I’m going to Singapore the week before Christmas. I’m excited; I’ve always been kinda fascinated by Singapore and I’ve wanted to visit for a long time.
I’ll only have about five days. What should I see? Here’s my list of possibilities so far
Whatever you do, don’t throw used chewing gum on the street!
But it’s OK to spray-paint some cars, right?
What should I do in Singapore?
Eat. There are so many really good restaurants there. Sorry that I can’t make any specific recommendations, but if you’re in a hotel, the front desk can give you a list of places to eat.
Make sure that you try the Pepper Crab.
Watch out for durian, though.
I visited Singapore several times, but I never had any time to do any of the tourist things, and I still regret that. Besides the zoo, there’s the Jurong Bird Park, which is supposed to be amazing. The symbol of Singapore is the Merlion statue (in Merlion Park), which I also never got to see, but is probably worth a visit. It might also be fun to visit the “bug eyes” opera house or Sentarosa Island.
Food is expensive is Singapore, so try to get a local to direct you to where they would eat. I remember places that had clusters of food stalls around large patio seating areas. Everything there was cheap and delicious.
If you go the zoo, go at night.
Getting to Fort Siloso would be a bit of a pain (it’s a taxi ride to get there, then you’d probably need to walk back the nearby hotel and get a taxi from there)
You could go to the Battle Box instead.
Have the world’s shittiest cocktail, the Singapore Sling, at the gorgeous Raffles Hotel. They supposed shot the last tiger in Singapore in the billiards room. I think they also claim to have invented the yard (yard tall beer glass) there.
The National Orchid Garden in the Singapore Botanic Gardens is really amazing if you are into that sort of thing.
Wouldn’t bother with Raffles. The Long Room (which is the famous bar where The World’s Shittiest Cocktail was invented) is now a Starbucks or maybe a Wendy’s. The bar is part of an upstairs theme park kind of thing.
Why?
Fines, caning, jail time, who knows? Just don’t.
Roddy
eta: this is about the chewing gum, not the zoo. I don’t think they cane you for going to the zoo.
We did the zoo in our one day stopover and it was awesome. Of course one of our family is only two so the more adult options weren’t really an option. Can’t wait to go back.
I wouldn’t bother looking for fancy restaurants (unless of course that’s your thing), the general level of food at even pretty basic-looking outlet malls was great.
After my extensive experience of … um… 2 months here so far, I’d echo the zoo recommendation. The night safari is way cool, but the zoo alone is fantastic - hands down the best zoo I’ve ever been to. The River Safari looks great, and is how you see the pandas - but we haven’t done that one yet, so I’m only going by research.
The Merlion is a bit meh, but probably worth a brief look and you can walk along the bay round there anyway, which is lovely.
We love Sentosa (the resorty island) but then I have two children, so we spend an awful lot of time at the water park there. The Aquarium is the biggest in the world by some measures, and it’s kind of fun. There’s also a heap of restaurants, a casino and a Universal Studios theme park there. Depending on where you’re coming from, this may be the most exciting thing in the world to you, or a bit of a smaller version of home, of course.
One of our favourite places is Marina Bay Sands - there’s a huge hotel with a boat on the roof. Well, kind of - you’ll have to see it to understand. There’s also a fantastic shopping mall pretentiously called the Shoppes - which has the sort of shops where you feel you’ve lowered the tone just by crossing the threshold. I like to look and laugh. The very coolest thing in the mall is the Venetian-style canals and gondolas, which are just random and lovely. Come out of the mall and head for the gardens and you’re in the Gardens By the Bay, which is a fabulous place and includes the Super Trees (again, you’ll have to see them to understand).
Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay are good for a wander and you can pick any of the shopping malls more at less at random for an entertaining and potentially expensive day out. Orchard Road is a sight to behold if shopping’s your thing.
I agree the Botanic Gardens is lovely. Also Fort Canning and the park surrounding it are very nice.
Taxis are plentiful and dirt cheap (compared to the UK anyway) and even the longest journey isn’t going to cost you a lot. I agree - eat eat and eat some more. We have no babysitter access yet, so I haven’t done anything really special restaurant-wise, but I’d agree that even your bog-standard chain restaurants are great here (apart from TGI Fridays - that both sucks and blows. I’m never letting my daughter pick the location again). You can spend a lot on a meal, but you can also get great food for reasonable prices.
And you do know it’s going to be hot and wet, day and night, right?
Dang, glad I was there before the remodel.
Fort Siloso is on Sentosa Island. The aquarium also resides on Sentosa, so if you have a whole day (or at least three quarters) to spare you can visit both. Public transport to Sentosa is no problem at all.
For cheap eats, go to the hawker centres. If you know anyone who lives there they’ll be able to show you the best places. Finding good hawker food is a Singaporean pastime.
If you like nature stuff I’d recommend the Chek Jawa Nature Reserve at the island of Pulau Ubin. Take a ferry there from Changi Point and then pay $10 to hire a whole taxi/bus for yourself to take you to the reserve. It’s another $10 to get back. Alternatively, hire a bike (it’ll be a long ride).
If you prefer not to venture so far, try the Sungei Buloh Nature reserve. You can drive or take a taxi there.
There’s also the Zoo, the Night Safari and the Bird Park – I’d recommend them all.
As a long-time Jakarta resident, I’m in Singapore all the time for one reason or another - in fact I was just there three days ago, but for medical treatment so I didn’t do anything touristy.
I second the zoo, and the night safari is a treat. It’s hard to go wrong with food, but Chijmes is one of our favorite restaurants. Their dim sum is scrumptious. If you plan to go on the weekend, better make reservations - they are always crowded.
Other possibilities depend on what you like. The Asian Civilizations Museum is wonderful, and so is the National Museum, if you enjoy culture/history. Sometimes they have interesting lectures at the National Museum. I like the science museum a lot, but it may not be a good recommendation because (a) I’m not sure it’s better than what a good-sized US city can offer; and (b) it’s oriented toward kids.
Sentosa Park is pretty awesome, though breathtakingly expensive since each of the attractions costs a lot. But you can see museum-y stuff (like Fort Siloso) and fun stuff (like 4-D movies). The go-karts are fun too!
Jurong Bird Park is kinda cool, although it’s way out of the city so it takes a while to get there. You can do it by public transport if you don’t want to spring for a taxi.
I may post again if I think of other things.
Haw Par Villa, built by the gazillionaire who invented Tiger Balm, decades ago. It is a jumble of odd statuary you won’t soon forget. Some representing Taoist Hells, others just, well, odd.
It’s a lot of concrete though, so best to avoid on truly blistering hot, sun shiny days. Better for an overcast day.)
But the best advice has already been given: eat, eat, eat! You will find excellent food, from all the neighbouring cultures everywhere, for cheap, usually on the street, indulge yourself!
If you’re considering purchasing any electronics or accessories, in the near future, it’s worth checking the price out in S’pore before you leave. You can often find technology yet to reach the west. And yes, they even have stuff specific for your electrical location. Always fun if you have the time!
(I’ll be visiting again in January and I’m already deciding what to eat!)
Another vote for Zoo (day and night) Haw Par Villa, Orchid Garden
And the food! You need to have Chili Crab, and also some Laksa. Tiger beer is terrible but cheap. The Boat and Clarke Quay areas are fun too.
Yes, do the zoo. I think they have special all-in-one tickets for the day and the night.
Previous recent threads on what to do in Singapore are here and here and may give you more ideas. Sure are a lot of folks going to Singapore.
Eat. Singapore is eating heaven