Singapore Map & Resources

Best Time to Visit Singapore

Singapore is known as a year-round destination. It experiences tropical weather meaning that it is hot and humid across the calendar. If you are looking for mostly dry days, you are advised to visit Singapore in the months of February, March and April. These months typically present the sunniest days with the least rainfall.

Where to Stay in Singapore

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Singapore Neighbourhoods

Chinatown, SingaporeCulture vultures on a tight budget will be intrigued by the quaint oriental charm of Chinatown, an area where the Chinese settled and traded and kept alive the real China. As one of the world’s oldest and largest Chinatowns, there ...

Lavender

Next to Bugis, you’ll find Lavender. If Universal Studios is high on your Singapore wishlist, consider staying on Lavender Street. Shining a light to the former Arabic and Muslim settlers, Kampong Glam was the area where these people settled after arriving in the city. Located quite close to Little India, this place is pretty sorted connectivity-wise and like the other outer neighbourhood areas of Singapore, it oozes culture and quaint character. Explore many of its hipster coffee houses and cafes and eat some delicious Arabic cuisine.

Clarke Quay

Chilled by day and a fierce party pit by night, Clarke Quay sits at the river’s mouth offering a very cosmopolitan atmosphere. All the famous nightclubs of Singapore can be found in this centrally located area. Marina Bay is also just a few steps away! Not only does this place have good places to stay on a budget but with its day-long happy hours on food and drink, it becomes a lucrative spot for any backpacker and hostel-hopper.Orchard Road SingaporeIf you want to be right in the thick of it, Orchard Road is Singapore’s shopping mecca with numerous nightclubs for the night owls amongst us. Exceedingly upmarket and therefore extremely pricey, Orchard, as the area is often referred to, is not great for a backpacker budget.Stay here only if Mum and Dad come to visit and fancy treating their wayward backpacking child to a luxurious 5-star hotel. ? The area underwent a whopping $40 million revamp in 2009, so expect a perfect vision of modernity.

Best Places to Stay in Singapore - Top Accommodation Options!

With accommodation at the highest price you will find pretty much anywhere in Southeast Asia, many travellers tend to spend only a few days in Singapore before catching a cheap flight to Thailand or Oz. It doesn’t have to be this way though! There ar...

Top Things to Do in Singapore

1. Cycle Through Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

A welcome escape from the city, the nature reserve is one of the world’s only two primary rainforests located close to a city. For the speed junkies, hire a bike and ride the 6km route to spot some of the forest’s 3,000 macaques.)

2. Watch the Garden Rhapsody at Gardens by the Bay - FREE

It’s free and marvellous… The Garden Rhapsody is very popular with tourists but unarguably one of the best experiences in Singapore! Gardens by the Bay also has an indoor waterfall and some other fascinating things but those will cost you.

3. Sip a Singapore Sling

Despite no longer being a hit with the locals, no trip to Singapore would be complete without a taste of its namesake cocktail at its place of birth: the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel. The famous Southeast Asian drink was first served here in 1915. It contains gin, cherry brandy, Cointreau, Dom Benedictine, pineapple juice, grenadine, lime juice and a dash of Angostura bitters. Make sure you savour every mouthful, as the cost of the beverage is about a week’s worth of accommodation in other parts of Southeast Asia!

4. Window Shop Overlooking the World’s Largest Fountain - FREE

At Suntec City stands the world’s largest fountain, made of cast bronze and costing $6USD million! But that’s not all… Designed to be a ‘city within a city’, Suntec City hosts over 888,000 ft of shops! Perfect to satisfy those window shopping cravings.

5. Walk the Southern Ridges

Spanning 9km, these trails connect the parks of Southern Singapore. Featuring a number of architecturally impressive bridges, the trail provides tree-top routes through the forest and panoramic views.

