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Hi All, since HfP has such religious South East Asia travellers, I though it would be best to ask here.
We are doing en ex-EU trip to Singapore, and wanted to go for a week long beach holiday from SIN to elsewhere in SEA (4 hours away max). Where do HfPers recommend? The key for us is a direct flight from Singapore’s airport, since we are already doing 6 flights to get to SIN, we are keen to avoid more than 2 more. In total our trip is about 13 days inc positioning, so stopping/transferring through another city would be too much flying for us.
We thought maybe Da Nang in Vietnam (Four Seasons there maybe?) or Langkawi, but the latter requires a transfer in KUL. We did Bali just before Covid so we’ve ruled that out. We are sit on the beach/pool people, so a high-end resort is a priority. Appreciate any thoughts/insights offered, thank you!
What time of year? That’s key info for beach people !
Scoot or Air Asia fly direct to Langkawi so it may not be a bad option depending on time of year. Other easy options are indeed Da Nang, Phuket, Krabi (though a bit of a lack of high end options), Koh Samui
Surely there are direct flights to Langkawi? Airasia isn’t as a bad as Ryanair.
The usual favourites are Koh Samui, Phuket and Krabi and a few other islands in Thailand. Da Nang and Hua Hin are options as well.
Thanks both, will have a look at those options! Air Asia do fly SIN-LGK but not during our dates -sorry should’ve added this is for first two weeks of July. Even if it rains a bit it’s fine – we have restricted dates so accept that comes with its own weather challenges in SEA.
If you want to avoid extra flying, the Desaru coast in Malaysia is an option, only a two hour drive from Singapore.
To add to your shortlist:
If you’re interested in Nature, I’d add Kota Kinabalu.
If you’re into food, Penang.
If you’re looking at Phuket, I’d also consider going north to Khao Lak.
It’s not the best time for Langkawi then. The east coast of Malaysia has better weather then but isn’t particularly accessible from Singapore and does lack luxury options.
The best beach weather then is either going to be Koh Samui or Da Nang. Phuket is also wet around then (although plenty of people do go during the European summer as it’s rarely constant rain)
Desaru does have some better options than it used to but is really more of a long weekend type place (same as Bintan)
Kota Kinabalu and Penang personally I don’t think are great options for beach people. There are options e.g. Shangri-la but I think elsewhere is better
The Nam Hai is a nice hotel, The outside spaces and pool areas are stellar, very very good but I found the rooms a little odd with a bed/bath combo, check out the pics online. The service, as expected, was again very good but with a little oversell from the resort managers. I preferred a smaller resort in Hoi An which wasnt up to the standard of hard product but equally matched the soft product.
Don’t let me put you off, but you may need to be selective in room choice.
Kota Kinabalu and Penang personally I don’t think are great options for beach people. There are options e.g. Shangri-la but I think elsewhere is better
That’s fair – I should have been clearer that you’re trading off on beach quality (especially Penang) to dial up those other factors.
Kota Kinabalu and Penang personally I don’t think are great options for beach people. There are options e.g. Shangri-la but I think elsewhere is better
That’s fair – I should have been clearer that you’re trading off on beach quality (especially Penang) to dial up those other factors.
Agree ! I was surprised though how many Brits do go to Penang and hang out at the Shangri-la and venture into George Town some evenings so it is an option, especially if you don’t mind pool vs beach
In Penang our favourite hotel is the E&O in Georgetown – no beach of course.
We first stayed there in the 80s and coincidentally last time we went back we stayed in the same room in the colonial building that we had stayed in back then.
Penang, Phuket, or Hoi An, all worth it. Penang. Shrang-ri-la with beach. We thought it pretty nice in November. Nice gardens facing onto the beach. E and O so lovely, no beach, but beautiful pool area facing the sea. Really stylish. Phuket, so much choice. As also the top end resorts all along the Da Nang road outside Hoi An.
Know you have done Bali, but plenty of high end beach going on there. Just left there 2 days ago.
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