Best stop-overs on the way to Australia

[SabbatWheel]

Next Christmas we’re off to Aus for the Ashes.

What are your best recommendations for places and experiences for a 1 or 2 night stopover on the way there / back please?
We’ll be flying into Adelaide and back from Sydney.

Thanks.

Singapore. Best airport in the world. Plenty of good hotels near to the airport, plenty to see and do.

1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. Bangkok

In order. But then I enjoy Asia!

Singapore! I have stopped there several times over the past 10 years on the way to or from Aus / NZ and loved it every time.

Singapore.

Another vote for Singapore. It's brilliant, you can see the major sights, have a walk round and definitely a Singapore sling in Raffles.

Yes, Singapore is the one.

One thing I would say is that one trip we did was out to Oz direct via Singapore and back via a 3 day stopover for a work conference in Seattle. My digestive system had no idea what was going on time zone wise

If just for a couple of days, then Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

Definitely Singapore.

Always Singapore. Loads to do, fantastic food, top class hotels that don’t cost a fortune.

Stop over less than 12 hours Singapore, or if overnight then Hong Kong

Singapore is efficient, easy access to some fun stuff and a great hotel to refresh in. So if it's not a particularly long stopover, then it's the best bet.
Hong Kong is much more interesting to explore so if you have a longer time I'd stay overnight and take advantage of that. Bangkok would be similar but the traffic makes it harder to cram in as much.

Singapore is a "safe" option. The airport is wonderful (and you will be spending a big chunk of your time there). There is plenty to eat/see/do there.

It's hard work doing a "straight through" journey, it is good that you are considering the various stop-over options.

I'd use a proper Aussie specialist travel agent and get it "packaged".

Fab thanks everyone for your information, really helpful.x

It's tempting to only look at the stopovers flying east but there's nothing stopping you flying west - after doing all the major stopovers in Asia we fancied a change one year and flew with Air Canada with a stop in Calgary on the way out (spent a few days in Banff) and then in Vancouver on the way back. It was amazing and by far my favourite!

At Christmas time, Singapore will be wet, wet and wet. And humid. And hot. But not pleasant hot. Sticky hot with the highest humidity of the year.
In December, my pick would be Dubai.

Singapore is like that all year round

Singapore would be my choice

The temperature is the same all year round. Rainfall is not.

Exactly my point. The is hot, and then there is hot and very wet. Thank you @saraclara

I lived there

Hong Kong is wonderful. Singapore is an easy option and still interesting, but doesn't compare to Hong Kong. If you're flying into ADL there aren't so many options that will do a direct Asia - Adelaide (without adding in MEL or SYD) so maybe look at flight options. Usually it's Singapore, Dubai, Doha, KL. Cathay Pacific (for HK) usually goes through Mel or Syd.

I live in ADL if you want any tips for here!

I’d probably go to HK. It will be winter but that’s not a bad thing as winter is v mild ( they do the cold weather warning when it hits 16 degrees). Weather around Christmas is normally pretty nice with low humidity and some lovely sunny days. It’s not as compact as Singapore but still v easy to navigate/ get into town from the airport. V good and cheap public transport and taxis ( and uber). Lots to do and see for a few days.

One issue though is HKG isn’t exactly “on the way” between Europe and Adelaide, certainly not ATM.

Unless current airspace closures ease in the wake of any Ukraine peace deal going via HKG involves doing pretty much the equivalent of Europe -SIN or BKK for sector one, and then doing a lengthy second sector southbound from HKG to ADL.

You’re probably adding a couple of hours onto the overall flying time verses via SIN/BKK/KUL, and there also might be the issue of frequency of non-stop services between HKG-ADL, the locals will have the answer to that.

HKG has it’s good points, sure, but it might not be the optimum stopover.