[SamitMukherjee]

Can anybody share a list of must-see places and must-have food in Singapore?
I am planning a family trip in June-19.

As this is going to be our first trip abroad, so we preferred opting for package tour programme.

[ruzbehxyz]

The Jewel at Changi Airport


Had a chance to visit this new attraction which opened on 17 April 2019. It includes gardens and attractions, a hotel, aviation facilities and 300 retail and dining facilities. The complex covers a total gross floor area of 135,700 m2, spanning 10 storeys – five storeys above-ground and five basement storeys.
Attractions include the HSBC Rain Vortex, the world's largest indoor waterfall at 40m tall; the Forest Valley, an indoor garden spanning five storeys; and Canopy Park at the topmost level, featuring gardens and leisure facilities.

The complex was built to improve the competitive position of Changi Airport against rivals such as Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.


Some attractions inside:-

The Rain Vortex:
The Rain Vortex at the center of the Jewel built by HSBC, is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, standing at 40 metres (130 ft) high. At night, the Rain Vortex becomes a stage for a light-and-sound show curated by water feature design firm WET Design.








Canopy Park:
At the topmost level of Jewel, the 14,000 sq m Canopy Park houses recreation and leisure attractions.


Canopy Bridge:
The Canopy Bridge is suspended 23 metres above ground and will offer a view of the Rain Vortex. At 50 metres long, the Canopy Bridge also has glass panel flooring in the centre section that offers a view through to level 1 of Jewel.


Canopy Mazes:
The Canopy Mazes comprise of two mazes, situated at the eastern end of the Jewel complex: Hedge Maze and Mirror Maze. The Hedge Maze is Singapore's largest with hedge walls standing at 1.8m high. The Mirror Maze is located under the dome with plants branching across the top of the maze. The maze makes use of mirrors and various reflections.



This attraction is a must visit, located between Terminal 1 and 3 of Changi airport.
While checking in, you can drop off your main bags and then visit it before boarding your flight. This is if you have less time orelse it can be a half day or full day attraction.

[arvind71181]

I had visited Singapore on vacation between the 11th and 18th of May and am penning down a short travelogue. Hopefully, this is helpful to future vacationers.

This was my itinerary:

May 11th night – Fly out of Chennai, land in Singapore on 12th of May at 06:10 Hrs
May 12th – Check in to Holiday Inn Orchard City Center. Visit the Singapore flyer and Gardens by the Bay.
May 13th – Visit the river safari and the night safari
May 14th – Sentosa, see everything which I wanted to except the Universal studios.
May 15th – Universal studios, the whole day
May 16th – This was undecided, we wanted to see if we wanted to go to the Jurong bird park or a water park
May 17th – Undecided. The only plan was to maybe do some shopping, check out of the hotel and move to the Marina bay sands, which was sort of a bucket list visit
May 18th – Check out and spend some time at the Changi before flying back.

May 11th/12th:

All bags packed, we reached the airport well on time for the 11:15 PM flight. Spent close to 1.5 hours at the check in post immigration. Boarded an uneventful flight (the best ones) and touched down at 6 AM. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the in-flight entertainment and was up most of the night, so were we as I somehow can’t sleep too well on flights.

When we planned the trip, we thought that we will do most of the travelling in cabs as I thought they were not too expensive when I researched on the internet. Anyway, with all the luggage that we had, we had to take a cab to the hotel, which we did. It costs about $20 to get to the Orchard road or thereabouts from the airport at 7 AM in the morning. There are various surcharges levied during various times of the day, so the cost will change a lot depending on the time you hail the cab.

The check in time is 2 PM but since we had requested earlier and I also called them up, they were able to check us in at 7 AM itself, which was very helpful as we were able to take a quick nap for a couple of hours before starting our day. Had a quick breakfast using the room service and off we started to the Singapore flyer, which was our first stop of the day. A cab (again) to the flyer cost us around $6. We had already booked our tickets for the flyer so went to the counter as directed by the website and the POC gave us our tickets for both the Flyer and the gardens by the bay.

