In less than a year, I planned trips to Asia that zipped me through Singapore three times. My first drop-in was even totally out of the way, flying into Singapore en route to Japan. This not only saved me about $400, but also gave me my first chance to spend several days in this city that had long been on my Southeast Asia bucket list.
Before my first visit to Singapore, I’d heard the same thing most travelers say: Singapore is clean, expensive, and a little boring compared to other Southeast Asia destinations like Bangkok or Hanoi.
I didn’t buy the travel snobbery going in. And after three trips to Singapore, I buy it even less now.
I remember walking into Chinatown on that first trip, jet-lagged off a 17-hour flight from LAX, and knowing almost immediately that this would be a city I’d be happy to come back to many times in my life.
Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay (deservedly) get all the postcards, but what’s kept pulling me back across three trips is everything underneath: the colonial-style shophouses in Chinatown, the colorful temples in Little India, the mosque and artistic side streets of Kampong Glam, and, of course, the hawker centres strewn about that serve some of the tastiest food I’ve eaten anywhere in Asia.
(And, yep, that’s a pretty high bar.)
Here’s what I’d tell any traveler planning their first trip to Singapore…
When to visit Singapore
Singapore doesn’t really have seasons like many other popular world travel destinations, even countries relatively close by in East Asia, like Japan and South Korea.
It’s hot and humid pretty much every day of the year in Singapore. What changes is how much it rains. The year splits into two (not-so) distinct seasons: wet season and dry season.
The best time to visit Singapore is between February and March. The months fall into the “dry” season between the Northeast and Southwest Monsoons.
(And, yes, dry is a relative term here.)
February is the driest month in Singapore, with an average of around 13 rainy days. This month gives travelers the best odds of stringing together sunny days at outdoor spots like Gardens by the Bay or Sentosa Island.
I’ve visited Singapore in May and November and got lucky with both months, enjoying mostly hot, sunny days. (Save for the odd afternoon thunderstorm rolling through, which is fairly typical outside the dry season.)
Singapore’s rain tends to arrive in short, heavy bursts rather than washing out a whole day, so it’s rarely a reason to change your plans.
If I really wanted to jazz things up, I’d time my trip around Chinese New Year (usually late January or February) to see Chinatown turn into one of the most interesting places in the city, with street decorations, night markets, and a completely different energy than the rest of the year.
Or if shopping’s more your speed, the Great Singapore Sale runs through the summer months and is worth building a trip around if big discounts matter more than dodging the extreme heat and humidity.
How many days should I spend exploring Singapore?
I’d recommend at least three days for a first visit to Singapore. Two days is doable if you’re just passing through, but you’ll spend most of it on the move rather than settling in anywhere.
Singapore’s compact size works in your favor here. I never spent more than 20-30 minutes scooting between neighborhoods on any of my three trips. It makes even a tight schedule feel more manageable than it would in a sprawling city like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur.
Spending three days in Singapore gives first-time visitors enough room to slow down. I’d spend one day between Chinatown and Marina Bay, another between Kampong Glam and Little India, and save the third for Orchard Road, Tiong Bahru, and a proper evening out at Clarke Quay. You won’t feel like you’re racing the clock at any single stop.
Four days or more opens up Sentosa Island as an option instead of something you cut for lack of time. Alternatively, I’d use the extra day to slow down even further, rather than add more attractions.
In my experience, Singapore rewards a relaxed pace more than most cities of its size, mostly because the heat and humidity punish travelers who try to move too fast.
If you’re only passing through on a layover, I wouldn’t write Singapore off entirely either. A few hours is enough to get a real taste of Chinatown or Gardens by the Bay. Even Changi Airport itself, with its indoor gardens and waterfall, The Jewel, is worth exploring if your connection runs long.
Here are some itineraries to help you plan your trip to Singapore…
What to do in Singapore
Singapore is compact, but I wouldn’t try to jam it all in one time-crunched trip. Here’s how I’d get started.
If I were visiting again for the first time, I’d put Gardens by the Bay near the top of my itinerary. Walking into Bay South Garden from Marina Bay Sands and catching my first glimpse of the Supertree Grove lit up below felt more like walking onto a high-budget sci-fi film set than an urban park.
The Cloud Forest Dome edges out the Flower Dome for me, thanks to the 30-metre indoor waterfall at its center and the spiraling walkway through its biomes.
