Overland Singapore to Bangkok 4 weeks
We had visited a lot of Asia over the years but generally just one country at a time and usually flying in and out to pre-determined destinations. This time we decided to go from Singapore to Bangkok overland by bus and ferry through Malaysia and Thailand. There are a lot of backpackers on this trail but we didn’t see many families doing it, yet it is completely doable.
Itinerary at a fast pace
| Place | Time |
| Singapore: | 3 Days |
| Melaka or Melaka | 2 Days |
| Kuala Lumper | 3 Days |
| Cameron Highlands | 1-2 Days |
| Penang/Georgetown | 2-3 Days |
| Langkawi | 2-3 Days |
| Koh Lipe | 5 Days |
| Koh Lanta (optional) | 3 Days |
| Krabi Ao Lang | 3 Days |
| Koh Tao | 5 Days |
| Bangkok | 3 Days |
Our favourite Thailand Islands are Koh Lipe and Koh Tao and we would sacrifice time in other places for longer at these islands.
Transport
We used a combination of buses and ferries on this trip plus Uber and taxis in the cities and towns. Bus transport is easy to book online (www.easybook.com) and then you arrive 30 minutes before the bus leaves and redeem your ticket at the counter of the specific bus provider. I would recommend booking ahead (1 day can be enough) as often the buses are full. The buses are comfortable, very colourful inside and reliable. There aren’t toilets onboard so limit drinks before you get on but generally they will stop once during a 4-hour journey. We would also take some snacks for the kids and enough water to get through. For ferries you may need to book the day before and always check the time required before departure as it can be 1 hours whereas buses are ½ an hour.
Communication
Most places have wifi but we also purchased simcards in each country for an additional old phone we brought with us and then we hot-spotted to our phones so we have communication and most importantly maps. You can download a map app that doesn’t need wifi thou and it is called maps.me.
We also used watsap, messanger and skype to communicate with family and friends.
Accommodation
A combination of Airbnb and Hotel booking sites were used. We like Airbnb because you can get apartments which are great for families. Generally, hotels on our budget of $100 a night were quad/family rooms and we were squished in. Apartments were much more comfortable but they can be located outside the main city center but Uber is so efficient and cheap it never mattered. I haven’t recommended specific accommodation because its such a personal choice. For example I would prefer to be in walking distance from everything and sacrifice space, on the other hand Michael would prefer a comfy bed.
Water and Food
There is so much good food in Asia from street hawkers to restaurants and its really cheap. We ate at a combination of places and liked food courts for lunch because of the variety and restaurants for dinner. Our budget for food was $100 a day for 4 people. You can do it much cheaper than this if you didn’t drink alcohol and only ate street food. You can ask for food to not be spicy and there is always rice for plain eating. If we were staying in an apartment we brought our own breakfast food including cereal for the kids and toast and eggs for us. The apartments are often not well equipped for cooking because it’s so cheap to eat out but with kids it was nice to have a slow start to the day and eat in. You can’t drink the water in many places so we had Life Staw bottles www.lifestraw.com which have a built in filter. We also boiled water for drinking. Our goal was to use the least amount of bottled water as possible to reduce pollution.
Safety with kids
We found all of the places we visited very safe. There are ATMs for accessing money and we didn’t feel that people were trying to rip us off. We always had helmets when we hired motorbikes and full sleeve wet-shirts when snorkeling.
Singapore
Singapore is a great city. Some people call it “’Singabore” but we don’t agree. It’s a combination of glitz and tradition and there’s plenty to see and do.
What to do: We hired push bikes and road around the city. You can pick up a bike in one location and leave it in another. The apps also show you where the nearest bike is. Two company names are Mo Bikes or O Bikes, you need to download the app, pay a deposit, find a bike, scan the QR code and off you go. We needed 4 bikes so we had two companies we used as you can only get one bike at a time per person. Also, they are meant to be for 12 and over but we didn’t see this rule.
What to see: Gardens by the Bay is a must when visiting Singapore. They are amazing. You can visit the gardens for free but you can also enter the Flower dome and Cloud dome which will cost about $20 for both. Its well worth it thou. Marina Bay Sands is also worth a visit to check out the shopping centre (not that we could afford anything). Check out the waterfront also and the Merlion and there is also Clarke quays but I found it a bit touristy. The different communities of Singapore are also interesting with China Town, Little India and Arab Street all worth a visit day or night.
