One Day in Singapore: Best Things to Do and See

If you’ve caught up on the last few posts, you know this years’ girl’s trip was a week in Bali. A bonus of taking Singapore Airlines was the 14+ hour layover in Singapore coming home, making it two trips in one.

Singapore is a big hub in Southeast Asia so if you ever have 8 hours or more to explore, here’s how we spent our layover in Singapore and how you can tour in Singapore in a day.

Getting around Singapore

  • Public Transportation – Singapore has a great public transportation service that stops close to major attractions. If you travel via MRT or bus and have more than a short layover in Singapore, consider purchasing a Singapore Tourist Pass that is offered in 1-3 day passes. You can also purchase a single ride ticket.
  • Taxi – There are a lot of metered Taxis in Singapore and fares can add up depending on the time and distance traveled. If you can avoid taking a taxi and Singapore, use public transportation.

Where to Stay in Singapore

The hotel we stayed in for our layover in Singapore was 30 Bencoolen. It is a nice boutique hotel about a 15-20 min drive from the airport and very close to the city center, public transportation, and taxi stands. One thing that I loved about the hotel was the personalized welcome on the TV screen in my room. It made me feel good to be recognized even if it was a short stay.

Since we were pressed for time, we took a taxi instead of using public transportation. If you do happen to take the MRT to the hotel, travel time is about an hour.

How We Spent Our Day in Singapore

For our layover in Singapore, we visited major hotspots like Gardens by the Bay, the Flower Dome, Marina Bay Sands, and the Singapore Flyer.

Check out my recap video of how we spent our layover in Singapore

Where to Eat in Singapore

We had dinner at Satay by the Bay which is an open food court with traditional and international cuisines recommended by one of our taxi drivers. Chilli Crab is the national dish and usually served with rice and sold at market value. I skipped the rice and shared a piece of a full crab with my friends.

Since Singapore is famous for its street food, were also recommended to visit Killiney Road which was about 1/2 hour from the city center. Killiney road offers more variety for lower prices than the regular rooftop bars and restaurants offered in the city center. I will definitely have to make a stop here on my next visit.

14 Hrs in Singapore Itinerary

We didn’t have much time so we enjoyed those top attractions in addition to having dinner at Satay by the Bay. If you have more than one day to spare, I recommend booking a tour with Viator as the rest of our group did when they had a 27-hour stopover in Singapore. You can also register for the free tour offered by Singapore Airlines at the airport.

Below is a full-day Singapore itinerary including time periods of nine different places to visit in Singapore in a day. If you are using this guide as a reference, remember to keep travel time with public transportation or taxis in mind.

  • Gardens by the Bay – 250-acre nature park hosting the world’s largest indoor waterfall at 35 meters
  • Merlion Park – The park showcases an 8.6-meter statue of Singapore’s symbol, the Merlion
  • Original Statue of Raffles – Statue of the founder of modern Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles
  • Chinatown Heritage Centre – Recreated living quarters of 1950s Chinatown
  • Night Safari – Visit the zoo at night to watch the animals in a different setting
  • Singapore Flyer – A giant Ferris wheel offering breathtaking views of the city
  • SkyPark – Head over here to view the Supertree light show
  • Marina Bay Sands -A hotel and casino hosting the world’s largest rooftop Infinity Pool

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Have you been to Singapore?

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