Older Persons Holidays.

[sengas]

hi all, ok am hoping someone out there has done what i intend to do next year first of i am 60 years young been abroard many times but next year am planning to visit singapore for two or three weeks my son and daughter in law now live and work there, from there i would love to visit a friend in new south wales in australia stopping there for maybe two months, now because of prices in tickets am being told to book well in advance , what i need is to be organized ie., not going in the wet season am wanting the sun to shine in both countries, please is there anyone that can maybe give me advice the one good thing is not having to pay hotels and such but my budget is to do this as cheap as i can i have worked very hard and for many years for this type of holiday. i just want everything to be super and to return home with the best memories help any advice is welcome, thank you.

[VHG]

As well as asking on here you may also want to ask on the Trip Advisor forums as people there are experts on travel.

There are forums for every country and most major cities in the world, but also forums for "air travel" and "solo travel" and so on.

Here is the "forums" section

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ForumHome

There are also sections on every place in the world where you can find out when to travel, things to see, local advice and so on.

For example here is the section on Singapore

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g294262-Singapore-Vacations.html

You will get plenty of travel advice on Trip Advisor.

You will need to register.

Main site.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/

[Everhelpful]

Singapore,I have been twice,you will love it.

[237SJ]

If I was you, I would just concentrate on going when the weather is right in Australia as Singapore doesn`t really vary whatever time you go there (it`s always hot, humid and with thunderstorms in the afternoon)

[anneasquith]

sounds fabulous, enjoy,

[hc4361]

Ask your friend in Australia for advice. S/he can tell you what the weather is usually like and when and you can discuss what time will suit you best. When you have decided the optimum time to be in Australia it should be easy enough to work out whether to go to Singapore on the way to Australia or on the way home.

It will be a fantastic time for you.

[jno]

here are the Sydney weather statistics - broadly speaking most of NSW will be similar but I think hotter and drier inland

http://www.sydney.com.au/weather.htm

For your purposes any time except their winter (June-Aug). It can get very hot in summer, though. Best thing is to check with your friend.

Singapore is hot and muggy most of the time but Nov-Jan are the dampest months and Feb the driest

http://weather.sg.msn.com/monthly_averages.aspx

[mikey4444]

Have you been to Singapore before sengas ? Three weeks is a long time to spend in a place that is basically one big shopping mall. Also its very expensive.

[Jennykenny]

Agree with Mikey. Have been a couple of times and it is really just another Isle of Wight with shops. Once you have had a Singapore Sling at the Raffles, bought a load of stuff you don't need and had a few interesting meals that's about it. (And don't forget your son and d-I-l will probably have to be at work for most of the time.)

And it is hot! You will find it quite exhausting. Obviously the shops, hotels etc are air-conditioned, but you have to go out sometime. Traffic is mad, so it takes ages to go anywhere in a taxi. Please rethink both the Singapore part of the trip and Australian part, (two months is an awfully long time to be a guest in someone else's house, no matter how kind and inviting they are.)

Possibly spent one week in Singapore at the beginning, to get over jet lag and get your bearings, then two weeks in Australia with your friends, a week in another part of the country on your own, (small hotels don't have to be too expensive and you can take the train or bus to get around. Perhaps ask your family to treat you to this part of the holiday?), back to your friends for a week, this will have given them a break, and finally back to Singapore for a week.

I understand that you have been saving for a long time and want a special holiday, but as a 60+ traveller myself I think you will be bored to death going for such a long time.
Any money saved can be used for quick trips to Europe. Good luck and think hard about this.

[HarryLetterman]

You definitely want to use trip advisor as a primary source of information on Anything related to travel :)

[237SJ]

The OP is going to see family though so a couple of weeks is reasonable.

[sengas]

i have to thank everyone who took time to read my query., it seems i should look at trip advisor .co uk. this i shall do , also totally agree with length of stay in australia i know my friend wouold keep me there but knowing me oh yes i would be bored also singapore my son has a swimming pool which i think i will move into that , i travelled years ago in india and that was hot, thank you all.x

[237SJ]

There are loads of things to do in Singapore:
Malay Heritage area (Arab Street)
China Town
Fatty`s
Little India
Orchid Gardens
Botanical Gardens
Fatty`s
A River Ride
The new Bio Dome
Changi Museum
Fatty`s
Boat Quay
Clarke Quay
Marina Bay Sands
The ferris wheel
Fatty`s
Sentos Island
The Night Safari
Green Corridor Walk
Fatty`s
Golden Village Cinema
Original Singapore Walks
The Fullerton for high tea
and .. Fatty`s

[askyourgran]

We stayed in Singapore for a few days stopover on our way to Australia NSW, we also stayed in Perth (Fremantle) and Brisbane before flying back home with a stopover in Bangkok. It was a great trip, we booked with Travelbag who were popular at the time, they arranged everything for us allowing five internal flights, hotels and meet and greet at each stopover they worked out how much it would cost and what to expect ie. customs of the countries we visited. Singapore is lovely, it was humid, but we would like to go back there. At the moment it is springtime in Oz, later it will get much warmer. Bankok was Ok too but we had a guide there.