Travellers love Singapore because it's safe, clean and a shopper's paradise. Singapore is warm all year round because of its proximity to the Equator. International airlines from around the world fly in to the famous Changi Airport west of and near the Singapore CBD.
In Singapore it's a delight to find inexpensive taxis in a big cosmopolitan city. A taxi trip from the airport to downtown Singapore costs about $10. Singapore is the epicentre of delicious Asian food and you're guaranteed to enjoy the taste and variety of cuisine in Singapore.
Busy Orchard Road in Singapore
Singapore is also famous for its July
retail shopping sales, when you can get great discounts
on great brands at designer and Singaporean shops.
The major shopping area is up and down Orchard
Road, and our
World's Best
Cities tip is to stay at the Shangri-La, one of the
world's great hotels near Orchard
Road.
What To Do In Singapore
You'll find everything you want in
Singapore from the latest electronics to clothes in
shopping areas centres such as Paragon and Takashimaya
on Orchard Road, Little India or Vivo City which is the
biggest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere.
Clarke Quay is a must-see on any trip
to especially at night for its variety of
Singaporean restaurants and bars overlooking the
river. You'll walk through 21st century water fountains
children love to play in before being dazzled by the
choice of quality restaurants.
The famous
Raffles Hotel is also worth seeing and many people
stop for High Tea at the Tiffin Room as a reminder of
colonial days gone by. Our
World's Best Holidays tip is to go to the nearby
Goodwood Hotel instead for the freshest sandwiches and
cakes we've tasted since the Hyde Park in London and The
Oriental in Bangkok. The
Goodwood is a colonial hotel frequented by ex-pats and
the racing fraternity.
Singapore's best high tea at the Goodwood Hotel
And no travel to Singapore would be
complete without a trip by monorail or cable car to
Sentosa Island near Singapore's CBD. Sentosa Island has
resorts and restaurants and is undergoing rapid
development including a huge children's amusement park.
Sentosa Island cable car from Mt Faber
Go to the top of Sentosa's Skytower for a bird's eye
view over Singapore.
Singapore's
white sandy beaches on Sentosa are one of Singapore's
secrets and clean for swimming, despite the huge
shipping lane in nearby Singapore harbour.
White sandy beaches Sentosa Island
For something different, head over to the Esplanade on the Bay. It's a strange-looking spiky building that's a performing arts centre with many surrounding restaurants. You have to see the quirky restaurant upstairs called My Humble House. It's like walking into a plush home like something out of the Addams Family with remarkably rich décor.
Accommodation in Singapore
The
Shangri-La Hotel Singapore is
renowned for its ambience, delightful rooms, friendly
staff and variety of restaurants.
World's Best Holidays has travelled
to many cities and we can honestly say the Shangri-La
is Singapore's best hotel, and one of the best hotels in
the world to stay
at. The costumed doormen and
marbled foyer on arrival signal the start of a wonderful
holiday.
Photo of Shangri-La Singapore hotel room
The Shangri-La Hotel Singapore is a green oasis just around the corner from
bustling Orchard Road Singaporean
accommodation.
Photo of Shangri-La Singapore's resort pool
The
Shangri-La's Valley Wing is a favourite among many
international travellers, but it's worth paying just a
little more to stay in a Horizon Club room. You'll be
given access to the 20th-floor Horizon Club for
complimentary drinks at night and gourmet snacks that
can easily save you the cost of dining out.
And if you get breakfast included in
your rate, you'll eat at The Line restaurant with its
fantastic variety that tourists and locals alike flock
to.
The famous Line Restaurant in Singapore's Shangri-La
Hotel
The
Crowne Plaza Hotel near
Changi Airport is another good choice of
accommodation near Singapore's centre and there's also a
new hotel for transit passengers where it's cheaper to
pay by the hour instead of per day.
Restaurants in Singapore
There are many choices in the famous Orchard Road
shopping area. Go to the Paragon
shopping centre and find Ding Tai Fung café with great Shanghai
dumplings and chicken noodle soup. In the basement, you'll find
delicious food at the Japanese Soba noodle café.
Nearby on Orchard Road is the Takashimaya
shopping centre - you'll find well-priced tasty Chinese food at
Crystal Jade Palace restaurant. And to try a slice of local life, go
to the food court in the basement where Singapore restaurant prices
are really cheap, the food is good and you'll be jostling with the
locals for a seat. It's worth it.
At Vivo City, go to Food Republic at the top to
eat - a huge government-controlled hawker centre where it's fun to
select different dishes from different stalls. Some of Singapore's
famous dishes include Nasi Padang (rice with chicken curry), Char
Kway Tow (yummy fried noodles with soya sauce) and Mee Goreng
(Malaysian noodles). While you're at
Vivo City check out the Pacific Coffee Co. for a great view over
Sentosa Island.
Clarke Quay is worth visiting at least once for
its variety of restaurants by the river.
Indochine is the best restaurant here walk through a fascinating bar
then out onto the boardwalk for alfresco dining.
Forbidden City also has a stylish interior - you can recline
on the daybeds and be soothed by the waterfalls and statues.
And for a laugh, check out The Clinic bar, which is themed as
a hospital complete with wheelchairs to sit in and a drip hanging
from a hospital bed to drink your cocktail from.
For nice restaurants at night, go to Rochester
Park and book Da Paolo for Italian or Number 1 with its outdoor
courtyards.
And on Dempsey Rd there are two good places to go
- The PS Café with nice food and lovely outlook into the lush palm
jungle, and OOsh at 22 Dempsey Road for meals, drinks or coffee.
For a lovely authentic Singaporean meal in a
stylish restaurant where the waiters hardly speak English, go to the
Majestic Restaurant in Bukit Pasah Road. It's
creative Chinese food in a restored Chinese boutique hotel, and if you look up while dining you may even see
people swimming in the sea through portholes in the ceiling.
In summary, Singapore is certainly
one of the
World's Best Cities.
It's a safe city where you can instantly relax and enjoy
the year-round warm weather.
Singapore is great value for money, there's plenty to see and the food is delicious. And most importantly, the 5 star hotels here are among the world's best for luxury and value. Go to Singapore and enjoy one of the World's Best Holidays.
