bruin555

Since we are VERY close to our anticipated departure dates, I have spoke to a few travel companies in arranging our land portion of the trip. [normally I would do all the booking and planning myself to create a custom itinerary but its too short notice ]

Here is an itinerary put together for me so far ... mind you we will be spending more days than this so I was going to ask the travel company to add some days ... Currently I have us landing in SIN on July 21 and flying back out on Aug 9th (which means that I have 6 more days to add to the below itinerary.

question is - what do you guys think? and where should I add and subtract.

I think some mentioned that we should not stay in Nusa Dua area (yet the Nusa Dua Beach hotel seems nice) Please advise.

July 21 – Arrive Singapore
Arrive in Singapore. Upon arrival, you are met and transferred to your hotel. (York Hotel)

July 22 - Singapore
After breakfast, take a city tour to see the waterfront, China Town, Little India, and the botanical garden. Tonight take a dinner cruise through the harbor. (B/D)

July 23 – Singapore/Penang
Arrive in Penang, the tranquil island paradise of the Orient. Transfer to your hotel. (Holiday Inn)

July 24 - Penang
Enjoy an island tour, which includes a visit to Georgetown, the Snake Temple, fruit and clove plantations, a batik factory, fishing village, Fort Cornwall and the Bukit Dunbar Reservoir. Afternoon at leisure. (B)

July 25 - Penang/Kuala Lumpur
Arrive in Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur. You are greeted and transferred to your hotel. (Swiss Garden Hotel) (B)

July 26 - Kuala Lumpur
Morning tour of Kuala Lumpur. See the Moorish-style Railway Station, stunning architectural design of the Parliament House, the National Mosque, King's Palace and the Museum containing dramatic exhibits of the past. This evening starts with a stroll in Chinatown, followed by a Malay dinner and cultural show. (B/D)

July 27 - Kuala Lumpur
Today, your time is at leisure for independent exploration of this neat and clean city with well-planned gardens that make strolling a pleasure. (B)

July 28 - Kuala Lumpur/Malacca/Kuala Lumpur
Drive south via the Seremban/Malacca Highway, passing rubber and oil palm plantations, satellite towns and typical villages. On arrival at the historical town of Malacca, proceed to the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple on the Street of Harmony. Drive by the antique/ junk street to greet the imposing red Dutch Stadhuys building. Take a stroll up St. Paul's Hill to see the ruins of St. Paul's Church, where St. Francis Xavier was once buried. Visit the Porta de Santiago. Lunch at a city restaurant. Return to Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon. (B/L)

July 29 – Kuala Lumpur/Bali
Fly to the tropical paradise of Bali, and transfer to your accommodations on the white sandy beaches of the island's southeast coast. (Nusa Dua Beach Hotel) (B)

July 30 - Bali
Set off this morning on an excursion into the hills of central Bali and the village of Ubud, the artistic center of the island. Stop for a performance of traditional Barong dance, visit the silversmiths at Celuk and a batik workshop in Tohpati, and stroll through Ubud's central market. Afternoon free. (B)

July 31 - Bali
A full-day tour to Mt. Batur volcano in eastern Bali includes a stop at Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave) in Bedulu and panoramic views of both the inner core of the volcano and of Lake Batur. On your return, stop to view the rice terraces of Sebatu and visit Gunung Kawi Temple and woodcarver's gallery. (B/L)

Aug 1 - Bali
Day at leisure exploring on your own or relaxing on the beach. Late this afternoon, your guide escorts you to Uluwatu Temple. After viewing the sunset, descend to a local restaurant for Balinese cuisine. (B/D)

August 2/3 - Bali
Two full days on your own. (B)

August 4 – Depart Bali to SIN and to USA?
After breakfast transfer to the airport. (B)

Thank you all!
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Kathie

Do do know that you will be paying a lot of $$ for things you don't need, don't you? And this itinerary is just awful. The travel agent takes you from place to place with no time to pause and see or experience anything.