Time your visit to Gardens by the Bay for the Garden Rhapsody light show at 7:45 pm or 8:45 pm. Don’t skip the OCBC Skyway for a different angle on the Supertrees. (The price has nearly doubled since my first visit, but I’d still do it on a first trip.)
Trip after trip, I keep ending up spending a ton of time in Chinatown. This was my first taste of Singapore, checking into my hotel, jet-lagged off a 17-hour flight from LAX. Hours later, I still found myself wandering among its shophouses and hawker centres.
The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is worth the climb to the top floor for the view alone, and Sri Mariamman Temple down the street is one of the most colorful stops I’ve found anywhere in the city.
(Well, at least outside of Little India.)
Chinatown Complex Food Centre is the hawker center I return to most, though Maxwell Food Centre right on its edge of Chinatown is definitely worth a stop too. (Especially if you want to try Tian Tian’s world-famous Hainanese chicken rice.)
Kampong Glam is the neighborhood that surprised me most on my first visit to Singapore. The golden domes of the Sultan Mosque are impossible to miss from almost anywhere in the area.
The mural-covered walls and hipster cafés along Haji Lane give Kampong Glam a completely different feel from Chinatown, a few MRT stops away.
Little India, a short ride from Kampong Glam, has its own centerpiece in the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple. No matter how many times I walked past it, I couldn’t stop staring at its elaborately decorated façade.
(Little India’s most popular hawker centre, Tekka Centre, is well worth a stop too for a taste of Singapore’s Indian street food scene.)
Orchard Road surprised me for a different reason. I always assumed Southeast Asia meant bargain prices, but Orchard Road put that idea to rest fast.
I still think Orchard is worth a visit, though, even if only to duck into the air-conditioned malls for a break from the heat and grab a meal at one of the food halls tucked inside.
If you’ve got an extra day, Sentosa Island is worth the trip south.
I’d send first-time visitors to Palawan Beach, especially to experience the walk along the rope bridge out to the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia.
Elsewhere on Sentosa Island, there’s also a handful of family-friendly attractions, including Universal Studios Singapore and the Adventure Cove Waterpark. If I were traveling to Singapore with kids, these kid-approved tourist hotspots would be high on my radar.
Here are a few more details on what I’d plan to see in Singapore as a first-time visitor…
What to eat in Singapore
Singapore takes its food more seriously than just about anywhere else I’ve traveled. And after three trips here, I still haven’t even come close to running out of things to try.
Laksa is the local dish I’d tell any first-timer to start with, and Katong laksa is the version I’d seek out first. It’s made with short-cut noodles that you can eat with just a spoon instead of chopsticks. It’s rich, coconutty, and a little spicy, setting the tone for everything else on this list.
Char kway teow was the dish that turned me into full Singaporean street food evangelist. The broad noodles get tossed in dark soy sauce with cockles, egg, and pork fat.
It’s rich enough that I’d just as easily split an order with a travel buddy rather than finish one solo, just to save room for more goodies.
When I first heard about Hainanese chicken rice, I thought it sounded almost too simple to be worth the hype. (I mean, how could I get that excited about poached chicken over rice cooked in the same broth?)
And then I actually tried it.
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice at Maxwell Food Centre is the most popular spot in the city for it. The rice alone is fragrant enough to eat on its own. (It’s even got the nod from celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay and the late Anthony Bourdain.)
On my first jet-lagged morning in Singapore, I battled my raging hunger with a heaping plate of wonton noodles at the Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
The thin, springy noodles mixed with perfectly juicy slices of char siu became an instant favorite that I gobbled down multiple times at hawker centres all around the city.
Nasi lemak is Singapore’s answer to a full breakfast, tossing together fragrant coconut rice, sambal, fried chicken, and anchovies.
I’ve never been able to stand anchovies anywhere else (and would always question any psychopath who’d throw these on pizza—yuck!). But, for some reason, they work in this dish.
I didn’t sneak in a taste of kaya toast until my second trip, but I instantly discovered why it’s a Singapore breakfast favorite.
Coconut jam on toast paired with soft-boiled eggs sounds like an odd combination until you dunk the toast into the eggs.
If you want a different spin on the noodle dishes above, I’d go with Hokkien mee. Singapore’s version stir-fries the noodles in a soy, vinegar, and chili sauce with squid and prawns.
