Bangkok city break?

[PearlyPinkNails]

I've got a week off in September and I'm wondering if Bangkok would be good for a city break?

I know it's rainy season which doesn't bother me but is a week too long? Or too far for a week?

Any other suggestions that aren't Europe?

Thanks

Too far for one week really and not enough to do unless you go further afield.

I think Cape Town is a better bet. You can see the city in 4 nights and that would give you time to see the wine area around Stellenbosch on a day trip and/or down to Chapmans Peak and Boulders Beach. The other huge advantage would be going to Hermanus to see the whales that come so close to the shore in September. Better viewing than in a boat! The flights are overnight (10 hours) so you sleep and there is little time difference so you are ok to get going and enjoy yourself. SA has top notch guest houses and you would be well looked after.

I would also suggest Washington DC and take a trip around Pennsylvania as an add on. Or go to Washington and then take the train to Philadelphia and fly back from there. Two cities in a week with excellent museums and galleries. You would not be bored!

Thank you, DH is a bit worried about Cape Town not being safe but I'd love to see the whales.

Maybe I need to go without him. I've never been out of Europe apart from one trip to New York so fancied something different.

Does anyone else have any other suggestions for a nice city with a different feel to the European ones?

Thank you

Cape Town is fine safety wise. It's no different from any big city. Would you wander round residential areas of London you don't know in the dark? No.
If you stick to main tourist areas and trips and don't go night time wandering it's fine.

Bangkok is a bit far for 7 days - you could do it and there is enough to see there but to be honest if you are going that far, you'd probably want to do a beach add on so I'd save it.

If you've not been to Venice, that has a totally different feel from a normal European city because its built on water. It's like no where else on earth. Worth considering even though its in Europe if you haven't been.

Marakessh/Casablanca/Fez in Morocco may fit your bill.

Cape Town is perfectly safe! Don’t go near a township and take reasonable precautions. Ditto in Bangkok and most big cities! All tourists should be careful but most crime in SA doesn’t involve tourists. I think your DH would be very surprised at the very upscale places you can stay and how wonderful it is.

I love Cape Town and this thread is making me want to go back.

Stellenbosch and the wine lands are beautiful and great fun if you are wine drinkers.

Bangkok is fine but I wouldn't stay there for a week. It is not a pretty city and is quite polluted. I'd head to Japan or China for a city break and actually potentially do 2 cities: Beijing/ Great Wall/ Shanghai ( might need 10 days) or Tokyo and Kyoto. It is a long way away but worth it for a completely different experience.
Marrakesh is a lovely place but again, a whole week there could be too much unless you go off for some trekking in the Atlas Mountains. And the food is amazing.
NYC is great place for a few days but not as cool as far Asia, in my opinion.

Cities to try: St Petersburg and Moscow. Perfect for a week. Lisbon and Porto. Nice and then travel along the coast. Switzerland. The mountains are wonderful in September. Base yourself near Interlaken for best rail connections. Anywhere in Italy!

Further afield: Boston is great as well as the other US cities I suggested.

Also in Europe: Stockholm and Gothenburg - expensive though. A cruise to the Norwegian fjords? Take the ferry to St Malo in Brittany or go to Normandy with a car. Try Santander and Bilbao. Or Seville, Córdoba and Grenada in Spain. They work well for a week.

I’ll stop now but there are so many fabulous options!

Thank you so much, I'll look into these. We loved Lisbon, and I love Amsterdam too.

I've looked at Cape Town (the hotels look gorgeous) but the flights are too pricey. I'm definitely going to convince DH to visit one day.

Does anyone think it might be a good place for a week? I'm very keen on somewhere in Asia.

Last question - if you were to add a beach break to Bangkok where would you recommend?

I'm looking for an easy way to get there as bit concerned about being our first time out of Europe and don't want to mess it up.

All in one week? I think it’s not a great idea due to time spent travelling. It wouldn’t be relaxing.

There are amazing guest houses in Cape Town for less than £100 a night. I think that’s very reasonable!

We can hopefully make it 10 days if we move a few things around.

The accommodation is very reasonable in Cape Town but flights are a few hundred more each, and there's 4 of us going so it's not going to be possible this time.

I love the look of it though

We've just come back from nearly 3 weeks in Thailand. While it was amazing, I'm not sure I'd recommend it for a short break - it's a heck of a journey for a week. Bangkok is fascinating but not an "easy" city - v busy, polluted, bad traffic means a lot of time on public transport etc which was fine but makes the trip a bit more complicated - and that's before you add in jet lag and the heat/humidity. If you have longer I'd recommend it combined with a few days at the beach - Koh Samui or Krabi are both delightful, real paradise beach destinations.

DH's boss has recommended Istanbul to him today, obviously much closer. Not sure if there would be enough to do there for a week though.

I'm not this indecisive usually but have a larger budget than normal, due to my lovely grandad leaving me some money for a holiday when he passed away.

If you can stretch to ten days then Thailand is good choice... we did 3 nights Bangkok then cheap internal flight down to krabi for beach. Not sure about september weather though for beach.

Other options; Boston and New England, marrakech.

Singapore is an amazing city . If I had 10 days I would spend some time in Singapore and then go to Malaysia- Penang ( Rasa Sayang hotel - rasa wing ) or Langkawi .

Bangkok for 4 days then 6 days beach break in southern Thailand?

Singapore with Malaysia beach break?

Marrakech with Atlas mountain hiking?

Somewhere like Dubai?

Not been to Istanbul but my stents enjoyed it!

Boston is amazing! And the surrounding countryside.

Alternatively Japan, which you can just about see some of in a week to make it worthwhile timeframe (Tokyo followed by bullet train to Kyoto).

Finally, Copenhagen and Malmo (obviously they are in Europe but Scandinavia has a totally different feel to Med countries so you might find it interesting if you haven't been).

Thailand is far too large and varied for one week, although Bangkok is absolutely amazing and one of my favourite cities. Save it for when you gave a fortnight or longer.

How about the Middle East - flight times are short, there's no jet lag and it feels different to Europe!

Jordan? Morocco? Oman?

Hanoi in Vietnam would probably be a better choice as you can do a side trip to Ha Long bay. Maybe worth checking out?

I don't think it's too far
We've been to Bangkok for 4 nights
And Hong Kong for 4 nights

I would definitely recommend Hong Kong if things settle down there

I would love to do Beijing next

Thanks very much for all the new suggestions, I'm going to have a lovely morning googling them all.