Hi

I'm looking for ideas for a short break for my wife and 12-year old for when he's off school in October - maybe up to one week in duration.

Last year we went to Hongkong Disney and they both enjoyed that so it may be a hard act to follow. I'm toying with maybe going to Singapore and taking them to Sentosa but my wife and I have been there before so I'd prefer somewhere different. They both have current passports and I would like to take them outside of Thailand so that they, he especially, get a feel for a different culture.

Any destination would need to be visa-free or visa on arrival. Wife has a long-term UK visa but that's not relevant really.

Any not too expensive suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

DM

Bali.

Not quite the Disneyland attractions but certainly a different cultural experience.

Edit: Angkor Wat.

Edited May 28, 201115 yr by PattayaParent

How about Vietnam, Saigon, get the visa easy enough for you, Thai's dont need one, then take the lad to Cu Chi tunnels etc and he can let rip with an AK47 on the shooting range there, crawl through the tunnels, look at evil man traps, much better than disney

How about Genting? Lots of action there for your kids.

I would like to take them outside of Thailand so that they' date=' he especially, get a feel for a different culture.

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I would recommend Bali for a cultural trip.

Agree with PP on Angkor if you havent been there before

How about Vietnam, Saigon, get the visa easy enough for you, Thai's dont need one, then take the lad to Cu Chi tunnels etc and he can let rip with an AK47 on the shooting range there, crawl through the tunnels, look at evil man traps, much better than disney

And outside of HCMC there's a couple of theme park places, not quite Disneyland though.

How about Vietnam, Saigon, get the visa easy enough for you, Thai's dont need one, then take the lad to Cu Chi tunnels etc and he can let rip with an AK47 on the shooting range there, crawl through the tunnels, look at evil man traps, much better than disney

Are you seriously suggesting a 12 year old be let loose with an AK47?

How about Vietnam, Saigon, get the visa easy enough for you, Thai's dont need one, then take the lad to Cu Chi tunnels etc and he can let rip with an AK47 on the shooting range there, crawl through the tunnels, look at evil man traps, much better than disney

Are you seriously suggesting a 12 year old be let loose with an AK47?

Why not? Its a military controlled range and the rifles are secured so they cant be turned off the range. Man up <deleted>

Quote:

How about Vietnam, Saigon, get the visa easy enough for you, Thai's dont need one, then take the lad to Cu Chi tunnels etc and he can let rip with an AK47 on the shooting range there, crawl through the tunnels, look at evil man traps, much better than disney

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Good idea the boy will love it.

Then to plese the wife take the short hydro-foil trip to Vung Tau a beach resort just south of Saigon (Saigon is called Ho Chi Minh city now).

A 5 day itinery something like this:

1st day Fly to Ho Chi Minh and check into hotel for first night. If time a tour of Market area there.

2nd day a trip to Cu Chi for the boy, then return to Saigon.

3rd day the hydrofoil trip to Vung Tau and find a hotel. Dinner out in one of those sea-food restaurants by the sea.

4th day on the beach.

5th day check out of hotel, and by bus or hydrofoil back to Saigon. Either another night in hotel in Saigon or take a night flight back to Thailand.

The trip from Saigon to Vung Tau is less than an hour by hydrofoil...so I guess it could be a day trip if the hydrofoil leaves early enough and returns the same day. You would miss the seafood dinner on the beach however.

The hydrofoil is over 30 yeras old, and supplied by the Russians to Vietnam, but I understand it still runs well and is safe. Many tourists take it so the government maintains it well from what I hear. A bus trip from Vung Tau to Saigon would take much of the day...and just about gaurentees you will have to spend another night in Saigon, but you would see a lot of the Vietnamese countryside by doing it.

Vietnam is a good choice.

Fly into Hanoi and go to Sapa and Halong Bay.

Thai people seem to like Vietnam. It is a very popular destination. The cheap price of lovely sea-food and the shopping seem to be major attractions. Not sure about the AK47.