No way do you need a hotel transfer in Singapore. And take a look at www.agoda.com for a wide variety of Singapore hotels at better prices than the travel agent. You also do not need any kind of city tour. Singapore is easy to navigate via MRT or taxi. Add at leat one more day to Singapore, as you'll need it to recover fom your long flight.

Penang. I do not recommend that you stay at the beach in Penang. The beaches are so-so. What is special is staying in Georgetown. If your budget allows, opt for the E&O (best prices are usually on the E&O website). Likewise, there is no need for a tour in Penang. if you want a car and driver (we didn't) look at Bob's recent trip report for his driver. Add at least two days to Penang, three if you can.

KL - again, no need for a tour. Two or three days is all you need for KL.

Malacca - It makes little sense to do KL-Malacca-KL in one day. Do an overnight in Malacca, then luxury bus onward to Singapore.

Fly Singapore to Bali.

Bali - Under no circumstances should you stay at Nusa Dua. It's a sterile tourist enclave for people who are afraid to be in Bali. Divide your Bali time between a beach hotel and a hotel inland near Ubud. Stay a minimum of a week in Bali. Get a driver in Bali for a couple of days.

Bali to Singapore to US.

Next step - fire the travel agent!

Kathie

Oh, and other than breakfast at the hotel (which is usually great and a good deal) under no circumstances let a travel agent book other meals unless you like bland western cuisine served at buffets.

rhkkmk

kathie is right....this is worse than awful!!! this is just a bus tour which has been reworked for you...

now the timing is very late and perhaps past your pay by date??

you will need a vacation to recoup from this...

i was just in penang last month and the HI is way to the north of the island and our driver told us that the sea is all polluted there---do not swim... you need to be staying in georgetown to be honest...

maleka is a lovely town/city, but a day trip there is a waste of time really....kathie's suggestion is far better.....there is a cheap hyatt there to stay in...the town is lovely...

how will they transport you from one place to another??

bruin555

Thanks again Kathy. I in no way have commited to the listed itinerary. I honestly do not trust tour companies and hate the fact that the trip planning is so last minute that it pushed me to turn to them as an option.

Needless to say, I will come home tonight and just crank out the trip bookings according to your itinerary.

I know this is asking A LOT -- but would you be able to give me more specific about your itinerary. (e.g. which beach hotel and where in Bali is best to stay etc.)

Basically I will take all your guys expetise and line by line start looking and booking things tonight.

No matter how crazy the planning may get -- its still better than allowing a travel agency ruin my vacation.

Thanks again for all your advice and support.

Kathie

Can you give us a per night hotel budget? That will help us suggest appropriate places. What airline are you flyng transpacific? Exactly how many days on the ground in Asia do you have? (Don't forget to account for the international dateline on your flight to Asia)

marmot

Well, “Penang, the tranquil island paradise of the Orient” should have given you a clue that something was off. You can do this without a tour, but you need to spend some time on line (or at this point on the telephone) making reservations.

I think Penang and Malacca are interesting places but I’m less enthusiastic about KL. If I were to choose a third destination in addition to Singapore and Bali I’d go to Bangkok and maybe another place in Thailand.

I’m not totally negative on Nusa Dua as there are some nice resorts and beaches there but that’s it, resorts and beaches. The Nusa Dua Beach Hotel is pretty mediocre, though. You could do better.

If you stay in Sanur or Seminyak you get beach plus community. In Sanur you get a good swimming beach and the sunrise. In Seminyak you get a big wave beach and the sunset.. I personally like Seminyak because I like shops and restaurants, but both beaches have their attractions.

Suggestions in Seminyak: The Legian, Semaya, Sofitel, or one of the many, many private villas. I'd go to one of the Seminyak villa sites and see what's available for two people during your dates.

In Ubud you should decide whether you want to be in town where you have walking access to shops, restaurants, some performance venues or outside of Ubud where you get beautiful views and village culture.

