SINGAPORE

Transport:

Singapore is a major Asian transportation hub, positioned on many sea and air trade routes. The city is an aviation hub for the Southeast Asian region and a stopover on the Kangaroo route between Australasia and Europe.

Singapore Changi Airport has a network of 81 airlines connecting Singapore to 185 cities in 58 countries. It has been rated as one of the best international airports by international travel magazines, including being rated as the world's best airport for the first time in 2006 by Skytrax.

The airport currently has three passenger terminals. There is also a budget terminal, which serves budget carrier Tiger Airways and Cebu Pacific. The national carrier is Singapore Airlines (SIA). The government is moving towards privatising Changi airport.

Singapore is linked to Johor, Malaysia via the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Tuas Second Link, as well as a railway operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu of Malaysia, with its southern terminus at Tanjong Pagar railway station. Frequent ferry service to several nearby Indonesian ports also exists.

Public Services:

The domestic transport infrastructure has a well-connected island-wide road transport system which includes a network of expressways. The public road system is served by the nation's bus service and a number of licensed taxi-operating companies.

Getting around Singapore is effortless: the public transportation system is among the best in the world and taxis are cheap. Very few visitors rent cars.

If you are staying in Singapore for some time, the ez-link farecard might be a worthwhile purchase. You can store value on it and use it on the MRT trains as well as all city buses at a 15% discount, and you get a $0.25 discount on transfers too. The card costs $15, including $7 of stored value and a $3 refundable deposit, and the card can be "topped up" in increments of at least $10 at the farecard vending machines or 7-Eleven stores.

Since 1987, the heavy rail passenger Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) metro system has been in operation. MRT has been further augmented by the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) light rail system, which provides service to housing estates.

By Boat:

Tourist-oriented bumboats cruise the Singapore River, offering nice views of the CBD skyscraper skyline. You can also take a ferry to Singapore's largely uninhabited Southern Islands for a picnic and lagoon swimming.

There is also a boat shuttle passengers from Changi Village to Pulau Ubin, a small island off Singapore's northeast coast which is about as close as Singapore gets to unhurried rural living.

Getting There:

Direct flights to Singapore operate from Heathrow with British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and also with Emirates via Dubai, and other scheduled airlines via hubs in the region.

Top of Page | Destination Menu | Circuit Page