Danaamatrix

Hi everyone,

Has anybody had any experience of where is a good place to stop over before we land in Oz.

I was thinking Singapore, I have 2 children aged 2-5 and was goign to stop over for about 7 days. If anybody has any other good experience, it doen't even need to be Singapore, I just want to sotp half way before I go nuts, open the emergency exit of the plane and throw myself out!

Regards,

Dan

Beedubya

7 days is WAY too long to stay in Singapore. The humidity is shocking - well it was when I stayed there, not sure if that's all year around, but it was very uncomfortable and I wouldn't like to do that with 2 little 'uns. Didn't see much going on for kids either, mind you this was a few years back, they could have Disneyland there now for all I know.

Most of the carriers will stop somewhere in Asia, like SIN or Bangkok or KUL.

What about Emirates? I should think Dubai is a good stopover place with lots to do.........

It's a pity I already have my Qantas ticket but booked on a BA flight

Kayelem

We booked our flights with Singapore airlines with 3 kids in June. We're not staying over but a friend told us that Singapore airlines have deals with some hotel and often free transfers to and from the airport. Don't know how true this is but it may be worth asking at time of booking if you decide to fly with them.

Tuxtrip

To be honest, I would just keep going on to Australia, without a stopover. With two small children, you will have so much luggage and it is better left in the hold! Getting around anywhere with children and luggage is going to be a nightmare, let alone in a foreign country.
A few hours in Singapore airport is very refreshing and there is plenty there for the children to do. They can play in full view while you have a foot massage! Have a look at www.changiairport.com - click on Airport Guide, then Experience Changi - it's all there.
Departure and arrival times is the best method of surviving the trip with children. Fly out of London around midday and you will arrive in Singapore early hours - 8.30am or thereabouts. A couple of hours and you are on to your next flight. If it is Perth you are heading for, you will arrive about 2.30pm - perfect for a fews hours of excitement, dinner and then bed!

The Crow

Depends on how used the OP is to travelling with young children. We travelled around Malaysia and Singapore for a month with a 2 & 3 year old and had a fantastic time (though we did only have two backpacks).

spalen

DO the stopover! because once you are here - that little 1 week trip to Singapore will cost you 10K$+ and you wont do it.

Singapore is great - as is Hong Kong. HK has disney and is crowded as hell. Singapore is wide open spaces / green tropical island type stuff (well compared to HK it is).

Sing and Hong Kong are both very english. You'll do fine in either - but if it was me with kids that age -Singapore.

Chill in hotel, go to the zoo for night safari, eat chilli crab , see the place.
Yeah its hot +humid but its also very air-conditioned, taxi's are so cheap they are practically free (all aircon) and the shopping malls are all air-conned.

bangkok is nuts - very hectic. Singapore is easily the best bet and you can do a side trip to KL/Malaysia for a load of fake crap in the markets if you want.

moneypenny20

Singapore's fab and the humidity isn't that bad, depends on what you can cope with. There's lots to do, stay on Sentosa Island, do a night safari, the locals will love the kids and it cuts down on the jet lag - if you're a sufferer. If you've booked with Singapore Airlines you can get five star hotels for hardly any money. We were there four days and could have spent longer but our girls were early teens.

fallen angel

We had 4 days in Singapore with a 3yo and a 1yo and it was fantastic.(We stopped there on the way to Bali) highly recommend it. We swam lots, shopped a bit (all air con!), visited the zoo and went on the Singapore Flyer. Very enjoyable and we didn't find temp or humidity a problem. We were there in June.

We then had 6 nights in Dubai a few weeks later, on our way to Sydney so it was July and tbh it was awful with the little kids. It was unbearably hot and humid. We stayed in the old town, opposite a mosque and whilst the hotel was nice, clean and fine other than having to watch animal planet over and over the mosque had the call for prayer at various times of the day and night. It wasn't funny having the kids woken by the noise at 2am!

It was too hot to be outside so we had to avoid the beach and waterparks, the kids were too young to get the full benefit of Ski Dubai and it got very boring very quickly just being in shopping malls to get out of the heat. Also, if you like a drink or two, it was near on impossible to get a drink. Fair enough as it is the local beliefs but at 8UKP a pint it was just too expensive to indulge!


It was a load of hassle to transfer the kids and cases to hotel for a stopover but, in the case of Singapore, it was well worth it. My 1yo is not a pleasant agreeable child and the 12hr flight to Singapore was bad enough. I think I would have been a gibbering wreck if I had had to get back on the plane for a 9hr flight to Sydney. We came off covered in blood as it was as she cut her finger then in a temper tantrum bashed my nose and made it bleed.

Now we're here we are going nowhere. Not until she can plug herself into the entertainment and be an unsocial tween. We flew for 48hrs in the course of a month and I didn't manage to watch one film. Rubbish.

Beedubya

Ooops - well obviously don't listen to me then!! Mind you I am one of those people who doesn't handle hot weather very well at all, I actually prefer a colder climate like England.

Australia is often times way too much for me, never mind Asia.

As for Dubai, well I hadn't thought about the heat there either or the expense of the alcohol

So I'll just shuffle off to my corner..........

spalen

each to his own :-) , diff'nt strokes and all that jazz.

Bermudashorts

I found HK far more interesting than Singapore. I sort of ran out of things to do in Singapore after three days, whereas in HK I could barely pack everything in within 9 days.

spalen

yeah sure - but getting around hong kong with a pair of toddlers is a lot harder than getting around singapore. the crowds in hong kong alone make it murder.

Bermudashorts

I don't recall it being that bad with crowds, other than in Kowloon. It was five years ago, perhaps I was lucky or have selective memory.

emma75

we have stopped in Singapore twice now, Hotels were very nice and child friendly. My boys were 2 and 5. yes it was humid but not unbearable. when we go in July that where we will stop again.
My dad (who lives in Oz) stopped in Hong Kong with my 8 year old half sister last November and they visited Disney and stayed in one of the Disney Hotels. My dad said how good it was and how he would definatly do it again, apart from the airline, Virgin who he said were rubbish.
Personally i could not think of anything worse than not stopping over somewhere. Its so nice to know you can have a hot shower and a bit of sllep. Also you get to see another country, I would never go straight through.

Kooky.

Kids won't notice the heat and humidity, and there are always malls to nip in and out of.

Do a search and you will find tons of similar threads; there has been one very recently about Singapore. There is also some info on Sg in the link in my signature although it is becoming out of date with respect to hotels as a new one seems to spring up every other week.

I think a week in Singapore is a bit long for a tourist, although I could fill it, and you would have time to plan in some jet lag. If you're not used to the tropics, don't underestimate the effect of jet lag plus heat and humidity. You could also take a side trip to Malaysia or maybe Bintan (Indonesian resort island, an hour on the ferry from Singapore).

I'm not a huge fan of Hong Kong, but I've never really done it as a tourist.