Thailand and Cambodia were among the first to reopen at the end of 2021, followed in quick succession by Sri Lanka, India, Bali, the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos — with Malaysia and South Korea set to throw down the welcome mat on April 1. The notable holdouts, for now, are China, Hong Kong and Japan.
The entry process can be more complicated than travelling to other parts of the world but the need to quarantine on arrival has mostly been phased out. Depending on which country you’re travelling to, there may be some pre-departure forms to fill out and some tests to do — and you will be expected to wear a mask, a practice that has become the norm in Asia. But any tenacious traveller willing to jump through a few hoops will be richly rewarded with bargain hotels, empty beaches, restaurants once again frequented by locals, and great monuments all to themselves in a tourist-free version of Asia last seen 30 years ago. Here are 13 reasons to visit this year.
Main photo: Dance of the Furies at the Haa Tshechu festival, Bhutan (Alamy)
1. Gorgeous new hotels in Thailand
New hotels have been shooting up quicker than bamboo in Thailand. Over that last year, Bangkok has seen four major luxury hotel openings: Capella Bangkok, Four Seasons Chao Phraya, Kempinski Sindhorn and Kimpton Maa-Lai. Chiang Mai has a hip new Melia in the heart of the ancient town. New beach resorts include Explorar in rural Koh Mook, the clifftop Pavilions Anana in Krabi, Banyan Tree Koh Samui and Avani+ Khao Lak just north of Phuket. Fully vaccinated visitors will be allowed to enter Thailand without further tests or any quarantining from May 1.
Advertisement
2. See Malaysia in style
Malaysia has some of the best food, shopping and value-for-money luxury hotels anywhere in Asia. Add an extremely favourable pound-to-ringgit exchange rate and it’s even more of a bargain. Hotels to book include a glamorous new One & Only resort on the Desaru Coast, the new Alila Dalit Bay, spliced between beach and orangutan-dotted rainforest in Borneo, and eco-darling The Datai Langkawi, which was refurbished to the tune of US$60 million shortly before the pandemic.
3. Go off-grid in Vietnam
Vietnam is wildly diverse and still a relative newcomer in terms of international travel, making it ripe for return visits. Already experienced the flotilla of sightseers in Halong Bay? Scootch slightly south to La Han Bay, which shares the same spectacular karst-studded scenery with far fewer crowds. Trekked Sapa’s vertiginous trails? Instead, head west of Hanoi to Pu Luong, where you’ll find walking trails winding through lush green mountains and rippling rice fields. Want the beach all to yourself this time? Aim for the still empty golden sands of Quy Nhon.
4. Walk Bhutan
Open to tourists for the first time in 60 years, the newly restored Trans Bhutan Trail winds for 403km across the spine of the Thunder Dragon Kingdom, from the yak-yomping Haa Valley on the western border with Tibet to the fortress town of Trashigang in the east. A limited number of passes are available to visitors, who can walk and mountain bike along the entire trail or traverse different sections, encountering 6,000m Himalayan peaks, historic towns and cliff-clinging monasteries along the way.
5. Go green in Singapore
Advertisement
There’s more to Singapore than glittering skyscrapers. New developments in the Garden City include a man-made wetland park — ABC Waters at Jurong Lake, populated by cute sea otters, chunky monitor lizards and pretty tropical birds — and a rewilding of the old Rail Corridor (along the way, look out for the enigmatic Bukit Timah Railway Station, built in the 1930s). Keeping with the green theme, look out for a second Raffles hotel coming later in the year in the form of a swish beach resort located on Sentosa Island.
Best things to do in Singapore
6. Marvel at Angkor Wat
Ruby and rose sunrises, vine-tangled temples, ancient stone faces — if you dream of exploring Angkor Wat without the crowds now is undoubtedly the time to visit. International flights have only just started to trickle back to Siem Reap (via Singapore and Phnom Penh currently) and hotels are offering bargain basement deals, with five-star hotels going for as little as £100 a night. You’ll also find a city transformed by a massive £114 million infrastructure upgrade that has added new roads, pavements and bicycles lanes.
