4 free days in Singapore

[Sachmo]

I will have 4 days before our cruise out of  Singapore.  Does anyone have some good suggestions for what to do?

Thanks

Judy

[Hoyaheel]

Eat. Shop. Walk around. Eat. Hop on Hop off bus. Eat some more 🙂 Botanical gardens. Zoo if that's your thing (It's NOT mine so we skipped).

 

We stayed 6 days before a cruise. I worked one day (and husband went to a tall building and looked out at the view & the harbor). We got a free HOHO bus ticket from our hotel and did that our first or 2nd day to get a better overview. We took the fabulous subway system all over and would wander various neighborhoods, shopping and eating as we went.

 

We stayed at the Oasia Downtown (ADORE) on the club floor, so we'd wake up & have coffee & breakfast by the pool then venture out, explore, have a late lunch then return to the hotel to rest/relax by the pool for a while, have a cocktail, get ready for dinner & venture out for a few hours at night. It was a fabulous and very relaxing way to explore the city!

Edited March 22, 2019 by Hoyaheel

[jkgourmet]

When we were in Singapore, we really regret that rainy weather cancelled our visit to the Night Zoo (aka Night Animal Safari).  I'd go back to Singapore just to have a chance to go to that.

 

Another memory was having Chili Crab on the side of the river.  Both the food and view were wonderful.

 

We stayed in the Little India area of Singapore, which appealed to us enormously.  Those that want American style hotels may not like it; but at least take a walk through the area, and stop to have a meal.

[Ashland]

The HOHO is great in this city. We also took the MRT two evenings (starts at 6:30pm) to Lau Pa Sat for the night time street BBQ...best satay ever !!!!...Google to see what you don't want to miss.

 

Loved the location of our hotel .... Royal Plaza on Scott's Road.

[Unibok]

A fun outing is Gardens By the Bay in the mid-to-late afternoon, with tickets to the Flower Garden and Cloud Forest (a real bonus if it is very hot out, as they are both climate controlled). Grab tickets for the Canopy Walk, then have a snack at Satay By the Bay. If you can, time your Canopy walk around sunset so you can be there for the light and sound show at 7:45. Easy to get to by MRT.

[Hoyaheel]

11 hours ago, Ashland said:

The HOHO is great in this city. We also took the MRT two evenings (starts at 6:30pm) to Lau Pa Sat for the night time street BBQ..

 

Just so it's clear for everyone, it's Lau Pa Sat that starts at 6:30, NOT the MRT 😉 

MRT is the subway system. Lau Pa Sat is a hawker center. And we went twice - it and Maxwell hawker ctr were within easy walking distance of our hotel 😉

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, Hoyaheel said:

 

Just so it's clear for everyone, it's Lau Pa Sat that starts at 6:30, NOT the MRT 😉 

MRT is the subway system. Lau Pa Sat is a hawker center. And we went twice - it and Maxwell hawker ctr were within easy walking distance of our hotel 😉

So sorry my wording structure and or lack of punctuation confused you or anyone else....Thanks for proofreading my post.  😥

[SakeDad]

We have 5 days there post-cruise in May and all of your tips are GREAT! Keep 'em coming. Thanks

I also see the airport is one of the best attractions and a lot of it can be visited without needing a flight. As ours is 6am we will go visit it another day.

[ellbon]

The Sands hotel..light show was the best. To get to it you have to go thrust the mall area of the best stores anywhere.

[Mrs f.]

We were just there. Get the tourist transit MRT pass. Great deal.  Also the Gardens by the Bay is a must. I think there was a discount coupon in the little booklet we got with the tourist pass.  The Singapore 40 min. River cruise is excellent. Departs from next to Hooters on Clark Quay.   Chinatown wandering is fun. The Buddha Tooth museum. 

[worldtraveller99]

We loved the Gardens by the Bay (day and night), the Botanic Gardens, the Zoo, Night Safari (not as crowded as we had thought it would be), and just walking around Marina Bay and the lit up Merlion at night - so romantic and full of restaurants and cafes. For us Orchard Rd was too crowded, so after getting there (from the Botanic Gardens) we got on another bus immediately and returned to our excellent Fairmont Hotel. Next time we go we want to eat in Raffles, which was closed for renovation when we visited last year.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I like all these suggestions.  We did not have a Singapore Sling at Raffles, it seemed too pretentious, we just walked through the hotel.

