Southeast Asia in august...recommendations please?

[Kitsmummy]

My children are teenagers and having been with a close relative when she passed away this week, it has really hit home that life is too short. I want to take my children and partner on a once in a lifetime (for us) holiday to somewhere in Southeast Asia. I want beautiful beaches but I also want different culture and completely different experiences. I want the children to see a completely different lifestyle to what we know over here.

Please hit me with your suggestions! I'm considering Vietnam, Thailand, Borneo. If it's Thailand I obviously don't want the seedy side of Thailand!

I don't need luxury all holiday but would like some. Id like to sleep a couple of nights in a bungalow over the sea, go in jungles, eat street food,travel on trains. Id like to experience everythjng!

I think I e probably made myself sound like a hideous twatty tourist now, but id like a big adventure that we'll never forget.

Ps open to anywhere that meets this criteria. Oh and august is non negotiable I'm afraid.

Budget somewhere in region of £8k for 4 of us (spending money on top). We could go up a bit but this isn't a £15k holiday for example.

Thank you!

I’d suggest Sri Lanka except there’s a bit of unrest there at the moment. August can be a bit dodgy in terms of weather in SE Asia.
thewanderingquinn.com/best-places-to-travel-in-asia-in-july-august/

Thailand might be quite chilly on August. Still beautiful and amazing - my favourite place on Earth, but you'd need a jumper on the beach. And it would rain most days too. However, of you are going there from the UK, it might still feel a bit warmer than home.

Ko Samui/Phangan/Tao weather ok over there in aug

How long do you want to go for?

August isn't a great time for SE Asia (I used to live there). It's typhoon season and rainy season in much of the area so you need to choose your location carefully.

Bali/Indonesia is good in August although peak season so expensive and busy. East coast Malaysia is good (so Perhentian Islands etc) but west coast (Penang, Langkawi etc) will be hot and very humid with very heavy (but usually short) rainfall most/all days. The southern part of Borneo can be dry but the resorts (Kota Kinabalu) are more likely to be a mix of rain and sun.

If it's a once in a lifetime holiday, I'd either go to Bali or change your dates so you're not visiting at pretty much the worst time of year for weather. I actually love the rainy season but it's not ideal if this might be your only visit there.

Another for Bali - best weather but high season.

@sdra

Ko Samui/Phangan/Tao weather ok over there in aug

It's only 'ok' though. As in it can be quite mixed, sun in the morning then clouds over and heavy rain for a while in the afternoon. I quite like it but a bit rubbish for the OP if it's her only ever trip there. And it'd be nice to combine it with Bangkok but the weather there will be wet.

We went to a cousins wedding in Bali in August 2017. We did a week in Bali (warm and dry) with family then I went over to the Gili islands for 2 nights on the fast boats. I then flew to Singapore (very warm and dry) for a few nights to explore the city. On to Hanoi for a bit (hot and humid), did a 2 night junk boat cruise in Halong Bay (torrential rain on way back), then ended the trip in Bangkok (hot, humid and thunderstorms every night). Before flying home.

We stayed in mid range/budget hotels/a 5 star in Hanoi. The entire trip cost me just under £2000 including all the flights, hotels and trips I booked beforehand. Can't remember how much spending money as it was all in different currencies.

It's fantastic out there and you will love it.

Although Bali is high season take a look on booking.com to see the prices of some amazing looking hotels and villas. Drivers are pretty cheap (about £35 for a car and driver for the day). You could do 5 nights Ubud, then head to the Gili islands then perhaps some time around the Bali coast (Sanur?)
Our almost 4 week trip will (hopefully) be Ubud to Amed to Gili Trawagan to Rinjani (Lombok) to selong belanak to uluwatu. Can’t wait!

We travelled to Vietnam in august and weather wise, it was perfect for us. Hot but not excessively, and although rainy season, we only got caught in one storm the entire trip (in a micro climate). It has been my favourite trip to date, and I’d describe us as reasonably well travelled. Happy to share our itinerary.

For those recommending Vietnam - please be aware that weather is massively different in North vs South. August is a rainy season in South, so I would avoid that part (unless you love storms). Hanoi and central Vietnam is ok if you can tolerate high temperature. I'd recommend Hoi An and Da Nang in central Vietnam - amazing beaches and Hoi An ancient town is on UNESCO list, so really worth visiting.

Agree with pp, weather is not great in August.
Malaysian Borneo, Brunei, central Vietnam, Java, Bali are all dry and I have had reasonable weather in Luang Prabang at that time.
Personally, I would opt for central Vietnam. I have visited Hue, Hoi An and Hanoi in the summer. Had a couple of rainy days in Hanoi, but plenty of museums etc so easy to avoid a downpour. Hue and Hoi An were dry, but extremely hot. We had 45 degrees in Hoi An and it was really quite uncomfortable at times.

I have been to Vietnam many times (used to live in China) and domestic flights are good value (Viet Jet) and also good value to hire a car and driver: we did this to travel from Hoi An to Hue and also from HCMC to Vung Tau and to hotel on Mekong.
Really ready to organise and book your own itinerary.

Easy, not ready!

Don’t go in August would be my advice....weather unpredictable...that said Indonesia should be ok....we loved Bali / Lombok

@ShanghaiDiva

I have been to Vietnam many times (used to live in China) and domestic flights are good value (Viet Jet) and also good value to hire a car and driver: we did this to travel from Hoi An to Hue and also from HCMC to Vung Tau and to hotel on Mekong. Really ready to organise and book your own itinerary.

Just want to add that Da Nang to Hue on a train is also a great experience (and the view is breathtaking).

We had a fantastic trip in August 2019 with a similar budget to you. 3 nights in Singapore, although I’d stay longer if you can, then east coast Malaysia for 10 nights on 2 different islands. Then we headed over to Malacca and Kuala Lumpur for 8 nights in total.

The first of the 2 beach resorts was a mumsnet recommendation which I’m happy to pass on but don’t tell everyone! They pick you up from Singapore.
www.siburesort.com/

The other island was Tioman, where the snorkelling was incredible but there wasn’t much to do in the evenings that we could find, apparently as it was low season. Our kids weren’t teens though.

We chose areas where the rainfall would be minimal, and hardly had any. Happy planning!

On a side note I can really recommend Bhutan - it is probably a different type of country to those in SE Asia, but it is a truly unique - extremely safe and with interesting culture. August would be the perfect time to visit.

And sorry about the loss of your close relative, op. 💐

@CocoLoco123

On a side note I can really recommend Bhutan - it is probably a different type of country to those in SE Asia, but it is a truly unique - extremely safe and with interesting culture. August would be the perfect time to visit.

August is not the perfect time to visit Bhutan as it can still be quite wet.

Wow I didn't expect this many replies, that is so helpful, thank you. I can be a bit more focussed now I think.

@sheriffcalie yes I would love to see your itinerary please

And @emmacb1 thank you for the flowers x

We have done Kuala Lumpur,(city), Penang, (tropical/town), and langkawi (honeymoon island) in Malaysia.

You can even get boat trips from langkawi to Thailand.

Vietnam and Cambodia for 5 weeks in August 2017 was my best holiday experience ever.
My daughter was 12 at the time and she also loved it.

I second Vietnam and Cambodia, if you don’t mind the odd thunderstorm.