• Best things to do in Phnom Penh
7. Best of Japan tour
Japan has a burst of fabulous new hotels — an Edition and a Four Seasons in Tokyo, an Ace Hotel in Kyoto, the Ritz-Carlton Nikko — as well as a raft of exciting new train journeys (check out the Nishi-Kyushu shinkansen), spruced-up hiking paths (try the Michinoku Coastal Trai), a second dark sky park on Kozushima Island and the Haruki Murakami Library at Tokyo.
Advertisement
8. New spa retreats in Thailand and Bali
Two new holistic hideaways are giving Asia’s big-hitting wellness retreats — Chiva Som, Kamalaya, COMO Shambhala — a run for their money. Opened mid-pandemic on a frangipani-scented island set on Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, The Rakxa combines cutting-edge medical tech with ancient Thai, Indian and Chinese wellness practices. Meanwhile, in a tiny mountain village on the Indonesian island of Bali, Banyan Tree hotels has launched Buahan, which has jungle villas which open to the elements and an emphasis on local healing traditions.
Best medical spas around the world
9. Go island-hopping in the Philippines
With over 7,000 isles wrapped in warm Pacific waters, The Philippines provides a lifetime’s worth of island-hopping, as well as some of the best snorkelling and diving in the world. Following a six-month shutdown to help marine life recover prior to the pandemic, the waters around buzzy little Boracay have never looked better. Ease into island life and then flit to El Nido’s cluster of 45 islets — some soar over 600m high and others have coral reefs, sea caves and sugar-white beaches.
10. Glam Vietnam
Vietnam has had an influx of swish new luxury hotels. Set in a French colonial pile overlooking the Opera House, Capella Hanoi has wonderfully theatrical interiors designed by Bill Bensley (the man behind Capella Ubud and The Siam Bangkok). In central Vietnam, Bai San Ho has everything you could want for a romantic holiday — seductive interiors, alfresco restaurants with rice field views, and billowing beach cabanas. Coming soon is the contemporary but family-friendly Regent Phu Quoc, perfectly positioned on 15 kilometres of clotted cream beach.
11. Ride the rails in Laos
Advertisement
Temple-strewn Laos just got a whole lot easier to get around, following the launch of a new 602-mile train line linking the capital, Vientiane, with the city of Kunming in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan. Along the way, there are 20 passenger stations where visitors can hop on and off, including Vang Vieng, famed for its fantastical limestone karsts, milky blue lagoons and bright-green rice fields, and Muang La, home to Hmong and Khamu hill tribes.
12. Sri Lanka Adventure Tour
Alabaster beaches, misty mountains, an abundance of wildlife, heavenly food and a raft of rich cultural attractions have long drawn travellers to Sri Lanka’s shores. Now, the country is hoping to tempt visitors back for longer stays with the introduction of a one-year multiple-entry visa (US$200/£150) which allows digital nomads to WFB (work from beach) for a full 365 days — more than enough time to go off-grid in the wild and wonderful north.
13. Get the royal treatment in Rajasthan
Rajasthan is having a moment. Gorgeous new places to lay your head include Six Senses Fort Barwara, housed in a 700-year-old fort with Aravalli mountain views and a spa as big as a polo pitch; Raffles Udaipur, set in a glorious Mughal-era mansion on a lake surrounded immaculate gardens; and The Johri, an intimate 19th century haveli with five jewel box-like suites.
Take me there
Inspired to book a holiday? Here are the best packages from BA Holidays* and Expedia*. With Tui Holidays*, you can save up to £200 per booking (£750 minimum spend for £100 saving, £2,000 minimum spend for £200 saving) on departures from May 1 to June 30 2022 with code RELAX. And if you’re still unsure of where you want to go or what type of holiday to book, get in touch here* and one of the Designer Travel experts will be in contact to help you arrange your perfect tailor-made break.
Advertisement
Here’s a selection of some of the best tour itineraries from our Times Travel partners*.
Sign up for the Times Travel Newsletter here.