 

Gardens By the Bay is amazing, with the different enclosed biomes--wonderful.  There is also a great hawker centre (food court) there--that's where we had our chili crab, among other delicacies.  Get lots of napkins, it's very messy eating.  In fact, the city is full of hawker centres and the street food is wonderful, if you're a bit adventurous, and very safe.  And have an iced coffee--it's a ubiquitous drink and a great way to recover from the heat.

 

We didn't make it to the Orchid part of the Botanical Garden.  We got off the MRT stop and worked our way up, but we just got too hot and tired, so turned back--next time.  

 

Orchard Road left me cold--it was like any other glitzy shopping street in the world.  Plenty of other more adventurous places to shop in Singapore.   And lots of historic corners left in this very modern city.  We also loved the Singapore Museum, if you're there for a few days--what a history that place has!

[G.M.T.]

Other ideas:

 

For Brits and Commonwealth citizens, the Changi POW Camp and Chapel.

 

Boat tour of the harbour and outlying islands.

 

Evening boat tour with dinner onboard.

 

Sentosa Island, so musch to do and see, also the night light show.

 

Tiger brewery tour.

 

Have fun.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

One thing I forgot, if you're into art in a serious way, the Asian Civilizations Museum is awesome, and in a great area for wandering before or after.

[Northern Aurora]

We spent seven full days in Singapore in 2016 and are scheduled to return.  In addition to some of the previous suggestions we were impressed with the Battle Box -- very interesting for WW II history buffs.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

19 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

We spent seven full days in Singapore in 2016 and are scheduled to return.  In addition to some of the previous suggestions we were impressed with the Battle Box -- very interesting for WW II history buffs.

 

That sounds really interesting.  We had a great time at the National Museum in Singapore, learning all about the history of the island, especially the WWII part.  It's a very well-done museum, I think.

[CJcruzer]

We did a round the island full day tour visiting Changi museum and chapel, Kranji war memorial, Bright Hill temple which was very good, and we had a fantastic lunch included.

 

Singapore National museum and Asia civilizations museum are both wonderful, and gives you chance to get out of the humidity and heat,

 

Botanical/Orchid Gardens, China town,  Little India, all easy to visit by ho-ho bus, which we found to be good value - Gardens by the Bay is not to be missed.

 

Our second time in Singapore, we reserved tickets for Battlebox. Centre, in Fort Canning park - excellent tour and interesting history relating to Singapore and WWII.

 

Again, I would coordinate and alternate stops and visits between inside and outside - as the heat can get to be a drain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[susietb]

Night zoo was amazing.  Also eat in one of the "Hawker" outdoor venues. Amazing experience.  Enjoyed  "China Town" for shopping especially the wood carved boxes and furniture.  The botanical garden and orchids were really memorable, as well as the cruise tour around the city.

[datone]

Saw this and thought it might be of interest to those visiting Singapore

 

https://www.qantas.com/travelinsider/en/explore/asia/singapore/singapore/best-free-things-to-do-in-singapore.html?alt_cam=au:qd:in:edm:redemail:fas-sin:25Jun19:int:CONTENT:sg:offer-0-default-3-1c-1

[Pugdog007]

Is it worth going to the zoo during the day AND the night safari? Are they separate things?

[G.M.T.]

1 hour ago, Pugdog007 said:

Is it worth going to the zoo during the day AND the night safari? Are they separate things?

The zoo is a zoo as anywhere else, I don't think anyone has really looked at how the animals are affected by the Night Safari - how would you feel having tourists walking through your kitchen while you settle down to a plat of grits.

 

Singapore has so many things to do and see - one never has enough time.

[sportsmum]

On 6/22/2019 at 1:06 PM, CJcruzer said:

We did a round the island full day tour visiting Changi museum and chapel, Kranji war memorial, Bright Hill temple which was very good, and we had a fantastic lunch included.

 

Singapore National museum and Asia civilizations museum are both wonderful, and gives you chance to get out of the humidity and heat,

 

Botanical/Orchid Gardens, China town,  Little India, all easy to visit by ho-ho bus, which we found to be good value - Gardens by the Bay is not to be missed.

 

Our second time in Singapore, we reserved tickets for Battlebox. Centre, in Fort Canning park - excellent tour and interesting history relating to Singapore and WWII.

 

Again, I would coordinate and alternate stops and visits between inside and outside - as the heat can get to be a drain. 

 

 

Who did you use for your around the island tour? It sounds great. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CJcruzer]

I booked through Viator.   

 

I believe it was this tour (or similar)

 

Singapore War & History Tour with Lunch

https://www.viator.com/tours/Singapore/Singapore-Round-Island-Tour-with-Changi-Prison-Kranji-War-Memorial-and-Gardens-by-the-Bay/d18-3695RITC