Hi
I am travelling to Malaysia in July with my wife & 2 children - 18 & 16. Starting off with 4 days in Georgetown , then 2 days in KL , then 12 days in Borneo - climbing Mount Kinabalu , Orangutans , Turtles etc .

I wanted to end the holiday on a beach . I understand the east coast will be better at this time of year but I am struggling to find which beach / Island would be best . We all agree on a great beach & my wife & I want some relaxation but kids want to be near some nice bars for the evening .

We'd prefer not to have to take too long to travel there from Kota Kinabalu & as I'll be paying for 2 rooms probably can't afford the really plush 5 star accomodation so would like to keep it ideally to about $100 dollars a room though could stretch to a bit more .

Can anyone suggest which Island would be best & any help or suggestions on accomodation .

Thanks for any help

take a look at langkawi--not sure about weather however

Ok thanks , have looked at Langkawi a little but wasn't sure if weather so good on west coast at this time of year ?

Why not stay near Kota Kinabalu? That minimizes travel time. There are beautiful beaches in that area. If you choose Langkawai, you would want to go there in conjunction with Georgetown, Penang. And yes, it will be rainy there in July.

Thanks Kathie . Do you know any beaches near Kota Kinabalu that would still have enough around to entertain 2 teenagers?

The weather on the west coast will not be good in July. The east coast has much better weather ( usually!) in July but there are fewer accommodation choices. Redang Island on the East Coast is nice and the Berjaya is probably within your price range although when I was there anew years ago it could only be reached by ferry but I believe that you can now fly.

There is a Hyatt at Kuantan that is also worth a look and the Tanjung Jara bu that is expensive these days I think

Thanks , will check these out , though Kathies idea of staying closer to Kota Kinabalu seems sensible if I can locate good beach etc

There are some beaches near KK (Pulau Tiga, Pulau Mantanani, Pulau Manukan, Tip of Borneo etc.).

The Tip of Borneo is nice, but rather quiet:
http://www.molon.de/galleries/Malaysia/Sabah/Tip/

Pulau Manukan is quite unimpressive. Pulau Mantanani could be interesting (haven't been there yet), but I'm not sure about the nightlife there and accomodation is not cheap. I have yet to visit Pulau Tiga, but I get the feeling that it's not what you are after.

Then there are beautiful islands off Semporna in southern Sabah, but accomodation there is out of your price range (unless you stay in Semporna, but it's not fun to take the boat to the islands every morning).

Your best option is probably Pulau Perhentian on peninsular Malaysia's east coast. You can only get there by flying via KL, but it is really worth it. You'll find reasonably priced accomodation with beautiful beaches and bars for the kids:
http://www.molon.de/galleries/Malays...st/Perhentian/