Identity card
Formalities
Singapore Passport: Passport valid for six months from the end of the stay, plus a return or onward ticket. No visa is required for a stay of less than three months.
Bali Passport valid for more than six months. Purchase of a visa (25 US$) on arrival in Denpasar, valid for 30 days. For groups, agencies can take care of these formalities.
Area code
Singapore : +65.
Bali : +62.
Time difference
Singapore 6h in summer; +7h in winter.
Bali : +6h in summer; +7h in winter.
Currency
Singapore Singapore dollar (SGD). 1 euro = 1.64 SGD (September 2014).
Bali Indonesian rupiah (IDR). 1 euro = IDR 15,357 (September 2014). Note that many purchases can be made in US dollars.
Best seasons
Singapore : Singapore is said to have three seasons, ranging from hot to very hot to very hot. Situated on the equator, the City-State enjoys a stable climate all year round. However, the driest season is between May and July.
Bali The most favourable period, between May and October, is the dry season. Despite this, the island remains very popular in winter.
Group size
Singapore : Everything is possible thanks to an extremely well-developed hotel infrastructure, in particular XXL establishments with ad hoc meeting rooms.
Bali : A resort hotel can accommodate large groups, but we prefer exclusive groups. Many boutique hotels only have around fifty rooms. Smaller groups are better suited to guided tours, temple privatisations, car rallies and other incentive activities. But anything is possible in Bali.
How to get there
Singapore Airlines (SIA) operates a daily flight by Airbus A380 between Paris CDG and Singapore Changi. The airline, one of the most prestigious in the world, offers an Internet and mobile service for a fee on board its A380s, as well as its A330s and B777s. Passengers can stay connected and send text messages for almost the entire duration of their flight. The airline also offers its KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system, with almost 1,500 à la carte programmes. In terms of comfort, in Economy class there is 81 cm of space between each row of seats. In Business, passengers enjoy the widest seat on the market (86 cm) and menus concocted by nine top chefs, including the three-star Georges Blanc. At Changi airport, there is a plethora of lounges to choose from, including the Star Alliance lounge and SIA's SilverKris lounges, with the T3 lounge about to be renovated. Singapore Airlines operates an average of four daily flights from Singapore to Bali.
43, rue Boissière. 75016 Paris. Tel: 0821 230 380 (€0.12/min). Internet: www.singaporeair.fr
Air France offers 10 flights a week between Paris CDG and Changi, operated by a four-class Boeing B777 with Economy Premium and the new La Première suite. These services can be combined with the daily KLM flight between Singapore and Denpasar. Tel: 36 54 or +33 (0)892 70 26 54. Internet: www.airfrance.fr
For more information
Singapore Tourism Board
Email : singapour@axium1.com
Internet: www.yoursingapore.com
Facebook: YourSingaporeFrance
Bali
Phoenix Voyages Tel: 06 61 78 78 83 (S. Lemoine).
Email : info@phoenixvoyages.com
Internet: www.phoenixvoyages.com
Singapore
Hotels
Sofitel So
Opened last May, this newcomer to the Singaporean scene - and the third in the Sofitel So line after those in Bangkok and Mauritius - is housed in a 1920s administration building. The logo and staff uniforms were designed by Karl Lagerfeld himself. The rest was entrusted to interior designer Isabelle Miaja, who combined Parisian touches with Singaporean nods. The result, in the 134 rooms, is a very contemporary atmosphere punctuated by reverence for tradition. For example, hexagonal objects evoking France sit alongside octagons symbolising Feng Shui. Situated in the heart of the Central Business District, but just a stone's throw from trendy Chinatown and Marina Bay, the hotel is ideal for events and incentives. What's more, you can organise wonderful cocktails on the roof, around the swimming pool. Sumptuous, of course.
35 Robinson Road - Tel: +65 67 01 68 00 Email: h8655@sofitel.com Internet: www.sofitel.com
The Sofitel So brand chose the City-State to unveil its third establishment.
Raffles Hotel
The Raffles, the king of Singapore's luxury hotels, inaugurated in 1887, needs no introduction. Today, it boasts a total of 103 suites. And on its private lawns, shaded by frangipani trees and traveller's trees - the symbol of this hotel legend - sumptuous parties are organised. Chanel fashion shows, for example...
1 Beach Road - Tel: +65 63 37 18 86 Email: singapore-raffles@raffles.com Internet: www.raffles.com
The Park Royal on Pikering offers refreshing breaks in the muggy Singapore air.
Park Royal on Pickering
Opened in January 2013, this fantastic 367-room building is reminiscent of a crazy architect's model. With its curving strata, hanging gardens and resort-style swimming pool, it combines the qualities of a business hotel with the originality of a boutique hotel with character. It was designed by the Singaporean firm Woha... known for its unbridled creativity, but also its sense of reality.
