Five week Asia itinerary suggestions for summer school holidays

[Happytraveller24]

Looking for potential itineraries for spending five weeks over this summer break in Asia. From mid-July to mid-August. Original plan was to spend one week in place beginning with KL Malaysia, then Bangkok, Ho Chi Min Vietnam, South Korean and ending in Tokyo.
Any recommendations on places or order of countries welcome.

5 weeks is no time really. I'd focus on one or two countries and look at the weather.

We are going to Malaysia and Hong Kong this summer, we’ve got 5 nights in KL, then on to Borneo, 1 night Kinabatangan River Cruise 2 nights Kota Kinabalu and 5 nights in a resort before we fly to HK for 2 nights. Obviously can’t vouch for any of these places as we’ve not been before, but I am excited for it!

KL is like a giant shopping mall. Not much beyond the towers and food.

Am inclined to agree. Although I really enjoyed the Islamic art museum.

You’re going all the way to Borneo for 1 night on the river? It deserves at least 2-3, in my opinion.

Roughly roughly, most of the transport is inexpensive train and coaches -

Singapore (from Singapore, you can take a boat to Indonesia if you want to add an extra country) & train to Malaysia 1.5 weeks

Start in Singapore (3 nights to get over jet lag) → Singapore Woodlands Station → Cross-boarder train to Gemas, Malaysia (en route to Kuala Lumpur/Ipoh) → Merapoh Station (for Taman Negara) → jungle line → Penang (George Town) → Kuala Perlis → Langkawi → Langkawi (Datai Bay) → Langkawi → Padang Besar (Malaysian/Thai Boarder)

Thailand (1 week)
Hat Yai → Phuket (fly) → Bangkok → Vientiane (Laos)

Loas (1 week)
Vientiane → Luang Prabang (1 week - Laos China Trains are excellent)

Vietnam
Da Nang → Hoi An → Hanoi

Japan (1 week)
(Fly) Tokyo → Osaka → Kyoto

( I would skip Japan and head to Cambodia, Siem Reap though; Japan needs its own holiday.)

We loved the petrol museum in KL This one. Also drove to tea plantations in cameron Highlands as a day trip from there. But i probably wouldn't spend a whole week in KL

Koh Samui seems to have reasonable weather in July/August if you want Thai beaches.

Siem Reap in cambodia would be fabulous addition to your itinerary. I think they have a mekong delta cruise from there down to vietnam.

Im about to take dd to vietnam as post gcse trip, so can't comment on that yet. China currently has visa free travel so we're having our stopover there (avoiding middle east stopovers)

Are you going by yourself or with dc (what ages)? Also, what are your main interests (history, food, yoga retreat, nature, big cities, beach, shopping, etc) - as that will help guide peoples recommendations. Also, do you have a rough budget?

It's monsoon season.The idea of getting the ferry from Penang to Langkawi in rough seas - ugh. Really not much point if it's rainy. And going from Hat Yai to Phuket in rainy season? Why?? If anything, better to go to the Gulf of Thailand islands as it's not rainy there and you can get ferry from Surat Thani.

It's monsoon season.The idea of getting the ferry from Penang to Langkawi in rough seas - ugh. Really not much point if it's rainy. And going from Hat Yai to Phuket in rainy season? Why?? If anything, better to go to the Gulf of Thailand islands as it's not rainy there and you can get ferry from Surat Thani.

I have to agree. Rain in the warm might be a bit different to cold rain, but it’s not the same IMO

Yes you can say you’ve been, but…

i have used the selective Asia website for checking weather in different areas- pretty good ime. A pp suggested Siem Reap but August weather will be poor.

Agree. Plenty of dry areas to visit at that time so why risk biblical level rainfall?

We did 3 weeks in Malaysia, our highlights were:
Petroleum museum in KL
Kidzania in KL
Otherwise KL was underwhelming
Penang - street art, beaches, waterpark. we treated ourselves to the Shangri-La at a fraction of the price elsewhere in the world, the breakfast alone was worth it!
Langkawi - mangroves boat trip, waterfalls hike, 3D art museum at the cable car.
Borneo - Kuching:
The rainforest resort has tree houses, genuine hikes into the rainforest, beautiful beaches, and lots of wildlife. Get a walking guide for seeing cool stuff.
We also did a night in Bako national park, but I wouldn't do this as well as the rainforest resort.
The cultural museum was really interesting to me, maybe for older kids.
Orangutan centre - not guaranteed to see them, so go early in your trip in case you want to go back again.

We also did one day in Singapore, highlights were:
Waterworks museum in the Gardens By three bay
Super tree Grove, especially the splash park and the light show
The food hall Lau Pa Sat

Boat trips generally were an overall highlight - nice and cool on the water with the wind generated, local guide and lots to see.