Singapore airport help

[Shasta_man]

Good news, Satisfied.

Last suggestion: I just use an ATM in the current country, and don't change any dollars. I bring USD money just in case, but otherwise, just use ATM. ATMs abound in city Bali. I have been places that only allow shorter pins, even just 4 digit, but not sure about Bali which took 6 digits where I went.

Chinacat is right that I need a new set of terms to describe the diffs in the Terminals. Terminal 3 is where you arrive and depart for flights to the USA, as well as Europe, etc. Terminal 2 had flights to other parts of Asia.

See the websites description below:

SINGAPORE AIRLINES DEPARTURE TERMINALS

Destinations served by Terminal 2

Africa
Egypt
South Africa

Europe
Russia
Turkey

Middle East
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates

South Asia
Bangladesh
India
Maldives
Pakistan
Sri Lanka

Southeast Asia
Brunei
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam

Destinations served by Terminal 3

Americas
Canada
USA*


Europe
Denmark
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
Netherlands
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom

North Asia
China
Hong Kong
Japan**

Korea
Taiwan

Southwest Pacific
Australia
New Zealand

 

[AlanWald]

Though longer PIN numbers for ATMs may work in US, in other countries the maximum may be four digits. That is what Shasta Man was referring to. So it is probably a good idea to switch to four digits. Also some banks may issue alerts (it happened several times to my friend who used his US based credit card in Australia, and his phone in US got several calls alerting him to the overseas use) or even stop large unexpected transactions overseas. Check with your bank.

 

[Shasta_man]

Thanks Alan.

I didn't notify Capital One I was going to Indo, and I made several small purchases without problem, but they refused a large charge for the liveaboard I was on. I called Capital One, and they confirmed holding the charge. I gave them the dates I would be in Indo, so they allowed usage during that period. Only used the ATM twice this time, so no problems there.

I'll also mention that I heard that Capital One is the only card that doesn't charge extra fees for international purchases, so I took that. Waiting for the bill to confirm that.

 

[Travelnsj]

You will love the Airport....Just there the other day....really like the Transit hotel in T3...Bali is great fun and good diving.

 

[Dave1w]

A couple of points, the transit hotel on the inside is much cheape rthan the Crowne Plaza will be on the outside. It is charged by the 6 hours, then by the additional hour, and you need to book it carefully, if you miss your slot I think you miss your room. If you are landing at 1am, then maybe book it from 2 am.

If you can check your luggage through, do, if not, it is a well set up airport, and you can easily travel between terminals both airside and land side.

In Bali, be carefull when you get your visa on arrival. 7 days, is 7 days, so if you fly in on the wednesday, and fly out the following Wednesday, they hit you with a fine, so in that case pay for a 25 dollar 30 day visa.

I have done other Islands, not Bali, but I have heard that the water can be surprisingly cold, particulalry on the east side of the island so bear that in mind.

I live in Singapore, and really like the airport, it is generally very easy to use and lots of places to chill out.

Hope it helps a bit

Dave

 

[wwu123]

Coming back from Lembeh in early November, I noticed from my passport that I've done Indonesia 4 times in the past 5 years, didn't realize it because two trips were to Bali and two to Manado/Lembeh. So I feel like I'm becoming old hat with the transit through Singapore and other issues...

I only keep my Capital One Visa card around these days for my annual overseas dive trips. I've checked my charges after each trip and the charges are indeed never more than 1% from published currency rates. Decline offers by stores to convert your local charges to U.S. dollars "for your convenience". I also bring my Bank of America ATM card for no-fee withdrawals if my destination has a partner bank (e.g. Satander in Mexico, BNP in France) for no ATM fees. On this last trip, we were also able to use our Citibank card at Citibank ATM's in Hong Kong with no fees only 2% exchange rate loss.

I think if you book the transit hotel with your incoming flight number in addition to a check-in time, they won't cancel your booking if your flight comes in late. I always ask if they can book me in the terminal I arrive instead of the one I depart, as the SFO flights come in at 1 am and I'd rather get to a bed quickly, but they never do it - though I think it's because they arrival terminal is not always predetermined. They were also nice enough to give me an extra hour free, as I had an 8 hr layover but only wanted to pay for a 6-hr block.

Last year I was able to check-through luggage in Singapore airport on two different tickets, so I can verify it can be done, even though Singapore cust service said it couldn't when I inquired before my trip. My first ticket was SQ and second was Silk Air though, so don't know that it works for all airlines.

Make sure you check your passport has six months validity for Indonesia. My wife was denied check-in by SQ at our origin in SFO because she only had four months. They didn't even want to take the risk of allowing her get to Singapore and deal with her passport renewal at a consulate there, because they get hit with big fines if Indonesia turns someone back from an SQ flight. Fortunately she was able to get a rush passport renewal and was only delayed one day.

My wife also did get hit with the visa on arrival problem in Manado this year, as did a few other folks on our departing flight, for not treating 7 nights as "8 days" for visa purposes. I almost did too, but I''ve learned now just to silently hand all my documents at official counters, and let them tell me what to do or what to pay.

 

[Zippsy]

That's useful info but note:
- Singapore Airline and SilkAir are essentially the same airline except in terms of liability in case of accidents. Their luggage handling is seemless.
- I think most coutries have 6 month passport validity requirements and no airline will turn a blind eye to it unless they have a blind eye and missed it.
- 7 nights IS 8 days for visa purposes, library book borrowing purposes, calendar purposes and just about every other purpose except hotel rooms which end their day around noon instead of midnight.

 

[Shasta_man]

good info on the card use wwu123. Hope I need that knowledge again soon.

 

[Taxgeek]

Anybody have any experience checking from LAX (or anywhere) through to Manado (or anywhere else really) on EVA/Silk connection in Singapore?

Should I just make res at both Crowne Plaza (I have a full night) and Transit hotel, wait and see if EVA will check it through at LAX, and then cancel one of the reservations depending on the answer?

Or I guess I could just do the Crowne Plaza and forget about all the messing around (that kind of stuff just adds stress to travel).

 

[Shasta_man]

What does the hotel res have to do with luggage?

I've never stayed at Crowne Plaza, but the transit hotel was more than adequate for my needs.