Anonymous wrote:Wow, this takes me back. We lived almost a decade with young kids in Singapore and travelled to all those places. Try not to overschedule. I would do like one touristy thing a day and leave the rest of the day to move at a slower pace. You can find a lot of recs and places to eat through travel blogs.

I like that you are leaving some extra time to adjust to jet lag. I kind of enjoyed jetlag with the kids and going to the grocery store at like 2am.. those were the days! If you want to see more of Singapore outside the flashy shopping areas, then I recommend an easy hike around McRitchie where you will definitely encounter monkeys. You can also take a bum boat (very cheap) to Pulau Ubin, a nearby island where you can bike and eat and see more monkeys and wild boars. For fancier chicken rice, make a reservation at Chatterbox in Orchard area. Try Chili Crab. Take the underground walkways through the malls in Orchard. Check out the basement of Takashimaya for lot of Japanese and Asian snacks. Kinokuniya is great to just chill and check out books. Little India, Arab St, and Chinatown are all fun to check out too. Night Safari is fun too. You'll find info on all through google.

I love love love Hanoi. Check out Mekong Quilts for some fun souvenirs.

Wherever you go, please don't ride elephants. If you were going to Chiang Mai, I would recommend Elephant Nature Park.

Have fun and enjoy the trip!!

Anonymous wrote:Yes 4 days in Hanoi with the boat trip is plenty to see Hanoi

Stay at the Capella or the metropole (first and second choice). Could do a Vespa street food tour at night. (They do the driving!).

Anonymous wrote:First red flag "Asia" is your trip? That's a big place! Truly, you are going to be jet lagged AF. Go to one place and explore. You don't have enough time to do much more than 1 country.

Anonymous wrote:First red flag "Asia" is your trip? That's a big place! Truly, you are going to be jet lagged AF. Go to one place and explore. You don't have enough time to do much more than 1 country.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Update: Our trip will now end in Hanoi, not Hong Kong, as I'm doing the whole thing on points, and I found amazingly cheap business class tickets out of Hanoi. So, now we are arriving in Hanoi late on December 30th and departing very late at night on January 3rd. This was a pleasant surprise!

So, now we have four days in Hanoi. I would very much appreciate your advice, if you've been there, on the best way to spend them. Currently I'm thinking of spending 2 days in Hanoi to walk around and see the sights, and 2 days for a boat trip to Bai Tu Long (like Halong Bay but cleaner).

Are two days enough to see the highlights of Hanoi? Or would you scrap the boat tour and spend all this time in Hanoi? Are there other side trips that could be fitted in? It would also be over NYE, which I know isn't a super big deal in Hanoi but may (?) affect the planning.

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.

Anonymous wrote:Looks fun, but maybe think if you really need three nights in Siem Reap. I would think two nights is enough (I went for one night and it was enough). enjoy this wonderful part of the world.