Singapore travel guide: the three-day version that does not break the bank
A personal Singapore travel guide. Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, the hawker centers, where to stay (Robertson Quay), and how to do the city without spending $200 on a round of drinks.
Singapore is the most efficient major city in Southeast Asia and the easiest to underestimate by budget. Two to three days, mostly on foot and MRT, with the spending on food rather than drinks, is how the trip works. The full pin map for the city sits below. This writeup covers the parts of it that change the trip.
On this page
- Getting in from Changi
- Festivals and big annual events
- Where to stay
- Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay
- Hawker centers and where to eat
- The botanic and culture half-day
- Where to drink without losing your shirt
Getting in from Changi
Changi Airport is one of the smoothest arrival experiences in the region, and the connections into town are equally easy.
| Option | Cost | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRT East-West Line | ~$2 with EZ-Link | ~30 min to City Hall | Change at Tanah Merah from the Changi branch onto the main EWL. Trains every 5 min. Free Wi-Fi |
| Grab / taxi | $15 to $25 | 15 to 25 min | Worth it with bags or after midnight. Airport surcharges apply |
| Airport Shuttle | $9 | 30 to 60 min | Hotel drop, slower than MRT. Book in arrivals |
Changi Jewel, the indoor waterfall, is worth the 30 minutes if you have a layover or are arriving with time.
Festivals and big annual events
Singapore's calendar reflects the four major ethnic and religious traditions that share the city (Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western), plus a small set of national civic events and one giant motorsport weekend that fills the city.
| Event | When | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore Grand Prix (F1) | A weekend in late September or early October | The night race around the Marina Bay street circuit. Around 270,000 attendees across three days. Hotels in Marina Bay, Bugis, and the Central Business District quadruple in price and book a year ahead. Concerts on the support stages (recent headliners: Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Lenny Kravitz). The single biggest hotel-pressure week of the Singapore year |
| Chinese New Year | Late January or February, a 15-day festival window | The biggest cultural festival on the calendar. Public holidays for the first two days. Chinatown fills with red lanterns, food stalls, and the lion-and-dragon dances on Eu Tong Sen Street and Pagoda Street. The River Hongbao at the Marina Bay Floating Platform is a 10-day amusement-park-and-fireworks event. Many small businesses close for the first week. Hotels stay reasonable because locals are mostly at home |
| Hari Raya Puasa (Eid al-Fitr) | End of Ramadan, lunar calendar, varies year to year | Geylang Serai's bazaar runs through the month of Ramadan with food stalls and decorations. Hari Raya itself is a public holiday. Smaller hotel impact than CNY because the celebration is family-home centered |
| Deepavali (Diwali) | A day in October or November | Indian Festival of Lights. Little India fills with lights, decorations, and food stalls in the weeks leading up. Public holiday on the day |
| National Day | August 9 | Singapore's independence day. The National Day Parade at Marina Bay (the Padang in odd years) is a massive military and civic display with aerial flypasts and fireworks. Tickets via ballot. Free to watch the fireworks from anywhere along Marina Bay. Hotels in Marina Bay fill |
| Thaipusam | Late January or early February (full moon of the Tamil month of Thai) | The Hindu festival of devotion. The procession from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India to Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tanglin runs through the night and morning. Devotees carry kavadi (elaborate burdens) including milk pots and steel-spike structures driven into the body. Powerful to watch, smaller crowd than the headline festivals |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | A day in September or October (full moon of the eighth lunar month) | Mooncakes everywhere, lantern displays at Chinatown, Gardens by the Bay, and Sentosa. Family-scale, no major hotel impact, an evening worth being out for if dates line up |
| Singapore Food Festival | Across most of June | The annual food festival across multiple venues and hawker centers. Smaller hotel impact, real reason to plan a Singapore trip around June if food is the trip |
| i Light Singapore | A two-week window in May or June | The Marina Bay light-art festival. Free, around the bay. Smaller hotel pressure, the easier evening agenda |
| ZoukOut | A weekend in December | The dance music festival at Siloso Beach on Sentosa. Hotels on Sentosa book heavily |
The trip-shaping event is the F1 weekend in late September or early October. If F1 is the trip, book the hotel and tickets eight to ten months ahead. If F1 is not the trip, do not visit that weekend unless you enjoy paying triple for everything. Chinese New Year is the trip-shaping cultural window, especially the first three days. Thaipusam is the underrated intense religious event that most international travelers miss.
