School holidays 2019- Madagascar , Thailand other?

[Redandblue11]

Hi
We are planning our summer holiday with DC 10. We want to do somewhere east. Ideally a mix of beach, culture or wildlife.
My DH would like Thailand or Vietnam, we been ages ago pre DC but I am worried about the weather ...
Then I looked at the map and saw Madagascar...
Anyone been in any of these places at that time of year with DC?
Ideas and tips welcome
Thanks

We went to Thailand, cambodia and Vietnam with the DC late July / early August in 2015. It was humid but I think all those places would be humid compared to the UK year round anyway. It rained loads in Hanoi in Vietnam, proper torrential rainstorms. But the north of Vietnam has a different climate to the rest of Vietnam so everywhere else was hot and dry. Bangkok in August was 40degrees plus. It also rained a lot on me day in cambodia but considering it was the rainy season we expected it and it was quite refreshing in the heat. We took the view that we can only travel in school holidays, so the weather was just something we had to accept.

Thank you thereinmadnesslies
I am with you on that. We are not necessarily looking at going to loads of places so might consider the areas of Vietnam with less rain .
Can you recommend any areas you liked the best? / would not miss?
I do not mind hot and humid (been to a few locations like that with DC) .
Thank you

I live in Asia and the following areas are dry in July/August
Centre of Vietnam - Hoi An area and Hue - but can be very hot
Bali
Java
Malaysian Borneo
Luang Prabang in Laos
This year I was also in Hanoi and Bangkok in July and also has dry weather so you can be lucky in the wet season.
I really like Hoi An - beautiful Unesco protected old town, fab restaurants, Cham ruins at Me Son. Hue is the former capital of Vietnam and also very interesting - 3 hours or so by car from Hoi An. Hoi An can get very hot - 45 degrees when I was there in 2016 and Hue is hot and humid in the summer.

April is an excellent time to visit Madagascar. The rains should have gone and even if there is the odd downpour, it will usually become sunny and hot again quickly. Madagascar is a big island and the roads are not brilliant. Aim to do either the north or south. It has wildlife not seen elsewhere. It’s different and also has some good beaches.

Thank you Shagai and Bubbles! Lots of inspiration.
I am on it! Looking at options, love holiday planning

I've always fancied Madagascar & proposed it to the DH a couple of years ago - he visited the foreign office site & came back to muttering about political unrest, cyclones, violent attacks, robbery & piracy. So that ended that plan! He is particularly risk adverse though but possibly Vietnam is the safer option??

We just took our 4 DC to Thailand this past summer. We visited Bangkok, kanchanaburi and Koh Samui. Only a couple times did it rain during the day, though it was overcast a lot. Mostly it was just very hot and humid. Despite this, and all the traveling around we did, it was a fantastic holiday with a mix of culture, history and relaxation. I highly recommend kanchanaburi if you do go to Thailand. It's got a great elephant sanctuary and the stunning Erawan Falls, as well as the beautiful River Khwae. It was much more laid back and haf much fresher air than Bangkok, and not overrun with tourism like Koh Samui

Hi Redandblue11, July and August are the best time to travel to Madagascar! The standards of accomodation are not as high as on the mainland safari destinations, but the number of luxury tour operators investing there is increasing. Food is generally good and is a mix of asian, Malagasy and French combinatons. The beaches are stunning and there are 4-5 extraordinary nature reserves to visit.
July / August is monsoon season across most of eastern and western Asia so you get very hot, humid spells followed by monsoon weather. If you've got a short list of ideas, please let me know if I can help. Have a lovely holiday!

I would completely recommend Cambodia...a wonderful country with wonderful people. I spent just under a month there several years ago. Do not worry about the weather in July/August. Beaches and islands in the south are beautiful, as are the temples further north.

I spent a month in Madagascar a few years ago and I wouldn't go back or recommend anyone to go. It is very different to other African countries I have been to (I.e. Uganda and Kenya I loved!!), and not in a good way. Some nice scenery but the people, atmosphere etc mean that it just isn't worth it.