Singapore Flyer:

This is basically a giant wheel which moves up very slowly to give us good views of the entire city 360 degrees. It lasts approximately 30 minutes to go the full circle. Initially, we were all excited and took pictures every minute but then settled down after 10 minutes or so. It was good place to visit and take in the wonderful views. I think it will be even better in the evening with all the lights, but we had a combination of the flyer and the gardens to cover, so we chose the morning slot. As mentioned, the ride took about 30 minutes post which we exited out of the flyer area through a souvenir shop. A note, all the attractions have the exit only via a souvenir counter. It worked too, as we ended up buying something or the other from many of those counters 

Our next destination was the Gardens. Though google showed it to be only a 15 minute walk, when I asked around, I was advised to take a cab as in the heat it could take upto 30 minutes and I did not want that with a 7 year old. Hopped on to a cab and were dropped at the gardens. Went around the place for close to 3 hours looking at all the attractions (The Cloud Forest, the skyway and the gardens). Was a nice experience, though it involved a LOT of walking. The only difficulty we had was in getting a good vegetarian meal. We settled for some sandwiches and fries. Caught a cab and came back exhausted to the hotel. Took some rest and in the evening went to Orchard road to do some window-shopping and to decide where and what to buy. Rounded it off with a nice dinner at an Indian restaurant (I know, going to foreign land and looking for Indian restaurants, we are a clichéd family).

Cost of the attraction: 3100 for adult and 2022 for a child (includes the flyer, the gardens by the bay, the skyway and a small ice cream as well). Booked in advance through www.klook.com

May 13th:

Woke up with me a bit under the weather, bad cold and sore throat probably due to the change in water. Today’s plan was to go to the river and the night safari. Since our day was to start only around 2PM, wife did some research and we decided to go ahead and try out the MRT/buses to save on some cash and also to experience the city better. Post getting ready, we went off to the nearest MRT station and got 3 train passes. Boarded the train, got off at one of the stations and then boarded a bus to the zoo which house the night and river safari as well.

Just as we were entering the river safari, there was a huge thunderstorm which lasted around 2 hours. Anytime it rains, the river and the boat safari, called the Amazon quest are suspended. Hence we spent the time looking at all the other animals and birds which were in the park. The park’s theme is the five major rivers of the world and the fauna surrounding them. Spent quite a bit of time having a look at all the animals. The highlight was definitely the Panda enclosure, a must visit. Once the storm abated, we had just the time to get into both the river and the Amazon quest. The river safari was boring, as there was nothing much to see, it was just a round trip around the lake. Even the amazon quest was no great shakes, however there is a Jaguar which we spotted which made up for it. My take, if you are not with kids, then you can skip both the rides. The Pandas are the main draw here, and rightfully so.

Next up, was the night safari. Initially, since we had the 8:15 slot, we were not allowed into the area but after about 30 minutes, they let the entire crowd in at once. There are 2 things to be done here, actually 3.
• The tram ride, every one hour from 7:15 PM to 11:15 PM
• The creatures of the night show at 7:30 PM, 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM
• The trails that you can chose to explore by walk

We chose to do the first 2 as hiking in the dark with a kid was not what I had planned for a vacation. Though the queue was long, it was managed very well and by 30 minutes we were into our tram and were taken for a ride for around 40 minutes with all the animals on both sides of the tram without any enclosures. It was a different experience, my daughter loved it, and we liked it too. The lights are very dim, so please do not take any cameras with you, it is pointless. Flash photography is not allowed as well. Post the tram ride, we waited and watched the creatures of the night show, which was short, but enjoyable, the kid loved it.

Came back to the hotel using the same bus/train combo, had some instant noodles heated up and hit the bed.

Costs:
River Safari: 1600 for adult and 1100 for child
Night Safari: 1700 for adult and 1500 for child

May 14th


Today’s agenda was to visit the Sentosa Island and see the following attractions, all prepaid via the same website.
• Madame Tussauds
• Skyline Luge
• SEA Aquarium
• Trick Eye museum
• Wings of time

We reached Sentosa by using cable cars as the mode of transport. The cable car has a stop at the Harbor front station so we reached the station with the help of MRT and caught the cable car to the island. The car does go reasonably high, there is a magnificent view of the harbor, and ships passing below as it crosses the sea on to the island.

Madam Tussauds: This is quite near the Imbiah station which is where we alight from the cable car. Had already pre booked our tickets, so we were issued the same almost immediately. Watched the “Images of Singapore live” first followed by a short boat ride and then the main museum. If you are with kids, or if you are not an ardent history buff, or both, then you can skip the Images of Singapore show. This takes about 30 minutes, different people take you through the country’s history, and my kid was bugged by the end of it. A very short boat ride shows the various landmarks post which we are at the main museum. I have been to the London one, and this was smaller I suppose and also less crowded. The highlight for me was the marvel 4D show as am a rabid avengers fan and the show was excellent. Bought some souvenirs, got a free VR Ferrari ride, which was good and then came out.
Next up was the skyline Luge, which is nothing but a ride in a buggy sort of vehicle on a downward slope of about 1.2 kms on our own and then coming up in a smaller cable car. My daughter and I did the ride twice and it was very enjoyable.

