Tag: itinerary

Escape Plan to Mactan Island, Cebu May 2016

Escape Plan to Mactan Island, Cebu May 2016

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Mactan Island, Cebu 2016:

Total duration 4D3N
Singapore is in the same time zone as Cebu.
Flight time is 4.5hrs on Silkair from Singapore to Kalibo with 45mins technical stop before another 30mins flight to Cebu. Return is just 3.5hrs on Silkair direct from Cebu to Singapore.

Morning flight on 21st May at 10am and arrival in Mactan Island at 3:30pm.
Return flight is on the 24th May at 4:15pm and arrival in Singapore at 7:40pm.

Day 1 Arrival at Mactan Island
Day 2 JParks waterpark and beach
Day 3 JParks waterpark and night entertainment
Day 4 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was planned as a short escape to a beach resort nearby with a toddler during the long weekend (Vesak Day on a Saturday). Though Cebu was more well known for the water activities such as diving and jet skiing, etc, we didn’t do all those. We spent the entire time just in the resort in the waterparks so that the toddler could enjoy the facilities within.

Budget nature: Relatively cheap.

The resort accommodation was not cheap but it wasn’t over the top like other 5 stars hotels. We didn’t spend a lot due to the fact that we weren’t doing a lot in the first place. Prices of food in the restaurant were within expectations, we brought SGD$400 and spent it all and probably overspent by SGD$70 with a spa included.

Complexity: Easy

Especially when the only travel we did was from the airport and back, using the airport transfer. There were other places to go to, such as in Cebu city and the natural attractions but we didn’t.

Escape Plan to Macau and Hong Kong January 2016

Escape Plan to Macau and Hong Kong January 2016

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Macau and Hong Kong 2016:

Total duration 6D5N
Singapore is in the same time zone as Hong Kong.
Flight time is 4hrs on Cathay Pacific from Singapore to Hong Kong.

Morning flight on 26th January at 10am and arrival in Hong Kong at 2pm.
Return flight is on the 31st January at 3:15pm and arrival in Singapore at 7pm.

Day 1 Arrival at Macau
Day 2 Ruins of St. Paul, Historical Town and Macau Tower
Day 3 Transfer to Hong Kong
Day 4 Wet weather program – Shopping
Day 5 Ocean Park
Day 6 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was to get away from Singapore to celebrate our anniversary but at the same time, we chose a manageable place suited for a toddler. I haven’t visited the ever famous Ruins of St. Paul Cathedral in my last visit last year (for that matter, even way before) due to bad weather and would do it this time since we catered at least 2 days in Macau. It was during this time that a freak cold snap came down from China and froze the cities of Macau and Hong Kong. Weather man gave a rainy/cloudy report for the entire week we were there, which was just hell of a disappointment.

Budget nature: Slightly expensive due to costly hotels in both countries.

We had chosen to stay in more comfortable places and accessible and therefore it was slightly more expensive. Prices were increased as the dates were near the Lunar New Year. Plus my blunder with losing a ticket to Ocean Park, enough said.

Complexity: Easy to get around with the MTR and walkabout and buses in Macau.

The places we covered were very accessible as every tourist would probably go. Plus the fact that the hotels we chose was in an accessible place, it was easier comparatively. However, we tugged along a stroller that wasn’t really compact. That was a bit of a struggle.

Escape plan to Koh Samui November 2015

Escape plan to Koh Samui November 2015

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Koh Samui 2015:

Total duration 4D3N
Singapore is 1hr ahead of Koh Samui.
Flight time is 1.5hrs on Silkair codeshare from Singapore to Koh Samui and return flight on Bangkok Airways.

Morning flight on 26th November at 10.25am and arrival in Koh Samui at 11.05am.
Return flight is on the 29th November at 1.30pm and arrival in Singapore at 4:20pm.

Day 1 Arrival at Koh Samui
Day 2 Samui Aquarium and Tiger Zoo and Bophut Fisherman’s Village
Day 3 Big Buddha, Wat Plai Laem, Lamai Viewpoint and Grandparent’s rocks
Day 4 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was to plan as a getaway to celebrate my baby boy’s first birthday. We chose a chill-at-the-resort holiday plan for this trip and one that gives my baby his first experience of swimming in a pool. Koh Samui was chosen because of its short flight time and unlike Phuket which could be a little rowdy, my impression of Koh Samui was that it was a little more high class and therefore, better for a baby. Plus it was off season so prices were lower and more affordable.