This is a about turn but how did you organise yhe Hong Kong Disney trip? Was it a package? Very intetested to take my family thete.Thanks Dave

This is a about turn but how did you organise yhe Hong Kong Disney trip? Was it a package? Very intetested to take my family thete.Thanks Dave

Get on plane fly to HK, get in a hotel and catch the train to HK Disney.....HK Disney is ok....but even the kids will be bored after the second day...

This is a about turn but how did you organise yhe Hong Kong Disney trip? Was it a package? Very intetested to take my family thete.Thanks Dave

Hi David

We got an all-in package deal from Cathay Pacific. The basic package was for two nights at the Disneyland or Hollywood hotels, located just outside the Disney Park. Park tickets and transfers were included. We thought that we would like like an additional night and we did this but it did put the cost up considerably. We took the Hollywood Hotel option as it was slightly cheaper. It was fine for what we needed but maybe a bit lacking in facilities. Not a cheap place as visitors are a bit of a captive market.

The Disney Park itself is small compared to the USA versions but there's enough there to fill a whole day and you can always go back the next night to watch the fireworks - although we could see these just as well from our hotel window.

Free shuttle buses run between the two hotels, the Park and the local MTR system so it's easy enough to get into Hongkong city if you have time. We missed out on this as my wife and I have been to Hongkong before and the lad wasn't really interested. Instead, we took the cable car up to the Giant Buddha on Lantau Island - very convenient to get to from Disney and the views are spectacular if the weather is clear.

If you're not too bothered about all the Disney-themed kitsch in the hotels and just want to go to the Park it would be quite viable to stay in the city and travel out to the Park on the MTR. It's about a 40-minute trip if I remember rightly. If you decided to do it this way I would recommend to you the Salisbury Hotel, right next door to the Peninsula Hotel and about a five minute walk to the harbour ferries. The Salisbury is labelled as a YMCA but in actual fact is just a normal 4* hotel. It's adequate, if not luxurious, and the location is second to none!

For what it's worth, we made our trip in October, last year, and timed it to coincide with the special Halloween events that were taking place at the park. Ghoulies and Ghosties and that type of thing.

Overall, the trip was a great success and, as I said in my OP it will be a hard act to follow.

I hope this info is of some use to you.

Cheers,

DM

This is a about turn but how did you organise yhe Hong Kong Disney trip? Was it a package? Very intetested to take my family thete.Thanks Dave

Sorry, duplicate post - system playing up!

Edited May 29, 201115 yr by doctormann

This is a about turn but how did you organise yhe Hong Kong Disney trip? Was it a package? Very intetested to take my family thete.Thanks Dave

Sorry, triplicate post - <deleted>!!

Edited May 29, 201115 yr by doctormann

This is a about turn but how did you organise yhe Hong Kong Disney trip? Was it a package? Very intetested to take my family thete.Thanks Dave

Get on plane fly to HK, get in a hotel and catch the train to HK Disney.....HK Disney is ok....but even the kids will be bored after the second day...

Yes, I've suggested this to David. One whole day at the park is enough and afterwards you tend to be a bit knackered so the advice is to do something else on the second day and then go back to the Park for the evening fireworks and parades.

DM

Many thanks to those who replied.

I'll certainly bear Vietnam in mind as it's somewhere I haven't been yet. I'm not sure about the AK47s though - the lad spends quite enough time playing shoot-em-up on his PC already!

I'd like to go to Angkor but I'm not sure that I fancy dragging a 12 year old round the ruins. Interesting for me but probably less so for him I suspect!

Bali is good for a relaxing break - been twice already and want to go back to stay in Ubud but I'm not sure that it's really a kiddies destination.

DM

What about skiing in sth Korea? I heard that is a reasonably cheap holiday from Thailand ?

Vietnam is a good choice.

Fly into Hanoi and go to Sapa and Halong Bay.

It's a bit much to do in a short trip, one or the other for a 5 day trip or both for 2 weeks.

How about Vietnam, Saigon, get the visa easy enough for you, Thai's dont need one, then take the lad to Cu Chi tunnels etc and he can let rip with an AK47 on the shooting range there, crawl through the tunnels, look at evil man traps, much better than disney

Are you seriously suggesting a 12 year old be let loose with an AK47?