BudBrain

We (2 adults, 2 kids..13 & 5) are thinking about stopping off at Singapore on our flight from London to Perth, either for the standard re-fuel (a few hours?) or maybe for a night or two.

Did you find a stop over at Singapore worth-while or would you have preferred to get the whole long flight to Perth over and done with asap?

Bonus question - where did you stay in Singapore?

bcworld

If I have the time I always prefer a stopover.....why not, gives you a chance to have a wee break somewhere a bit different. Unless you really have a reason to arrive by a certain date I don't get the just get it over and done with idea!

Stayed at Swissotel Stamford, Hilton Orchard Rd, Holiday Inn Park View.....all very good.

BudBrain

Thanks - we were just wondering whether it'd be more tiring to stop, shift all your luggage to a hotel, have a sleep then back to the airport to do it all over again.

Our hotel budget would be pretty low - doubt we'd be able to afford anything too nice. Just want something near the airport/things to do, safe, kid friendly, clean/tidy and a pool.

bcworld

Will depend on flight times how viable a one night stop is - 2 nights would be better.

Singapore hotels are not expensive, you should be able to find a good standard hotel at a reasonable price.

Near the airport isn't really a consideration....all the hotels are in the city about a 15min cab ride away.

BudBrain

Thanks bcworld

Aussie30

On the way to the UK we had a stop over in Singapore and stayed overnight in the transit hotel in the airport, it was great as we could sleep and have a shower and get ready for our long haul flight.
We have spent time in Singapore before though, on our way home from our honeymoon in Thailand we spent 2 nights in Singapore. If you go there you have to go to the Zoo, it is the best one I have ever been to and we spent 5 hours there and loved it! China Town is also great and the food is lovely.

Leedelta

I am stopping over for a few days when I travel at the end of the month.

I am staying at the Hotel Ibis on Bencoolen. I have been checking Singapore out on Google Earth.

Any sight seeing tips to cover 3-4 days in Singapore.

Kayelem

Hi. We are flying via Singapore in June with Singapore airlines. I booked our flights and then was told by a friend that we should have stopped over a couple of nights as Singapore is fantastic. They said that the airline encourage stopovers and have deals with hotels and free shuttles to and from airport. For us this will incur an admin fee so we can't do it now. If you are going with Singapore airlines on a one way ticket and haven't validated visa yet you are also allowed double baggage allowance too.

BudBrain

Just to clarify - we're only going for a reccie for 3 weeks. Is it much more expensive to stop over in terms of flight price?

Jaime.Burrows

Hi, me and my husband and two children went to Oz via Singapore Airlines and stopped at Singapore for about 7 hours. We had read reports about the transit hotel and decided to stay there. We were quite anxious about leaving the airport and travelling into Singapore itself with luggage etc. We were given the option of a stopover, which added no cost to the air ticket, (Just hotel charge) at a hotel outside the airport, which could be booked direct through their website. Or if you have a transit of more than 4 hours but less than 10 I think, you are given a tourist visa and can be taken on a bus tour of the city whilst in transit. The transit hotel was cheap. It had no windows, but was wheelchair accessible (which my husband needed). It was clean and comfortable. You tell reception what flight you're on and they wake you up in time! There was one in every terminal. There is also a butterfly zoo and open top swimming pool in Terminal One, which was also great. Singapore Airport was so humid, even when we went in April, we all immediately wanted a shower before the next flight, and if you don't go for the hotel option, there is a shower facility in the swimming pool. Hope this helps. Jaime.

BudBrain

Thanks for all your replies

Didn't think about the visas! What do you need to do to get hold of a tourist visa?

briwi

I hate the flight direct so I always stop in Singapore - either just overnight at the transit hotel or if I get an early flight which gives me the afternoon in Singapore, in town.

It really is an easy stopover - I always sit at the back of the plane and not that many people do stop over so lines for immigration are generally non existant by the time I get there and invariably my luggage is already on the carousel (if I need to pick it up, Singapore airlines will check through luggage on a connecting flight that's, I think, within 24 hours of departure). Taxis are quick and cheap and if I do go into town I'm in my hotel within about 40 minutes of landing.

Depending when you're going this year also sees the opening of the first Universal theme park on Sentosa which adds to the list of things to do. Sadly I can't help you with a hotel as the place I stay is now ridiculously expensive - in fact, any suggestions of somewhere moderate that can compare with the Pan Pacific much appreciated. They've just put their rates up by a third....

briwi

Assuming you've got a UK passport you get a stamp on arrival

laguna33p

Have as many stopovers enroute as you can!!!!

Kooky.

Hi there - if you have a search of the archives you will find quite a few similar threads and many more opinions on stopovers and hotels.

I would say it's not really worth doing 1 night unless you just want a break and a sleep. 2 nights ok but don't underestimate the jetlag; you probably won't do nearly as much as you plan to.

You can also find some info on the link in my signature, although some of it will be starting to get out-of-date as it's now about 20 months since I moved on to Oz. I've had a couple of stopovers there myself in that time and will continue to do so every time I go to the UK, unless I stop travelling SIA and stopover somewhere else. It breaks up the jetlag a bit.

If the airline you choose transits through Singapore, there should be no extra charge for flights. Don't think so, anyway - definitely don't pay more with SIA. We try to book the flights that get us into Changi early morning and depart about 8.20pm, so we pretty much get 3 days / 2 nights there. (Added bonus being those flights are A380s!)

The Ibis is a very new hotel. I haven't stayed there, I know where it is and it's not a bad location. I checked it out online for our last trip and the rooms look a bit small. That said, we now stay at a glorified backpackers - the Hangout at Mt Emily - in a private room of course. It's modern, it's clean, it's in a great location, has a laundry, restaurant, TV room, but no pool or gym. We wouldn't use them anyway as we spend all our waking ours out catching up with friends and shopping and eating but it's not what I'd call a "holiday hotel".