Had a quick lunch at a “supposedly” Indian restaurant and then went to the SEA aquarium. This is the next cable car stop so had a short cable car trip too. From the station, it is a looong walk to the aquarium. Took multiple rests on the way due to the hot and humid weather. Entered and spent around 2 hours or so with it. It’s a fantastic place and my daughter had fun. We also were in time to view the feeding of the sting rays. Lots of photos, and some souvenir shopping later went to the trick eye museum. Spent around 45 minutes here, it was good, but nothing spectacular for adults, though the kids enjoyed viewing the photos after.

We wanted to watch the wings of time, but I was feeling very tired from all the walking and the sore throat and cough as well, so decided to skip it. On the way back though, saw a huge chocolate store called Candylicious and my daughter spent around 30 minutes happily lost in this candyland. Reached the hotel, had some dinner, and called it a night.

Madame Tussaud: 1188 per person
SEA Aquarium: 1800 for adult, 1300 for child
Skyline Luge: 830 per person for 2 rounds. Child add on around 300 for 2 trips
Cable car: 1098 for adult and 886 for kids


May 15th

Today was a visit to the Universal studios. Took a combination of MRT and taxi to reach the amusement park. Went over all the main rides and some kiddie specific rides as well. Based on popular opinion, chose to go to transformers ride first as I read everywhere that it tends to get crowded very soon. Being one of the first persons to queue up, still spent around 60 minutes in queue. The ride was worth it though, fantastic ride which one should not miss. Went around the park and got into most of the rides. The Jurassic park ride was unavailable which was a bummer as it was a major attraction. There were rides based on Puss in boots, Shrek as well which was enjoyed by my daughter. Later in the evening, tried my luck with the transformer ride again and it was only a 5 minute queue, so took it again. So all the planning in the morning was “much ado about nothing”, or maybe I was plain lucky in the evening. The roller coaster is a must and gives a very good adrenaline rush. All in all, a day well spent, which we rounded off with some shopping and dinner before heading back up to the hotel

Cost: 3800 per adult, 2800 per child, no express pass used

May 16th:

This was mostly a relaxing day. Spent the morning, again doing some shopping and then headed out to a water park called the Wild Wild wet and spent around 3-4 hours. It was a wonderfully maintained park with rides for both adults and kids. To top it, it was a lot cheaper than the more famous water park in Sentosa. Post the visit, went back to the hotel, had some dinner and called it a night

Cost: ~900 per ticket.

May 17th:

My daughter’s friends, all of 7-8 years, suggested that she visit the science center when she is in Singapore so we made that visit. It is an amazing place and one can easily spend more than 4 hours at the place with the gamut of practical experiments one can try. Considering we were checking out of our hotel today, we spent around 2 hours and went back to the hotel.

Checked out of Holiday Inn and took a cab to the Marina Bay Sands hotel, for our last night at Singapore. The check in process was smooth, contrary to what I read, was in the hotel room within 15 minutes of entering the hotel. I guess I was lucky. Our room was on the 19th floor, with a view of Gardens by the Bay. Headed almost immediately to the infinity pool on the top floor and spend a couple of hours there. It was very crowded, but the folks who were there said the crowd was ok, and it would be even more crowded over the weekend. It was a fantastic pool with great views. Spent the night watching a laser and water show by the hotel, had some dinner and called it a day

May 18th:

The day we are to leave Singapore. Got up early, around 7 (by holiday standards), had a quick dip in the pool once more, checked out of the hotel around 11 AM and went to the airport. The flight was at 8 PM in the evening and we spent the day lazing around the airport, doing some last minute shopping. Boarded the flight and reached home at around midnight. Thus ended our first international family vacation with lots of memories for the 3 of us.