6. Play Mahjong With the Locals - FREE

Wander down the side streets and you’re bound to find a couple of locals playing the Singaporean version of mahjong (solitaire). With extra tiles and a few more rules, it’s hard to get your head around but an unforgettable experience…

7. Step Inside a Giant Durian

No, not the spiky, smelly fruit found across Asia, but the Esplanade Theatre, which is often said to resemble one. Catch a show here to experience first-hand its state-of-the-art performance space.

8. Visit the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery - FREE

Found in the Bishan district, this is Singapore’s largest Buddhist temple. Visit one of its many halls, including the Hall of Great Strength and the Hall of Universal Brightness.

9. Visit Merlion Park - FREE

The mascot of Singapore is the ‘Merlion’, an invented creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. The fish signifies Singapore’s ancient name back when it was a fishing village(‘Temasek’ meaning “sea town” in Javanese) and the lion comes from Singapore’s origin as ‘Lion City’ - today a symbol of courage and strength. A famous statue of the Merlion stands in the Merlion Park at the mouth of the Singapore River.Read more facts about Singapore here!

10. Visit Muslim Mosques, Hindu Temples, Chinese Temples, Buddhist Temples - FREE

Singapore is a multicultural city where all religions and cultures blend. From cuisine to temples to shopping and street life, you will get a taste of many different parts of Asia in this city!

12. Visit the World’s First Night Zoo

A little pricey for the budget backpacker, this wildlife park can be explored by foot or by tram and is open until midnight. Makes for a truly great trip out!

13. Have a Drink on Level 33

If you want to soak in the skyline view and grab a drink, visit Level 33, the world’s highest microbrewery. It has some of the best skyline views in the whole of Singapore. And, although drinks in Singapore are always pricey, this being a rooftop brewery is still reasonably priced… well reasonably priced by Singapore standards at least!

14. Gorge Yourself on a Singapore Food Tour

It is a bit of a splurge but no trip to Singapore is complete without sampling their diverse cuisine. Although you can do this independently, the amount of choice can be overwhelming for a traveller who has no idea where to start! Instead, get a local’s perspective on a food tour with Hello Singapore. This is a great way to explore the city and fill your stomach at the same time! Book your tour here.

15. Venture to Singapore’s Red Light District

Singapore’s largest red-light district is known as Geylang and it’s legal. It’s particularly interesting because the area has odd-numbered streets and even-numbered streets. One set of streets is home to the red light district and the other set of streets has a lot of great (and cheap) local food! In fact, Geylang is a food paradise - you can find great food late into the night. It’s also one of the older areas of Singapore so there’s a lot of history and heritage.

16. Buddha Relic Tooth Temple - FREE

Pay a visit to the Buddha tooth relic temple in Chinatown. It’s free to visit and really beautiful, especially the ground floor and the top floor. If you are lucky, you can actually catch Buddhists praying and chanting.

17. Visit the Island of Pulau Ubin

If you’re looking for a day trip out of Singapore, you can visit Pulau Ubin, a 30-minute ferry ride from the city. The old fisherman village is considered the last ‘kampung’ of Singapore and is reminiscent of how this super modern city-state of Singapore used to be many years ago.

18. Visit the Asian Civilizations Museum

Sst within eight galleries, the sphere of historical artefacts in this museum pertains to all things relating to Asian heritage. The Singapore River Gallery digresses from the descent of Asian people and focuses on 700 years of history of the river itself.

19. Wander the Chinese and Japanese Gardens

Renew the spirit with a visit to the tranquil gardens situated on two artificial islands in Jurong Lake. The Chinese Garden offers pagodas, arched bridges and stones attributed to the style of the Imperial Sung dynasty (969 AD-1126 AD). The Japanese Garden is accessible via a bridge and features lanterns, sand and water.

20. Check Out Little India

With the aromatic scents of a myriad of spices filling the air, Little India is everything Indian this side of New Delhi. The Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple and the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple will ensure an authentic visit with their statues of Hindu deities.

