Please help refine my Asia itinerary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d do phu quoc island in Vietnam in between those city trips. It will be warm and beachy

5 nights in Hong Kong is fine as you’ll take the train to Shen zen and also do a trip to Macau.

Does Shen Zhen do visa on arrival for Americans though? I don’t need a visa for China but my kids will.

Yes, visa on arrival. And personally I’d want some beach time in Vietnam between cities

Where in Vietnam do you think it would be reliably good beach weather in late December?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d do phu quoc island in Vietnam in between those city trips. It will be warm and beachy

5 nights in Hong Kong is fine as you’ll take the train to Shen zen and also do a trip to Macau.

Does Shen Zhen do visa on arrival for Americans though? I don’t need a visa for China but my kids will.

Yes, visa on arrival. And personally I’d want some beach time in Vietnam between cities

Where in Vietnam do you think it would be reliably good beach weather in late December?

If you are in Singapore and want to go to a beach in Dec/jan, you should go to Thailand, specifically Phuket, Khao Lak, Krabbi, etc. They are fabulous, beautiful, great food, safe, etc. The only drawback is that this is high season, but it is high season for a reason.

I recommend 2-3 nights in Singapore to get your feet under you. If you aren’t experienced in Asia it is also a great way to start in the shallow end. Singapore is famous for its food and I highly recommend a food tour. On a separate evening I recommend trying their chili crab, not cheap, but amazing.

If you do go to Phuket it is an interesting city in its own right and another food tour would be highly justified. The beaches, diving, etc, are also fantastic.

Bali is another option from Singapore where there are beaches and plenty to see and do, the catch with Bali is a higher chance of food poisoning. You should also take care to get outside of Denpasar/Seminyak and Ubud.

[Anonymous]

I have been to both Singapore and to Hong Kong. Loved both. Your amount of time seems good to me.

I like cities, too. In Bangkok, you can stay at a resort-like hotel. You get the city plus an amazing pool plus river cruise. I can check the hame of where we stayed. The temples were amazing and the Thompson House for silk was, too. Plus chair massages were about $4 8 years ago. In December, it was quite hot and humid.

Shanghai I also found fascinating. We stayed on the Bund and stared across the river at lit up buildings each night. I liked visiting the French concession and the place that sheltered Jews during WW2.

Have a great time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if I do:

4 nights Singapore (to acclimate)
4 nights Koh Samui
3 nights Hanoi and
3 nights Hong Kong?

This gives a nice mix of modern cities, not so modern cities, and natural wonders. Angkor Wat won’t happen but can’t have it all can you.

skip Hanoi. Go to Halong Bay.

https://www.bucketlistly.blog/posts/vietnam-best-places-to-visit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d do phu quoc island in Vietnam in between those city trips. It will be warm and beachy

5 nights in Hong Kong is fine as you’ll take the train to Shen zen and also do a trip to Macau.

Does Shen Zhen do visa on arrival for Americans though? I don’t need a visa for China but my kids will.

Yes, visa on arrival. And personally I’d want some beach time in Vietnam between cities

Where in Vietnam do you think it would be reliably good beach weather in late December?

I said above - phu quoc island. In the south obviously. Sri Lanka is lovely beach weather too, but that takes you off course. But flights are cheap between countries.

I’d cut a day off of each of the cities and add a few days at the beach in Vietnam and just one/two days in Angkor wat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if I do:

4 nights Singapore (to acclimate)
4 nights Koh Samui
3 nights Hanoi and
3 nights Hong Kong?

This gives a nice mix of modern cities, not so modern cities, and natural wonders. Angkor Wat won’t happen but can’t have it all can you.

skip Hanoi. Go to Halong Bay.

https://www.bucketlistly.blog/posts/vietnam-best-places-to-visit

Pp not in the winter. Too cold.

[Anonymous]

These suggestions are getting too complicated. You don't have time for Bali. Stick to Thailand. Koh Samui will be fine at that time of year - was just there over Christmas and had perfect weather. Or do Phuket, just go to a resort farther from the main part of town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d do phu quoc island in Vietnam in between those city trips. It will be warm and beachy

5 nights in Hong Kong is fine as you’ll take the train to Shen zen and also do a trip to Macau.

Does Shen Zhen do visa on arrival for Americans though? I don’t need a visa for China but my kids will.

Yes, visa on arrival. And personally I’d want some beach time in Vietnam between cities

Where in Vietnam do you think it would be reliably good beach weather in late December?

I said above - phu quoc island. In the south obviously. Sri Lanka is lovely beach weather too, but that takes you off course. But flights are cheap between countries.

I’d cut a day off of each of the cities and add a few days at the beach in Vietnam and just one/two days in Angkor wat.

I have been to Phu Quoc and would absolutely not recommend it. The island is a disaster of low quality tourism development gone wrong and the beaches have a lot of plastic trash washing up, so much so that our resort had a couple women out all day picking it up as it came in… and if you walked just past where they were working it was piled up on the beach.

The night market was great, Vietnamese food is wonderful, the people were friendly, but the island itself is absolutely not worth hitting if you have two weeks in Asia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/travel/vietnam-cable-cars.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been to both Singapore and to Hong Kong. Loved both. Your amount of time seems good to me.