Where to stay
Singapore's hotel splits into three useful bases: along the Singapore River (Robertson Quay/Clarke Quay), Marina Bay, and Tanjong Pagar/Chinatown.
| Where | Hotel | Why pick it | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robertson Quay | InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay | Riverfront, walking to Clarke Quay and Boat Quay, 15-min MRT to Marina Bay. Reliable suite upgrades for IHG status | Quieter than Marina Bay at night |
| Marina Bay | The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore | Best bay views in the city, rooftop pool, walking to Marina Bay Sands and the Esplanade | Premium pricing year-round |
| Marina Bay | Marina Bay Sands Singapore | The infinity pool is the photo. Casino floors and the mall connected | Rooms are dated for the price. You are paying for the pool |
| Tanjong Pagar / Chinatown | Various 3- and 4-star | Walking distance to Maxwell Hawker Center, Telok Ayer bars, and Tanjong Pagar MRT | Less glamorous, much better food access |
Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay
The Marina Bay loop is the headline. Done in the right order, it covers the postcard sights with the cooler hours and saves the Spectra show for the end.
| Time | Stop | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. | ArtScience Museum exterior, the Helix Bridge | Cool morning walk. Free |
| 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. | Cloud Forest | Best when the AC is fresh and the indoor mist is dense. Buy combo with Flower Dome |
| 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. | Flower Dome | The AC is the gift. Photogenic seasonal displays |
| 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Outdoor Gardens by the Bay | Heritage Gardens, Dragonfly Lake. Walk before the noon heat |
| 1 to 2 p.m. | Lunch at Satay by the Bay | Outdoor hawker food adjacent to the Gardens |
| 2 to 4 p.m. | Singapore Flyer or AC break | Skip the Flyer if you have Marina Bay Sands tickets: same view, much pricier |
| 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. | Supertree Grove Garden Rhapsody (free light show) | 15 minutes each. Free. The 8:45 show is usually less crowded |
| 9 p.m. | Marina Bay Sands Spectra water-and-light show | Free from the boardwalk |
Hawker centers and where to eat
The reason to be in Singapore is to eat. Hawker centers are where you do it for $4 to $8 a meal.
| Hawker center | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lau Pa Sat | Satay Street after dark | Vendors set up grills outside the Victorian shed. Live music on weekends |
| Maxwell Hawker Center | Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, the famous one | Lunch is the move. Weekends queue 30+ min |
| Tiong Bahru Market | Chwee kueh, lor mee, kopi | Sit-down breakfast culture |
| Old Airport Road Food Center | The "best of" hawker hall outside the tourist core | Slightly further out, locals' choice |
For sit-down meals across cuisine ranges:
| Spot | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Super Loco Customs House | Mexican on the bay | Sunset bar with a Marina Bay view |
| Co Ba Quan - Singapore | Vietnamese, casual | The bún chả is the order |
| East Treasure Speciality Prawn Noodle | The one bowl of prawn mee you should try | Eat at the counter |
| Issho Izakaya One Fullerton | Late-night Japanese with a Marina view | Reservations |
| Sonny's Pizza | A neighborhood pizza joint when you need a break from Asian food | Tanjong Pagar |
| Leung Sang Hong Kong Pastries | Egg tarts in Chinatown | Cash only |
| Tenya Orchard Central | Cheap tempura set lunch | Mall food court level, cheaper than you would guess |
| Chinatown Point | Air-conditioned hawker food at the back | If Maxwell is heaving |
| The Spot Singapore | Modern Singaporean tasting | The local-fusion option |
The botanic and culture half-day
A morning at Singapore Botanic Gardens (UNESCO, free except the Orchid Garden) into lunch in Tanglin Village, then an afternoon in Chinatown or Tiong Bahru. The Gardens open at 5 a.m. for runners. If you are jet-lagged, this is the best version of the morning.
