The Singapore passport has once again been ranked among the best in the world to hold with 173 countries granting us visa-free access. While we know that gives us an easy route to the US, Europe and Australia, we were more intrigued by the lesser-known travel opportunities available. So we went through the list of countries on Timatic and came up with these five incredible journeys you can embark on right now.
1. Find a new island in the sun
Need a break from this island? Then find a new one where the beers are cheap, the beaches are real and traffic jams are a foreign concept. Head to the South Pacific where Fiji (four months), French Polynesia (90 days) and Vanuatu (30 days) are waiting for you. Or answer the call of the Caribbean in Barbados (six months), the Bahamas (three months) or Jamaica (30 days). Alternatively, you can go completely off the beaten trail in Cape Verde (90 days), Madagascar (30 days) or Seychelles (one month).
2. Take an indefinite trip to South America
From the sands of Copacabana to the salt flats of Uyuni and the vineyards of Mendoza, South America has lots to offer intrepid travelers. It does take us about 40 hours to get there, however, so it’s a good thing we can stay there as long as we want by moving between countries. We have visa-free access to Argentina (90 days), Brazil (30 days), Chile (30 days), Colombia (90 days), Ecuador (90 days), Peru (183 days), Suriname (30 days) and Uruguay (three months) with visa on arrival available in Bolivia (90 days, US$100).
3. Spend a year in Georgia
No, not the American state, but the land of the Caucasus Mountains with a prime spot on the shores of the Black Sea. They welcome Singaporeans for a full year which gives you time to take in the capital city of Tblisi, savour the wines of the Kakheti region or retrace the footsteps of Georgia’s most infamous son, Iosif Dzhugashvili – you know him better as Stalin.
4. Get a head start on exploring Iran
With the US and European Union lifting sanctions, Iran is emerging from isolation, and Singapore has already started making friends in Tehran with the signing of an investment treaty. With 30 days visa on arrival (€30-80) you can get there before the inevitable tourist surge and visit a remarkable land that’s home to 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
5. Go to Antarctica
So, you want to truly get away from it all? Then escape to a place where penguins outnumber people by several orders of magnitude. Join World Expeditions for the “Basecamp Antarctic Peninsula on the Plancius” voyage which departs from Ushuaia, Argentina on Nov 8. Cabins for the 10-day round-trip start at US$6,480.