Suggestions in Ubud town: Komaneka, Uma Ubud. Out of town: Alam Sari, Kayu Manis, Alila

Guenmai

I'm really glad that you have not committed to the schedule you have posted as it's beyond horrible. I thought that if you were to use a travel agency that it would be to basically book you into the hotels and help you with booking the transportation between countries. I didn't know that you were considering one of those, "If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium" types of schedules. They don't work so well, to say the least, in S.E. Asia.

When my best friend booked her first trip to Bali through the Roe that I mentioned above, she booked only hotels and airfare. Then when she got to Bali, she booked all of her tours herself as there are tour stands all over the place once you get there. So, why pay for all of that "tour" stuff stateside? I never have anywhere in S.E. Asia. When I get to my destination and possibly want to take a tour to somewhere that it might be difficult for me to get to, then I either hire a private driver, like I did in Bali and KL or go to the local tour office and select a tour that I'm in the mood to do.

As for Nusa Dua...my best friend tried it out, on her first trip and hated it. She said that she felt stuck inside of a tourist compound. But, she didn't only choose Nusa Dua as she was gone two weeks to Bali and also chose another hotel, in Ubud area, the Kalamandu, just in case. And the "just in case" happened. The second place that she ended up in was her paradise and she's gone back to that hotel several times. It's changed quite a bit now I've heard, so she's probably moved on to some other hotel.

For me, I've only stayed in Ubud and at two different places; one on the compound of the owner of the place, about 4 bungalows total and the other on a ground that had 6 residences of which I was the only resident.

As for Singapore, it's probably the easiest place on the planet to navigate. The whole country is only plus or minus 250 square miles big. L.A. County is 500 square miles big. So, in Singapore, you can do everything on your own both on the MRT (subway) and by taxi and bus. And you need more than one day in Singapore. As for the York Hotel, never heard of it. There are so many great hotels in Singapore. I've been going regularly since the 90s.

An example of how easy and efficient Singapore is, on one trip I landed in Singapore, went through immigrations, picked up my luggage, exchanged money, walked over to the taxi stand and was in a taxi in less than five minutes, and then was at my hotel, The Fullerton, and in my room within an hour and 15 minutes after the plane had hit the runway. I timed it. The taxi cost about S$20.00 (Singapore dollars which would be less than US$20).

On my November 2009 trip to Singapore, I landed around 1:30AM, took the airport tram to the other side of the airport and checked into the airport transit hotel at 2:00AM and was in bed by 2:15AM and then up at around 5:30AM to have breakfast and then walk over to the gate for my 8AM flight to Bangkok.

As for KL, a friend came with me on that trip and we had no city tours arranged. We were staying at the Ritz Carlton ($105.00 a night for a double in 2002), and one day while we were walking over to the nearby government craft center, Kuryaneka (sp?), my friend noticed a taxi driver that she had also seen parked outside the Ritz Carlton. He was asking us if we needed his services. So, I went over and bargained with him and he ended up our private driver for 38RM per hour, around $7.50 an hour back then I believe whereas the agency rated to get a private driver then was $20.00 an hour. He would pick us up at the Ritz Carlton, drive us wherever "WE" wanted to go and then drive us back for tea time and wait for us (off of paid time) and then drive us to our next destinations. We'd shop and then leave all the shopping bags in his car while we shopped some more. He was great. Had we booked a driver through the Ritz Carlton, it would have cost us a bundle. He even drove us to the airport the day we were to fly back to Singapore. In S.E. Asia one can independently bargain with drivers. On his off times, we just walked places. And it was in the hot spring, but we're used to the heat as it was cooler there than August/September here in L.A.

I also think that you have too many places scheduled for your trip and not enough time to "absorb" as that's what S.E. Asia is about. It's not Europe. Things move slower and one just needs more "absorption" time, so to speak. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

Correction,"...the agency rate", not "rated". Happy Travels!

