I'm researching honeymoon destinations for last 2 weeks of DEcember.. and wondering what the weather is like then in S'pore/Malaysia/Thailand/Bali?

Is it considered the rainy season? Ideally we would like to spend a week travelling Spore/Malaysia and a week at an all inclusive resort by the beach.

Would this be a good time to visit?

Two of the months that I vacation in Bangkok, annually, are in December/January and the weather has always been great. I first went in December/January back in the 90s and have been going ever since. I've also been in northern Thailand in December/January and the weather was very good. Last December, when I landed in Bangkok, it was only 70 degrees out. The first two weeks there were a decent climate...around in the high 70s to mid 80s and then it warmed up a bit in the third week. I left around mid December and was in Bangkok for three weeks. I also vacation in Singapore during that time and have stayed in Singapore up to a week and a half in December and the weather has been really nice. I've been in Bali in December and been in pouring rain, but it usually comes in a big downpour and then stops for wuite a while. It didn't interfere too much with what I needed to do, but it was rainy. As for Malaysia, I've only done it in April, but I would imagine the weather being similiar to Singapore in December....Kuala Lumpur, for example, is only a 45-minute plane ride from Singapore so the weather will probably be similiar. It was the same weather when I went to both places one April. Prices for accomodations can be a bit higher in December in Thailand, but as far as I'm concerned I'll pay them since the weather is much cooler/dryer then than at many other times of the year...depending on what part of Thailand you're in. Happy Travels!

www.weatherbase.com check each location you are interested in.

December is an excellent time for Thailand. If you want to go to a beach in Thailand, you'll want the ones on the Phuket side. Unfortunately, it's monsoon season in the easteren coast of Malaysia, which has fabulous beaches. I've gone at that time anyway, and did fine. It's also rainy season in Bali. Likewise, I've traveled to Bali at that time of teh year and enjoyed it. It's rainy season in Singapore, but it really doesn't matter, you can still enjoy Singapore.

As noted by Kathie, the weathbase.com website will give you a good idea of how much rainfall to expect in places you are in considering. In general, Bangkok and Phuket are good choices for December as they are very dry then, the east coast of Malaysia is not a good choice as it would be quite rainy, and some of the wonderful islands I would normally recommend would really not be worth going to IMO. The beach areas of Hua Hin, which are on the coast about 2 hours south of Bangkok would also be OK as they would have little or no rain then, and the island of Koh Samui would be OK then too although you are just at the tail end of the rainy season there. The west coast of Malaysia like the islands of Langkawai or a place like Pankour Laut would also be good, more rain than in Thailand, but still doable I would say. I am not a huge fan of either place as I don't think the beaches are as good as Thailand (and IMO none of the beaches in SE Asia are as pretty as the Caribbean, the Maldives or Fiji), but for a honeymoon you would probably like them as Langkawi offers many luxury hotels and Pankour Laut has over-the-water bungalows (take a look at http://www.pangkorlautresort.com; for hotels on Langkawi run a search here or try lhw.com). Bali would be quite rainy and probably not appropriate for a beach holiday, esp if you are interested in diving or snorkeling; however the culture is extremely interesting and the green rice paddies and mountains in the rain can be very beautiful, so it is a toss up to me whether to include that.

It is hard to find all-inclusive resorts in Asia, there are some Club Meds, but other than that the concept of all-inclusive resorts has not caught on here. You may find breakfast included in some rates, but even that is not the norm. That being said, in places like Phuket and Bali there are numerous excellent and not expensive restaurants for lunch and dinner near to the resort areas, and these areas are fun to go to. It is not like the Caribbean where you might not want to go into local areas at night for safety reasons. Langkawi is less developed I believe (I have not been there myself in more than 10 years) so you would go out more to other resorts for meals if you don't want to stay at the hotel.

I agree that Singapore is really fine at any time. December and January are part of the rainy season and you can get days of rain, but that will not affect your sightseeing for the most part, as you are not going for the beaches there.

Hong Kong has absolutely wonderful weather in December, so if you have flexibility in your itinerary I would pick it way over Singapore, by the way. Sunny, dry and in the mid 70s F. Not quite warm enough for the beach, although you can do boating and lots of walking, hiking, biking, kayaking, in addition to great restaurants, shopping, etc.


If you wanted to do the east coast of Malaysia and Bali, the summer is better for that; but of course then Phuket and Bangkok are rainy at that time. So, there is really no perfect time, IMO, it is just a matter of picking where you want to go. YOu can't go everywhere in only 2 weeks anyway, so I would pick 2-3 places at most (and maybe only 2 as this is a honeymoon and not a sightseeing trip), and leave the rest for an anniversary trip...

Wow! Thank you all for all that info!

Glad it was of help. Happy Travels!