It’s hot. It’s sunny. It’s vibrant and bursting with variety – as a winter-sun destination South-East Asia never fails to deliver. “It’s well and truly back,” says Charlotte Brook, senior Asia destination manager at Scott Dunn. “After disruption in the Middle East earlier this year, we’ve seen a real bounce in interest, with Vietnam standing out: bookings are up 66 per cent versus this time last year.”
Compared with the Caribbean, where the US dollar is the predominant currency, South-East Asia offers far better value for money. The Malaysian ringgit is stagnant, the Thai baht has fallen against the pound and the low cost of living in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia give British travellers substantial spending power.
There’s no need to fly through the Middle East either: British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Vietnam Airlines all operate direct flights from London to South-East Asia’s main aviation hubs – Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore – where you can easily fly onwards to hotspots such as Siem Reap, Lombok and Cebu. Wherever you choose, you find that this part of the world has more going for it than ever before. Note: the figures given for each country are the average daily high temperature and average daily sunshine hours across December, January and February.
Cambodia
Best for cultural highs
£ | 30C | 9 hours of daily sunshine
Between the border dispute with Thailand and a huge drop-off in tourists from China, Cambodia has had a tough 2026, with visitor arrivals down by more than 40 per cent compared with 2025. And while the magnificent ancient ruins of Angkor Wat are hardly empty, the revered archaeological site is certainly less busy than it was this time last year – and looking marvellous after the completion of an 18-year-long restoration. The 12th-century Khmer ruins are reason enough to visit Cambodia but there’s so much more.
The capital Phnom Penh is perhaps best known for the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Choeung Ek Killing Fields – which shouldn’t be missed – but the city is also an architecture lovers’ dream, brimming with French colonial-era piles, art deco jewels and striking brutalist-inspired New Khmer buildings. Throw in the sleepy charms of Kampot and Kep, with their pepper farms and crab markets, Koh Rong’s beachy islands, and average temperatures hovering around 30C all winter and there’s nothing to stop you staying for weeks.
How to do it
Audley Travel’s Cambodia’s Cities & Southern Coast tour includes private tours of Angkor Wat, a boat trip on Tonle Sap and beach time in Kep from £3,745, including breakfast, a range of activities, flights and transfers.
Thailand
Best for luxury
£-££ | 32C | 8½ hours of daily sunshine
Thailand didn’t need The White Lotus to put it on the luxury travel map; big spenders have been flocking to Phuket’s golden beaches, Koh Samui’s private villas, Hua Hin’s wellness retreats and Bangkok’s opulent hotels for decades. In terms of glamorous experiences, the Land of Smiles continues to outshine the competition with its opulent hotels, sleek service and wish list of experiences – yacht charters, spa rituals, river cruises, antique shopping, the list goes on. The perfect combination includes time in Bangkok, a jaunt up to Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai, followed by beach time on any number of islands. Glorious weather is all but guaranteed across the country between December and March. But it’s best to avoid the north during the January and February hazy season.
How to do it
The Scott Dunn 11-night Iconic Thailand tour costs from £7,300, B&B, including flights and transfers.
Singapore
Best for families
£££ | 29C | 5½ hours of daily sunshine
Being a safe bet isn’t always a bad thing, as evidenced by Singapore. This crime-free, spotless-clean, hyper-efficient city state can do it all. There are theme parks, night safaris and beachside resorts for families; historic neighbourhoods and world-class museums for culture vultures; and a food scene that will blow your socks off. Fine examples of Malay, Indian, Chinese and European cuisines can all be found here, spanning cut-price hawker stalls to Michelin-star restaurants. Hotels are the biggest expense here but the standards are tip-top, and getting around is pleasingly cheap and easy. Plus, you can always make like the locals and nip across the border to Johor’s long golden beaches in Malaysia or the rainforested Riau Islands in Indonesia.
How to do it
Spend four nights at Capella Singapore and three nights on Cempedak Island in Indonesia in a tailor-made tour from Lightfoot Travel from £3,500, including breakfast, transfers and international flights.
