About Singapore

Around 10 million tourists visit Singapore each year, not bad for a small island state! Some of those people will use Singapore as a 3-4 day stopover at the start or end of their longer sailing holiday in, say, Phuket or Bali.

Many things attract people to Singapore – cultural diversity, colonial history, world-class shopping, the beaches of Sentosa Island, the Jurong Bird Park with its flock of 1000 flamingos, and the world’s only Night Safari where you can explore animals from around the world with no visible barriers between you and the 1200 wild animals!

You want nightlife? The riverside shop houses of Boat Quay have been transformed into dozens of bars, pubs, and restaurants, Clarke Quay is party central with chic bars and clubs such as Ministry of Sound open to 6am, and real ale breweries such as The Pump House and Brewerkz are full every night. High-class restaurants offering every possible type of cuisine can be found all over the city.

In September 2008, Singapore will host the first ever Formula 1 night race, and in 2009 the first of the 2 integrated resorts with casinos should open its doors at Marina Bay.

Add to this the fact that virtually everyone speaks English, the city is clean and safe, and the public transport system is widespread and efficient, it is really no wonder that tourist numbers are growing every year.

Getting There

Singapore's Changi Airport is a major Asian aviation hub, being served by around 80 airlines flying to more than 180 cities in over 50 countries in virtually every continent. With Terminal 3 opening in early 2008, Changi now has the capacity to handle over 60 million passengers a year.

Changi has received over 250 awards from travelers and travel magazines, and was rated the world’s best airport by Skytrax in 2006. Someone once noted that walking through the terminal buildings was like walking through a 5-star hotel lobby!

Fast and easy air connections are available to all the other sailing destinations of SE Asia such as Phuket, Thailand, Langkawi, Malaysia, and Bali, Indonesia, so dual destination holidays are easy to arrange.

Shopping

Need some retail therapy after the rigours of sailing around SE Asia?

If so, the centre of Singapore probably has more shopping centres per square kilometer than anywhere on the planet! Everything from local goods at roadside stalls up to famous international brands available in high-tech shopping malls, you can find it all in Singapore.

There are various focused shopping areas with distinct cultural ambiances eg Chinatown, Arab Street, Little India, but Orchard Road is the daddy of them all, hosting dozens of multistory shopping malls. Typical opening hours are 10am to 9 or 10pm, but midnight shopping is also possible in many parts of the city.

And if you are exhausted after all that, why not enjoy a 'Singapore Sling' cocktail at the world famous Raffles Hotel!

Climate and Weather

Sitting almost on the equator, the climate is tropical, with no significantly distinct seasons like in the US and Europe. The temperature does not vary dramatically throughout the year, with an average maximum of 31 degrees Celsius, and an average minimum of 23 degrees Celsius. The wetter monsoon season occurs in November to January, with May to July being slightly hotter months.

Hot and sticky is the best description! Thank goodness for aircon!

Cuisine