Bali in February?
#1
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Bali in February?
I have never been to Asia and plan to take a 3 week trip to South East Asia in Nov/Dec 2024 or Feb 2025 (my preferred option).
My priority is Bangkok and Phuket or Ko Damui (7 nights) and Singapore (3 nights). Another 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur.
This leaves me with 4 nights (rest is travel) for Bali as one of my bucket items. Issue is Feb is not ideal trip time from what I read. Is it worth it in Feb? If not what should I replace it with? Vietnam?
Thanks!
My priority is Bangkok and Phuket or Ko Damui (7 nights) and Singapore (3 nights). Another 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur.
This leaves me with 4 nights (rest is travel) for Bali as one of my bucket items. Issue is Feb is not ideal trip time from what I read. Is it worth it in Feb? If not what should I replace it with? Vietnam?
Thanks!
#2
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How much time do you have in all? Four countries will be a lot of flying, given the long distances. It's easy to spend all of your time in Thailand or Vietnam or a combination of Malaya and Singapore. What are your interests? If you're looking to Bali for an island, you will have that in Thailand, Vietnam, or Malaysia. You could also spend all of your time in Indonesia, combining Java and Bali and not see it all. If you really want more than one country, Singapore is easy to combine with any of these; the fact that it is a major airline hub also helps.
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I have 3 weeks total. I wanted to see Bali because it is a bucket list item and I don't know when I will have the opportunity to visit South East Asia again.
Going through Singapore as it is easiest way for me to fly there and looks interesting. I want a mix of island and city to relax on the islands in between the cities.
Going through Singapore as it is easiest way for me to fly there and looks interesting. I want a mix of island and city to relax on the islands in between the cities.
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November to February is not an ideal time of year for Bali as that is the rainy season. I think you also expect rough seas at that time of year. IMO not the best time, so if that is a problem for you, I would reconsider.
"If not what should I replace it with? Vietnam?" An impossible question to answer without knowing what interests you or what you would like to do/get out of your trip. Perhaps if you provided more information...
Finally, I agree with Tripplanner001, four countries in three weeks is way too busy. Once you sit down with airline schedules and factor in flight times, airport waiting times and transfers you will see that you will lose a large proportion of your usable time. Time which could perhaps be better employed in actual sightseeing etc. It may be you are ok with spending a lot of your time in transit but I would think twice.
In some respects Asian cities are very different, in others very similar. I agree that any trip to Asia should include some city time but Singapore, Bangkok and KL are way over the top. "less is more" maybe a cliche but it is said for a reason. Nov to Feb is a great time weather wise for Thailand Malaysia and Vietnam and you could very easily spend the whole time in one of those countries and not run out of things to do.
At least you have pellet of time to come to a decision.
"If not what should I replace it with? Vietnam?" An impossible question to answer without knowing what interests you or what you would like to do/get out of your trip. Perhaps if you provided more information...
Finally, I agree with Tripplanner001, four countries in three weeks is way too busy. Once you sit down with airline schedules and factor in flight times, airport waiting times and transfers you will see that you will lose a large proportion of your usable time. Time which could perhaps be better employed in actual sightseeing etc. It may be you are ok with spending a lot of your time in transit but I would think twice.
In some respects Asian cities are very different, in others very similar. I agree that any trip to Asia should include some city time but Singapore, Bangkok and KL are way over the top. "less is more" maybe a cliche but it is said for a reason. Nov to Feb is a great time weather wise for Thailand Malaysia and Vietnam and you could very easily spend the whole time in one of those countries and not run out of things to do.
At least you have pellet of time to come to a decision.
#5
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I have never been to Asia and so no idea what to expect. Outside the Carribean for beaches, we have only ever been to Europe.
We love food, hiking and seeing new things. If I were to remove KL or Singapore, what is worth seeing?
Thanks!
We love food, hiking and seeing new things. If I were to remove KL or Singapore, what is worth seeing?
Thanks!
#6
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"what is worth seeing?
Only you can decide that. The best way is often the old way, dive into your local library and borrow w a few guidebooks and see what appeals.
If it were me on my first trip, I would try to keep it simple. Maybe fly into to Bangkok, spend 4-5 days exploring the cities markets, temples, grand palace and, of course sampling the incredible food. Perhaps head to Chiang Mai in the north by train or plane. Do some hiking around the Mai Hong Soon Loop, explore CMs old town, a side trip to Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle before flying south to the coast d=for some beach time, diving etc and then head back to Bangkok for your flight home.
Three weeks in Vietnam would be good. Get an open jaw ticket into Saigon and out of Hanoi and use the train to get between the two stopping off at places along the way like Hue, Hoi An, Phong Nha Khe Be, perhaps a hiking trip around the mountains of the north staying in ethnic minority villages along the way. Just a couple of ideas . More detail of our travels in Asia can be found in our blog. https://accidentalnomads.com just click on the destination tab for the relevant country. If you google you will find countless other blogs with info.
www.travelfish.org is a good resource for Asia travel.
Only you can decide that. The best way is often the old way, dive into your local library and borrow w a few guidebooks and see what appeals.
If it were me on my first trip, I would try to keep it simple. Maybe fly into to Bangkok, spend 4-5 days exploring the cities markets, temples, grand palace and, of course sampling the incredible food. Perhaps head to Chiang Mai in the north by train or plane. Do some hiking around the Mai Hong Soon Loop, explore CMs old town, a side trip to Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle before flying south to the coast d=for some beach time, diving etc and then head back to Bangkok for your flight home.
Three weeks in Vietnam would be good. Get an open jaw ticket into Saigon and out of Hanoi and use the train to get between the two stopping off at places along the way like Hue, Hoi An, Phong Nha Khe Be, perhaps a hiking trip around the mountains of the north staying in ethnic minority villages along the way. Just a couple of ideas . More detail of our travels in Asia can be found in our blog. https://accidentalnomads.com just click on the destination tab for the relevant country. If you google you will find countless other blogs with info.
www.travelfish.org is a good resource for Asia travel.