Asia in December

[goldengirlz]

So H said that if we skip all other vacations this year, we can do a BIG trip over Christmas/New Year’s. We’ll have up to 2.5 weeks.

Australia, South America and Asia are all on the table, but I’m leaning toward Asia because I’ve only been to one country there so far (Japan) and it’s likely I’ll get to go to Australia for work this year. I really want to do Vietnam and Cambodia; H would like to go to Thailand. (Maybe we could do all three?)

Where would you go in December? We like sightseeing in cities but we particularly enjoy getting out into nature (beaches, hiking, anything with animals). We love good food. DD will be 8, almost 9.

Any suggestions?

[origami]

You could do all 3 on a long trip. We did Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos in 1 trip a few christmases ago. It was great! Northern Thailand has elephant sanctuaries that your kids would love. Ha long bay can get cold in December but when we went it was perfect. The only thing you wouldn’t get a lot of time at with that kind of itinerary is a beach.

[neonpink]

I have a friend that just went to Thailand and the Phillipines (to visit family) over Christmas. She loved Bangkok and had a great time but did not enjoy Phuket. She said it was very very crowded. Just a heads up. It wouldn't stop me from going but It might make prices jump higher for hotels, etc.

I'm heading to Australia in November, I get two weeks off at Christmas but couldn't swing the airfare at that time. The price out of my main airport on the East Coast has solidly been $2,700+ for the month of December. I picked up a flight with one stop in LA for $581 over Thanksgiving.

[lacey]

We went to Thailand in November several years ago and loved it. We spent 5 nights in Bangkok and that was too much, three probably would have been sufficient. 3 or 4 nights in Chiang Mai and loved it! We went to an elephant sanctuary, a cooking class, and walked around the city. We spent 4 nights on Ko Phi Phi Don and really enjoyed that as well. We got scuba certified there so that took up a chunk of our time. We really enjoyed the island but it was very low key. A handful of resorts and restaurants. Great for relaxing, but not for land exploring or night life.

We paired that trip with several days in Tokyo, which obviously won't be of interest to you.I think you could do 3 nights in Bangkok and 3 nights in Chiang Mai and still have a decent chunk of time for other countries. Give yourself a little extra time at your first location to adjust to the time difference.

[rupertpenny]

I would do Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Thailand is great, but it can be a whole trip on it's own and I feel like the other three are changing quickly. You might want to go now before they all turn into, well, Thailand.

Norther Vietnam will probably be quite cool over Christmas (although who knows, this winter has been very warm) but the South will be hot. You could definitely work in some beach time in Vietnam or Cambodia if you really want to. Otherwise I think that finding a hotel with a good pool can be enough. And you will want a pool because you will be very hot.

If you do go with Thailand I was in Phuket for Christmas a few years ago and the weather was perfect. I wouldn't really recommend Phuket, other islands are better, but the weather will be similar on the Andaman side.

[goldengirlz]

This all sounds amazing!!

[GilliC]

We spent two weeks including Christmas and New Year's in southern Vietnam and Cambodia. We started in Ho Chi Minh (because we found cheap flights), and then did a few nights cruising the Mekong delta on a converted rice barge. Then we traveled overland through southern Vietnam to the Cambodian border and spent a few days relaxing near Kep. Then up to Phnom Penh, and a night bus over to Battambang. Spent a day riding the fascinating local ferry up the river to Siem Reap, and then flew back to HCMC for our return flight.

Southern Vietnam was interesting, but it's a bit off the beaten track. I'm glad we had a private guide, but aside from the Mekong, I didn't enjoy it as much as other parts of Vietnam I've visited. I loved Cambodia but I was not a fan of Siem Reap. Angkor Wat and Bang Melea were worth the hassle, but after the charm of the rest of the country, the city itself was way too touristy. Battambang was a surprise gem, and we were glad we made the effort to visit. There wasn't much in town, but we spent a day touring the countryside with a local remok driver, and the bamboo train was fun and unique. We also did a great cooking class with a local market tour to get the ingredients. And the river boat was a huge highlight, since we got to see all the floating communities along the way and watch as people and goods were shuttled to and from our boat as it passed. I'd heard a lot of disappointing write-ups about the tours from Siem Reap to the floating villages, so we were glad to see them in a non-tourist situation.

[scout8]

I've been to both Asia and South America in December. I don't think you would go wrong with either option that time of year.

We did Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos one year, but we were there for a month. For 2 1/2 weeks, I'd probably stick with two countries.

For South America, what about Chile or Argentina, spending part of the time in Patagonia?

I know you didn't mention it, but we were in Sri Lanka this past December. It has all the things on your list--tons of animals, great hiking, and beautiful beaches. I couldn't believe how much there was in such a small country. It is far though!

[GilliC]

I overlooked the non-Asia bits when I answered before!

I've also been to Australia for Christmas & New Year's. I'm not sure I would recommend it, but it was interesting. It's the peak of summer, and a lot of people have the tradition of going to the beach on Christmas Day. Overall, I would rather be exploring when it's not quite as hot.

In South America, I've been to Buenos Aires and Ushuaia in early December. Climate-wise it's quite nice (Ushuaia is definitely cooler, so each required slightly different packing). And I've spent Christmas & New Year's in Rio, which was tons of fun. I love all the Brazilian NYE traditions (there are so many), and heading down to Copacabana Beach to watch the fireworks with half a million other people nearly all dressed in white was pretty incredible!

Other places in Asia that I've spent the holidays are China and India.

China is a really weird place to spend Christmas! In Xian on Christmas Eve, there were people hanging out around the big central Christmas tree selling bunny ears and Scream masks! And in Beijing, the holiday was marked by local bars having theme nights like "Merry Pimpmas." Holiday weirdness aside, it's actually not a bad time to visit China. It's colder weather, but it's typically around freezing and not too far below. And the tourist crowds are typically pretty low. However, it's not great if you plan to do any hiking in the mountains. We were doing a day hike at Hua-shan when it started to snow a little. It was beautiful, but the rock paths started to get very slippery, and we decided to head back early.

Late December in India is a very nice time to visit. We spent the Christmas holiday with family in Bombay and then spent a little over a week touring Kerala and Kanyakumari. Climate-wise, it was warm but not brutally hot, so we were very comfortable relaxing on our backwaters cruise and spending a few days at the beach in Kovalam. Goa can get quite crowded with European visitors around the holidays, but Kovalam was a bit quieter.

[goldengirlz]

Feb 14, 2019 20:57:19 GMT -5 scout8 said:

I've been to both Asia and South America in December. I don't think you would go wrong with either option that time of year.

We did Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos one year, but we were there for a month. For 2 1/2 weeks, I'd probably stick with two countries.

For South America, what about Chile or Argentina, spending part of the time in Patagonia?

I know you didn't mention it, but we were in Sri Lanka this past December. It has all the things on your list--tons of animals, great hiking, and beautiful beaches. I couldn't believe how much there was in such a small country. It is far though!

I know someone who did Sri Lanka for her honeymoon — I’ll definitely check that out.

Both Argentina and Chile are high on the lifetime list. So many good places to visit!