Budget nature: Could have been cheaper.

Although the flight tickets were initially cheaper than the usual astronomical rates, I had bought the tickets wrongly online, mistaking the only option as the one that I wanted. In the end the change of the tickets was about $150 additional per person.
Taxis were really expensive comparatively in Koh Samui and if we had gotten ourselves a rental car, that could have saved us some money.
Our total spendings was about 500SGD for the whole trip.

Complexity: Easy with taxis or own car.

The usual mode of travelling was either by taxi or by rented vehicles. Many rented motorcycles for its affordability and portability. We rented a car for a day and found it not too difficult to drive around, just that parking could be a challenge.

Escape plan to Hong Kong and Macau September 2015

Escape plan to Hong Kong and Macau September 2015

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Hong Kong and Macau 2015:

Total duration 5D4N
Singapore is in the same time zone as Hong Kong.
Flight time is 4hrs on Cathay Pacific from Singapore to Hong Kong.

Afternoon flight on 24th September at 12pm and arrival in Hong Kong at 5pm.
Return flight is on the 28th September at 3:20pm and arrival in Singapore at 7:20pm.

Day 1 Arrival at Hong Kong
Day 2 Prada Outlet and Bon Jovi Concert
Day 3 Macau City and Victoria Park
Day 4 Tin Lung Heen and shopping
Day 5 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was to attend the Bon Jovi Concert since their last concert in Singapore some 20 years ago. I didn’t want to attend the F1 one thinking that it won’t be a official full concert and thankfully so, with the haze that was around during this time. At the same time, with a Hari Raya Haji on Thursday, a 2 days leave would have yielded 5 days of holidaying.

Budget nature: Expensive (for this itinerary) with the a visit to Prada outlet, Macau concert and 2 Michelin starred dining at 102nd floor.

Travelling in Hong Kong and Macau can be affordable if we had taken the cheaper alternatives of staying outskirts, taking free buses, eating cheap food etc. This itinerary wasn’t so basically due to attending a concert in Macau and having expensive dim sum at a 2 Michelin starred restaurant at 102nd floor of Ritz Carlton. For a one time experience, why not.

Complexity: Easy to get around with the MTR and the buses in Macau.

Major places of interests were well connected to the MTR in Hong Kong. Macau was well served with free hotel buses and public transport. Taxis were inexpensive too.

Escape plan to Perth August 2015

Escape plan to Perth August 2015

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Perth 2015:

Total duration 5D4N
Singapore is in the same time zone as Perth.
Flight time is 5hrs on Scoot from Singapore to Perth. Return flight on Qantas is 5hrs 20mins from Perth to Singapore

Afternoon flight on 6th August at 12:30pm and arrival in Perth at 5:25pm.
Return flight is on the 10th August at 12pm and arrival in Singapore at 5:20pm.

Day 1 Arrival at Perth
Day 2 Fremantle markets and Watertown
Day 3 Perth City
Day 4 Caversham Wildlife Park and King’s park
Day 5 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was to make full use of the super long golden jubilee weekend in celebrations of SG50. We chose to go south instead of north because it would be cooler in the south during this period. The available flights that were under 6hrs was to Perth and since we had’t been there before, this was the opportunity.

Budget nature: Highest rate of Sing vs Aussie dollars made trip of value.

Travelling during this period was expected to be expensive in terms of airfares. That was also the reason for us to travel in Scootbiz since there weren’t much difference ($100) between the economy with the add ons and the biz. Also, Qantas return provided a better timing with a slightly higher charge vs Scoot.

Buying stuff in Aussie was much easier on the pockets given the almost 1:1 exchange rate. With the TRS, buying stuff that allowed tax refund almost guarantee a 10% discount compared to Singapore.

Complexity: Perth was easy to get around in a car.

Driving in Perth was pretty straight forward since it was not a big city comparatively and far less people and cars. Parking was quite easy to find and multi-storey ones were available at the malls. Carparks were nonetheless expensive.

Escape plan to Switzerland and France June 2015

Escape plan to Switzerland and France June 2015

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Switzerland and France 2015:

Total duration 15D14N
Singapore is 6hrs ahead of Switzerland and France.
Flight time is 12hrs 40mins on Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Zurich.

