Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Planning Your Trip
to Singapore
The seasoned traveler typically has as man y travel nightmares as he
has glorious experiences—the luggage gets sent to Timbuktu, the hotel r eservations get
lost, and the taxi driv er takes the $500 scenic r oute to no where. The good ne ws about
traveling to S ingapore? This place wor ks. A seamless communications infrastr ucture
means that you can plan your own trip, without a travel agent, and still have everything
go as smoothly as if you were on an organized coach tour. Reliable phone lines, fax tech-
nology, and Internet presence make advance planning a br eeze. Of course, it helps that
so many Singaporeans speak English. Additionally, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
is a wealthy and well-oiled machine that has anticipated the needs of trav elers.
The STB is perhaps one of the most visible government agencies in Singapore, and it's
impossible for any tourist to get out of the countr y without encountering at least one of
its many publications or postings or coming face-to-face with one of its innumerable
representatives. If you have access to one of its offices befor e your trip, it's a great source
of information. (M ore information on STB is listed under “
Visitor I nformation,”
below.)
In this chapter, I'll run through the nuts and bolts of trav el to Singapore, letting you
in on everything from how much your money will buy to the best time of year to travel,
what to wear, how to get here, and how to find your way around. For additional help in
planning your trip and for more on-the-ground resources in Singapore, please turn to the
“Fast Facts,” appendix on p. 290.
1
VISITOR INFORMATION
The long arm of the
Singapore Tourism
Board
(STB)
reaches many overseas audi-
ences thr ough its branch offices, which
will gladly provide brochures and booklets
to help you plan your trip, and through its
detailed w ebsite, at
www .visitsingapore.
com
.
After y ou arriv e in S ingapore, sev eral
visitor centers ar e staffed to assist, begin-
ning with information desks at the Arrival
Halls in Terminals 1, 2, and 3 at Changi
Airport, open daily fr om 6am to 2am.
Other visitor centers are located in the city
as follows: at the junction of O rchard and
Cairnhill r oads (cater-corner ed fr om the
Meritus M andarin H otel), open daily
from 9:30am to 10:30pm; in Little I ndia
at the I nnCrowd B ackpackers' H ostel, at
73 Dunlop Street, open daily fr om 10am
to 10pm; and at S untec G alleria, open
from 10am to 6pm daily.
STB operates an information hotline
from 8am to 9pm daily that is toll-fr ee
within S ingapore at
&
800/736-2000.
Generally, STB has up-to-date informa-
tion, but if you need accurate information
about travel timetables, I recommend you
call airlines, ferry services, bus companies,
or train stations directly.
