SingaporeBy ArrivLast checked
Plan a trip to Singapore
Compact, efficient, and organized around hawker centres that serve some of the best cheap food anywhere, which is the reason to come. Three days is enough. It also makes a good stopover, which is how most people end up here in the first place.
- Food trips
- Families
- First-timers
- Weekend getaways
Free to run, and you keep editing after. Add who's coming or a pace like “slow mornings” to shape the result.
Singapore at a glance
Most people come for the headline sight, Gardens by the Bay, and that decides the shape of everything else. Three more stops hold up their end, and you will sleep in Chinatown / Tanjong Pagar, Marina Bay, or Kampong Glam. The month notes say when Singapore earns the airfare, so give it 2 to 4 days and put the whole thing on a map.
- How long
- 2–4 days
- When to go
- It sits within a degree of the equator, so it is hot and humid all year with afternoon showers. Every month is warm. February to April is marginally driest, though you will want to book around Formula 1 in September, when rates jump.
- Getting around
- The MRT is clean, cheap, and reaches the airport, so the contactless card you tap covers most of the trip. Walking is fine early and late, though the taxis are metered and reasonable for the hours when you give up on the heat.
What to build the plan around
- 1
Gardens by the Bay
The Supertree light show runs nightly and costs nothing, while the Cloud Forest dome is the ticketed part worth paying for.
- 2
Hawker centres
Maxwell, Old Airport Road, and Tiong Bahru are the three to hit if you only have a few meals. Two of the cheapest Michelin-recognized meals in the world are in Singapore hawker stalls, and you will queue for both.
- 3
Marina Bay Sands SkyPark
The observation deck for the skyline, though the Cé La Vi bar has a similar view and you pay for a drink.
- 4
Botanic Gardens
A UNESCO site in the middle of the city, free to enter, with a separate orchid garden if you want the paid part.
Where to stay in Singapore
Arriv may earn a commission if you book through this link.
- Chinatown / Tanjong Pagar
- The best food and well connected, with mid-range hotels, so it is the default first choice. Browse stays in Chinatown / Tanjong Pagar
- Marina Bay
- Closest to the gardens and the skyline views, and the most expensive because of exactly that. Browse stays in Marina Bay
- Kampong Glam
- Arab Street's shops and cafés, the most character of the three, and the quietest once the shutters come down. Browse stays in Kampong Glam
Arriv may earn a commission if you book through this link.
Itineraries close to Singapore
Singapore has no itinerary of its own yet. These are the nearest ones, and every stop is already mapped.
Singapore planning questions
- How many days do you need in Singapore?
- 2 to 4 days is the usual answer, and the low end works only if you skip one of the four stops. Two days covers the gardens, two hawker centres, and one neighborhood. Four adds Sentosa and the zoo, which matters a great deal with kids and very little without them.
- What is the best time to visit Singapore?
- It sits within a degree of the equator, so it is hot and humid all year with afternoon showers. Every month is warm. February to April is marginally driest, though you will want to book around Formula 1 in September, when rates jump.
- Where should I stay in Singapore?
- Three areas cover most trips in Singapore, since where you sleep decides how much of the day you spend in transit. Chinatown / Tanjong Pagar: The best food and well connected, with mid-range hotels, so it is the default first choice. Marina Bay: Closest to the gardens and the skyline views, and the most expensive because of exactly that. Kampong Glam: Arab Street's shops and cafés, the most character of the three, and the quietest once the shutters come down. If you want one answer without weighing it up, book Chinatown / Tanjong Pagar and stop reading.
- How do you get around Singapore?
- The MRT is clean, cheap, and reaches the airport, so the contactless card you tap covers most of the trip. Walking is fine early and late, though the taxis are metered and reasonable for the hours when you give up on the heat.
- What should I see first in Singapore?
- The first thing to slot in is Gardens by the Bay, because once you have given it a morning the rest arranges itself around that. The Supertree light show runs nightly and costs nothing, while the Cloud Forest dome is the ticketed part worth paying for. After that, Hawker centres, then Marina Bay Sands SkyPark, though the order between those two barely matters.
- Can I build a Singapore itinerary automatically?
- Describe the trip and Arriv builds one. Length, pace, who is coming: that is enough to get a Singapore itinerary of real venues on a map, and every stop is yours to move or delete. Free to run, and an account matters only once you want to keep it.