Planning for 1st time to Malaysia

I would love it anyone good give me some advice. I am travelling with my 3 children ages 19,14 %26amp; 10. We have been to Thailand before and thought we should go somewhere different. I have no idea where we should go our how to break up the trip e.g staying at different locations. The girls love to shop and the youngest loves a good pool. They are all quite active. Oh and myself - I love a good cup of coffee, book by a nice pool. any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Planning for 1st time to Malaysia

Hi

that%26#39;s a very wide scope, probaly too wide.

Whats your budget?

How long will you be travelling for?

How many places do you normally stay in?

Do you want to move about and fly between locations?

Whats your hotel preference other than a nice pool, ie near shops?

Why not look in the hotels and THINGS TO DO in the left hand panels for Kuala Lumpur [shopping, food, nice hotels, good sight seeing etc], Penang [shopping, beach - but not a patch on Thailand, great hotels, history, sight seeing etc], or Kota Kinabalu [wildlife, sight seeing, beaches etc]

Hope this helps with your researching.

Planning for 1st time to Malaysia

make sure you check with your bankdebit/ credit card provider before you leave , ther have been many card frauds in asia. we didnt know before we left and had to phone our banks at home to unblock our cards, thank goodness for cash and travellers cheques !

Sorry about that tedafloat.

The general advice from this site has always been:

Always let all the banks that you are taking cards for know where you are going and for how long

Always take a contact phone number in case the computer still blocks the card (the computer may still overide any notes on your account)

Never ever let your cards out of your sight when making a purchase

Do not use cards in less reputable shops or premises

Make sure that you have an idea what scamming devices look like at ATMs or at hotels and shops

This rules usually work

Whilst Asia is known for card scamming, its no worse than eastern europe or even in the UK!!

Have fun.

Hi there, I think you%26#39;d love Malaysia - I%26#39;d say spend 3 days in Kuala Lumpur - brilliant for a mix of new and old - great night markets for the designer copies, and really great shopping (with the real designer brands) in the malls. Then I%26#39;d go to the beach - perhaps Langkawi which is nice and quiet - or Penang - busier, with a great night market, cheap (and good) food - and excellent hotels. Perhaps a hotel like the Golden Sands would suit your girls - a great pool, nice gardens for you to chill out - and probably lots of other kids for them to meet. Enjoy yourselves.

Thank you for all your advice. I was nearly talked into going to Bali - but everyone said I was mad to take the kids there. So its back to Malaysia. I think I would like to spend some time in Kuala Lumpur and then a beach type resort. Not sure about where - Penang maybe or Langkawi or even Sabah. I have had a quick look at a brochure. Langkawi looks to be very expensive - compared to the others. I want somewhere reasonable to stay - I have to get 2 rooms so it can%26#39;t too expensive. Penang sounds good as it seems to have alot of beach activities...although according to TA the water is not very nice. Any thoughts / advice very much appreciated. I really love TA it may all the difference when I travelled to Thailand.

thanks again.

Debaria

When are you planning to go?

West is best Nov - March. (Penang/Langkawi)

Head East April - September. (Sabah)

A general principle perhaps but a good place to start.

Where did you all enjoy in Thailand and what was it the family especially liked?

penang is not so good if you want to swim or snorkel in the sea , murky water and jellyfish ! langkawi or sabah

In Thailand we stayed firstly at Bangkok - I found a nice girl on TA who I paid to show us around...and she was wonderful. The hotel and hotel staff really made my children feel welcome. In Phuket the kids really enjoyed meeting people and doing the usual type things - Friday night BBQ, Elephant riding - canoeing and ATV bike riding - oh and of course shopping.

I am planning to go to Malayasia around the 20th September for 2 weeks....so should I be looking at Sabah for best weather?

It is impossible of course to draw a line between the seasons but on balance, weatherwise, I would say Sabah.

In terms of holiday content it will be a lot quieter than Phuket. But shopping, a good pool and coffee are easily accommodated.

Your hotel choice is however very limited. Personally I like the 5 star Tanjung Aru (c 10/15 mins from town) and the 4 star Rasa Ria (c 45/60 mins from town). The first has a small man-made beach the second is on a long, secluded beach next door to an Orangutan sanctuary.

A stopover in KL is worth considering for good shopping and food. I also like Singapore as a family destination and if you haven%26#39;t been there that might be worth a stop. So depending on time and budget you could do KL/Sabah/Singapore.

g