Singapore & Bali (2 week getaway)

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frannieleah
frannieleah

Hi all,

Myself and my boyfriend (both in our 20's) have booked flights to Singapore at the beginning of June. We have booked a return flight to/from Singapore & then got a cheap return flight to Bali through Air Air (just as it worked out cheaper this way). We will be staying for 2 weeks in total; 2nd - 5th in Singapore then over to Bali until the 14th. We don't fly back to the UK until 15th so we have another day and night in Singapore at the end of the holiday due to an early morning flight from Bali.

We have bought the Singapore & Bali & Lombok Lonely Planet Guides & searched endlessly through posts on this forum for ideas. So far we have put together a rough itinerary for Singapore but have not booked any accommodation & haven't planned anything for Bali yet. I was wondering if I could get some advice for the following itinerary to see if it is do-able and we aren't missing anything major:

Day 1
We arrive early morning (7am) so we thought we could do something relaxing later on in the day once we had made our way to the city & settled in. Ideas were Botanic Gardens & National Orchid Garden then to check out Chinatown in the evening & also grab something to eat at one of the Hawker Centres.

Day 2
Exploring Little India in the morning
Then we found a good mini tour in the lonely planet book that starts at Raffles (to try a Singapore sling), then onto the Merlion Park & we might go on the Singapore Flyer which I think is quite close to there?
Then head to Marina bay sands in the evening to watch the light show, soak up the atmosphere & get something to eat.

Day 3
Catch the cable car over to Sentosa Island. We have heard that you can just spend the whole day here doing various activities. We would really like to go to Universal Studios (we went to Florida last year & absolutely loved it). What else could we realistically fit in whilst over there?
We thought we might check out Clarke Quay in the evening if we have time & are not too tired!!

Day 4
As we are flying to Bali in the evening we thought we could take our time to stroll around Orchard Road that day.

Then we have 8 days in Bali - hoping to catch the Bali arts Festival. Not sure if we have enought time to fit in a trip to the Gili's. My boyfriend is not a strong swimmer & as all they mainly talk about the fantastic snorkelling & diving here, I'm not sure it would be worth our while? What are other must-see's in Bali?

Day 5 (singapore)
As we fly back from Bali early morning we thought we could visit Singapore zoo late morning and all afternoon then go to the night safari on our last evening.

Any advice would be much appreciated, we are thinking of staying in the CBD or Chinatown, midrange hotel.

Sorry if this is really long & thankyou in advance

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lucapal
lucapal

From the Uk its a long flight,you may be very tired/jet lagged when you arrive......I wouldn't plan on a very hectic itinerary on the first day......

Other than that all of your itinerary is doable...what is 'unmissable'depends on you of course,and your likes/dislikes.I for example would visit Changi prison rather than the zoo........

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anonymous
anonymous

Hi, I agree with lucapal, you will be very tired, also take into account acclimatising to the heat!!! So just mooching around the food courts and chinatown on the first day sounds perfect. The Chinese/Japanese gardens are also great in the early morning before the heat sets in.

Day 2 sounds like a good plan. Yes the flyer is close, I wouldn't personally bother going on it, but thats my opinion. There's a great mall there too called Suntec City if you want to check that out?

Day 3, personally I would give Sentosa a miss, but hey, if you really want to see it then a full day is okay.

Day 4, sounds good.

Day 5, Singapore zoo is absolutely outstanding! It is really worth a full day though, it is the best zoo on the planet in my opinion! And you can get a combined ticket to the zoo and night safari which is cheaper. And remember, there is also the new river safari (where you can see giant pandas) that will take a full day too!

Chinatown is a fantastic place to stay, check out the Scarlet, it is expensive, but not for Singapore, and it is really nice!

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misterfitch
misterfitch

Logistically, all of your plans are doable. Good thing you are 20's because that pace will take a lot of energy and stamina. Sometimes the best memories of a vacation are the unplanned moments of exploring small shops or back alley restaurants. Little India is definitely that kind of area. For example the food is very different than you will get place else in SE Asia. The daily life is still authentically Indian culture. It has not been polluted by outside influences like other areas of Singapore.

I also feel that Sentosa was made for Asians to come and have a "Westernized" experience. If you have been to the Florida amusement parks, spend your time visiting things you can't see another with another trip to Florida or California. The shopping areas around Orchard and Bugis area are fun to browse, even if you don't buy anything. Give yourself a little wiggle-room to see the daily life in Singapore, not just the canned entertainment.

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frannieleah
frannieleah

Thank you all for your prompt replies.
We think we will probably take your advice and skip on the day to Sentosa.
As you said we have been there and done that with Florida. This will mean we will have a lit more time to explore the 'real Singapore'. We will have a juggle of our itinerary but it will probably be spending more time in both little India and china town visiting temples, markets etc.

Thanks again for the advice

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gerbilly3
gerbilly3

Try . Http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com for places to eat in singapore if you are adventurous :)

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sean_de_cuirteis
sean_de_cuirteis

You should definitely be able to do all of this in Singapore within the time frame that you mention. Singapore is a small island and easy to get around. The Singapore tourism site is good and you might find it useful...

Singapore Tourism Board

Sean de Cuirteis

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arizona
arizona

... to explore the 'real Singapore'.

Pulau Ubin for the real Singapore, i.e. how/what Singapore looked like some 50 years ago.
Rent a bicycle for the real experience.

But what's the definition of real.
As for me this is very real too: Marina Bay

Both not to miss.

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misterfitch
misterfitch

test

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danwykl
danwykl

Hi there,

I just recently came back from Singapore and visited most of the places that you want to go to!. Do check out my blog posts at:

My 2012 Singapore Escapade

I stayed at Porcelain Hotel in Chinatown, which was a pretty decent hotel for its price. You take a look at my review and some pictures that I took in my blog.

As for your questions, The Singapore Flyer is much closer to Marina Bay Sands (about a 10-15 minutes walk away). Universal Studios will take up the whole day if you go through all the rides.

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