Singapore 'Fling'

Singapore, an island city-state off southern Malaysia, it's a global financial centre with a tropical climate and multicultural population.

I have always advised passengers new to travel to include Singapore along with Australia, the Pacific Islands and New Zealand as a great introduction and a safe destination. Often viewed as a transit port by many you miss out on what is on offer by not spending a few days here.

Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style luxury hotel. It was established by Armenian hoteliers, the Sarkies Brothers, in 1887. The hotel was named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. This is another place to treat yourself if your budget allows, if not I recommend high tea here anyway.

Gardens by the Bay is a nature park spanning 101 hectares of reclaimed land in central Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and Bay Central Garden. The evening light display in the gardens is awe inspiring.

Treat yourselves and stay at Marina Bay Sands hotel attached to the gardens via a walkway and take in the wonder of this piece of architecture.

Sentosa is an island off Singapore’s southern coast, connected to the city by road, cable car, pedestrian boardwalk and monorail. Tiger Sky Tower has panoramic views that can stretch as far as Indonesia. On the south coast of the island are soft sandy beaches lined with food stalls and bars one being Palawan Beach. Close by is a suspension bridge to a smaller, tranquil, palm-lined off shore island called Tanjong Beach. Qantas, Emirates, BA and Singapore Airlines can take you there depending on your style and budget. I probably wouldn’t waste my points to this destination, keep saving those points for a bigger picture, like around the world, or business class somewhere further afield. There are usually great deals/sales on the full-service airlines to Singapore like Qantas or Singapore Airlines and the budget carriers that are supported and owned by those full-service carriers offer competitive pricing, remembering not to fall victim to their add ons should you go budget. Happy travels.