Vietnam
Best for adventure
£ | 22C (North), 28C (South) | 4 hours of daily sunshine (North), 7.5 hours (South)
Think of Vietnam and you might think of dodging motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City, squeezing through the Cu Chi Tunnels, sailing around Ha Long Bay in a wooden junk, scoffing soupy bowls of pho in Hanoi or being measured up for bespoke threads in lantern-lit Hoi An. These are all top travel experiences, but there’s plenty more to be found in a country that’s tourism industry is going from strength to strength.
For a new twist, try floating on a river boat through golden rice fields in Ninh Binh, known as the “Inland Ha Long Bay”. Clamber through Phong Nha’s enormous caves, including the world’s largest, Son Doong. Hike above the clouds in the remote highlands of Ta Xua or loll on the beach on the pleasure island Phu Quoc.
How to do it
Inside Asia Tours has a 12-night Vietnam’s Greatest trip, with an overnight cruise in Lan Ha Bay and a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City from £3,833, B&B, including flights and transfers.
Indonesia
Best for nature
£ | 30C | 6½ hours of daily sunshine
Teardrop-shaped Bali steals all the thunder but Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands dancing across both sides of the Equator which are ripe for exploration. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur both offer easy connections to more than a dozen airports across Indonesia, including dreamy tropical isles such as Lombok, Flores and up-and-coming Belitung. Alternatively, you could fly to Yogyakarta in Central Java, the volcano-ridged gateway to Unesco World Heritage sites Prambanan Temple and Borobudur, both of which date back to the 9th century.
Elsewhere, the 140-million-year-old rainforests of Borneo, home to some of the
world’s rarest creatures – orangutans, proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants – are unlike anywhere on the planet. Indonesia’s wet season falls from December to March, but the weather remains warm and bright most of the time.
How to do it
Turquoise Holidays has a 10-night trip to Kuala Lumpur and Lombok from £2,595, including seven nights staying in a luxury pavilion at the Oberoi Lombok, with breakfast, transfers and international flights.
Malaysia
Best for food-lovers
££ | 31C | 6 hours of daily sunshine
Malaysia has a wealth of natural wonders, vibrant cities, brilliant bang-for-your-buck hotels and an average of six hours of sunshine per day. But it’s the country’s rich and varied cuisine that adds flavour to every trip. Start your journey on Kuala Lumpur’s food streets – Petaling Jaya and Jalan Alor – lining up for deep-fried salt-and-pepper squid, charcoal-fired prawn Hokkien mee noodles and trendy rainbow dim sum dumplings.
From here, you can take the train north to Penang, hopping off on the way for a night in colonial-era Ipoh to eat the best chicken rice of your life. The next day, ride onwards to Asia’s street food capital, a fashionable heritage town packed with hawkers who have been perfecting bowls of char kway teow (shrimp noodles), tangy assam laksa and fat oyster omelettes for generations. End your trip with seafood on the beach in Langkawi, where seas are lake-calm at this time of year.
How to do it
Split your trip between Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi with a 12-night tour from Travelbag from £1,799, including breakfast, flights, transfers and a food trail tour.
The Philippines
Best for beaches
£ | 30C | 6½ hours of daily sunshine
The Philippines sees a fraction of tourists compared with its flashier neighbours, but this island nation has much to offer. Beyond the bright lights of Manila there are misty mountains stepped with 2,000-year-old rice terraces, smouldering volcanoes, striking island chains set in luminous blue waters filled with coral, dugongs and whale sharks. The hotel scene is less sophisticated than it should be given the country’s natural attributes, but it isn’t difficult to find an atmospheric boutique hotel or an all-singing, all-dancing beach resort to fit the bill. The weather is at its sunny, low-humidity best between November and March.
How to do it
Bamboo Travel has a 16-night Highlights of the Philippines itinerary covering Manila, the Cordillera region and Boracay from £3,695, including flights, transfers, private guides and some meals.