Singapore

A fascinating mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Western cultures, this small sovereign state on the Malaysian Peninsula has in the past held an image as a dull, sterile shopping stopover.  However, recent years have seen the development of a much broader range of attractions and it’s now one of our traveller’s favourite stopovers and one we really recommend.

For garden lovers, already treated to the city’s beautiful Botanic and Orchid gardens, there’s now the added pull of the brand new “Gardens by the Bay”, voted one of the top 10 indoor gardens in the world.  For foodies, there’s pretty well every national food dish in the restaurants that line Clarke Quay; and excursions by river “into the jungle” or to the beach on Sentosa Island can easily be arranged.

Most attractions, including the iconic Raffles Hotel, are easily accessed by taking one of the city’s hop on-hop off buses, a free service to travellers who book their stopover package as part of a Singapore Airlines flight itinerary.

Our recommended hotels are:

Paradox Singapore Merchant Court (Approx £550 for two nights with transfers)

Park Regis (Approx £500 for two nights with transfers)

Holiday Express (Approx £400.00 for two nights with transfers)

Grand Copthorne (Approx £550 for two nights with transfers)