heronb

We'll be travelling to Singapore in January once again and staying in the MO or FBH, from here we usually move on to Thailand or Bali for some beachside luxury.

One thing I'd like to do is combine a little bit of snorkelling, easy I thought, maybe not.

Flight options to MLE are tempting but what I'd prefer is an SE asian location with good beachside reef and luxury hotel. The area's checked so far are The Datai/FS Langkawi, where the snorkelling looks poor and Tioman, Redang, Kho Tao, where luxury accommodation seems lacking.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Ericka

Amanwana in Indonesia has a spectacular house reef for snorkeling and would offer unique boat trips if you're interested in exploring farther afield. They are an Aman so service is equally wonderful, but the property is more barefoot luxury....luxury tents, no marble. Lots of wildlife and hiking, too.

I'm not sure how easy it would be to get to from Singapore. We've traveled there via Bali.

heronb

Ah yes, Aman luxury would be very nice. I should say that a budget of £400 p/night would rule this out, but thanks for the suggestion.

Regards

FlyerEC

Well , check if there are any Aman exclusives stay , overnight at Amanusa .
Short flight on SQ to Bali .. To complete the experience
Or even Amanpulo

KI-NRT

Might I humbly suggest you stay at a cheaper hotel in Singapore (Marriott or IC aren't bad) and apply the savings to a nicer beach resort in Asia? I've stayed at most of the high-end properties in Singapore, and not a single one has impressed. It's just not worth the extra cost to stay at a mediocre luxury hotel there.

SanDiego1K

I think this is sound advice. I've stayed at the Hyatt, IC and Conrad. All are solid hotels. I'd save the money for somewhere I can have a special experience.

FlyingDoctorwu

The Amans are running a 4th night free via FHR until December I think. I think Amandari, Amankila, Amanusa, Amanoi, Amantaka, Amansara, and Amanpuri are part of the deal... though I'm not entirely sure I got the list right but I'm sure that Kage will be in to correct me soon enough!

So with 4th night free then getting close to £400 p/night at some of the Amans....

FDW

Pausanias

Bali and virtually everywhere south of the Equator (i.e., Indonesia) are very wet in January and from personal experience I'd avoid them at that time of year. Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia are in a different climate zone - hot and predominantly dry.

Finding good snorkelling is getting increasingly difficult due to many factors - climate change, hotel development etc etc. I remember staying once in Phuket in the 1980s and finding stunning reefs just off the hotel. Oh, and grilled lobsters for about a pound. That's a distant memory now.

For the very best snorkelling I think you nowadays you need to sacrifice the ultra luxury hotels and find the few four-star places that are opening up on the coasts of Burma and Cambodia. Get ahead of the crowd - that's always been my MO (and I don't mean Mandarin Oriental).

Of course, another option from Singapore would be Amanpulo, as FlyerEC suggests - Manila is an easy flight from Singers and the weather is good in January. Good snorkelling, too.

MikeFromTokyo

I would do Phuket or Krabi. You can fly directly to HKT on SQ, and then car transfer to the resort. I agree that Singapore hotels are not that great anyway, so it would a good idea to save on that part of the trip in order to have more to spend on a resort.

Kagehitokiri

£465 - 7 night amanresorts bali and beyond
(£581 - wana incl meals, laundry, short treks)
wana + bali or jiwo (incl 1 activity per resort)

aman continues to do some lower rates next year

aman may repeat amex FHR offers next year
presumably FHR offer can be combined