Where to travel in December 2026 from Singapore

Ten days off for four days of leave

Christmas Day is Friday 25 December and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January, so with no leave at all you get two three-day weekends, a week apart: Fri 25 – Sun 27 Dec and Fri 1 – Sun 3 Jan. The four working days in between join them into one break:

That’s 10 days, Fri 25 Dec 2026 – Sun 3 Jan 2027, for four days of leave. Add Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December, and it’s 11. All of the leave falls in 2026, so it’s a good home for any days you still have left this year.

Ask early. Singapore’s schools are on holiday from Saturday 21 November to Thursday 31 December, so families are after the same weeks, and the popular year-end days tend to go first come, first served. We suggest asking by Tue 10 Nov, six weeks before the earliest leave day you might take. The calendar file adds the break, with a reminder on that date.

If you can’t take leave, the two weekends still work on their own: three days is enough for Langkawi, Penang, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok. Hong Kong and Taipei want a fourth day, so add Thursday 24 or Thursday 31 December.

December is a month to fly

December brings the wet phase of the northeast monsoon to Singapore, and the trips you can make without a plane are all in their rainy season too: Johor Bahru, Batam, Bintan and Melaka. Ferry crossings can be choppier. Bali and Da Nang are wet in December as well.

The dry side of the region is north and west. Langkawi, Penang and Phuket, on the west coasts of Malaysia and Thailand, are in their best months, and so are Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. Hong Kong and Taipei are cool and at their best. Kuala Lumpur sits in between: past its wettest months, October and November, but not at its best until January.

Our weather ratings are general guidance for the month, not a forecast. These two strips show how neatly the seasons swap over: Bintan, an hour away by ferry, is at its best from March to October, and Langkawi’s best months begin in December, just after Bintan’s rains set in.

1. JJanuary: Wet
2. FFebruary: Wet
3. MMarch: Best
4. AApril: Best
5. MMay: Best
6. JJune: Best
7. JJuly: Best
8. AAugust: Best
9. SSeptember: Best
10. OOctober: Best
11. NNovember: Wet
12. DDecember: Wet

1. JJanuary: Best
2. FFebruary: Best
3. MMarch: Best
4. AApril: Best
5. MMay: OK
6. JJune: OK
7. JJuly: OK
8. AAugust: Wet
9. SSeptember: Wet
10. OOctober: Wet
11. NNovember: OK
12. DDecember: Best

Where to go

For either three-day weekend, our ranking puts these three first: a short flight, dry weather, and no leave needed.

• #1 pick · Fri 25 – Sun 27 DecLangkawi3 days off · no leaveTrip plan
• #2 pick · Fri 25 – Sun 27 DecPenang3 days off · no leaveTrip plan
• #3 pick · Fri 25 – Sun 27 DecPhuket3 days off · no leaveTrip plan

With all ten days, you can go further, or put two places together:

• Penang and Langkawi. Both are in their dry season, and they’re a short hop apart: hawker food and heritage streets in George Town, then a few days on the beach.
• Bangkok and Phuket. About an hour and a half apart by air. Christmas isn’t a public holiday in Thailand, but late December is the height of Phuket’s high season, so book early.
• Hong Kong or Taipei. Both are at their best in December, and they’re the two places here we’d give four days or more. Hong Kong has its own Christmas holidays, so expect it to be busy and pricier. In Taiwan only New Year’s Day is a holiday, and Taipei 101’s fireworks usually see the new year in.
• Ho Chi Minh City. About two hours away and in its dry season, and Christmas is an ordinary working day in Vietnam.

Who else is on holiday

New Year’s Day is a public holiday in every country we cover, so expect the second weekend to be busy wherever you go. Christmas is a public holiday in Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, but an ordinary working day in Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan.

If you’re driving to Johor Bahru or taking the coach to Melaka, Johor’s schools are also on holiday from Saturday 5 December. Our Causeway jam outlook has every day of December as busy, and the heaviest days are Thu 24 Dec, Fri 25 Dec, Sun 27 Dec, Thu 31 Dec, Fri 1 Jan and Sun 3 Jan.

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