Singapore Expats

I have my parents coming in less than 2 weeks and I want to book a trip for us all to go to either Malaysia or Indonesia with my children. I don't know where, which hotel and where to get budget flights. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We are on a budget but we would like it also to be a nice surprise for my parents and the kids. Please enlighten me.[/b]

Sound like its a big group going. If you want something cheap, you should either try
1) Bintan or Batam (Ferries are fixed price. Accommodation in Batam is cheaper but personally, I don't like Batam too much. Bintan is more commercialized but nicer than Batam)
2)Rent a MPV and drive up to Malaysia. You can try either Malacca, or East Coast of Malaysia. East Coast might be a bit wet now, so you need to check. I stayed in Hyatt @ Kuantan once. The rooms are pretty dated, but the facilities are pretty good, especially when you have kids. The pool is nice, and there is a tennis court and entertainment room (I think) too.

Its Xmas season and flight tickets are obscene in prices. Although yesterday, I just saw Emirates (via airfares.com) offering flight tickets to Melbourne for $700 plus (including taxes) during this festive season. You might want to check that out, if that fit into your "tight" budget.

you can try kuala lumpur in malaysia. if you're tight on cash you can take a coach up. a great way to see malaysia's greenery. there are a couple of pit stops on the way where you can try cheap and good local food. a coach ticket typically costs about 25-80SGD per trip, depending on which type you prefer.

kl's hotels are relatively cheap. Capitol, which is near bukit bintang, starts from 100 SGD per night if im not mistaken. google it up!

hi there,

try airasia, malaysia's very own budget flight. they have packages (flight, hotel, sightseeing entry tickets, etc) suitable for groups.

driving may not be advisable as it is a long journey and not really that safe along the highways in malaysia. whatsmore with kids and a big group of people

nickyboi wrote: driving may not be advisable as it is a long journey and not really that safe along the highways in malaysia. whatsmore with kids and a big group of people

Well that's rubbish. It's about 4hrs drive to KL and perfectly safe though, OP, you only need to figure out how to distract the kids for the trip, depending on their age.

I generally work out that driving to KL takes about the same length of time as flying, given actual flight is about 1hr the travel to/from airports and waiting time each way. Then you have the car at your disposal and are flexible on how to get around.

There is Melacca and A'Famosa Resort nearby if you don't want to travel all the way to KL.

But one thing...... DO CHECK that IF you hire an MPV that the insurance covers it for trips into Malaysia!! Not all hire cars rented here are covered to allow for this but you then have the option of renting in Malaysia itself though stick with reputable companies like Avis and Hertz etc.

Within 2-wks time, budget flights are not longer really budget. They are at their cheapest when you but tickets a few months out.