So, you’ve got yourself a premium travel credit card, you’ve paid off your full balance every month, and you’ve found yourself with enough reward points to give yourself a decent break away from it all.
You don’t want to break the bank by going somewhere long haul, so you want to visit somewhere within easy reach of Singapore (We jest – the whole world’s within easy reach of Singapore these days). Where’s the best value places in the sun for the islander that wants to try out a different island?
Never fear, for TripAdvisor’s TripIndex came up with the answers after carrying out a survey of the best value resort in the Asia-Pacific region.
Okay, so one of the top resorts turned out to be Singapore, with a special nod toward Universal Studios Singapore as a top attraction, but we’ve all been there already, right? (Go on, admit it. Guilty pleasures, and all that).
The Tripindex survey compared excursion costs and hotel prices for a slew of popular island destinations across South-East Asia, taking into account such everyday holiday activities as bicycle hire, meals and even having a massage.
If you’re thinking of slipping over the border into Malaysia, Tripindex says the most affordable island resort is Penang, which has the cheapest room rates in the entire survey. Unfortunately Penang falls over when it comes to other costs – with the survey pointing out that S$160 for a massage is “exorbitant”. I can think of a million better things to do with S$160! The same goes for S$67 for a two-course meal, and your Penang break is looking very poor value indeed.
Best value in the survey is Gili Trawangan in Indonesia, with budget breaks coming in at as little at S$280, the Tripindex survey says. In fact, they say that all of the best value regional island breaks are currently in Indonesia and Thailand. TripAdvisor spokesperson Jean Ow-Yeong told AsiaOne Travel: “This year’s results show that despite their popularity, Indonesia and Thailand are still home to some of the most affordable island getaways in Southeast Asia.”
If you’re interested, Bali and Lombok also scored highly. Singaporeans can get even better value on their trips by heading over to our travel sections. Search on flights and hotels, and book yourself the cheapest break possible through the free Enjoy Compare booking service.
