Australia VTL: Adelaide now open to Singaporeans without quarantine

Here’s some good news for Singaporeans planning to visit Adelaide: South Australia has removed the quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated international arrivals, replacing it instead with a pre-departure and post-arrival COVID-19 test. 

Singapore citizens can also visit Melbourne, Sydney and Darwin (which reopened from 20 December 2021) without quarantine, with Perth set to reopen from 5 February 2022, as covered previously. 

Quarantine-free travel to Adelaide now possible

From 1 January 2022, fully vaccinated international travellers arriving in South Australia are no longer required to complete an EntryCheck SA application, nor undergo quarantine.

Instead, they will be required to take two COVID-19 tests:

1. A pre-departure PCR test within 72 hours of departing for South Australia
2. A post-arrival PCR test within 24 hours of arriving in South Australia (and isolate until a negative result is received)

Do note that unlike Victoria and NSW which have adopted ARTs for post-arrival testing, South Australia will still require a PCR test to be done. This can be obtained free of charge at any of the providers below:

South Australia PCR test centres

Do note that travel to Australia is currently only available to: 

• Australian citizens or PRs, together with their family
• Singapore citizens
• Japan citizens
• New Zealand residents
• South Korea citizens

Singapore, Japan and South Korea citizens must travel directly from Singapore, Japan and South Korea respectively without transit. New Zealand residents must also travel direct from New Zealand. 

With the latest changes, here’s a summary of travel procedures from Singapore to Australia:

Flights to/from Adelaide

To Adelaide

Singapore Airlines is currently operating 5x weekly flights to Adelaide on SQ277 and SQ279. Passengers on these flights will qualify for quarantine-free entry into Adelaide, provided other eligibility criteria (e.g. vaccinations) are met. 

To Singapore

In the opposite direction, VTL flights from Adelaide to Singapore are operated by SQ276 and SQ278. 

All flights are operated by regional-configured A350-900 aircraft, which means you can expect the 2018 Regional Business Class seat.

I recently experienced this seat (albeit on a B787-10) from Seoul to Singapore, and you can find the detailed review below.

Review: Singapore Airlines B787-10 Business Class Seoul to Singapore

Redemption rates

If you’re interested in redeeming miles, here’s how much it costs to redeem flights between Singapore and Adelaide on Singapore Airlines. The regional-configured A350-900 aircraft plying this route only offer Economy and Business Class cabins. 

Redemption Cost between Singapore and Adelaide (Flight on Singapore Air)
	Saver (One-Way)	Advantage (One-Way)
Economy	28,000	55,000
Business	62,000	90,000

Do remember that there’s a moratorium on sales of VTL tickets for flights entering Singapore until 20 January 2022, so you can only buy tickets with travel dates from 21 January 2022 onwards. 

Conclusion

Adelaide joins the growing list of Australian cities offering two-way quarantine-free travel to Singapore citizens, with Perth set to join in just over a month’s time. This leaves Brisbane as the the most notable hold out, and hopefully not for too long.

It also remains to be seen when Singapore PRs and LTP holders are extended the same quarantine-free concessions as Singapore citizens, so fingers crossed it happens soon.