Where to travel after cruise
 

I will be taking a 5 night cruise that begins and ends in Singapore next December and would like some advice on where to travel to after the cruise. Would Bali be a good choice. Any recommendations would be helpful.
Thank you
SophieB

Bali is a good choice. It's culture is unique as it is the only Indonesian isalnd that is Hindu. And it's a beautiful place. It has excellent tourist infrastructure.

What are you interested in?

Other places to consider that you can get to with a non-stop flight from Singapore:

Siem Reap, Cambodia for the incredible temples at Angkor

Malaysian Borneo (fly in to Kota Kinabalu or Kuching) for the wildlife

Central Java for Borobudor and Prambanam and the gorgeous crafts

Penang, Malaysia for the E&O Hotel and the renowned Hawker food.

Bali would be a great choice.

It would help to know where the cruise is going, in the 5 nights it is likely you are going to Penang, for instance. Bali is a good choice, but weather in December can be a little rainy, see weatherbase.com for temps and rainfall (Singapore is in the rainy season then too, but does not affect tourist activities so much as you are not there for the weather; I would avoid the east coast of Malyasia, and Boreno mentioned above as they are quite rainy in December. The west coast of Malaysia is fine in December.)

Bangkok and places more north are in very good weather as the monsoon has shifted south at that time, so many places in Thailand and Cambodia would be good choices. You probably don't want really cold weather, but you could get to a place like Beijing if you wanted, beautiuflly serene in winter with bare trees against the red walls of the Forbidden City. If you are dressed for it, it is prefectly fine; and certainly much to see and do in the 5 days, you could possibly squeeze in a trip to Xian as well. Hong Kong is absoluely excellent weather in December (again you cruise may be going there), lots to see and do with great hiking and walking at this time of year in addition to Christmas lights and activities.

You do have a lot of choices, and 5 nights is a pretty good amount of time. I would look into weather as if you can avoid the rain it may be worthwhile, although Bali is of course still beautiful even in the rain.

I want to thank everybody who replied to my question. I think Bali sounds like a good choice even though it will be the rainy season. The cruise I'm taking is going to Phuket, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. And we're going to spend a few days in Singapore before the cruise. I'll have to check out how much rain Bali gets. Northern Thailand could be a second choice.
Again thank all of you
SophieB

Sophie , even though it is the wet season it can often be clear or just overcast and generally the rain comes in the afternoons so you will be fine touring or doing whatever you want to do .When it does rain it is of course torrential !

I've been to Bali a number of times during the rainy season. It's never dampened my enjoyment of Bali.

I've pretty much decided on Bali even though it will be the rainy season. We never let rain get us down. We just get our umbrellas out and go on our way.
On the other hand Laos sounds interesting too. Have any of you been there?
Thank you all so much.
SophieB

Yes, lots of us have been to Laos. Luang Prabang is really lovely. Do a search, you'll find dozens of trip reports.

Our photos of Laos (as well as many other places): www.marlandc.com

Either would really be a fine choice, IMO you can't go wrong with either.

I think I misunderstood your original post in that I thought you had 5 days for the trip, but maybe I just miss-read your comment that you were coming off a 5-night cruise. How long do you have for the side trip after the cruise? If you have a lot of time, there is no reason you could not do both Laos and Bali, for example. If you only have a few days, then of course you have to choose one.

You might look into flights to both Bali and Laos (Luang Prabang airport primarily) and see how they work with your returning int'l flight, that might help you with the decision. For Laos, to get there from Singapore, you will almost certainly have to transfer through Bangkok. For Bali, there are non-stop flights from Singapore. That might make Bali a more attractive option if you only have a few days. But perhaps you can change your returning int'l flight to route yourself out of Bali or Bangkok if that will give you more time in either Bali or Laos.

Cicerone
The cruise begins in Singapore and goes to Phuket, Penang and Kuala Lumpur so we'd like to add an extra week someplace. I know my husband is partial to the idea of Bali but I'm open to any place.
Kathie your photos were fantastic.
Thank again everyone.
Sophie

I gues you are on Star Cruises. Bali seems a good choice after seeing the other places. There are non stop flights from Singapore to Chiang mai ( about 3 hr flight ), Bali is about 2 hrs 30.

Did you check if Star still do any cruise & stay arranegment ? they did many ( probably 10 years + ago ) but don't know if they still do, if it's the weekly cruise you could spend a week in Phuket perhaps ( and save on an add on air fare ), I have no idea if they still do but might be worth getting your agent to find out.

James
We are on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I've heard of Star Cruises but the price was right and it won't be too long since my husband doesn't like the idea of cruising and refuses to dress up. We probably should skip the cruise and just travel around on our own.
SophieB