Perth to Singapore

For anyone who is looking to travel from Perth to Singapore, here's the lowdown with tips for families and fellow thrifty travellers: 

Step 1 - Vaccinated Travel Pass

Apply for the VT pass once you have an idea of when you would like to travel. When we had to change our flight dates, we made a second application and it was approved almost instantaneously. The pass also gives you a leeway with your selected dates of an additional 6 days. EG: If you apply for travel to Singapore on 4 February, the pass will allow for travel up until 10 February. 

Step 2 - Covid-19 Travel Insurance

There is a limited number of insurance companies willing to offer Covid-19 coverage. I adorned my procurement hat on and researched a number of insurance companies [yes, I read through each and every Product Disclosure Statement] with the help of Product Review before deciding to go ahead with Medibank Travel Insurance. It is slightly more expensive than others but with the unlimited Covid-19/medical coverage, it gives me peace of mind. Also, I have been a customer for years now and claims have always been a very smooth, coordinated process. 

The travel insurance purchase was made prior to flights to ensure we had coverage for any flight cancellations. 

Step 3 - Flights

There are a few carriers that have vaccinated travel lane flights from Perth to Singapore. We travelled with Singapore Airlines and intentionally chose the 6am flight so we could land at a reasonable hour to work through the post pandemic process for international arrivals. I was very nervous about the PCR testing for Xav [Mr 2 years and 5 months] and thought it was better that it happened in the afternoon rather than late in the evening. We do not operate well when we are tired. 

To save on the cost of flights, I applied for the American Express Explorer Credit Card. At the time, it offered 240,000 points when a spend of $3,000 was made in the first 3 months. This equates to 120,000 Kris Flyer points which would get the three of us return economy or one-way business class flights to Singapore. Unlike other rewards credit card companies, the 240,000 points hit our account once the spend was made (rather than at the end of the 3 month period) which worked perfectly timing wise for flight bookings. The annual fee was $395 but that is offset by the $400 travel credit which we used towards a two night's stay in Sentosa. Highly recommend checking Point Hacks or Finder for a credit card that will offer the best frequent flyer points for travel. 

Step 4 - Set up your travel on the Safe Travel Concierge

The Safe Travel Concierge sets out a checklist of requirements for travel to Singapore including pre-departure Covid-19 tests, Covid-19 travel insurance, Singapore arrival card and Trace Together app (similar to Service WA app but you check in and check out at each location) 

Monnie Kondo

If you, like me, have a penchant for being organised... keep on reading: 

1. Print out documents double sided and where possible, have 2 to 4 pages printed on a page as it gets quite bulky with the numerous documents that you have to print. 

2. Get a travel wallet that can fit folded documents. And label them. 

3. Over the top momma - If you are travelling with a toddler who still has a baby photo in their passport [thanks pandemic], worry not as long as the passport is still valid. Long story short, I wanted to update Xav's passport photo and went through an extremely lengthy process to find out that it was unnecessary. There was also an extended wait time on new passports and I was not going to fork out >$200 for priority processing.

4. PCR testing - This is a continued worry for me as we will be travelling to Malaysia. As Xav had a surgery done in December, I reached out to the ENT specialist to provide a letter for travel which informed whoever was going to perform the PCR testing of the surgery. There is no checklist for things like these but the letter came in handy for our arrival in Singapore as the person who performed the PCR testing took extra caution with Xav. He still fought it like a tooth was being removed. 

5. Leverage candies - I deliberately purchased lollipops and jelly bellies as leverage for our travel. I did forget the jelly bellies in the pantry [which I still regret to this day - it is such good leverage as he takes his time analysing them, transferring them for the little pack to his hands and then chewing them with delight] but thankfully, had the lollipops in my handbag and also, Xav's travel bag. I had one ready to go when Xav had to do his PCR testing. He calmed down right away after his test as he was distracted by the lolly. We have also used it as leverage candy for tantrum-city.

6. Stroller - We have the Recaro Easylife Stroller which can be collapsed and opened in one smooth movement/action. When I had to transfer Xav from the stroller to the taxi today [he was screaming at the top of his lungs and fighting getting into the cab as he was actually asleep in his stroller], I was able to carry him in one hand and collapse the stroller with the other. It is also lightweight and can fit into small cars. Did I mention it also reclines back so when Xav falls asleep, I can recline it back. It also offers a pretty good coverage and has a carry basket. It is the best $50 purchase that I have made off marketplace. I negotiated it from $60 not realising how amazing this stroller was. 

All in all 

Our travel was heavily dependent on planning and preparation which we started months before we set foot into the country. It was also important because we had a toddler in tow so any delay in process meant he had to be in his stroller for longer. And I was so wary that there were a lot of new requirements related to Covid-19 that I did not want us to be surprise with. It has all been well worth it and the travel / time spent with family has been so good for the soul.