StanKase

I have one suggestion that I am certain is very worth considering. We have stayed in the Ritz in KL 2 times and it truly is riding on it's name. The second time, 2008, we checked in and out in out when we saw they had done little to upgrade the rooms and passage ways though they always make the grand lobby look upscale. The sheraton-LUXURY COLLECTION-not the regular Sheraton was an 8 with the Ritz a 4-5 by comparison. What a surprise and the service was impeccable. In 2008 the rate was as I remember a few dollars less or the same. After a day of touring returning to a wonderful comfortable room is really pleasant.I no you do not have it on your agenda but do not get convinced into visiting the Batu Caves just outside KL. Though it is interesting it is a leisure day for you and that is not leisure walking all those steps to the cave. also the Petrones Tower is impressive but it is not worth waiting on line for, IMO. If you pass it and there isno line you might want to go to go up the view is most impressive.Again have a wonderful time.

bruin555

Thanks again all!

The more I look at the tour "itinerary", the more I hate it because it is a typical tour. I simply wanted help with booking of hotels etc -- not a guided tour (which is super expensive anyway).

So I have now used the tour company to look up flights only at this point -- both US to SIN and inter-asia. These seem to be discounted at this late date vs me booking each flight individually.

We have 20-21 days on the ground in Asia.
Our budget for hotel is roughly 200-250$ per night.

Once in asia these are all tentative flights and dates. I do not at ALL mind changing this itinerary. The only parts of the flights I like so far is the roundtrip flight -- it allows me to fly out of SFO (which is cheaper and shorter flight) to SIN on Cathay Pacific and then Return on Aug 9th from Bali to LAX on Cathay. I can change all the interasia flights to my liking and get a better deal than just booking roundtrip flight myself.

With that said (and per kathie's prequest).. here is the tentative dates and flight plan so far.

July 20 -- Depart LAX (or SFO whichever cheaper) for SIN via HGK on Cathay Pacific. Arrive roughly midnight July 22.

Spend 3 days in Singapore.
July 25 -- Fly SIN - Penang. Spend 3 nights in Penang area.

July 28th -- Fly Penang to Kuala Lumpur (or should I use another method of transport).
Spend one night in Kuala Lumpur (just to see city) and then treck to Malaca (whats best way to do this?)
Spend 3 nights in Malaca area (or should I go somewhere else?)

Aug 1 - Fly Kuala Lumpur (or where I end up per your recommendation) to DENspasar Bali.

I can then spend the rest of the time exploring Bali per your recommendations until Aug 9th.

Aug 9th -- Depart Bali/Hong Kong/Los Angeles.

What you guys think?

I basically want to get the flights booked and locked with travel agency and then lock in my accomodations.

Thanks again!

rhkkmk

much better all around.... easiest to fly from penang to K/L... check out the sheraton imperial hotel in K/L...quite nice...

look at clove hall in penang.... eat at sine museum restaurant and GEM restaurants in penang..

there is a cheap hyatt in melaka.... great rest. in downtown melaka...stand on bridge over river and look toward the sea and on your right is the restaurant with open windows overlooking the river....best food we had there...

Kathie

This looks much better.

A few suggestions:

Even though KL is not my favorite city, one night there is no time at all, you won't even have a full day. So up this to 2 nights in KL which will give you a full day to explore. Go by luxury bus from KL to Malacca.

Reduce Malacca to 2 nights. It's a small place, and while charming, two nights is enough. Go by luxury bus from Malacca to SIngapore (that way you don't backtrack). You can then spend a night in Singapore, or, depending on flight schedules, fly to Bali after arriving in Singapore.

I don't know the Cathay Pacific flight times - is it realistic to fly Denpasar-Hong Kong- LAX all at one go?

Another resource for hotels is www.latestays.com Sometimes they have really fabulous deals, sometimes not, so compare with the hotel's own site and a discount site like agoda.

