Weekend Trips from Singapore

Singapore is located in a very strategic location from which one can easily explore the rest of Southeast Asia. For those who do not have much time to travel, you can consider taking one day off, in order to go on a short 3 days 2 nights trip or plan a trip when a public holiday falls on a Monday or Friday. For some places, you can even make it a 2 day 1 night vacation. As Singapore is a hub for many airlines, including budget airlines like Jetstar, this makes it affordable to visit many other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

One city which you can visit over the weekend is Malacca. It is located about 3.5 to 5 hours (depends on traffic) from Singapore by car. In Malacca, you can visit the heritage sites such as the A Famosa ruins, the Stadhuys and the well-preserved Peranakan style shophouses. You can also enjoy the local food such as chicken rice balls, satay celup and cendol.

Besides Malacca, another famous Malaysian location would of course be Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. Here, the main attraction is the Petronas Twin Towers and the shopping at Bukit Bintang. For the more adventurous, you can head to Batu Caves. Just two hours from KL is the city of Ipoh. The pace here is much slower. During the weekends, popular food haunts are always packed with people so plan additional time for waiting or head out earlier. If you love adventure, you can also try white water rafting at Kampar too, which is near Ipoh

There are many islands in the Southeast Asia region. You can take your pick from Malaysia's islands (Tioman, Redang, Sipadan, Penang), Indonesia's islands (Bali, Lombok) or Thailand's islands (Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi). Besides lazing back and enjoying the sea breeze, you can also join the island tours or take part in watersports. For islands such as Penang, you can also explore the heritage area while going on a food tour.

Bangkok is a top favourite among travelers around the world. There is a reason for this as the Thais are friendly and the food is cheap and good. For the ladies, shopping is also awesome here. You can take your pick from shopping at the various markets such as Chatuchak or shopping in the comfort of air-conditioned malls like Platinum Mall. After a tiring day, you can opt for a massage or a spa treatment at an affordable price. Food is also cheap here and you can taste the fiery tomyam, the lovely pad thai, the mango salad and much more.

As Johor is linked to Singapore via the causeway, it goes without saying that a list for a short trip will definitely include Johor. Most Singaporeans just cross over to the city, Johor Bahru (better known as JB) to shop, eat, sing karaoke, watch a movie or just relax. Further away from the city, you will find other attractions like Kukup (a fishing village) and the Legoland theme park. If you have never been to a small village in Malaysia before, visiting Kukup would be a unique experience. You can also visit a kelong to see how fish are reared here.