Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
38
4
GETTING THERE AND GETTING AROUND
airways.com. Qantas:
&
0845/774-7767
in the U.K.,
&
131313 in A ustralia, or
&
65/6415-7373 in S
GETTING TO SINGAPORE
By Plane
Singapore's award-winning
Changi Inter-
national Airport
is a major transportation
hub for many of the world 's largest pas-
senger airlines, so flights fr om all corners
of the globe are convenient.
In my experience, the best deals ar e
offered thr ough Asian carriers. Compar e
fares at J apan Airlines (www .jal.co.jp),
Korean Air (www .koreanair.com), Cathay
Pacific Air ways (www.cathaypacific.com),
Malaysia Airlines (www .malaysiaairlines.
com), and Thai Air ways I nternational
(www.thaiair.com). O therwise, I' ve listed
information for a fe
ingapore; www .
qantas.com.)
From New Zealand,
Air New Zealand
has discontinued dir ect flights to S inga-
pore. Contact
Singapore Airlines
(
&
0800/808-909
in N ew Z ealand, or
&
65/6223-8888 in S ingapore; www .
singaporeair.com) for daily flights fr
om
Auckland and Christchurch.
Getting into Town from the
Airport
Most visitors to S
ingapore will land at
Changi I nternational Airpor t, which is
located toward the far eastern corner of the
island. Compar ed to other international
w major airlines
below.
Singapore's national carrier ,
Singapore
Airlines
(
&
800/742-3333
in the U.S.
and Canada,
&
0844/800-2380 in the
U.K.,
&
131011 in A ustralia,
&
0800/
808-909 in New Zealand, or
&
65/6223-
8888 in S ingapore; www .singaporeair.
com), is arguably one of the finest airlines
in the world, with r eliable ser vice that is
second to none. I t's the most luxurious
way to fly to Singapore, but sometimes the
most expensive as w ell. It connects major
cities in N orth America, E urope, Austra-
lia, and N ew Z ealand to S ingapore with
daily flights.
From North America,
United Airlines
(
&
800/864-8331
in the U.S. or
65/6873-
3533 in S ingapore; www .ual.com) and
Northwest Airlines
(
&
800/225-2525
in
the U.S.
or
65/6336-3371 in S ingapore;
www.nwa.com) link all major destinations
in the U.S. with Singapore.
From the U.K. and A ustralia,
British
Airways
and
Qantas
collaborate to pr o-
vide flights to Asia Pacific from major cit-
ies in the U.K. and A ustralia. (B ritish
Airways:
&
0844/493-0787
in the U.K.,
&
1300/767-177 in A ustralia, or
&
65/
6622-1747
in S ingapore; www .british
airports, Changi is a dr eam come tr ue,
providing clean and v ery efficient facilities.
Expect to find in-transit accommodations,
restaurants, duty-fr ee shops, money chang-
ers, A TMs, car-r ental desks, accommoda-
tions assistance, and tourist information all
marked in E nglish with clear signs. Three
terminals are connected b y a S kytrain sys-
tem. When y ou arriv e, keep y our ey es
peeled for the many S ingapore Tourism
Board br ochures that ar e so handily dis-
played throughout each terminal.
The city is easily accessible b y public
transportation. A taxi trip to the city center
will cost ar ound S$22 to S$25 (US $15-
US $17/£9.90-£11), which is the metered
fare plus an airport surcharge, usually S$3
to S$5 (US$2-US$3.35/£1.35-£2.25),
depending on the time of pickup . It takes
around 30 minutes to reach the city. You'll
traverse the wide Airport Boulevard to the
Pan-Island E xpressway (P IE) or the East
Coast Parkway (ECP), past public housing
estates and other r esidential neighbor-
hoods in the eastern par t of the island,
over causeways, and into the city center.
If y ou've got a lot of people and lug-
gage,
CityCab
offers a six-seater maxicab
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