Parents help! - search for holiday destination in SE asia

[zuzkah]

Hi there to all! Im currently looking at the bright side of parenthood...planning a Holiday! Im after your personal experience and recommendation. We are flying to Australia with 8 month old baby in August and looking for a few days stopover somewhere nice, quiet and tropical...but child friendly, too. Where did you go and why? Thanks a lot.

Singapore! Great for a few days stopover. It's completely clean and extremely safe and stable (compared to surrounding countries!). It also has the best zoo and night safari in the world and lots of cheap shopping and food. All the food is perfectly safe to eat as well. I would definitely opt for Singapore if you are looking for child-friendly, cheap, safe and clean place to stopover for a few days.

Sounds great angel. Is there a beach close by? Im after some peace and quiet and Singapore sounds like a buzzing city...clean and great...but a city. Thanks for your opinion though.

Sentosa is a resort island just off Singapore that is famous for its beaches.

How far are you willing to travel from the stopover country?

I know Singapore is one, so is Bangkok (Thailand) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and there are beaches near all of them but probably mean a short domestic flight or ferry, which can be a hassle if your children are young and you only have a few days.

Bali, Indonesia is great.

Yes, I would recommend Sentosa (small island off Singapore that is a 'fun' island. There's a couple of resorts on the island itself. Rasa Sentosa is the main one.

Yes, problems with beaches in the other countries are the distance. Both Bangkok and KL are big cities right in the middle of the country and to get to their beaches, you will need to fly. TBH, the beaches in Singapore, even in Sentosa, ain't a patch on the Malaysian and Thai beaches but it's what you can do in those few days etc... Bali is fantastic but again, I doubt you will get a stopover flight there (I'm assuming that's what you intend to do - a stopover on the way to Oz?).

The other suggestion I would make is to stopover in Singapore and go to Bintan island. That is an Indonesian resort island about 45 minutes ferry ride from Singapore. It's gorgeous and peaceful there! Most people go there for a 3D/2N thing as there's not much to do there but relax (and play golf if that's your thing...). What you do get in Singapore is modernity, safety and cleanliness, which the other countries around there aren't particularly known for!

Thanks girls for the tips, Im going to google it and speak to some travel agencies. Im deeling with Trailfinders and Dial-a-flight. Do you know any more good ones?
I like the sound of the Bintan island.
Keep it coming, I always think that pesonal recommendation is the best way to go. Thanx

I'd second Singapore, I was on my own when I went but I'd love to take my 6yr old. Loads for kids to do and so clean and safe.
I went to Bali and Lombok with DD when she was 13 months though and had a great time.
Not sure about getting a stopover there though, I think the main places for stopovers are Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong