Insight Singapore
- A Travel Guide for Inquisitive Minds
Insight Singapore Travel Guide Takes No. 2 Spot in 'My Top 5 Singapore Travel Guides' Ranking.
Insight Guide Singapore |
What's good: This guide
is great for travellers who want more than a superficial
understanding of Singapore. |
The back cover of the guide boasts of its 'evocative photography'.
Indeed the
best photos among the guides are found here. If your photography fails
you, this
guide's representative images could
help you remember Singapore by. Which makes this a great souvenir.
The guide is also intuitively
arranged.
Read about a place when you're on a walking tour. And then flip the
page to look for an atmospheric restaurant nearby. Somehow the
arrangement
is
very easy to follow. Also the pages are filled with tips strategically placed in the
margins, so you won't miss the top spots.
Insight Singapore is also interspersed with non-tourist-type commentaries.
These commentaries give you a better understanding of places and events in Singapore.
Other strengths:
- clear, well-labelled maps
- a good concise pull-out review of the best restaurants
- an excellent section for excursions to Malaysia (Melaka, Tioman Island), and Indonesia (Bintan & Batam Islands)
What's not so
good:
The
section on accommodation
is rather limited.
This list is short, though the featured hotels receive substantial
coverage. Unless you already know where you want to stay,
you'll
find
this
section rather frustrating.
This guide uses a $,
$$, $$$ price-range indication system, rather than tell you exactly how
much a place costs. It's my personal
opinion, but I
don't like to be surprised by a $100 difference in my hotel bill.
My
recommendation:
Insight Singapore is a great buy if you want to keep your
travel
guide as a souvenir after your tour, because of its great write-ups,
representative photos and glossy paper feel.
Because its hotel listing is weak, you're better off booking your hotel online
first using a hotel comparison website. Then when you're here, use the guide to move around.
The Others in 'My Topic 5 Singapore Travel Guides'
No. 1 - Lonely Planet Singapore
for its comprehensive, spot-on and objective coverage of everything you
need for a great Singapore tour.
No. 3 - The
Rough Guide to Singapore
for its incredibly good range of budget travel options and useful background
information all-round.
No. 4 - DK
Eyewitness Singapore Guide
for its numerous photos and see-through 3-D
drawings.
No. 5 - Fodor's Singapore
for
sticking out their necks to say which the best is in every
aspect of Singapore travel.
and a good companion to these - Singapore
Cityscoops.
Go read my summary of Insight
Singapore and other good Singapore travel guides.