Some observations to round of the post:
• Cabs are cheap in the country, and for a family of 3, for short distances, it makes immense sense to use them, especially if the fare is under $10
• I preferred the EZlink cards to the Singapore tourist passes even though the former has a non-refundable deposit of $5 per card. This was because the max number of days I could use the tourist pass was for 3 days and it came to around $90 for the 3 of us. EZlink costed me the same for my entire duration. Also, it allowed me to get on to some special buses like the Zoo shuttle which would not have been possible with the tourist pass
• I pre-booked all of the attractions using the website Klook everywhere, even when in Singapore just outside the destination. The tickets were accepted everywhere without any problem and the site and the mobile app both were good and there was no need of any print copies. The cost was also less and with the credits that I earned through all the bookings, I also got 2 tickets free for the water park which I went during the latter stages of my stay. So the website gets a complete approval.
• Holiday Inn cost me around 75,000 for the 5 nights that I was there with breakfast included. They included a very early check in at 7 AM on the day of arrival and a late checkout of 2:30 PM on the day of departure. On the 2nd day, I complained about some bugs on the bed and they did change the room immediately. Though having insects in a room is not acceptable, I was happy with the immediate response.
• Marina Bay Sands, in my honest opinion, is not worth the money they charge. Sure, they have a pool with fantastic views, but that’s about it. That said, I am glad I spent for the view, but no way will I go back there again to stay
• The people that I encountered were extremely friendly and helpful including the cab drivers. Even there, I only saw tourists from our own country breaking the rules (using flash when no flash signs was clearly mentioned, etc.)
• The cabs that I got into were all Hyundai and I some cabs with 3, 5 and one even with a mind boggling 8.5 lakh kilometers mileage and they were all as good. Fantastic maintenance.
• It’s very easy to get the GST refund. Ask for the refund before you make the purchase. Most of the shops provide this, the catch being you need your passport and the bill needs to be of minimum $100. Luckily, I read about this and took my passport around most of the days. The refund is very easy, go to the designated spot at the airport and swipe your passport, chose how you want to receive the money ( I chose cash) collect it at another counter post immigration and you are done!!

Hope this post is useful, please let me know if there are any specific queries and I will do my best to answer them.

[Guite]

Very useful travelogue, I read up in more detail later. I suppose all the cost mentioned is in INR.

[Happysmiles]

Originally Posted by arvind71181

I had visited Singapore on vacation between the 11th and 18th of May and am penning down a short travelogue. Hopefully, this is helpful to future vacationers.

We too travelled to Singapore May 17th to May 25th. Singapore is a great place for a family vacation.

Visa costs INR2500 per person which can be applied one month before travel date. Activated International roaming on the night of departure for 7 days @INR3000 for unlimited calls and data.
Reached Changi Airport 7.30 am morning. Immigration took around 20 minutes. Changed only $100 at the airport to pay for breakfast and taxi. Exchange rates are better outside the airport. We had breakfast and took a cab to Quincy Hotel.

I had a confirmed reservation with early check in. Payment was to be made during checkout. This was a boutique hotel just off Orchard road. Walking distance to Lucky Plaza, Far east Plaza, Paragon and Takashimaya shopping malls. Our hotel was with complimentary breakfast, full day snacks, light night buffet. Mini bar was replenished complimentary daily. Changed dollars at Lucky Plaza and Far east Plaza and enjoyed local food at the food court.

Night safari was interesting, though we enjoyed Singapore Zoo much more the next day. Jurong Bird park was spectacular, especially the bird shows. The zoo and bird park need a full day each. Did a lot of shopping for my bike at Regina Specialties, Moto world Singapore and Chong aik, all are close by near little india. Checked out of Quincy Hotel on 20th and checked into The Village at Sentosa for my daughters 5 years Birthday. They had decorated the room complimentary with her favorite color, balloons and Birthday cake as well.

When entering Sentosa island by Taxi show the hotel reservation at the toll for free entry. Or else there is a S$6 toll tax. Visited the Sentosa Merlion, Cable car ride to Mt Faber. Had a 15 %discount coupon from our Hotel. Sentosa tram is free within the island. Last stop for the tram is Vivocity which is one of the biggest malls in Singapore. Food Republic food court in Vivocity is a must visit. Universal studios is a full day visit. We took the Universal Express Pass with the Tickets. Express pass is highly recommended which cost a few thousand . Almost no waiting time at all the rides which generally has a 20/40 minutes waiting time.
Universal studios is fantastic. Must visit each and every attraction. S.E.A Aquariam is another superb attraction near the universal studios. Must visit.

We did a lot of shopping in Mustafa (24 hours open). Got GST refund at the airport during departure. Used Grab app (like Uber /Ola) on the last day when we checked out. Should have used it from the first day. We traveled by taxi everywhere, which is extremely efficient. Taxi drivers are friendly. Saw a couple of Exotics, Supercars, Superbikes in Singapore. Since we had a early 5.30 am checkout we asked for a take away breakfast. Missed seeing The Jewel, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Laser Show and a couple of other attractions. And yes, we gave Marina Bay sands a miss.

Overall great experience in Singapore.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by Guite

Very useful travelogue, I read up in more detail later. I suppose all the cost mentioned is in INR.

Yes it's in INR

Originally Posted by Happysmiles

We too travelled to Singapore May 17th to May 25th. Singapore is a great place for a family vacation.

