Singapore Garden Festival

DAY 1
Monday 18 August 2014
Sydney – Singapore

A Ross Garden Tours representative will meet you at Sydney airport for the Qantas flight to Singapore. We’ll check in to the Swissotel Merchant Court, our luxurious home for the next five nights.
Accommodation: Swissotel Merchant Court

DAY 2
Tuesday 19 August 2014
Singapore Botanic Gardens (B/L)

We’re off to the beautiful Singapore Botanic Gardens this morning. The tropical rainforest here is one of few pockets of original jungle left on the island. There are some 300 plant species in this little pocket forest and plenty of birds, including oriental pied hornbills, spotted wood owls, crimson sunbirds and stork-billed kingfishers.
Singapore is famous for orchids and the National Orchid Garden is situated on the highest hill in the Botanic Gardens. Orchids have been a part of the Gardens collection since its beginnings in 1859. Early directors commissioned extensive orchid collecting expeditions and since 1995 the collection has its own beautifully landscaped home – the National Orchid Garden.
We’ll lunch at is one of the cities loveliest restaurants.
And as the afternoon cools a little, we’ll jump onto a bumboat for a cruise along the Singapore River. These hardy vessels were once used to shuttle cargo in one of the East’s busiest trade centres. The river was the city’s lifeblood, and from the water we’ll see both historic Singapore and the modern metropolis that now towers over it in the sunshine.
Accommodation: Swissotel Merchant Court

DAY 3
Wednesday 20 August 2014
Gardens by the Bay (B)

Today’s highlight is the stunning Gardens by the Bay. You’ll be amazed by the vision of this extraordinary project! It brings to life the government ambition to make Singapore a ‘City in a Garden’. Two enormous conservatories and a grove of ‘Supertrees’ dominate the site. Supertree is the name given to the towering, 16-storey structures that act as frames for climbing and epiphytic plants, as well being supports for solar panels. The Supertrees are lit at night in exhilarating displays. They dominate the skyline, but first we’ll explore the horticultural worlds growing in the biocomes, which are engineering feats themselves, being the biggest column-less glasshouses in the world.
The Cloud Forest features a mountain of exotic plants found in the tropical montane region, between 1,000 to 3,500 metres above sea level. A waterfall thunders off the mountain, misting orchids, ferns, begonias and fuchsias. In contrast, the world of the Flower Dome is that of the dry climates found in South Africa, California, southern Spain and Italy, and south-western Australia. It’s eternally spring in the Flower Dome, with gorgeous displays of blooms.
We’ll lunch at the Supertrees Grove, where there is a choice of cafes and bistros. Then our afternoon is free to shop and explore the city.
Accommodation: Swissotel Merchant Court

DAY 4
Thursday 21 August 2014
Singapore Garden Festival (B)

We’ll spend the day exploring the fifth Singapore Garden Festival and its displays of tropical flowers and garden designs from all around the world. We’ll take an especially close look at the gardens by Australia’s Brendan Moar and Jim Fogarty.
As the sun sets, we’re heading back to Gardens by the Bay. This time we’ll get an illuminated look at the Supertrees, first from the 200m high Observation Deck of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and then from the Gardens themselves as we stroll the OCBC Skyway, a 128m long walkway that connects two 25m-tall Supertrees. Definitely a walk with a view!
Accommodation: Swissotel Merchant Court

DAY 5
Friday 22 August 2014
Old Singapore (B/HT/D)

We’re up early for a look at Singapore’s famous wet market today. It’s a vibrant, bustling place of beautifully displayed fruits and vegetables, nose-tickling spices and local delicacies. You’ll build an appetite for breakfast, taken this morning at Singapore’s largest food centre – Chinatown Complex.
While we’re in Chinatown we’ll take a tour, taste some traditional cakes and sweets and get some tips on traditional Chinese medicine. This afternoon we’ll treat ourselves to a luxurious slice of Singapore’s colonial past with high tea at the most famous hotel in Asia, Raffles. The Tiffin Room is an elegant space in the original part of the hotel, built in 1887. We’ll enjoy tea, cakes, sandwiches and the graciousness of a bygone era.
Our farewell dinner tonight is in a special traditional Peranakan restaurant. Peranakan or Nonya cruisine is a delicious blend of Chinese and Malay influences.
Accommodation: Swissotel Merchant Court

DAY 6
Saturday 23 August 2014
Singapore (B)

Our flight is late this afternoon, so there is plenty of time to explore or shop before we transfer to Changi Airport.

DAY 7
Sunday 24 August 2014
Arrive Home

• Ross Tours Singapore Garden Festival August 2014 Download

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Twin Share land only $3,595 per person
Twin Share including air $4,295 per person
Single Supplement $650
All prices in Australian Dollars. Prices based on minimum 12 passengers. Price is based on departure from Sydney.
Includes:
Qantas return economy airfare Sydney/Singapore/Sydney
Luxury accommodation for 5 nights, with breakfast each morning
Breakfast daily (B), 1 lunch (L), 1 dinner (D) and 1 High Tea (HT)
Air-conditioned motorcoach throughout tour
Entrance fees to all gardens and sightseeing including Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Botanic Gardens and National Orchid Garden, Singapore Garden Festival, Marina Bay Sands Observation Deck, Chinatown tour, Singapore River Bumboat Cruise, Raffles high tea
Ross Tours travel wallet & bag
Membership to the Garden Clinic™ Club for 1 year (non-members)