Some hotel suggestions: SIngapore - Swisshotel the Stamford. Agoda has a great deal for your dates at US$180++ (means plus tax and service) but it is non-refundable. The Fairmont is in the same location, but a better hotel at $217, again a non-refundable price. Those are just two of many options.

Penang, opt for either the E&O, the Grande Dame in Georgetown, a Sarkie Bros hotel restored to its former glory. If you like historic hotels, this is the place for you. Agoda has it for $213, including breakfast (what a breakfast!) for a premier suite, which give you a small balcony overlooking the water. The other option is Clove Hall. A small boutique hotel that looks lovely and Bob and Karen liked it. It's farther from things than the E&O, we basically walked everywhere.

StanKase

I agree with Katie; Take 1 full day in KL and cut 1 day off Malacca, though I have not been there, KL is definetly worth the experience, trust me. Yes, it is the Sheraton-Imperial and itis under $250/night.

bruin555

Would you guys be able to give more some pointers on booking the luxury buses from KUL to malacca and then malacca to SIN.
Having trouble finding good links.

Also whats the best way to get around Bali?

Thanks.

marmot

In South Bali you can take metered taxis or arrange a car and driver for an extended period by the hour or by the day. In other parts of Bali cars and drivers and readily available, through your resort or in town.

Practically speaking there is no public transportation.

Kathie

You can book the luxury bus once you get there. Your hotel can help you, or simply do it for you. Once you have made your reservations, you can contact the concierge and have them do it in advance if it makes you more comfortable. I think you could book the day before pretty easily.

bruin555

Hello again!

So after booking our international flight Jul 20 to Aug 9th we have 19 nights total for accomodation/trip.

So far this is the nightly breakdown had in mind:
3 nights, 2 days SIN (to rest from long flight etc)
3 nights Penang
2 nights Kuala Lumpur
2 nights Malacca
7 nights Bali.
(total 17 nights)

Which leaves 2 nights to distribute somewhere. Should I add 2 nights to Bali and see/stay in another area aside from Ubud and Seminyak?
or should we add Langkawi Malaysia for 2 nights?


With regards to Bali:
Per your recommendations I am working on Bali accomodations first.
In planning 3 nights in Ubud area and 4 nights in Seminyak -
The premier hotels you guys listed (Legian, etc. are above budget and others booked).
I am currently looking at villas or maybe sofitel in Seminyak and FuramaXclusive in Ubud.
Since we plan on being in Bali for last week of our trip -- I figured this should be more of a honeymoon experience.
With that in mind, do you recommend that we stay in Ubud first or Seminyak prior to departure to US?

VISA requirements -- Since we are going to Bali only do we need to obtain a visa beforehand in the US? Or will we be ok in getting the visa-on-arrival?


Malaysia:
at current planning stages we got 3 nights in Penang area (georgetown)
2 nights in Kuala Lumpur
2 nights in Malacca

should we add any more time in Malaysia? (add Langkawi for 2 nights?)

Thanks again to all of you!

Boris

marmot

I think Sofitel is a good choice in Seminyak. It’s right on the beach with nice grounds and good access to restaurants, shops. It’s really a large resort, though. If you want something more private and intimate try for a villa.

There are tons of moderately priced choices in the Ubud area. I don’t know FuramaXclusive, but I’d be a little leary as to me Japanese = groups. Did you try the Alam Sari? Any of the Komanekas? Kupu Kupu Barong is a good honeymoonish place that might fit your budget.

I like Ubud first, then beach as after all that serenity I'm usually ready for a more lively atmophere. I could easily fill up 4 nights in Ubud, , but it really depends on your interests.

Yes, you can secure a visa on arrival at Denpasar airport. Sometimes there’s a line; sometimes it’s quite efficient.

rhkkmk

for just a complete lay back at the end of your bali time you might just like to hang out at the pan pacific which is just to the north of seminyak.....great place...

see if alam shanti or its sisters have any room for you in ubud...

how about a couple of nites at the end in singapore again....plenty to do there...