Hi all,
We are planning to go out on holidays in June with the family (2 adults, 2 little kids). We have never been out of Australia before, and we are thinking in Singapore, Bali, and some friends recommended Phuket, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. If you have only 10 or 11 days, where do you think it is worthy to go (from Sydney)? Maybe a combination of 2 or 3 places? Any help with accommodation? And where is the best place to get the flights?
Many thanks for any suggestions! :)
10/11 days family holidays Asia Pacific
cynvero on 09/04/2016 - 20:44
Comments
If you factor in time spent at airports ass well as the travelling time in the air, I would not consider more than two places. Travelling from Sydney, you may lose the first and last day in the air. I'm not sure how little the kids are, but you could easily spend that much time in one of those places and do it well while also allowing time for chill out days.
Thanks guys! Really helpful indeed.
The kids will be 5 and 1 at that time. I understand staying in just 1 place would be more productive, but as we have all our family overseas it's extremely rare we can have a holiday other than our original country, so we would like to know at least 2 places. But, yes, time in the air should be considered.
Many thanks for your help :)
If your kids are like mine, then minimise travel time as much as possible.
Singapore is good. You can go to places like Sentosa, night zoo, Chinatown, etc.
To balance out the city aspect you could do an island stay.. I don't know about Bali (I've never been), but I could recommend Phi Phi in Thailand (fly into Phuket and get a boat), or Pangkor in Malaysia (getting there might be trouble, but either from KL or Penang and by bus then boat).
As you yourselves have not been out of Australia before I don't know that I would recommend a trip to Bangkok with a 1yo and a 5yo. Singapore is an excellent family friendly first overseas destination…and for the kids there is the zoo, Universal Studios and Legoland just over the border in Malaysia.
Our first family holiday was to KL. We too rented an apartment which made it much easier. Our kids were 3 and 5 at the time. We also went to Borneo on that trip to see the orangutang.
With only 11 days including travel time I would limit it to two spots. What do you want to do/see on your first trip? At will help you decide.
Japan is awesome ….just to throw that in the mix….and it has two Disney parks.
Thanks everybody. So helpful. Now we have to decide, sit for a while and get the tickets and reservations (the awful side of the holidays) :)
we went to KL, singapore + HK for our first overseas family holiday 3 years ago.
airasia from bris.
KL - we rented a 3 bedroom apartment for a week in the Sri Tiara residences with a lovely grounds and a pool. it was great. had a full kitchen large lounge and dining. 2 bathrooms, it was on the 27th floor so we had awesome views. the pool was huge and had 2 levels - kids pool and then huge adult pool. with a large waterfall. but probably overkill. but nice
it was great as we could make day trips around KL (butterfly park and bird park, lego land, etc) and come back and cook something or drive 5 minutes by taxi to Brickfields (india town of KL) or go to Mid Valley mall (huge mall complex 5 minutes away)
singapore was ok. we got a train from KL to there (do not do this as it is painfully slow, get a bus) singapore, it's ok.
HK was great. stayed at the Panda hotel. scored a suite (2 bedroom and lounge). very easy and convenient to get around on the train. so punctual, so easy, so clean. flew there from singapore with scoot. Disneyland and the harbour, night markets. etc etc.
flew back to KL for 3 days and stayed in bukit bintang ( shopping precinct) stayed in an up market hotel which was great.
both my wife and I have lived overseas and travelled extensively so nothing struck us as hard or challenging. KL, singapore and HK are pretty decent places and the language problems were very very few, if not almost nonexistent.
My big tip for travelling with a family (small kids - mine were 4,6,7), especially to KL, is take very little - we had one suitcase for 5 people. we did heaps of shopping and ended up buying a 2nd suitcase in HK as shopping got out of hand - especially shoes - kids each bought 3 pairs and mrs altomic bought 7 pairs :)
My main reason for taking little is also that if shit goes down then you won't hesitate for a second about dropping your stuff and running away with the kids. plus you don't need the hassle of kids + heaps of luggage.