Excursions out of Singapore
 

I had an earlier post about day excursions from Singapore. But here's another thought:

What is cheap and great to see that would only take me three days and is accessible from Singapore via plane?

Phuket, Koh Samui and Langkawi are 3 easy to access resort destinations if you are mostly interested in beaches.
You can get to Bali very easily from here, and do a lot, but not all of it in 3 days. Same goes for Bangkok and Siem Riep.
Lots of people from Singapore do 3 day weekends to the above listed places all the time. They all have a range of accommodation and are great to see. Lots of Singapore travel agencies offer 3 day packages to the above places too.

tioman island- 3 hour fast ferry. cheap. another world.

Time of year would be a bit factor. The east coast of Malaysia, while very beautiful, is qutie rainy from about late October through mid-March, and I would not go to Koh Samui or other place in that area at that time. Let us know what time of year you are considering. Monsoon patterns are in the area at different times of the year and make a big differnence, IMO.

If your trip is from about early April through late September, then for 3 days there are many areas along the east coast of Malaysia or southern Thailand that would be accessible. I am not at all a fan of Timoan. It's not nearly as nice as so many of the other islands. Koh Samui is IMO prettier even though it is more built up than most of the islands in the Malay archipeligo.

IMO, the most beautiful beach in South East Asia is Rawa Island, on the east coast off Mersing. It is a small island (you can swim or canoe around it). It is without doubt one of the most beautiful beaches in the world: soft white sand and clear water that changes from blue, to green to purple depending on weather. There is one hotel on the island, and as it is small, the staff is very attentive. The hotel is about a 3-star, but the beach and surrounding islands make up for any lack of luxury. The diving is great, you can dive or snorkel right from the beach, or the hotel will arrange for a boat to take you to more remote islands/reefs/wrecks. The hotel is called Rawa Safaris. I would suggest you check their website: rawasfr.com. To reach Rawa, you could drive from Singapore (3 hours, you can charter a taxi) and then take a ferry for about 1 hour.

Another consideration would be Tanjong Jara Resort. This is a gorgeous 5-star resort, built of teak in Malaysia long-house style. They have a spectacular infinity pool. Take a look at http://www.tanjongjararesort.com or the website for Small Luxury Hotels of the World at: slh.com
rawasfr.com. With only 3 days, you have to fly to Kuala Terrenganu; otherwise, the drive up the coast from Singapore is very pretty, but you don't have enough time to do it.

Cicerone, when was the last time you were at Rawa? We spent a 3 day weekend there last April and were very disappointed. We were upgraded to their best 2 bedroom cottage and it was barely 3 star quality. I thought it was very overpriced. The food was absolutely abysmal. Everything was set up on a very unappetising buffet and when it ran out, it took forever to get replenished. So if you were not there right at the beginning of the meal period, good luck getting fed. Because they cater to famiies, there were small children everywhere. It did not make for a relaxing visit. We were expecting it to be casual and rustic, but not noisy and with bad food.

For a casual visitor, I think it would be cheaper and faster to fly to Bali or Phuket on a discount airline than to hire a taxi to get you to Mersing and back. And there is a much better choice of accomodation.

I think I am pretty clear in my message that it is "about a 3 star". I am sorry to hear about the food problems, I always thought the food was basic, but fine. I have not been there in about 4 years. There is no way this is a luxury hotel, pehaps it was too rustic for you. To use the word "upgraded" in regard to rooms at this hotel, just makes me laugh really....you should have seen it when it was even more basic; they did not have any fresh water at all, the showers were communal bathrooms with salt water, and the rooms were literally huts on the beaach. I still loved it then. I think the newer rooms are much of an improvement, it's never going to be any more than it is, but I just think that the beach and the quietness more than make up for anything lacking in the rooms. I am asuming you were there on a weekend, which would explain all the kids.

Jetcat, what time of year ? Weather varies so depending on what time of year it could be different places.
From now until around end April or early May Phuket/Krabi etc has good weather.
From Singapore the Phuket flights are scheduled at 1 hr 40 but flying time itself is usually about 1 hr 20/25, Krabi similar.
You have full service Silk Air Singapore to Phuket or Krabi, Phuket has far more flights, Silk Air is 3+ a day, also Tiger Airways and Jetstar, Silk Air does Krabi but without looking can't say which Singapore budget one does Krabi but i know one of them does.
Langkawi (Malaysia) is far far quieter than either Phuket or Krabi, Samui is about 1 hr 50 and only one flight a day and it is expensive compared to the others as only done by Bangkok Airways.
Hopping on a short flight from singapore is easy but Fridays northbound or Sunays back as they get very full with weekenders.
Bali is about 2 hrs 30 Singapore Airlines. There are packages available, www.airfares.com.sg has packages available, have not used for packages but over the years used them for cheap flights ex Singapore and they were just fine.

Thanks for the great information. I am totally unfamiliar with this part of the world. I am now doing business in India and fly directly from SFO to there. I have been to India three times this year and I plan to be there every 4 months. My intent is to fit things in since Im on this part of the planet typically and it would be "a shame" not to. However, I want to minimize my expenses so it doesnt end up costing more than I came over here to earn. In light of this, what is the best place to get started as a sort of intro ie., what would I feel really stupid that I didnt do while I was "so close"?