Essentials
Explore the links below to find all the basic information you need to know for Singapore, such as how to get there, where to stay and what to eat.
- Getting There
- Most people arrive in Singapore by air. Its status as a major airline hub in Asia makes Singapore a natural starting or ending point for a multi-country tour of Southeast Asia. Since its an island, you can naturally arrive by sea, although it seems that very few do. Lastly, you can get to Singapore by road or train from Malaysia.
- Accommodation
- Singapore has a huge number of hotels to choose from. Most are located in the Orchard-Marina corridor near the major tourist attraction of Singapore: shopping, and the favorite past-time: business.
- Getting Around
- Singapore has to be just about the easiest city to get around, not only in Asia but the entire world. An integrated and extensive rapid transit system is designed to make it easy to get anywhere quickly. It has to be, since taxes have intentionally made personal cars in Singapore the most expensive in the world.
- Food & Drink
- Singapore's melting pot of cultures each has their own cuisines, so its quite easy to find Chinese, Indian, Malay and Indonesian food. The closest thing Singapore has to a native cuisine is generally referred to as Nonya and mixes Chinese ingredients with Malay herbs and spices. Of course, as with any big international city, you can easily find the foods of just about every culture on the planet. You just have to know where to look.
In this section
Most people arrive in Singapore by air. Its status as a major airline hub in Asia makes Singapore a natural starting or ending point for a multi-country tour of Southeast Asia. Since its an island, you can naturally arrive by sea, although it seems that very few do. Lastly, you can get to Singapore by road or train from Malaysia.
Planes As noted above, Singapore is a major air hub.
Singapore has a huge number of hotels to choose from. Most are located in the Orchard-Marina corridor near the major tourist attraction of Singapore: shopping, and the favorite past-time: business. The major hotels are priced from around US$100 on up, although you will find some bargains for less. Some of our hotel selections below are based on their value for money.
All of the hotels below may be booked on-line through our travel partners.
Getting around in Singapore Singapore has to be just about the easiest city to get around, not only in Asia but the entire world. An integrated and extensive rapid transit system is designed to make it easy to get anywhere quickly. It has to be, since taxes have intentionally made personal cars in Singapore the most expensive in the world.
Airport Transfer Getting from Changi Airport at the eastern end of the island to the central business area is generally very easy.
Singapore's melting pot of cultures each has their own cuisines, so its quite easy to find Chinese, Indian, Malay and Indonesian food. The closest thing Singapore has to a native cuisine is generally referred to as Nonya and mixes Chinese ingredients with Malay herbs and spices. Of course, as with any big international city, you can easily find the foods of just about every culture on the planet. You just have to know where to look.
Getting from Changi Airport at the eastern end of the island to the central business area is generally very easy. The main choices are:
Taxi Taxis are usually plentiful and queues short at most times. The main exception is usually Sunday evenings. A taxi to the city are will run around S$15. Bus A special bus regularly leaves the airport for several downtown hotels. The cost is S$7 per person.
Like the rest of the airport, Changi's lounges are also among the very best. In Terminal Two, Singapore Airlines operates separate first and business class lounges open to their customers as well as members of the Star Alliance.
The business class lounge in Terminal Two is definitely designed for business. There is free wi-fi connectivity throughout the lounge, and there are many comfortable workstations to make it easy to work while seated in soft arm chairs.
Singapore's Changi Airport, like the city, is a modern and efficient international airport. The international airport code for Changi is 'SIN'. Like most airports, the departure hall is above the arrivals hall. There are currently four terminal buildings. Terminal One is used by most international airlines, while Terminal Two is used almost exclusively by Singapore Airlines. A special terminal for budget airlines opened in March of 2006. A fourth terminal building, perversely called Terminal Three, opened in 2008.
