Tell me about Singapore

[ImInStealthMode]

DP and I are looking to book a week or so away at the end of the year, which is the most we can spare off work.

We're thinking of Singapore because a) Green list and B) I've never been to Asia and would like to try somewhere totally new.

I know it's a long way for a week but at this stage don't care, we just want to be somewhere that's not here. We'll have 7 nights and won't leave until almost midnight on the last day, so 7 and a bit full days.

So, Singapore aficionados, where should we stay? What should we do? Anything not to miss? Anything to absolutely miss? It's intended as a city break really but a day or two of laying down relaxing would be good too. I've seen pictures of nice beaches?

Just us by the way, no kids (although with any luck I'll be pregnant)

At present you require (Singapore) government consent to visit. Keep an eye on the position before booking anything, unless offering a full refund. If you go PM me, l used to be (pre Covid) a regular visitor for work.

I love Singapore but wouldn’t go for a full week. It’s busy and very tiring. We usually go for 3 nights and then travel on up to Malaysia.

Wow, thanks so much for all responses which I'll read properly tomorrow.

To clarify, we're TTC so I 'may' be pregnant but it's been almost a year already so no guarantees. We'll plan for business as usual and change if necessary.

The trip we're looking at is cancellable (for vouchers valid 2 years) up to 3 weeks in advance so no worries with regards changing our minds or not being able to go. I work in travel so lean to the 'optimistic but realistic' side rather than over-cautious. Happy to book now & change later if needs be.

Singapore is like the Dubai of Asia... Sanitized. Shiny. Not representative of the rest of the region.

I'd probably swing for Japan, South Korea or Thailand personally.

If you do go for Singapore I agree you should at least hop across the border to Malaysia for a few days.

Before booking anywhere in se Asia it's always worth checking when monsoon season is in a particular region. I have had a few short stays in Singapore, but only ever used it as a springboard to the rest of Asia. I wouldn't really fancy it as a destination in its own right. We last visited in 2019 on the way back from Thailand. I disagree with PP about the zoo. It has massively gone down hill in the last decade and wouldn't waste my money going back there. Lunch at the raffles was wonderful, and when the kids leave home I'm hoping I can afford to stay in the hotel.

Singapore have some of the strictest quarantine restrictions in the world. I'd be surprised if they open up for tourism this year. Currently they are letting people in from low risk countries, but a 7 day hotel quarantine is required. As much as I love our Asian holidays, I honestly can't see being let into to Singapore this year (hopefully I'm wrong)..

We did Singapore then Hong Kong 2 years ago . Much preferred Singapore.

We stayed at the Andaz and plan to go back.
Gardens by the bay. Go into the domes. Also visit at night.
Botantic Gardens
Zoo
China town
Sentosa.
Marina Bay
There was a somewhere up the river but can't recall the name.

We used the underground.

Also went 22 years ago and did a trip to an Island which was good.

Pandam cake.
Laksa soup.

Don't do it. If there's even a sniff of covid anywhere near you, ie someone you came into contact with twice removed, they'll haul your ass off until a very unpleasant quarantine situation. Asia is not worth it right now.

Yeh, I wouldn't do long haul at the moment however. We're hopefully off to the Isle of Wight!

We stayed at the Fullerton and there is a station across the road that leads to underground air conditioned walkways along with the train station.
You can walk a long way towards gardens by the bay. The trains are also quick and frequent.
We googled the top 10 things to do in Singapore and worked our way through the list.

It's 8am here in Singapore and we're in another lockdown, not as strict as the first one but restaurants, bars and schools are closed. You can only go out with 1 other person and only have 2 visitors to your home per day.

The only folk who can get into Singapore at the moment are citizens and those that have permanent residency. We are here on DH's work permit, if we leave we won't be allowed back in. The earliest date the govt are considering re entry for folk like us who live and work here is end of July and there wil be months of backlog, so it's highly unlikely tourist will be allowed to visit this year. We haven't seen our son for 20 months, he lives in Europe. 3 week quarantine in a govt appointed hotel is compulsory if you do get in and costs you thousands. They recently cancelled a world environmental summit.

When we eventually do open the borders to tourists, there is loads to do for a weeks holiday but I wouldn't come here if I didn't live here. It's expensive, blingy, bloody hot and humid and not really Asia. Shopping and eating are the national sports, so if you like buying designer gear in shiny malls, go for it but you'll get more culture in somewhere like Vietnam or Malaysia.