Where to Eat: There is so much good cheap food in Singapore. We ate at Bagus Street, China Town, Little India, Food Court Marina Bay Sands Shopping Centre
Melaka
Melaka Catch bus from Singapore to Melaka is about 4 ½ hours. There are two border crossings during the bus trip which takes about 4 ½ hours. Melacca trading port that has Dutch and Portuguese influences which you can see through the old town. Plan your trip to be there when Jonker Street is open at night. It’s a sensory delight of smells, sights, and sounds.
Where to stay: The Old part of town has loads of small accommodation but you can also pick up an apartment off Airbnb relatively cheap.
What to do; Walk along water and head down Jonka Walk at night for shopping, outdoor karaoke watching, eating, people watching, its great. You can walk through most of the sights of the Old town which includes churches, boats and buildings.
Kuala Lumper
Catch a bus from MelaKa to Kuala Lumper takes about 2 hours. You will arrive at Batu Sentral and you can get a cab or Uber to the city for about 20 ringet
I wasn’t huge fan of KL on my last visit but loved it this time around. Like most Asian cities it is vibrant, modern, easy to get around and offers plenty to see and do even if your not a shopper.
Where to stay; Platinum Face Suites, super cheap, roof top pool with views of Petrona Towers
What to do; Visit Petrona Towers and the park at the front, Discovery Centre, Batu Caves,
Where to eat; So many great places to eat in KL, food courts, street food, restaurants and its all good
Cameron Highlands
The Cameron Highlands as the name suggests is in the mountains and quite a windey road so if you have people that get carsick get seats up the front and consider travel . It’s the food bowl of Malaysia. Different scenery and nice and green. The British influence is obvious and makes for a bit of a mishmash of buildings.
Where to stay: There are a couple of towns in the Cameron Highlands but try and staying in the main town of Tanah as it has the most restaurant and is walking distance to the bus stop.
What to do; A visit to the team plantations is a must and you can spend about about 1 – 2 hours walking the plantation and having a cup of tea. We didn’t have time but other people went as saw butterfly, strawberry farms and bee farms.
Penang George Town
Again its about 4 ½ hours bus trip to Penang. We got dropped off at Sungai Nibong Express station and caught an Uber to our apartment.
Where to stay; There is a good range of Airbnb apartments outside of Georgetown and lots of boutique hotels and backpacker hotels in Georgetown.
What to do; Walk or ride around the UNESCO Heritage Georgetown looking at the buildings, temples and street art. There’s lots to see in an afternoon here. We also went to the beach for a few hours and then ended up at Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple which was amazing. There is much more to Penang so check out www.tripzilla.com-20funthingstodoonyourfirsttriptopenang
Penang to Langkawi
Langkawi was our last Malaysian stop and a nice change to be by the sea. You will need to take a ferry from Penang to Langkawi. We had heard lots of terrible stories about the 2 and ½ hour ferry trip so chose t o catch a bus to Kuala Peris and then take a ferry which only takes an hour. It took about 3 extra hours to do this. Upon arrival at Langkawi we caught an Uber to Cenang Beach.
What to do: There’s lots of things to do on Langkawi but we settled for a beach day as we had been travelling at a pretty rapid rate. Go to www.langkawi-info.com tourism for more information on activities.
Langkawi to Koh Lipe
Goodbye Malaysia and hello Thailand. You will do the customs and immigration at Langkawi and again when you arrive at Koh Lipe. Its an hour and 15-minute ferry ride from Langkawi to Koh Lipe but you need to be at the ferry terminal 90 minutes before boarding to complete paperwork. You can purchase tickets for the ferry from travel agents as we couldn’t see them online.
Where to stay: A lot of the accommodation Koh Lipe is basic and backpacker. There are some more upmarket places, but they can be expensive. Basically, there are three areas on the island, Pattaya Beach which is the busiest, Sunrise Beach which and then Sunset Beach both of which are quieter. It’s a pretty small island thou so I don’t think it matters where you stay.
What to do: Snorkeling is high on the agenda for Koh Lipe, the water is clear and calm and not so busy at Sunrise or Sunset Beach. Walking Street divides the island and it full of restaurants and shops and is great for just wondering along and checking out all action.
Where to eat and drink: Seafood is plentiful on the island and so are the number of restaurants. There’s no shortage of places to eat or drink the hardest thing is making the decision which one. There is also good coffee available and some good bars.
Koh Lipe to Koh Lanta
Island hoping in Thailand is definitely the way to go. You can purchase ferry and speed boat tickets online or through agents and plan your trip around suitable times and dates. Best to book at least 24 hours in advance if its busy where you are. The boat trip from Koh Lipe to Koh Lanta took about 3 hours in a speedboat and while it was a bit squished it was bearable. Koh Lanta is a lot different to Koh Lipe, for a start its much bigger and so everything is spread out while Koh Lipe is compact. We hired a scooter for Koh Lanta to get around.