I like cities, too. In Bangkok, you can stay at a resort-like hotel. You get the city plus an amazing pool plus river cruise. I can check the hame of where we stayed. The temples were amazing and the Thompson House for silk was, too. Plus chair massages were about $4 8 years ago. In December, it was quite hot and humid.

Shanghai I also found fascinating. We stayed on the Bund and stared across the river at lit up buildings each night. I liked visiting the French concession and the place that sheltered Jews during WW2.

Have a great time!

Thank you so much. I do love the idea of Shanghai and we'll definitely plan another trip to other parts of Asia. That is unfortunately the problem with the continent - too much to see, too little time.

We do love cities. My son in particular is obsessed with public transport and just urban planning in general, so he is very interested in seeing how these cities are organized and how they integrate nature, modernity and ancient roots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been to both Singapore and to Hong Kong. Loved both. Your amount of time seems good to me.

I like cities, too. In Bangkok, you can stay at a resort-like hotel. You get the city plus an amazing pool plus river cruise. I can check the hame of where we stayed. The temples were amazing and the Thompson House for silk was, too. Plus chair massages were about $4 8 years ago. In December, it was quite hot and humid.

Shanghai I also found fascinating. We stayed on the Bund and stared across the river at lit up buildings each night. I liked visiting the French concession and the place that sheltered Jews during WW2.

Have a great time!

Thank you so much. I do love the idea of Shanghai and we'll definitely plan another trip to other parts of Asia. That is unfortunately the problem with the continent - too much to see, too little time.

We do love cities. My son in particular is obsessed with public transport and just urban planning in general, so he is very interested in seeing how these cities are organized and how they integrate nature, modernity and ancient roots.

There isn’t much in the way of ancient history in Hong Kong, but if you want to see mass transit and urban/nature it is a great case study.

Even though Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places on earth the large majority of its area is undeveloped and it has some great hikes with stunning views that range from easy (level paved walking trails) to quite challenging. Dragon’s back is probably the most famous…

https://hongkongcheapo.com/things-to-do/dragons-back-hike/

Hong Kong in winter can be chilly, unlike Singapore where it is 95 degrees and 90 percent humidity every day. (Which makes winter hiking season, just remember you might need to pack warmer clothes.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if I do:

4 nights Singapore (to acclimate)
4 nights Koh Samui
3 nights Hanoi and
3 nights Hong Kong?

This gives a nice mix of modern cities, not so modern cities, and natural wonders. Angkor Wat won’t happen but can’t have it all can you.

skip Hanoi. Go to Halong Bay.

https://www.bucketlistly.blog/posts/vietnam-best-places-to-visit

No, go to both. Yes, even in winter. We went a couple of Januarys ago and it was amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These suggestions are getting too complicated. You don't have time for Bali. Stick to Thailand. Koh Samui will be fine at that time of year - was just there over Christmas and had perfect weather. Or do Phuket, just go to a resort farther from the main part of town.

Singapore to Bali is less than 3 hours, you think that's farther than Thailand?! Why don't you look at a map?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine spending so much time in singapore and hongkong. 5 nights in hongkong? even 4 nights in singapore is alot.

Both places offer "world class" shopping and that is about as cultural as it gets.

Eh, I would rather chill and do hikes in southern China like Guilin / Yangshuo with their laid back slow town paces and maybe check out the gambling in Macao. Or middle of Taiwan's townships near the mountains.
Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam have too many similar white colonists looking for cheap thrills activities but if that is what you are looking for, any of those places will be sufficient.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for sharing your advice and experiences. This was incredibly helpful. After mulling it over, I decided to extend the trip length by two days. The high schooler will just have to deal. Here is the plan right now:

Depart for Singapore Dec 18th, arrive IN Singapore Dec 19th late afternoon.

Four nights in Singapore. Decided not to cut that part to give the kids a chance to rest and recover in relative comfort. Plus we have friends there.

Dec 23, fly to Siem Reap (direct flight), thank you, the PP who recommended switching up the temples and the beach. Three nights.

Dec 26, fly to Phuket (direct flight), thank you, the PP who recommended the Andaman coast over the Gulf due to end of rain season. Five nights for R&R.

Dec 31, fly to Hong Kong (direct flight). NYE! Four nights.

Dec 4th, fly home.

Now we have a whole year to look forward to this! Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all for sharing your advice and experiences. This was incredibly helpful. After mulling it over, I decided to extend the trip length by two days. The high schooler will just have to deal. Here is the plan right now:

Depart for Singapore Dec 18th, arrive IN Singapore Dec 19th late afternoon.

Four nights in Singapore. Decided not to cut that part to give the kids a chance to rest and recover in relative comfort. Plus we have friends there.

Dec 23, fly to Siem Reap (direct flight), thank you, the PP who recommended switching up the temples and the beach. Three nights.

Dec 26, fly to Phuket (direct flight), thank you, the PP who recommended the Andaman coast over the Gulf due to end of rain season. Five nights for R&R.

Dec 31, fly to Hong Kong (direct flight). NYE! Four nights.

Dec 4th, fly home.

Now we have a whole year to look forward to this! Thanks again.

Love it. If you wanted, you could cut short Hong Kong by two nights to get back earlier. I’ve always found the jet lag to Asia is minimal, but coming back is brutal.

Or spend those extra two nights in Bangkok.