21. Gorge Yourself in Maxwell Road Hawker Centre

Singapore is a nation of delicious gastronomic delights. Visitors can experience authentic Singaporean cuisine for an extremely reasonable price by heading to the city’s most famous hawker centre. With over 100 food stalls, choose from a multi-variety of items.

22. See the Sultan Mosque - FREE

The original mosque presented to Sultan Hussein in 1826 was restored in 1928 with new additions. Considered to be one of the most important mosques in Singapore, its façade and interior present impressive scroll designs. The mosque is instantly recognizable by a bright orange dome topped with crescent moons and stars.

23. Visit Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Explore the ecological delight of the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. This nature reserve features freshwater flora and fauna. It is home to the extremely rare otter and long-tailed macaques, as well as numerous rainforest birds.

24. Marvel at Spectra Light and Water Show - FREE

Take your place at the waterfront at Marina Bay Sands and enjoy a mesmerising 15-minute spectacle over the water. In a feast for the senses, the show includes colourful fountains, projections, lasers and mist effects in a dazzling performance set to dramatic music. The show is free and takes place every evening at 8 pm and 9 pm, plus a third performance at 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

25. Enjoy the Public Art on Display All Over Downtown Singapore - FREE

From conceptional mirrored spheres to bronze figurative sculptures to works by famous artists such as Salvador Dali and Henry Moore, there is plenty of amazing art to discover for free on Singapore’s streets. Spend a few hours wandering to see what you can discover or follow one of the National Arts Council’s self-guided Art Trails.

26. Take a Hike Around The MacRitchie Reservoir - FREE

There are a number of trails here of varying lengths and difficulty. Try the 10km hike that will take you along the reservoir leading to the TreeTop Walk, a 250m-long freestanding suspension bridge between the two highest points in the reserve, from which you will have a bird’s eye view of the forest canopy and a great vantage point to spot some of the area’s 1,000 species of flowering plants and over 500 species of animal.Also read: Best hikes in Southeast Asia.

5 Budget-Saving Tips For a Cheap Singapore Trip

While Singapore is often known for its ritzy hotels and designer shopping malls, thankfully there are also plenty of cheap and cheerful attractions around the thriving metropolis that are well worth checking out.From green escapes and hawker food cent...

Getting to Singapore

For many backpackers, Singapore is simply a stopping point on their way elsewhere. Changi Airport itself is a feat of beauty, and despite claiming the title of Asia’s fifth busiest airport it has more than enough services to keep these passengers busy, including rooftop gardens and countless plasma screen televisions. However, this is not an excuse to stay put! Grab a budget flight from any Asian airport, or travel by road from Peninsular Malaysia.

Where to Go Next:

Bintan Island: If you’re craving some beach after the city, catch a 90-minute ferry to the island of Bintan for a taste of Indonesia. Bintan is the largest of the ‘Riau islands’ and a return ticket from Singapore will cost you around $60SGD.Tioman Island: One of Malaysia’s highly acclaimed ‘paradise islands’, it was once voted one of the top ten most beautiful islands in the world by Time Magazine. Tioman provides a sparsely populated getaway, a haven for scuba diving enthusiasts or those who’d like to spot a monitor lizard or two. Get here by daily bus from Singapore (4 hours), followed by a two-hour ferry ride. Those short on time can catch a one-hour flight to the island’s airport.Kuala Lumpur: Hop on an extremely short plane ride, or take a 4-5 hour bus journey to reach the next stop north on many a backpacker’s Southeast Asia trip. Malaysia’s vibrant and atmospheric capital hosts great food, cheap shopping (especially compared to Singapore!), an incredible multi-cultural flavour and some great nightlife!Bali: Undoubtedly Indonesia’s biggest tourist attraction, backpackers head to Bali for white sands, clear seas and a young and lively atmosphere. Take a two and a half hour flight from Singapore with low-cost airlines such as Jetstar and Air Asia.Thanks to Lisa Barham for the updates!