I think it's ideal as an "en route" to SE Asia or Australia or if you're visiting people here but I wouldn't come for a holiday. Avoid Jan/Feb it's like monsoon every day for hours, not much fun but the thunderstorms are incredible.

The fact Singapore is on the green list actually counts for very little.
Singapore are not allowing in tourists to visit at the present time; only residents.

Clearly this is all theoretical at the moment,especially with that update from someone who is actually there.

As I said, it's been a long time. But Singapore was my introduction to Asia with the expected 'soft landing,'. Went on into Malaysia - maybe Malacca doesn't have open drains running down streets any more but that was a surprise. Instant obvious drop in living standards as you crossed the border, much worse insect disease control and considerably less safe. Kuala Lumpur was just as hot and horrendously polluted. Langkawi was pleasant. The lonely planet thing of 'singapore not real because it is clean and tidy' - plenty of culture and difference around if you look beyond the expat bars and shopping malls.

I agree with the PP who found it a bit characterless. The old colonial bits I found interesting but it was incredibly built up and pretty expensive. Didn’t really do it for me.

We saw a group of wild otters near the Gardens of the Bay

We stayed at Marina Bay Sands Hotel for one night & swam in the pool over looking the city in a storm

We enjoyed a Singapore sling at Clarke Quay
Food in Little China & Little India

Expensive

Prefer Bangkok or Vietnam or Bali

But it is worth a visit

Also went to our first cat cafe

I was meant to be visiting Singapore with my Mum end of March 2019 for a sort of "hen holiday" which obviously didn't happen. I'm now pregnant and the only chance to go would be if we could get there September/October this year which I'm convinced absolutely won't happen. Totally gutted!

We had booked to stay at Marina Bay Sands. Absolutely extortionate, yes, but a one off magical experience.

Hopefully things open up there soon and particularly to UK who I believe are most of their European visitors so they actually need us!!

@ApplePie86 I was strongly advised not to go while pregnant; due to the Zika risk. I wasn’t aware Singapore had such an increased risk before, so I’m just mentioning it incase you weren’t either - if you are and are happy with it, no judgement here 🙂

@TakeYourFinalPosition Oh no!!!! I absolutely didn't even consider that!! Thanks for mentioning it. Hadn't even crossed my mind 😩

Singapore’s first Zika outbreak occurred in August 2016 with a total of 455 cases reported across 3 months. Through enhanced surveillance and intensive mosquito control – systems already in place to manage the ongoing problem of Dengue – authorities acted swiftly in identifying infected people, eradicating mosquitoes and removing breeding sites. New cases were reduced by 48 percent within a month. Crucially, Singapore researchers had also confirmed that the local Zika strain was not the same as the Brazilian Zika strain. The local strain was traced to one that has been circulating in South-East Asia since the 1960s, and Zika strains identified prior to 2013 have not been linked to severe neurological complications. No babies with microcephaly were born to pregnant women diagnosed with Zika in Singapore in 2016. The numbers of Zika infections in Singapore continued to decline, with 67 cases reported in 2017 and just 1 in all of 2018 however there have been 3 cases announced in September 2019 around Serangoon area.

Zika isn't a big risk but dengue is. I have loads of friends who've had it, been very ill and hospitalised. Another thing to consider if you were pregnant is insurance. A British couple stopped off in Singapore for a few days on their way home to the UK from Oz. She went into premature labour and delivered their very premature wee one here. Their insurance didn't touch it and they ended up staying here for months and crowdfunding.

All 8n, it's not the best place to be pregnant.

That case was little to do with Singapore, gappie travel insurance doesn't generally cover pregnancy. They left it quite some time between discovering the pregnancy and flying home. He also got into trouble in Singapore where being drunk is exacerbation not mitigation.

An update on the gofundme from march 2020 - they raised far more than they needed and the excess is being invested for the child's future. Child was happily unaffected by the premature birth.

Glad to hear the baby is well. I was only trying to explain the medical culture which is very different to the UK. Everything has a very high price and doesn't always work in the patient's favour.

Thanks @AttilaTheMeerkat - sadly my insurance were pretty stern that they didn’t recommend it as Zika cases aren’t usually recorded officially anymore, so sadly we can’t go back until after I’ve given birth, but it’s useful to know that they were potentially being cautious!