For history at speed: National Gallery (the old Supreme Court and City Hall combined), Asian Civilisations Museum, and the ArtScience Museum covers most of the city's curated history in one afternoon's loop along the Civic District.
Where to drink without losing your shirt
Singapore is the city where two cocktails routinely costs $40. The way to manage it is to pick a single splurge and otherwise stick to hawker beer.
The splurge picks: Atlas (Parkview Square, art-deco gin temple), Smoke & Mirrors (rooftop at National Gallery), the LeVeL33 brewery (the highest urban craft brewery in the world), or the Marina Bay Sands rooftop. Plan on $25+ a drink at any of these.
The cheap picks: any hawker center serves Tiger beer at $6 to $8, the Boat Quay strip after happy hour, Lau Pa Sat's outdoor satay area after dark. Fun Tea and the bubble-tea chains are the daytime equivalent for under $5.
Planning Singapore
Singapore rewards travelers who eat at hawker centers and walk in the morning. Stay near a transit station, time your visits to Gardens by the Bay for the cooler hours, and choose a few headline attractions rather than trying to do them all in one day. Two to three days is the right shape.
Stay on Robertson Quay or Tanjong Pagar
InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay is the easy pick. Riverfront, walking distance to Clarke Quay and Boat Quay, and a 15-minute MRT to Marina Bay. Tanjong Pagar is the budget-conscious alternative with the highest food density per block.
Eat at hawker centers
Lau Pa Sat, Maxwell, and Tiong Bahru cover the headline three. Expect $4 to $8 a meal at most stalls, plus another $1 for a drink. Cash and PayLah! (the DBS bank's mobile-wallet app, the local default) are the norm. Some stalls take card. Wet markets (the open-air produce and seafood halls) close around 2 p.m.. Evening hawker centers run late.
Plan Gardens by the Bay around the cooler hours
Cloud Forest opens at 9 a.m. and is best before 11. Supertree Grove is best at 7:45 p.m. for the free light show, then again at 8:45. Flower Dome has the best AC if you need a 30-minute heat break. Combo tickets are cheaper than singles.
Do not drink at the hotel bars unless that is the trip
Singapore is the city where a casual round costs $50. Cocktails at headline rooftop bars start at $25 each. The trick is to plan a single splurge (Atlas, Smoke & Mirrors, the Marina Bay Sands rooftop) and otherwise stick to hawker beer at $6 a pint.
Quick answers
- How long should I plan in Singapore?
- Two full days hits the headline sights and a couple of food neighborhoods. Three is the sweet spot. Adds the Singapore Botanic Gardens, an evening at Tiong Bahru or Joo Chiat, and a day trip to Sentosa if Universal Studios or the beach matters. Anything beyond five days needs a real plan or it gets expensive fast.
- Where should I stay?
- InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay is the comfortable middle. Riverfront walks, the Quay's restaurants and bars at the door, and easy MRT to Marina Bay. The Fullerton Bay Hotel and Marina Bay Sands are the splurges. Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown are the budget plays with the best food density. Geylang is fine but more local than easy for a first trip. Pick somewhere central instead.
- Is Marina Bay Sands worth it?
- As a hotel, only if the SkyPark Pool is the reason. The rooms themselves are dated for the price. As a sight, yes. The SkyPark Observation Deck ticket (without staying) is the same view at a fraction of the cost. The 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Spectra water-and-light shows from the boardwalk are free and worth the walk.
- How do I get from Changi to my hotel?
- MRT East-West Line is the cheap option. About 30 minutes to City Hall with a change at Tanah Merah from the Changi branch onto the main EWL. Costs about $2 with an EZ-Link card (the local stored-value transit card, buy at any station) or just tap any contactless bank card or phone wallet at the gate. Grab or taxi is $15 to $25 and takes 15 to 25 minutes depending on traffic. Grab is the easy pick unless you are traveling light.
- Is the heat really that bad?
- It is 30°C and 80% humidity year-round. The Singaporean strategy is to alternate between air-conditioned interiors and short outdoor walks. Buildings are connected by covered walkways and underground tunnels in the central districts. Plan walks for early morning or after 6 p.m. Pack an umbrella for the daily afternoon rain.
Keep reading
Companion pages on places and themes that overlap with this list.