to come on the rest of the trip!
Trevor J L2024-01-10Six stars out of five for an unforgettable Angkor Wat experience. Having used Sam's services in 2018 I had no hesitation in using his company for our 3-day private tour. Our tour guide Saravy and driver Nga were simply outstanding. Ravy is tour guide, historian, educator and ace photographer (always volunteering to take our photos at significant locations) all in one, providing us with deep insight into the history of the famous temples as well as an understanding of the intertwining Hindu/Buddhist significance. Nga was ever attentive, safe on the roads and always ready with ice cold refreshments/towels. If we should be fortunate enough to visit Siem Reap again, the very first call I will make is to Sam Sophea. Unquestionably the best private tour available in Siem Reap.
alice p2024-01-08Sam will take wonderful care of you and make your trip special. My husband and I spent 3 days touring Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples with Sam in January. Sam took wonderful care of us. The itinerary was carefully thought out and Sam guided us gently away from any crowds giving us the amazing experience of feeling completely alone in some of the most-visited temples, as well as taking us to some less-visited sites further away. Sam is well-informed about all the sites and the wider history and he kept the balance between information and peaceful exploration just right for us. He is also a very nice person to spend your holidays with!
Christie H2024-01-05Exceptional 3 day tour We found Angkor Guide Sam via Reddit - my partner and I were looking for a guide with deep architectural, historical and cultural knowledge and Sam and his team really delivered. We booked a 3 day tour easily over email; Sam is very responsive and quickly adjusted our pick-up site after a last minute hiccup where we had to switch hotels. Our guide was Somondy, goes by Dy (pronounced Dee), and driver was Serey. Dy was an incredible guide. He provided an impressive wealth of information about each archaelogical site, explaining not only architectural significance, but also the religious stories behind the art and carvings. Dy weaved anecdotes and personal stories over his 20+ years of guiding and as a native Cambodian as we walked through temples, providing us with such a rich experience to say the least. He was kind, patient, and not to mention absolutely savvy with an iPhone camera - he knows all the best photo spots, and the shots he took of us were incredible. Dy was also very mindful of the heat: maneuvering us through temples in the shade, providing cold water when the walks through the site would be long, and giving us opportunites to break, sit and rest. Serey was a very safe and comfortable driver. Our tour went through some bumpy dirt roads and he navigated them smoothly -- an excellent driver. He provided us with cold water and cool damp wash cloths to cool off after each stop over. While his English is limited, he was very kind and attentive. Thank you Dy, Serey and Sam's team for making this adventure absolutely memorable. To anyone visiting Siem Reap, you must reach out to Sam and ask for Dy!