ASIA

The honest verdict

🎂 Best age range

4+ if your kids can handle heat, trains, transfers, temples and the occasional snack-based negotiation

💰 Cost feel

££ — brilliant value once you land, but flights, theme parks, Japan and “just one more activity” can still bite

🏆 Our favourite bit

Night markets, bullet trains, sleeper trains, temples at dawn, tropical slow days and watching the girls become proper little travellers

🙅 We’d skip

Overloading hot city days. Asia rewards slow mornings, tactical taxis, pool breaks and not pretending everyone is fine when they are clearly melting.

Getting around with kids: Asia was the easiest and hardest part of the trip depending on the day. Japanese trains were a dream, Grab made Southeast Asia much easier, and short taxi hops saved more days than any grand travel philosophy. But the heat, noise, luggage and transfer days could still flatten everyone. We learned to stop being heroic with walking, build in recovery time and treat snacks, taxis and swimming pools as part of the transport system.