My husband and I will end our South China Sea cruise in Singapore in February 2011. . This will be our first visit to Asia. How many days should we plan to spend in Singapore? We are interested in history culture, customs & food! What shouldn't we miss? How easy is it to get to Bali? How much time should we devote to Bali and where should we stay to fully appreciate the culture and its people. This forum has been invaluable in helping my husband and I to maximize our overseas travel. Thank you so much to all for your willingness to share your experiences.

Singapore is a lovely city. You'll want at least three full days, but you could spend longer. For Bali, I think a minimum is a week. You'll want to divide your time between a beach location (NOT Nusa Dua) and an inland location near Ubud.

Although Singapore is a small area, you could spend weeks there and still not run out of things to see. I would say at least 4 days just to see the high lights, but you need to get a guide book and narrow down the kind of sights you like. Good food is every where. The hawker stalls, China town, Little India, the Arab section, and in many of the hotels. We took the Hippo hop on and off bus a few months ago , just to get oriented , and then went back to the areas that interested us. They also have a small river cruise that was very interesting. You can google the Hippo lines.

Air Asia (connecting in KL) is an easy and inexspensive way to get ot Bali. Again you could spend weeks there. Ubud would be a good central area to base your selves in , as most of the "touristy sights" are very do able from there. Putu is and excellent guide, and he can help put together a plan for you . He is mentioned frequently on this sight. A few days at the beach could be a nice ending to your trip.

i think that 3-5 days in singapore would be perfect....choosing a hotel in just the right area is key....we loved the intercontinental....

a week in bali would be perfect....i would not go for less than 5 days... air asia is good, but there are other discount airlines as well as the regulars like singapore air...

I'd suggest three or four days in Singapore. The city is easy to get around using public transport, and you'll find many different varieties of food to sample, including various types of Chinese/Indian dishes and Malay style dishes. Singapore does have alot of historic colonial and traditional architecture. Also, explore the Peranakan culture in Singapore.

As for Bali, you need to deceide if you want solely a cultural/sightseeing holiday or some beach time too. Definitely base yourself in Ubud to see the cultural and historic sights and hire a car and driver to get around. If you plan on spending some time at the beaches too, you really need to read about the different resorts/resort areas. You have the choice of party type resort areas (like Kuta) to quiet peaceful beach areas to choose from.

check out sanur for a beach location...

also the pan pacific hotel at tanah lot is very nice....golf too

Agree 3 to 5 days in Singapore is about right. You can fly non-stop from Singapore to Bali/Denpasar. Singapore Airlines is the best, but there are several budget airlines that make that route as well.

Plan at least a week in Bali, split between the Ubud area (inland) and one of the beaches. I like Seminyak beach. In fact I'm there right now on the balcony overlooking a beautiful morning on the beach.

You don't have to use Air Asia to get a cheap flight to Bali from Singapore. You'd be better off with a direct flight from Jet Star Asia or Tiger Airways (Tiger is part-owned by Singapore Air).

tiger is the one i could not remember.....is silk air another??

Silk Air is wholly owned by Singapore Ailines, but they are not a discount airline. Tiger Airways is not wholly owned by SIA, although SIA does have part ownership of Tiger Airways.

I agree Singapore is worth at least 3 - 5 days, it's an interesting and clean city. Check the tourist websites to see if there are any special exhibits on at the Asian Civilizations or other museums while you are there.

Singapore to Bali is an easy 2 to 2.5 hour flight direct to Denpasar, Bali. Lots of direct flights as others have mentioned. Sometimes when I do visa runs I fly to Singapore in the morning and come back to Bali in the evening on the same day. History, culture, customs and food are all pretty good and very different in Bali. If you come up to Ubud you will see the more traditional life and Balinese Hindu culture, and February is a good time as it's low season. You can easily hire a driver/guide when you get here, you don't have to book in advance.

Tiger airlines is fantastic (watch the baggage though - they do enforce the rules)

Maybe I am the "fly in the oinment" but I think 3 days full days in Singaore is more than enough.That assumes you will be out and about for 10 hours a day. there is the beautiful botanical gardens, a very interesting zoo (somewhat like the San Diego Zoo but smaller), a few hours between Little India and Chinatown, maybe a boat ride on the river if the heat and humidity are not too uncomfortable. If you are shoppers who do not expect bargains but quality or window shoppers you could spend endless hours at that activity alone. we found after a few hours though at the high-end shops in 2-3 malls the same shops repeated themselves. The ION is the newest of the megamalls. If you enjoy gambling or watching it 2 spectacular casinos opened in the past 5 months. i was at one and left soon a few hundred dollars lighter in the pocket so it was a 2 hour experience after dinner one night.If i have a near complete list for a first visitor it looks long but it really is only 3 days of 9-10 hours max.
As for Bali i have been there 3 times and would suggest that 7-9 days might be just right as a first trip if R&R is included. I went of the beaten path on my last trip into Central Java and that made the entire trip very speial. You can get there in 75 minutes non-stop yoyjarkarta and stay at the phoenix ($85/night for a deluxe room-3+star) in town or a more elegant Hyatt 10 minutes out of town for $150-5 star. using a guide we used you will see sights (Boroburur Temple, Dieng Plateau, etc) and meet people living as they did in 1920-30. Our guide wiedy can be reached at [email protected] He has several guides but if you can get Rachmad or himself it will be quite memorable. Three days in Central Java woulld be ideal. The above would make a great 2 week vacation.

Thank you all so much once again for your input. I am thinking that I might want to do Bali & Java on another trip so I can do it right and focus more on China and my Southeast Asia cruise, for now, which will take up 3 weeks of travel time in itself. We have booked 3 nights at the Shangri la ( a splurge) in Singapore post cruise and are working on what to do and see in Shanghai where our cruise originates and how to incorporate Beijing into the plans. Thank you one and all for dedication to the cause!

We love that Shangri-la. Lovely gardens and beautiful pool with very attentive pool-side service -- lots of cold towels and complimentary cold drinks. Extensive breakfast buffet. Every comfort in the room. Enjoy.

can you tell us just a little bit about the cruise you are going to take?

MichaelBKK,

As you mentioned Tiger Air, I wondered if you might be able to comment on their international operations, please.

Tiger Air flies some domestic routes in Australia and has a shocking reputation for last minute schedule changes, hidden charges & very poor customer relations.

Do you happen to have experience with them or know how their international operations are regarded?

For the OP: I like Singapore and Bali & visit Bali quite frequently. Completely different experiences and, with your time frame, I think you've probably made the right choice for this trip. Plenty to see & do in Singapore for 4 or 5 days.

A cooking class is fun http://www.singaporecity.com/cooking...singapore.html

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content.../whats-on.html

Sorry for the delay rhkkmk
we are crusing with Princess Cruise Lines-first time from Shanghai to Singapore with stops in Okinawa, Taipei, Hong Kong, Viet Nam (2 stops), Ko Samui and Bangkok in Thailand and ending in Singapore. Just heard from my former dentist who said that we have to go to Bali! We are def interested more in cultural events but some beach time would be alright. Where should we stay in Ubud? Any good recommendations for drivers/ guides? Bokhara2 thanks for the cooking class info. We had a blast with a local cooking class in Buenos Aires this past winter that we would love to repeat in another culture.

Singapore Air has a great deal that includes 2 days in Singapore and 3 days in Nusa Dua. Now what we did is we extended our trip but still took advantage of the good price, and came back with Singapore Air at a later date. Asialuxe also has some deals. The price was really good.