It’s finished with sambal and lime, and it tastes nothing like the darker Malaysian version of the same name.
I’ve seen satay just about everywhere I’ve traveled in Southeast Asia, and Singapore does it just as well as any I’ve tried.
Satay is only as good as the peanut dipping sauce behind it. I’d put them all to the test in the evening along Satay Street behind the Lau Pa Sat Pavilion in the CBD to see which varieties tickled my taste buds the most.
Here’s what (and where) I’d eat on a first trip to Singapore…
Where to stay in Singapore
For most first-time visitors to Singapore, Chinatown is my first recommendation for where to stay. I’ve stayed in and around Chinatown on two different trips. The central location makes everything else easier, with hawker centres steps away, temples I could walk to before breakfast, and the MRT close enough that the rest of the city never feels far off.
The Singapore River area around Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay suits travelers who care most about nightlife. I stayed near Clarke Quay on one trip, and I enjoyed the proximity to both Chinatown and Marina Bay.
Clarke Quay itself is noisier after dark than Chinatown. But as long as you choose to stay a few blocks away from the nightlife area on the riverbank, it shouldn’t be much of a bother. I’d also expect to pay a tad more around here, as there are fewer budget options.
Marina Bay would be my choice if budget isn’t the deciding factor. The hotels in Marina Bay are at a premium, but you’re paying for the view as much as the room, with the bay and skyline right outside. If you can hack it, it’s well worth the extra cost in my opinion.
Orchard Road makes sense if shopping is a real priority on your trip rather than an afterthought. The area is more formal and a little less atmospheric than Chinatown, but the food scene tucked inside the malls beats what most visitors might expect.
Little India suits travelers who want a quieter, more budget-friendly base without giving up character. It’s one of the most colorful neighborhoods I explored across all three trips, and the hawker food here rivals anything in Chinatown. The only drawback is that it’s a little further from many of the main attractions, so you might find yourself riding the metro more than you’d like.
Bugis sits between Little India and Kampong Glam. I’d point budget-conscious travelers here if they still want to stay slightly closer to the action. Bugis feels a little rougher around the edges than Chinatown, but nowhere in central Singapore ever felt unsafe to me.
Singapore’s not known for its beaches. But if you’re itching for ’em, I’d consider staying on Sentosa Island. The island’s high-end resorts are among the best luxury hotels in the city.
The biggest drawback for first-time visitors is that staying on Sentosa Island puts you much further away from reaching the city’s top attractions by public transport, even more so than other areas outside the center, like Bugis or Little India.
Here’s where and how I’d start looking for a great place to stay in Singapore…
Transportation
Getting there
By air
Singapore is served by Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), consistently ranked among the world’s best airports. It’s become a major transit hub for travelers exploring Southeast Asia, so you may find yourself here even if you weren’t planning on it!
Several major airlines fly into Changi Airport from major Asian hubs and international destinations, including AirAsia, Jetstar Asia Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Scoot.
If your layover runs long, don’t just sit at the gate. The Jewel, Changi Airport’s IG-famous indoor waterfall, is definitely worth checking out.
By bus
Singapore is well-connected to neighboring Malaysia by bus. I’d recommend sticking to the more comfortable and reputable luxury bus services like KKKL, Aeroline, or Luxury Coach.
Sample destinations and times include Melaka (3.5 hours), Kuala Lumpur (6 hours), and Johor Bahru (1.5 hours).
Getting around
Like many cities I’ve visited in Asia, I found getting around Singapore to be a cinch thanks to its efficient public transportation system.
By MRT
The easiest way to get around Singapore is by the mass rapid transit (MRT) train system. I relied on this almost exclusively on all three of my trips to Singapore, and didn’t have a single hiccup.
There are five major MRT lines in Singapore: North South, East West, Circle, North East, and Downtown. The main stops are located within walking distance of most of the city’s top tourist sites. It’s by far the most convenient alternative I’ve found for sightseeing in Singapore.
On all three visits, I used the Singapore Tourist Pass, which gave me unlimited travel on the MRT and LRT for the duration of my trips. It’s available as a 1-day, 2-day, or 3-day pass.
By foot
Singapore is far more walkable than its size suggests, at least between neighborhoods that sit close together, like Chinatown and Clarke Quay.
I wouldn’t try walking everywhere in the heat and humidity, though, especially in midday. I’d save daytime walking for shorter hops and let the MRT handle the longer trips.