Morning flight on 12th June at 1:20am and arrival in Zurich at 8am.
Return flight is on the 26th June at 11:45pm and arrival in Singapore at 5:55am.

Day 0 Preparations for long trip and the flight
Day 1 Zurich City
Day 2 Basel and Strasbourg
Day 3 Nancy stopover and Reims
Day 4 Usines Center Paris Nord and Rouen
Day 5 Normandy Beach and Mont St. Michel
Day 6 Blois and Chateau Chambord
Day 7 Chateau Chenonceau and Lyon
Day 8 Galleries Lafayette and Annecy
Day 9 Annecy and Geneva
Day 10 Lausanne and Montreux
Day 11 Zermatt and Riffelalp
Day 12 Gruyere and Bern
Day 13 Brienz, Lungern viewpoint and Lucerne
Day 14 Mt. Rigi and Zurich
Day 15 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan hijacked the initial plans of progressively extending flight time for our baby. The SG50 promo that gave 50% discount on amount of Krisflyer miles redemption on selected destinations were just too good to be missed. What better time to travel to Europe with such low miles required? Zurich was one of the destination and we had to decide between Central Europe or France/Swiss. We chose the latter as it gave more assurance in terms of higher probabilities of modern facilities should we urgently require for our baby.

Budget nature: Euros were somewhat low but high Swiss Francs made the trip a little expensive.

Even without the tickets, the entire trip came up to be around SGD5k for the whole family. The travel in France was rather bearable with the weakened Euros but the Swiss standard of living was just too expensive, made worse with the decoupling of the Francs against the Euros.

Complexity: Getting around in a car was easy in France, but difficult in Swiss.

Driving in France was fairly easy, but long distances to cover. Reststops along the highways were good for rest and lunch. Driving in Swiss was extremely difficult in cities. Parking were hard to find and roads were crowded with other modes of transport. The long distance travel with crying baby in a uncomfortable car made the journey really unpleasant. Tolls along the French highway collect quite a sum of coins while vignette issue in Swiss was covered since we got the car from Zurich first.

Escape plan to Langkawi April 2015

Escape plan to Langkawi April 2015

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Langkawi April 2015:

Total duration 3D2N
Singapore is on the same timezone as Langkawi.
Flight time is 1hrs 30mins on Air Asia from Singapore to Langkawi and return flight on Tigerair. This airline combination gave better timing options compared a single airline combination.

Morning flight on 3rd April at 11am and arrival in Langkawi at 1225pm.
Return flight is on the 5th April at 6pm and arrival in Singapore at 735pm.

Day 1 Arrival in Langkawi and Eagle Square
Day 2 Oriental Village and SkyCab 
Day 3 Underwater World then Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was planned as our 2nd trial trip with baby. As a follow up on a holiday trip 2 months before to Bintan, we were chose to visit Langkawi because we wanted to get a feel of how our baby would react on a plane and therefore find an overseas trip where a flight time was short. Langkawi is about an hour and a half away, which would be ideal and it was somewhere that we hadn’t visit before. It was a Good Friday long weekend and a great excuse to escape.

Budget nature: Affordable costs of living offsets fairly expensive plane tickets.

Langkawi has a low cost of living and therefore it was pretty cheap to travel in Langkawi. We got by for the 3 days with less than 300 SGD for all the food and car. Maybe it was low season?

Complexity: Easy with own transport.

As with all developing places, places of interests are not within walkable distances. Taxis might rack up the costs and might not be readily available. We chose the car rental route that enabled maximum flexibility, especially with an infant in tow.

Escape plan to Bintan February 2015

Escape plan to Bintan February 2015

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Bintan February 2015:

Total duration 3D2N
Singapore is 1hr behind Bintan.
Ferry time is 1hrs on Bintan Resort Ferries from Singapore to Bintan.
Afternoon ferry on 18th February at 2pm and arrival in Bintan at 2pm..
Return ferry is on the 20th February at 230pm and arrival in Singapore at 430pm.

Day 1 Arrival in Bintan
Day 2 To the beach and back
Day 3 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was planned as our trial trip with the coming of our little one. We chose to visit Bintan because we wanted to introduce progressively travel to the baby and therefore find an overseas trip where a flight was not required. It was a super long weekend holiday as the Chinese New Year was on Thursday and Friday and what better way to travel without taking official leave?