3 Upper Pickering Street. Tel: +65 68 09 88 88. Internet: www.parkroyalhotels.com
Royal Plaza on Scotts
This business hotel in the Orchard Street district boasts all the trappings of luxury: white marble lobby, outdoor swimming pool, executive lounge, gourmet restaurant. Its 511 rooms and numerous meeting rooms ensure a successful stay for business groups.
25 Scotts Road - Tel: +65 67 37 79 66 Email: royal@royalplaza.com.sg Internet: www.royalplaza.com.sg
Marina Bay Sands
Singapore's new architectural icon has a sense of excess. Its three towers offer 2,561 rooms, including 180 suites and 242 club rooms.
10 Bayfront Avenue. Tel: +65 6688 8897 - Email: room.reservations@marinabaysands.com Internet: www.marinabaysands.com
Restaurants
Xperience
Here, nothing is like it is elsewhere. The dishes on the menu - which changes every week - come in several sizes: XS, M, XL. And rather than the traditional distinction between meat, fish, starter, main course or dessert, we are offered selections by taste and texture: juicy, smokey, spicy, crunchy. Fortunately, the inventiveness doesn't stop at the menu. On the plates, it's a feast, with classics masterfully revisited by Anne-Cécile Degenne, who came fifth in Top Chef 2014. Something to keep an eye on, that's for sure...
35 Robinson Road - Tel: +65 67 01 68 00 Email: h8655@sofitel.com Internet: www.sofitel.com
Clifford Restaurant
Vast, very vast - so perfectly suited to events of all kinds - this Fullerton Bay hotel restaurant is located in Singapore's former cruise terminal. Its colonial charm is enhanced in the evening by a superb view of the play of light from the Marina Bays Sands across the water. Comfortably seated on deep benches, you can dine simply but elegantly, mainly on seafood.
80 Collyer Quay - Tel: +65 65 97 52 88 Email: clifford@fullertonbayhotel.com Internet: www.fullertonbayhotel.com
IndoChina, perched at the top of a supertree, lends itself to VIP cocktails with a view.
Indochine Gardiens by the Bay
Opened at the end of 2012 at the top of the tallest of the Botanic Garden's 'Supertrees', this corolla-shaped outdoor bar is - in every sense of the word - the place to take off, perched 50 metres above the ground. As night falls, the view of the Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer Ferris wheel, both illuminated, is simply breathtaking. For dinner, you go down one floor. But you won't miss any of the spectacle behind the huge bay windows. On the menu: Asian fusion cuisine. The restaurant can be reserved for groups of up to 100 people for cocktails.
18 Marina Gardens Drive. Tel: +65 64 20 68 48. Email: feedback@gardensbythebay.com.sg Internet: www.gardensbythebay.com.sg
Sky on 57
Of the - very - many great restaurants in the Marina Bay Sands complex, Sky on 57 offers the most spectacular view of both Singapore and the bay, the botanical gardens and the container ships. This original Franco-Asian culinary mecca is masterfully run by the renowned Justin Quek and offers a culinary experience as breathtaking as its panorama. An ideal venue for gala evenings.
Sands SkyPark, Tower 1, Level 57. Tel: +65 66 88 88 57. Email: skyon57@marinabaysands.com Internet: www.marinabaysands.com
A myth within a myth: the Long Bar at Raffles,
where the Singapore Sling cocktail was created.
Bali
Hotels
Brand new boutique hotel, the Alaya
Ubud captivates with its attention to detail.
Alaya Ubud
The first of a brand new Balinese chain - its next establishment will open in Kuta next year - this charming hotel was opened in March 2013 in the middle of Ubud's rice fields. Its special feature: a long building that allows the restaurant to literally open out onto the street - here there are no walls, just a roof. The hotel offers 60 rooms in a peaceful setting surrounded by nature. The spa is particularly appealing, with a decor that is a good mix of Balinese and Moroccan. You can learn how to prepare your own natural beauty products using plants and flowers. Yoga, offerings and Balinese dance classes are offered free of charge twice a week to hotel residents. These activities can, of course, be tailor-made for groups. Jl.
Hanoman, Ubud - Tel: +62 361 97 22 00 Email: info@alayaubud.com Internet: www.alayaubud.com
The Royal Pita Maha is home to 62 intimate villas perfectly integrated into sublime natural surroundings.
Royal Pita Maha (A Tjampuhan Relaxation Resort)
18 hectares of property, 62 villas in traditional Balinese architecture with private pools - 300 m2 for the smallest! - All built on a hillside between jungle and rice paddies at the bottom of the valley where the Ayung River flows furiously. At the top, a restaurant overlooks the valley. Down below, near the river, an organic vegetable garden supplies another equally organic restaurant. Quite simply, it's idyllic. As you might expect, this is a place for very exclusive groups.
