Perth
 

I am planning a trip to Asia in December. I am thinking of visiting a girlfriend in Perth around New Year's Eve. How hot does it get there?

Most importantly, does it make sense to take a relatively cheap flight ($350 US or so) from Singapore just 3 days or so?

Thanks very much.

Sure - it's a great place and no hotter than Singapore.
$350 to celebrate NYE with friends somewhere fantastic that you haven't visited before! How good is that? :)

Bokhara,

Thank you very much for your recent reply.

Do you have any idea how long the flight is from Singapore to Perth? And by the way, have you been to Singapore? If so, what did you think? Many thanks.

Saulmax

Saulmax -

We just returned from Perth Saturday. The flight from Singapore to Perth took 4.5 hours.

I live in Indonesia and go to Singapore every few months. It's a nice place to visit, but beware, Singapore is a real zoo around the holidays, especially along Orchard Road. It's busy and crowded on a regular day, but during the holidays, WOW. I've vowed to never visit Singapore again during the holidays, but if you like over-the-top holiday lights, lots of noise, and wall to wall people, you might enjoy it.

We found the weather in Perth alot warmer than we expected for July. It's winter there - but we had great weather - most days were in the 60's - 70's F with a bit of rain here and there. We asked about their summer time weather and were told it can get hot - some said it gets near 38 c, others said it gets quite a bit hotter. Depends on where you are I guess.

Singapore is very humid and muggy, Perth is dry, so while the temps may be similiar, they feel completely different.

Hi Saulmax,
Yes - been to Singapore several times.
Agree with Melnq8, it's hot & humid. Perth's a drier heat and IMO, not as oppressive. There's a breeze which springs up around 3 O'clock "The Fremantle Doctor" which takes the edge off the heat in Summer.

Lots of interesting things to see & do in S'pore - the Zoo & the Bird Park are fantastic and lots of history to see everywhere. Big Chinese/Malay/Indian mix of influences in food & culture as well as, of course, remnants of the old British Empire in architecture, systems & so on.
Tip: Go to the Zoo very early in the morning & feed the primates. I think you can also do night visits.

I'd still take Perth for NYE, though. They know how to party but it's not the full on frenzy that Melnq8 describes (and I can well imagine) of S'pore in Party Central mode. Unless you really wanted to be part of that scene, you wouldn't get to do anything else because of the crowds & traffic.

Thanks so much for the recent replies.

Okay next question:

How hot is it in Perth and Singapore around the end of December please?

Actually I am going to be in Vietnam for about 10 days. I have to go to Singapore for my flight back to LA. So that's how I came up with the idea of grabbing the cheap flight and possibly visiting my girlfriend in Perth for a few days time permitting.

Singapore is hot and humid year round. Temps seldom drop below 20c even at night and can reach 30c or more during the day. The humidity stays around 75%.

It rains often, so it's wise to keep an umbrella with you, but the rain doesn't usually last very long - November to January are the wettest season.

Sorry, can't help with Perth.

Perth temperatures in December can vary widely. X'mas day 2003 was 35C+. Whereas last X'mas was a much milder mid 20's.
However, I'd suggest on average mid to higher 20's is the norm

saulmax, bookmark this comprehensive and useful site: www.weatherbase.com

Average temp ranges for Perth in Dec are 14-28C (58-83F), in Jan 24-31C (62-89F). Highest ever recorded, Dec 42C (108F), Jan 46C (115F). Precipitation, hardly any.

Most people would feel more comfortable in Perth than in Singapore.

Singapore is a soft intro to SE Asia - a little too disciplined and orderly for me. Before a Singaporean jumps on me for that comment, I do appreciate that the picturesque disorder of other cities in the region comes at a price for their inhabitants, who aren't cosseted and insulated in western-style hotels and airconditioned tour buses like we tourists.

And I just realised that I should have said "most people FROM COOL-TEMPERATE REGIONS would feel more comfortable in Perth".