Far East June 2011 twin centre?

miamoo

I want to book a big holiday next June to the Far East, we have never been before, and I am pretty nervous about booking it all myself so I would like to book a package, if I can get one in budget.

We want to go during June 2011 flying from Manchester, for approx 10 days (3 days city, 7 days beach) looking at either Singapore or Hong kong and then Phuket,Bali possibly, Penang, but open to suggestions.

I have used kuoni to get an idea of prices, they are coming out at £2,500 my budget is £2,000, where else can I book a far east package? Thanks for reading

Incapuppy

Have a look at Travelbag Asia's site. They will, like many others, tailormake, but they have a quite a few suggestions of multi-centres with different durations and star ratings.

roadatlas

We go to Bali regularly and book direct with the hotels. A good and reputable booking website is balidiscovery and another good site is balitravelforum it's a very busy site so will get a quick answer to any hotel questions.

We often travel to Bali in May/June and it's a great time to travel to Bali as the weather is great and it's still the low season price wise for hotels as they go up in July for the European holiday season.

We also travel regularly to Phuket (we are in Australia so a little bit closer than you) June in Phuket is the wet season but the hotel often offer a 2 for 1 deal. We generally travel to Phuket in October which is still the wet season and have never had too much rain that spoilt our holiday.

Personally, 10 days for me would be too short and I'd go for 2 weeks if possible as you loose so much of your holiday travelling and recovering from the time difference. We was in Penang last October which was our 2nd time, we stayed at the Park Royale in Batu Ferringhi, the hotel was beautiful but so was the price (for us anyway) however, it was a bit too high rise for me. I don't think we'll return to Penang any time soon as we found a huge difference after 10 years absence. The place is run down and we found a lot of places shut down... gone were the fabulous little cheap restaurants that suddenly appeared at night.

Of course it's your call where you go but if you choose Bali don't leave it too late as you will find it difficult to get in popular areas. We book 12 months in advance.

Have a great trip :-)

miamoo

Thanks for the replies, I will check out the websites you recommended roadatlas. Bali does sound a good option considering the weather at that time of year, whats the safety like there now?
What other beach resorts have good weather in June (Far east)?

Incapuppy that website is great, none of the prices go as far as June yet, but it does give you a really good idea, I dont want to start ringing round yet untill I have a clearer idea what I want myself!

Toothfairy4

Thanks as I am also looking for a multi-centre to Bali and Hong Kong for my honeymoon next year, your advice has been really useful

miamoo

Toothfairy if you find any good deals then let me know!

roadatlas

I can't speak for the ultimate safety of the island as terrorism can and does happen anywhere. But all the hotels have security and check underneath vehicles with mirrors etc. the island is back to normal and buzzing again.

We spend few nights in the middle of our holiday in Ubud at Tegal Sari over looking the rice paddies and reasonably priced, it's very popular and have to book early. The only annoying thing is you have to pay 100% on booking but they do have a fair cancellation policy... but once you've paid, you've paid.

I find British travel agents tend to send their clients to Nusa Dua and whilst very nice you are in an enclave of high end hotels with high end prices to match with mainly European, Japanese guests. Food and drinks are at horrific prices though you can go to the local village to eat. It's been a while since we've stay down there so my info is out of date... but I do know it hasn't got any cheaper. LoL.

There are nice hotels in Legian. Bali Padma (trip advisor reviews are not good at the moment as a LOT of people have been sick recently) but having said that it is a lovely hotel. Also the Mandira which is in a top spot and near the restaurants. There are lots of beach bars on the beach for sunset drinks.

Trip advisor Bali forum is another good place to gain information.

Incapuppy

We went to Bali last September booked through Virgin (utilising clubcard vouchers) staying 10 nights in Sanur and 4 in Ubud and had a wonderful time.

Sign up to email updates from the airlines, that way you can take advantage of any sales they might have (our price with Virgin included sale price fares with Malaysia Airlines)

Toothfairy4

Will do miamoo! We were thinking of going to Seminyak, anyone have any experience of what it's like there?

RossTCX

Hi Miamoo,

For a big tailor-made holiday package similar to what you're asking for, you may be better off visiting one of your local travel agents. The majority of staff deal with with enquiries of a similar nature several times a week and would be happy to advise on any destinations you may have decided on.

I also know Kuoni to be one of the more expensive companies, might be worth trying someone like Thomas Cook Signature or Gold Medal too, just to see how prices compare - it's definitely worth shopping around for something like this. Again, your agent would happily do this and try and find you the best costing.

Hope this helps

Luckyred

I agree that its best to shop around as much as you can. It can work out quite pricey especially as a lot of hotels in Hong Kong are expensive. Also its an awfully long way to go for for ten days. I would try for two weeks if you can. We went for three weeks and booked with Colors of Asia after shopping around. I don't know if they are still in business but they were very good indeed.