Desa Kedewatan, Ubud. Tel: +62 361 98 00 22. Internet: www.royalpitamaha-bali.com
Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort
It too is new, having only opened in December 2013. And it too makes a big impression as soon as you enter its banyan tree-shaped lobby. In the heart of an eight-hectare site, the 415 rooms, including 17 villas, are grandiose; especially those on the ground floor, which have direct access to the immense central pool thanks to an ingenious canal. The hotel's French touch is evident in the welcome products by Lanvin and the 'bondjour' sung with a smile by all the staff. Teak wood and frangipani flower motifs add to the chic of the place, where the Club Millenium and its swimming pool are ideal for private parties. The sumptuous access to the Indian Ocean also makes you want to organise events on the beach.
Lot N5 Nusa Dua Tourism Complex. Tel: +62 361 84 92 888. Email: info@sofitelbalinusadua.com Internet: www.sofitel.com
Laguna Nusa Dua
Since it opened in the 1990s, the Laguna has become a classic in the Starwood Group's tradition of inventing classics. Its 287 rooms are magnificent - many have direct access to the central 'lagoon' - and are therefore perfect for incentive groups. Then there are the 10 breathtaking villas, set back from the rest of the hotel, with dedicated check-in, garden and private pool... Ideal, too, for organising very select events.
Kawasan Pariwisata Nusa Dua Lot N2. Nusa Dua - Tel: +62 361 77 13 27 Email: laguna.reservation@luxurycollection. com - Internet www.starwoodhotels.com
Restaurants
Charming
Located in a Javanese house brought back plank by plank from the neighbouring island, this open-air hall is brimming with chinese Balinese pieces, like these oil lamps that light up softly or these old fans that patiently beat out the heat. Here you can enjoy Asian fusion cuisine and local classics in a relaxed and slightly trendy atmosphere. Which can be explained by its - relative - proximity to Sanur beach.
Jl Danau Tamblingan 97, Sanur Tel: +62 361 28 19 48 Email: info@charming-bali.com Internet: www.charming-bali.com
Overlooking the ocean on 103 ha, the Pan Pacific
Nirwana combines immensity and exclusivity.
Hotel Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali
Not only is the hotel marvellous and enjoys one of the most beautiful locations in Bali, in front of the Tanah Lot temple, perched on a rock in the middle of the sea, but it extends over 103 hectares of golf course and gardens. With six restaurants and cafés, it offers numerous options for absolutely extraordinary gala dinners; on the lawns, in front of the ocean, at sunset... The organic vegetable garden confirms that the cuisine here is of the highest quality.
Jalan Raya Tanah Lot, Tabanan Tel: +62 361 81 59 00 Internet: www.panpacific.com
The Mahagiri, where you can discover traditional cuisine
contemplating Mount Agung, the sacred volcano.
Mahagiri
Overlooking espalier rice fields, tropical forest and the Batur volcano, this panoramic restaurant is a marvel set in the middle of nature. It takes some effort to get here, but it's well worth it! As you contemplate nature, you can savour traditional dishes such as the famous nasi goreng, fried rice with vegetables and sometimes meat, or gado gado, raw vegetables covered in a thick, sweet peanut sauce. The restaurant is suitable for medium-sized incentive groups.
Rendang Karangasem - Tel: +62 81 23 81 47 75 - Email: info@mahagiri.com Internet: www.mahagiri.com
Taman Bhagawan
The name of this place means "the wise man". A wise man indeed, but certainly in good taste, as everything here reflects the rich Balinese culture in a tropical garden adjoining Tanjung Benoa beach. Neither a hotel nor a restaurant in the strict sense of the word, Taman Bhagawan is a magical event venue facing the ocean, where you can enjoy a dip in the turquoise water of a pretty pool set between grass and sand. Its assets: excellent cuisine, served in pretty thatched pavilions, and immense lawns that can accommodate up to 2,000 people, whose green contrasts with the blue of the water and the red of a monumental fountain.
Jl. Pratama No.70, Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua. Tel :+62 361 77 65 55 Email : enquiries@tamanbhagawan.com Internet : www.tamanbhagawan.com
Practical guides
Singapore CartovilleGallimard (2013): the third edition of this guide provides a wonderful overview of the City-State, with maps showing the city district by district.
Singapore in a few daysLonely Planet (2013): a small, condensed format, organised by theme and district, with a detachable map.
Bali and Lombok, Lonely Planet (2013): this is the 8th edition of an extremely detailed guide to the two neighbouring islands.
BaliEncyclopédies du Voyage, Gallimard (2013): an excellent cultural guide to help you prepare for your trip and familiarise yourself with Balinese traditions and places of interest.