Visa costs INR2500 per person which can be applied one month before travel date. Activated International roaming on the night of departure for 7 days @INR3000 for unlimited calls and data.

Overall great experience in Singapore.

Nice. Forgot to mention the phone part. I got a sintel or something similar company card pre booked and picked it up at the airport. Got 2 sims for 1100 odd with 7 day validity and 100gb data each and free local calls which was more than enough.

[Happysmiles]

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Yes it's in INR

Nice. Forgot to mention the phone part. I got a sintel or something similar company card pre booked and picked it up at the airport. Got 2 sims for 1100 odd with 7 day validity and 100gb data each and free local calls which was more than enough.

I activated my India number for international roaming for 7 days costing INR3000 via Idea app. So I could receive local calls and messages (important to receive OTP), with unlimited data as well.

[Old_Salt]

So, was waiting in Singapore to proceed to Sydney, for my next assignment and I was advised to go west instead. This gave me a day off and since the botanical garden was stone’s throw from the hotel, decided to walk.

Usual singapore weather at this time, little cooler, frequent showers. It was drizzling when I left and purposely didn’t take the umbrella.

As they say, a sailors joys are as simple as a child’s.

Lo and behold, took a wrong turn and instead of entering form the Nassim gate, made a entry from the Tanglin gate which was quite nice actually.

Now, let the pictures talk.

[Aviator_guy]

I am planning to visit Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Apr/May. We are family of four including two 12 years old kids. Need some advice on travel from SG to KL. While flights are very frequent and popular choice but I'm wondering if travel by road ( taxi) is a better choice considering point to point connection might work out better than flight. Also, it might work out cheaper as airlines are charging for check in luggage.

Has anyone used the road transportation (bus or taxi) and is it something I can consider? If so, what's the best way to book taxi and what are the things I should keep in mind.

Please share your experience and suggestions.

[Car Stalker]

Has anyone used the road transportation (bus or taxi) and is it something I can consider?

Please share your experience and suggestions.[/quote]

Hi
I did a trip of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in April 2019 for our anniversary celebration.
We took a bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in the morning (8am-ish) which took 6 hours. Almost all buses were luxury ones with ventilated and back rest massager. I had never sat or seen such luxury buses in India before. The bus fares were ₹1500 each with 15 kgs of luggage. Immigration counters at border were organised and smooth.
Most Singaporean living near borders often shop for groceries and fuel in Malaysia due to cheaper price.

Love & Light

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by Car Stalker

Hi
I did a trip of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in April 2019 for our anniversary celebration.
We took a bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in the morning (8am-ish) which took 6 hours. Almost all buses were luxury ones with ventilated and back rest massager. I had never sat or seen such luxury buses in India before. The bus fares were ₹1500 each with 15 kgs of luggage. Immigration counters at border were organised and smooth.
Most Singaporean living near borders often shop for groceries and fuel in Malaysia due to cheaper price.

Love & Light

Thank you for quick reply. Where did you book the bus from? Can you please share contact details?

[Car Stalker]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

Thank you for quick reply. Where did you book the bus from? Can you please share contact details?

My hotel (Hotel Boss) did it on behalf of us. A travel agency named Red Apple provided it. 12goasia.com is an online platform to book bus tickets. You may check it there too.

Love & Light

[hardilip]

Hey All,

We (me, my wife and daughter) are going to Singapore on Saturday 8th April 2023 for a 4D/5N trip.

My hotel's check in time is at 1500 hrs and my friend reaches Singapore airport at 0600 hrs.

I am still not sure if I will get early check in with the hotel. Any of you know if there is an arrival lounge?

We are planning to take an arrival lounge, relax, take shower and go on seeing attractions in Singapore airport so that we will shall reach hotel at the check in time.

I checked internet I am kind of getting mixed informations on the arrival lounge.

Do any one have information if Singapore has an arrival lounge? If that can be prebooked from here? Any information around this will be off great help and thanks in advance.

[gupta_chd]

Originally Posted by hardilip

My hotel's check in time is at 1500 hrs and my friend reaches Singapore airport at 0600 hrs.

I am still not sure if I will get early check in with the hotel. Any of you know if there is an arrival lounge?

Don't expect them to accommodate is my advice. Have paid $60 extra on Orchard Road for 1.5 hours early check in when room was already vacant and ready.

They simply didn't accomodate. The attitude is robotic. I must mention that it was around a decade back.

[Aviator_guy]

Anyone taveled to Singapore from India recently (March-April). Are there any requirement of PCR test or registration on any Singapore govt app? I am traveling with family - me and my wife are fully vaccinated but kids aged 12 are not vaccinated. Hence looking for information about any travel requirements.