hoangb

Hi, All!

As I am contemplating making my first trip to Southeast Asia, I was wondering if I could pick the brain of the many experts here for advice/suggestions to assist me in planning a better trip.

Two countries that interest me most would be Singapore and Thailand.

I plan on traveling around end of December/beginning of January. Is this a good time to travel?

Also, is it better to fly in BKK first, spend some time there and then fly to Singapore, or vice versa?

I think I will have an easier time finding a lot of information about where to stay in Thailand, but I tried to read a little from the Singapore forum, and it would appear that I could really benefit from some guidance here.

Anyhow, any feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

bitterproffit

I went to both this summer and enjoyed them both. I flew into SIN from AMS (through FRA) and flew to BKK and then back to AMS all on one LH ticket. Super convenient and nice price. I don't know about travel during the winter, but I imagine its a more popular time than June. Singapore lodging was not cheap, but it was so easy to get around the city with transit and there was a lot of things to do. I found BKK amazing and chaotic, but it was a lot more out of my comfort zone in getting around and figuring things out. At the end of the day, I loved my time in both cities and would love to go back again. I cashed in some points and a free night certificate to stay at the Conrad Singapore. It was pricey if I wanted to pay for that stay. Bangkok was a lot more reasonable. Because it was so easy to get around Singapore, I loved the area I stayed in (Marina Bay/Suntec City area). But I think you could find a good hotel anywhere in the city and find it easy to get around all over the place.

There was a blogger on Boarding Area who did a lot of hotel reviews in Singapore. I don't see his blogs on Boarding Area very much, but he has a website. His blog name is Shutterwhale and I found his hotel reviews in Singapore to be really helpful. Good luck.

invisible

I am living in Singapore. For any Singapore related questions - dedicated forum exists, as well as for Thailand. You just need to know what to ask and how to ask.

In terms of where to go first, it really depends on preferences/comfort level, as well as how you are going to get to your destination. If you go to Thailand first, then it will additional round trip flight to Singapore. If you go to Singapore first, you can got to Thailand on your way back.

You did not say where in Thailand you want to stay/what to see. The country is not small and going to Chang Mai/Chang Rai is different than going to Phuket/Pattaya (I would not recommend to go to these two places).

dtsm

Invisible suggestion is dead-on. Lots of good info on the other two threads.

Dec/Jan are high season for Bkk, weather is great and excellent time to visit. Depending on length of visit, lots of reasonably priced and excellent hotels.

Singapore is very pricey and less to see/do, POV.

Astrophsx

Most people will tell you that time period in Thailand is peak season. So lots of tourists, higher rates, and harder to get a room at the highest rated hotels on Tripadvisor.

It is very easy to find flights between BKK and SIN. You should have no trouble. To be honest after 4 full days I think you will run out of things to see in Singapore. I think I would do Thailand first. The reason being is that Singapore is like Asia for beginners... you can drink the tap water, every place is fairly safe and very clean, lots of places with strong A/C, etc...

If you are doing award flights that will probably dictate where you fly in and out of based upon availability. This is mostly true with premium cabins. Also, if you are traveling over Christmas and New Years think about where you'd like to celebrate them. I think YouTube is a pretty good source to see what new years is like in both countries.

hoangb

Thanks, all, for the feedback.

As for Singapore, is there an area that is recommended for hotels? When people say hotels are expensive, are we talking about $100-$150 a night or more like $200 plus per night?

invisible

Latter. Think about Singapore like NY/Manhattan. You can get decent place for $150/night but it will be 45min ride on public transport. Also depends on your requirements.

You would have a problem finding a place cheaper than $100/night which is more than 250 sq.feet and have windows. If you want to have bathtub in your room, expect to pay >$200/night, most hotel rooms have only showers.

Anyway, take a look at relevant thread in Singapore forum.

Astrophsx

I've stayed several times at the Hyatt and once at the Fairmont. As long as you are near the metro location isn't too big of a deal. You wouldn't want to have a long metro ride though as that would get exhausting. If things are too expensive and you don't have hotel points look into renting an apartment on Airbnb.

invisible

Careful. Renting out apartments and especially in HDB blocks are not allowed in Singapore. You most likely will be ok finding a room in a decent condo, but expect to pay $100/night for that.

chrisphh

For itinerary: You can refer https://www.travelfish.org/

brayden lyle

December and January are really good time for travelling in Thailand. You should spend time on some islands. However, in Singapore, the two months are the wettest. At that time, you can go shopping or visit some museums in Singapore.

lrbenko

I would recommend a visit to Langkawi, Malaysia. It's a short trip from Singapore and most of the island is a GeoPreserve. The hotel Dana was beautiful and from there you could explore the beaches, the skybridge, or take guided walks to see some fantastic wildlife.

tai4de2

You can fly into one city and out of the other on EVA Air for a price similar to what a round trip would have been to either city, and get a cheap one-way on any of the numerous choices you have between BKK/DMK and SIN. (Possibly also true on other carriers, but I have experience with EVA.)

You didn't mention the length of your trip but my extensive experience with both places tells me that Singapore really only needs 2-3 days. If you plan to do that then it can make a good side-trip from Bangkok to break up different legs of your Thailand adventure (i.e., ignore my advice about flying into one city and out of the other).

chrisphh

December is high to peak season in Thailand and one of the reasons that is the case is because the weather is brilliant. Lots of sunshine down south, little rain and the temperatures are comfortable without being scalding or freezing.

RustyC

FWIW I liked the Tai Hoe Hotel in Little India for value for a number of years (you do get a window, the air con works well and it's a good location). Still does relatively well. For a while Priceline and their name-your-own-price worked decently ($40-ish once in Chinatown and once on Orchard Road) and in a pinch some of the Geylang places were acceptable, though less advantageously located. All were better than the tiny rooms or windowless places around Bencoolen.