Where to go from Singapore?

Myself and my family are lucky enough to be returning to Singapore in March. My husband has to be there for two weeks on business and we then have up to a week to go elsewhere. Last year we went to Bintan for four days, but wasn%26#39;t overly impressed. Can anyone suggest somewhere else? Bali seems too far - and sounds expensive? Is Bintan our best option - perhaps we chose a not so good resort? We have three children - aged 11, 8 and 3 so it has to be child friendly! Any suggestions appreciated.

Where to go from Singapore?

How about Penang? Plenty to see and do - plus culture, history and good food. Stay at the G Hotel - apartments are great.

Where to go from Singapore?

when u say not impress, r u talking about the quality of the resort or beach ?

Another beach destination close to SIN (that is easy to get to) is Desaru :

http://www.greaterdesaru.com/main.htm

I%26#39;ll preface this by saying that we%26#39;re 4 hours flying from any other capital city in Australia, so my perspective on alternative locations may not the same as everyone else%26#39;s, but for what it%26#39;s worth,

Bali would not be expensive. It%26#39;s considered a very good and cheap holiday destination for Australians, so I can only imagine what the exchange rates would be like for England. It can be very busy depending on what parts, but very cost effective, even in the high end beach resorts.. A great place to visit if you can get the chanc3e.

The other suggestion I have is Thailand. I%26#39;m pretty sure you can fly direct to Koh Samui, Krabbi and Phuket from Singapore, bypassing Bangkok. All 3 are great for those beach type holidays. I done Krabbi and Koh Samui and can recommend either. I%26#39;m guessing 2 hours flying time from memory..

As the previous poster suggested, why not check out Bali (3 hours), Koh Samui or Phuket (both 1 1/2 hours)?

Personally, I like Bali and Koh Samui. The choices for accommodation%26#39;s so varied (you can easily and fairly cheaply rent villas with private swimming pools). Ask on the respective forums and I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll get lots of advice.

Alternatively, you could go to the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia ... to the wonderful islands of Redang or Perhentian. Again you could fly to KL (50 mins) and catch another flight to either Kuala Terengganu (for Redang) or Kota Baru (for Perhentian), both 50 min flights. Then an easy and un-quesy 30 min ferry to the islands.

Frankly, I%26#39;d give Desaru a miss ... it%26#39;s gone downmarket in recent years.

If you%26#39;re travelling in March probably the east coast of Malaysia is probably OK weatherwise but to be completely safe may wish to stick with the places on the west coast of Malaysia and the Thailand beach resorts like Phuket, Krabi etc. Langkawi is also worth considering if you like beaches. I have dragged my 3 kids round these places.

Another possibility is to hire a car and drive the family up to Malaysia as many Singaporeans %26amp; expats do during school holidays. Saves on airfares, you see more along the way and your itieniary is more flexible. Malaysian expressways are well-maintained (on par or better than most UK motorways) and not difficult to average above 100km/h on long drives.

btw, how much time did you spend on the beach ? if your kids love the beach and are always on the beach, then I wont recommend it but if they prefer the pool and a nice resort, why not Sentosa ? They will enjoy Rasa Sentosa and the activities on the island. This way no one needs to spend time traveling and the extra expenses.

Perentian is beautiful (water is crystal clear so much so that u can see the fish swimming at your feet) but to get there, long drive from airport, then the ferry and then the island and cab to resort. Wont recommend it coz ur kids will already been a bit jet lag from traveling from UK. Also, food wise, it is very limited and truthfully, not very good (except the local food which is fine but if u r not used to Malaysian/Asian food, a whole week can become a challenge). I had stayed in Terenganu for 2 months and went to Perentian for 3 nights. That was quite a while back (over 5 years ago) so maybe things have changed (doubt it coz of the state%26#39;s firm belief and stance)

Many esp. from UK had a more than pleasant stay at Sentosa with their kids, a good place to chill and when u need some excitement for the city, just take the shuttle out to Vivocity and from there to town in a jiffy on the MRT.

Like others had mentioned, if u r willing to travel, there are MANY choices of a better beach destination than Bintan. Bintan is only for those who lack the luxury of time. Bali, Phuket, K.K, etc are all good beach places.

SIN has a lot of low cost carriers nowadays so check their promotions, find the deal and then pick out a resort. There are more than enough choices at most of the destinations and they even offer holiday packages (with hotel). check out JetStarAsia, tigerAir, etc

good luck

Thanks for all your advice. We are actually staying at the Rasa Sentosa as you can%26#39;t beat it for great hotel and place for the kids to chill. We%26#39;ve stayed there three times before! In fact, we are wondering if we should just stay put for the extra week! My husband and I went to Koh Sumui - before kids - and would LOVE to go back, so that%26#39;s definitely an option. Didn%26#39;t realise it was so close to Singapore. Is it worth us not booking anything until we get to Singapore? The idea of driving around sounds good too.

Thanks again.

Hi, we stayed at the Nirwana resort. Whilst the %26#39;villa%26#39; was lovely we were frankly a bit bored. That sounds awful I know. The food was not up to much and three nights there was enough. I would prefer somewhere that has a bit of culture to see - local markets, sights etc. Not just restricted to a resort - albeit a very nice one.

As mentioned in previous posts, Phuket, thailand would be great for your family. I have 3 kids myself, and we loved the Laguna Beach Club. (check out their website) It%26#39;s on the beach and they also have a water slide/pool, kids club, tennis, spa, etc. My kids loved the elephants on the beach. The Laguna area is lovely and there are several other hotels on the same beach, so plenty of restaurant choices. Flights from Singapore on Tiger Air are a great deal and only 1 hr. 45 min. EASY and you%26#39;ll have a great time!

From Singapore we have spent 5 or 6 days on Langkawi flying direct with Silkair, the flights are not as cheap as some routes. Lovely island, mainly beaches, great food and a bit of shopping. We have also been to Krabi from Singapore for a week but unfortunately there are no direct flights any more from Singapore which is a shame because I would definitely recommend that area. We are going to Phuket this year from Singapore for 6 nights and flights with Tiger Airways are extremely cheap at the moment. Never been so can%26#39;t comment yet. I had been looking into other areas like HCMC in Vietnam, cheap to get to but hotels charge in American Dollars not so good for us at the moment and also Kuching is very cheap to get to but not sure of the weather in March I think it could be very wet. We have also been on the train from Singapore to KL and stayed 5 nights that is great but not sure if the kids would be interested it is a 6 hour journey and our daughter was 8 at the time, she is now 15 and not sure she would be that interested, we loved it.

Hope this helps.