Hi all,

I am currently looking for some recommendations for where to stay for about a month at some point between February and April.

A bit about my requirements:

  • Stable, high-speed internet for regular Zoom calls (this can be Wi-Fi or mobile data).

  • Relatively low cost of living (I understand that this is subjective. For context, on my budget I would consider almost everywhere I’ve been in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to satisfy this but not, for example, Singapore).

  • Somewhere where it’s safe/comfortable for solo female travellers - I imagine this is the case for most places on the tourist radar.

  • Not rainy season during my time there (Feb-April).

  • Can stay in the country for a month or two on a UK passport.

My preferences (I understand that probably only some of these will be met):

  • Somewhere walkable or cyclable, for this reason I have previously enjoyed places such as Ko Lipe and the Gili islands. I do not ride a motorbike or intend to and would prefer not to spend lots of money on transportation.

  • Somewhere with swimmable beaches, ideally there would be some nice snorkelling spots directly off the beach, but not necessarily. For example, I would not consider places like Uluwatu in Bali to be particularly swimmable due to rocks and large waves.

  • I really like Thai food, so if I end up in Thailand, I would definitely not be upset ;)

In the past, places that I have been which met most of these have been:

  • Gili islands (but bad internet and power cuts)
  • Ko Lipe (bad internet)
  • Ko Lanta (I would consider going back here, but it isn’t particularly walkable. Not good snorkelling, even on island trips)
  • Kota Kinabalu (but to go to the beach you have to take a boat to nearby islands, I prefer to be right on the beach and spend a couple of hours each day there, rather than only going a couple of times and staying the whole day)
  • Langkawi (not walkable and not good snorkelling)

Between now and then, I will also be visiting Ko Chang.

I understand that finding somewhere that satisfies all of these is a unicorn mission and so I am not expecting this. My intent in giving all these details was just so that any potential recommendations would be more relevant to my situation.

Thanks in advance for reading this long post and for any suggestions you may have!