Thailand or Malaysia - Nov/Dec

[LaLaFlottes]

Hi All,
We are deciding between two holidays and I wondered if anyone had any thoughts as we are going round in circles!

Thailand:
3 nights Bangkok
5 nights Koh Lanta in the Pimalai Hotel
3 nights Krabi in Dusit Thani Resort

Malaysia:
3 nights Kuala Lumpur - Hotel Stripes
4 nights - Penang - Shangri-La Rasa Sayang
4 nights - Langkawi - Berjaya Langkawi Beach Resort Hotel or the Pelangi Beach Resort

Both sounds great holidays - but we can only go on one!! We have decided these two itineraries suit us so probably won't change, it's just deciding between the two.

Thank you!

We were considering these for Christmas, having previously been to both. I was originally more angling for Thailand as it's got so much to do and it's very walkable at that time of year, the heat is fairly pleasant. However, I'm not sure I'd be considering Thailand until we know what's going on with their conflict with Cambodia now. Malaysia's nice but OMG the heat in KL is something else. I couldn't walk far down the road without having to stop last time we were there, and spent a lot of time in the hotel's pool or the local shopping centre.
Sorry probably not much help, but I'm holding off on booking anything until the situation with Thailand/Cambodia unfolds a bit more.

We’re just coming to the end of a Thailand/Malaysia combo trip and there have been highlights in both.

I prefer Bangkok over KL for the city experience, KL is a difficult city to walk round in that it’s not easy to navigate, so we ended up taking Grab taxis often and missed out on the enjoyment of just walking round admiring the buildings.

Krabi is gorgeous but 3 days may not be enough, you could easily spend 3 days in each of Ao Nang and Railay Beach.

Penang/Georgetown are lovely, although not the best beaches, but great food and a lovely city to walk and people watch. And Langkawi is very relaxed with great beaches. I’m not familiar with any of the hotels you mentioned, would be happy to recommend ours but you may be committed to the ones you’ve named.

I don’t think you’d regret either tbh, I’d just spend less time in KL and more on the islands if you choose Malaysia.

We stayed at the Shangri-la rasa sayang in Feb for a week. It's the finest hotel I have ever stayed in. We were in the rasa wing with it's afternoon tea and cocktails and canapes. Stay are amazing and we truly loved it. Also spent a week at the Eastern and Oriental which was lovely but not as good as Shangri-la.

Thailand over Malaysia and Ko Lanta over Penang ALL day long. Also, the Pimalai is an absolute belter of a hotel on a really lovely beach. Finally, agree with pp Bangkok is SO much better a city experience than KL.

Bangkok is better than Kuala Lumpur but I love Langkawi. There isn’t a massive amount to do in Langkawi but I loved Ritz Carlton there. We’ve been twice & stayed in the overwater villa suite and there was so much to do onsite without leaving the resort.

Hi All - just coming back to update this thread as I realised I hadn't.

Thank you all for your input, much appreciated.

We decided to stick with the original plan and have booked Thailand. Really looking forward to it!

@EstherGreenwood63 I'm glad to see your comment about the Pimalai. We're there for 5 nights and really looking forward to it.

Thanks!

@LaLaFlottes did you book the accommodation independently or through an agency? Looking to do something similar next year.

@IDontKnowWhatYouMean we booked through TravelBag and they have been brilliant. I thought having the extra protection that comes via booking with an agent was a good thing and when I priced it all myself, it didn’t cost any more to book with them .

Have fun planning your trip!