Where to stay: There is a lot of the accommodation Koh Lanta varying from Airbnb to hostels and loads of resorts. Its just a matter of where you want to stay as its quiet spread out.
What to do: Hire a motor bike and check out the island. We rode to Old Town which was really interesting and then back around the other side of the island. We also headed as far north and south as possible.
Where to eat and drink: There are a lot restaurants and cafes on Koh Lanta. Many of these are located along the beaches but there is also some good ones along the road, it all depends on budget and taste.
Koh Lanta to Ao Nang
Again another boat trip and this time it took about 3 hours again. It as a pleasant trip and a good ways to see some of the islands. I was initially dreading going to Ao Nang Krabi because I had read how horrible and touristy it was. It was Michael’s 50th Birthday so I was keen to be somewhere nice to celebrate. Turns out that Ao Nang isn’t as bad as I had read. Sure it’s a bit touristy but its relatively clean and where we stayed at the Holiday Inn (special treat for Micks Birthday), it was quiet and peaceful. There’s a long beach stretch with a great running and walking path near the Holiday Inn which is relatively quiet which is a nice change from other parts of the area.
What to do: Catching a boat to Railey Beach is a must and costs about 100 baht per person on the boats which leave from the beach. Its worth the trip but its really crazy busy. The rock formations are awesome and the snorkeling good but its probably the busiest place we encountered. Like any place that is beautiful, its rare that its quiet.
Ao Nang to Koh Tao
There’s a couple of ways you can do this leg of the trip. Most people get a car or bus from Ao Nang to Donsak port and then a boat to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and the Koh Tao. We opted to get a driver from Ao Nang to Chumphon which took about 5 hours and cost 5,000 Baht. It was nice to see some of the Thai country side. At Chumphon we caught a ferry to Koh Tao which took about 1 ½ hours.
Where to stay; we stayed in an Airbnb on Koh Tao. It was up a steep hill, so we hired motorbikes. After we hired the motorbikes we read about bike scams on the island where you get charged exorbitant chargers if you scratch the bikes. Given the state of the roads it’s a likely occurrence so head caution and if possible hire the bikes with insurance so you’re not riding around on tender hooks.
What to do; We chose to come to Koh Tao for the snorkeling and because its sounded quieter than Koh Samui and not has party hard as Phangan. We weren’t disappointed and really enjoyed our time on this island. We could have stayed longer. Each day we snorkeled in a different place and found the relaxed atmosphere of the island suited us.
Koh Tao to Bangkok
So we decided to spend more time in Koh Tao and cut down our travelling time by flying to Bangkok from Koh Samui. This meant a 2 hour boat ride to Koh Samui and then plane trip with Bangkok Airways. After I booked the flights and boat, I saw the disclaimer that you should arrive in Koh Samui 24 hours before the flight but despite delays of an hour we made it on time with a 9am boat and 3pm flight. If we had continued overland I think we would have caught the boat back to Chumphon and then a bus to Hua Hin and then Bangkok.
Bangkok
Another crazy busy Asian city but also very cool to visit especially if you like shopping which is problematic for us as we cant add any more weight to our backpacks. Even if you don’t like shopping its still a fun city. We traveled around the city using Uber and Tuk Tuks but you can also catch the trains which are efficient and cheap.
Where to stay and eat: There is loads of accommodation including Airbnb, hotels and hostels. We had a family room at Centara Watergate which was fantastic. https://www.centarahotelsresorts.com/centara/cwb/. In terms of eating, well there is loads of choices however it sometimes seems like the priority is shopping over food. In saying that the shopping centre food courts are really good and provide great value and variety. Generally you put money on a card at a cashier and then visit various vendors to chose your food. There is food for all budgets including street food in China Town to fancy restaurants and bars.
What to do: We brought a day pass on the Hop on Hop Off ferry. There was an online special of “buy three and get one free” which suited us. https://chaophrayatouristboat.com/ Its all a bit manic but you can see the tourist sites by travelling this way. We visited the Flower Markets, Wat Arun, Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and China Town. I loved the Flower Markets and China Town and found the others very crowded and expensive.
Conclusion
So that was our overland trip. It was fantastic and very easy. It cost about $100 a day on accommodation, $120 on food and drinks and $100 on travel. You could do it it much cheaper thou. It was easy travel with the kids and a good adventure before we head to Sri Lanka and India.