Budget nature: Budget buster.

Although it was a simple trip to Bintan, the last minute booking coupled with the long holiday period meant that prices would be marked up. The amount spent on accommodation was already very high, the Chinese New Year day room rate was more than double on the usual day itself. Due to unavailability of the ferry tickets at that time slot, we had to settle of the “business” class seats and that was slightly less than twice an economy class seat.

Complexity: Easy, except for adapting to traveling with a baby.

Since all the transfers were arranged, there was nothing difficult about getting to the resort. All these comes with a cost but when travelling with a young one, paying some to remove transportation worries might be worth it.

Escape plan to Australia and Fiji in August 2014

Escape plan to Australia and Fiji in August 2014

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Australia and Fiji in August 2014:

Total duration 18D17N
Singapore is 2hrs behind Australia and 5hrs behind Fiji.
Flight time is 6hrs direct flight on Scoot from Singapore to Gold Coast.
Night flight on 25th July and arrival in Gold Coast at 8am on the next day.
Return flight is 8hrs direct flight on Scoot from Sydney to Singapore. Day flight on a Monday afternoon (off in lieu for National Day) at 1240pm and arrival at 7pm on the same day.

Day 1&2 Arrival at Gold Coast
Day 3 Sea World and Movie World
Day 4 Brisbane Parklands and shopping
Day 5 Arrival at Nadi
Day 6 Nadi town, Port Denarau and Robinson Crusoe Night cruise
Day 7 Arrival at Matamanoa Island
Day 8 Matamanoa Island
Day 9 Modriki Island
Day 10 Nadi Transit to Melbourne
Day 11 Arrival in Hobart
Day 12 Bonorong and Port Arthur
Day 13 Freycinet National Park
Day 14 Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake
Day 15 Strahan and Lake St. Clair
Day 16 Penguin, Cataract Gorge and Lauceston
Day 17 Platypus house, Sunday Market, City Park and Launceston town
Day 18 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was planned as our last overseas holiday for 2014 before delivery of little one. As it was summer in the northern hemisphere, we had to choose to head south. Only Australia was presented an option that was not too far away based on flight time. Fiji was a side trip as it was cheaper to fly to Fiji from Australia then from Singapore.

Budget nature: Budget buster.

This is definitely not cheap for the duration, the weaker currency of Singapore dollar against the Australian dollar, the higher prices of food and accommodation in Australia and a side trip to island resort in Fiji.

Complexity: Easy to get around if you drive in Aussie. Fiji travel by taxi is manageable.

The various cities of Australia is easy accessible by their advance network of public transport but driving would be the easier way to get around. This is even more true in more countryside Tasmania.

Getting around in Fiji is hassle free by taxi but expensive. If you are adventurous enough, you could take their cheaper local transport.

Escape to Hong Kong in July 2014

Escape to Hong Kong in July 2014

Posted on by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Hong Kong in July 2014:

Total duration 3D2N
Singapore is in the same time zone as Hong Kong.
Flight time is 4hrs direct flight on Cathay Pacific from Singapore to Hong Kong.
Morning flight on 12th July and arrival in Hong Kong at 11am on the same day.

Day 1 Arrival in Hong Kong, Eat and Shop
Day 2 Eat and Shop and the Highest Room in the World
Day 3 Eat and Shop and Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was to celebrate my wife’s birthday with a short getaway. With the ticket prices for Cathay Pacific quite value for money, about $360 all in, it was good chance to escape for this special occasion

Budget nature: Affordable travel and affordable Michelin star eats. We splurge on the stay though.

Moving around in the MTR is cheap with Octopus card. But the train is just as crowded as in Singapore if you are there during the summer holidays, such as this period. Michelin stars eatery are everywhere and they are affordable. We tried only 2 places this trip and both are not expensive.

We splurged on one night stay in the Highest Hotel in the World (As of 2014) for that special day to celebrate my wife’s birthday. Luxurious yet of impeccable service. Probably worth the experience once in a lifetime.

Complexity: Easy to get around

The main shopping and eating places were easily covered with the MTR, made moving around effortless. There are signs in English, and people seemed conversant in English, shouldn’t be too hard to travel.