Singapore at a glance

Heading to SE Asia and need a few ideas? Here’s how I spent 3 days in Singapore, kind of on a budget, and made the most of it. 

Day 1: Arrival

Landing at 2:30pm we were exhausted from the 17hr ish journey and I wanted nothing more than to drop my bags and sleep. However, it took us another hour to reach our hotel by train from the airport; this was easy to do as you can tap on and off much like on the London Underground. Luckily, we had no trouble finding food when we finally rose at about 8pm, as everything stays open much later. We sat down for food, stayed up til 2am (jet lag for ya) and finally crashed for the night. 

As much as we could have made more use of this afternoon in a new country, it was more important for us to rest and recover than to see as much as we can. There’s a balance between these things and it’ll be different for everyone – listen to your body as it will always tell you what it needs!

Day 2: Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay & Spectra Light Show

Having made ourselves a packed lunch, we headed off towards Marina Bay Sands, knowing that this is the tourist hotspot of the city. You know that building that’s actually three huge buildings with what looks like a ship on top? That’s what I’m talking about. The Gardens by the Bay is easy to get to from here and very well signposted. Here, we explored the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome, both of which were beautiful displays of nature at its finest. 

We learnt while here that Singapore is aiming to be the world’s first “garden city” which is why there are so many green spaces and also why they’re so strict on things like littering and smoking in non-smoking areas (something to remember if this is a habit you have!). 

Next, we headed back to the hotel, cooked ourselves a pasta dinner, showered off the days sweat because the humidity was insane, then went back to Marina Bay Sands for the Spectra Light Show, a free, nightly light show that is beautifully choreographed. It’s worth noting here that while the light show is a free attraction each evening, it is definitely better viewed from their opposite side of the river, or better still from one of the boat cruises. If we were to go back and do it again we would definitely bear this in mind. 

On this evening we also headed back to the Gardens by the Bay to see what it was like at night. This is a great tip for finding hidden gems as often a place can transform between night and day. It was well worth the second visit to see the Supertree Grove all lit up and to see the skyline too. 

Day 3: Fort Canning & some world class cocktails 

By the third day we were unfortunately still not over the jet lag. In fact I still don’t think I’m fully over it a whole week later! But we continue… 

Fort Canning is where we headed next, formerly known as Central Park, it has a lot of historical significance and was a very educational visit. If you’re not into this though, don’t worry, there are plenty of walks you can do around the grounds with beautiful views across the city. Fort Canning is also known for its tree tunnel (shown below) which I assumed was part of some tunnels leading around the fort. However unless you’re specifically after a photo of it, we found it to be somewhat underwhelming as it’s simply an entrance to the park from the subway station. Despite this we had a great day here, had a picnic at the top of the hill and explored their herb gardens too. 

Now, the reason I say “kind of on a budget” is because you also have to balance the things you want to do with what you can afford to spend. One thing we knew we wanted to do whilst in this stunning city was visit Cat Bite Club and Jigger & Pony, two of the world’s top cocktail bars. With them being such esteemed places we knew they would be costly and so we balanced this out by taking packed lunches with us during the day. 

The bars did not disappoint. We’ve been to a few of the bars off this list now, starting with those in London before we left, and each one has been so unique yet holds the same standards across the board. I could waffle about this wayyyyy more but you’re here to learn about Singapore not cocktails, although if you do enjoy a drink I would highly recommend giving these places a go 🙂

Day 4: Departure 

A bittersweet day of leaving one beautiful place yet continuing on to the next, day 4 is when we flew to Perth. I’ve included it though, as part of the itinerary because Singapore airport is not a place you want to miss exploring. “The Jewel” at Terminal 1 is where the famous rain vortex can be found, along with walking nets at the top of the dome, many shops, restaurants and more. I’m sure people must come here from nearby towns, just to see The Jewel!

Importantly, why we decided to look around the airport on departure and not on arrival is for two reasons: 1- our bags were are far too heavy to be lugging around whilst we explored, and 2- we were far less sleep deprived at this point in our travels and could therefore enjoy it much more. 

What we missed: 

While I absolutely loved our 3 days in Singapore there are a couple of things we missed that I would make a priority next time. They are:

• Skypark Observation Deck – you can visit the top of Marina Bay Sands (tickets are about £16 each) and have views across the whole city. There are also tickets for things like a ‘sunset experience’ which can be found on tour sites like get your guide or booking.com. Tickets to this can also be found on the official website but you can always compare prices!
• The Capital Spring Gardens – the Capita Spring building has a rooftop garden with 51st floor views as well as interior gardens on the 18th and 19th floors that are completely free to explore!
• Rooftop yoga – on the MBS building at sunrise or sunset, Virgin Active offers a 45 min Skypark Yoga. Yoga equipment is provided as well as a pair of wireless headphones so you can hear the instructor and with tickets at just £17 it would be an incredible experience. 
• Sentosa Island – a resort island off the coast of Singapore featuring Tiger Sky Tower with panoramic views as far as Indonesia! There is also Palawan Beach which is lined with food stalls and bars as well as a suspension bridge to a small offshore island. 
• Singapore Botanic Gardens – continuing the tour of this “garden city” I would love to see the UNESCO heritage site that is the botanic gardens. 

After three packed days I left Singapore having barely scratched the surface and definitely wanting more. Whether you’re heading here for the first time or returning to explore more, hopefully this glance at what this vibrant city has to offer has given you some ideas. So, when are you booking your flight?