Batu Ferringhi beach in Malaysia. Photo: Alamy

We are flying to Germany and want a stopover for five to eight days, preferably in south-east Asia, ideally not far from a beach and beautiful nature. We have three children (ages five, nine and 10). We'd prefer no additional flights and definitely no car hire. If possible, no big resorts either. - T. Allen, Footscray, Vic.

Nowhere dovetails perfectly with your requirements, but a couple of places come close. Penang is a one-stop flight from Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur, and you can stay out at the beach at Batu Ferringhi. There's a national park with walking trails just a little further up the coast, and you can get to some of the more remote parts of the park by boat.

There are lots of food stalls along the beach, so if you like Malaysian food, and especially the nonya cooking that is a hybrid of Malay and Chinese, you have plenty of opportunity. On the downside, most of the places to stay are large resorts. I stayed a couple of years ago at Lone Pine hotel (lonepinehotel.com). The price is reasonable and this might suit you well.

The other candidate is Phuket. This is also a one-stop flight from Melbourne, this time via Bangkok. There's not too much in the way of unmolested nature in close proximity, and all the resorts are big. If this sounds possible, the place to look for accommodation might be around Rawai or Kata beaches rather than Patong. Of the two, Penang would be my choice.

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What is your advice regarding the best round-the-world tickets for travel to Britain, starting and finishing in Brisbane but travelling back via Canada to take in some skiing? Travel to start mid-December and returning in mid-January. - C. Amey, Casino.

If you are planning to stop in just Britain and Canada, a round-the-world ticket might not be best. The two leading airline partnerships, Star Alliance (staralliance.com) and One World (oneworld.com) offer their own RTW tickets but fares are not always good value, particularly if you make just a few stops.

Using One World's RTW booking tool for the dates indicated with stops in London and Vancouver en route back to Brisbane, I get $5054. Using Momondo (momondo.com) for the same stops on the same dates, all up I get $3242 flying with the cheapest carriers. I'd book by sector with the airline offering the best price/timing combination.

Original post:

Tripologist: island beaches full of south-eastern promise