Traveling to Singapore is always something to look forward to, as the City of Singapore is a city that constantly evolves and changes. From seasonal celebrations to regular holiday events, you are sure to find many things that'll catch your fancy and even your taste buds. We'll be heading off to Singapore ourselves and just to help create a structure for our trip we hope to get to follow the itinerary below:
- 5 daysDay 1 - Getting to know the city's history
Tour the historic district of Singapore with its many charms. The Colonial/Civic District is a good place to start and many of the structures e.g. St Andrew's Cathedral and Parliament House are easily viewed from a good walk that leads you all the way to the water where you have a lot of choices for a good lunch.
After lunch, visit the National Museum of Singapore (Check out their store for really amazing handicrafts and unique souvenirs). Nearby is Fort Canning, a nice quiet park for a stroll. From here, you can easily make your way to Clarke Quay.
Take a break at any of the fine establishment in Clarke Quay, after which take a river cruise to enjoy the sights of the entire river before alighting at Boat Quay. From here, you can enjoy Boat Quay or check out Lau Pa Sat or Newton, or make your way back to the hotel to rest your tired body and be prepared for the next day.
Day 2 - Heritage districts and the famous Singapore zoo
Little India and Arab District are right next to each other and are best viewed in the mornings. These two neighborhoods are good for shopping and sight seeing as well as a good lunch.
After lunch, return to the hotel and relax, drop your shopping bags and make your way to the Zoological Gardens, one of the best attractions of Singapore.
You can also visit the Night safari after the zoo visit which is right next door.
Day 3 - Chinatown and Sentosa
Chinatown is one of my favorite place to explore in Singapore. The area is not that big, however it is rather dense and there are endless sensory diversions ranging from food, shopping and sight seeing. There is also a night market here but the day time activities are not to be missed especially for the temples operational hours so it would be best to go there early in the morning.
After lunch, Sentosa is should be next. Here you can easily spend a whole day and that can get expensive as u have to pay for each attraction. So choose the attractions you'd want to see and spend the afternoon walking around. Highly recommended attractions are the aquarium and the musical fountain (which starts in the evening after sun sets).
Day 4 - Shopping belt of Singapore
When you are in Singapore, you should definitely go to Orchard. This famous stretch is full of dining and shopping malls which goes all the way towards the Suntec and Marina neighborhoods. You can easily spend all day shopping and dining along the way.
When night falls, enjoy the night market and area of Bugis or just enjoy a nice cool evening at Chimjes or a simple short walk around Raffles hotel arcade and a drink at Long Bar.
Day 5 - Singapore's wild side
Enjoy a natural side of Singapore, explore Sungei Buloh, Pulau Ubin or Bukit Timah Reserve, preferably early in the morning. For the rest who doesnt want too much of a long walk, a nice stroll at Botanic Gardens is a good alternative.
Your last night in town, just relax and take in the evening breeze while enjoy what local food has to offer at its best - East Coast Seafood Center. You really cant leave town without trying Chili or pepper crab, though I would personally order both :) - 3 day itineraryDay 1 - Colonial district, Chinatown and riverside area
Walk along the colonial district early in the morning, head out to Chinatown in the afternoon and enjoy the rest of the evening at any of the riverside areas of Boat or Clark Quay or Esplanade. You can also opt for an easy and relaxing way to enjoy all the 3 areas by taking a river cruise.
Day 2 - Orchard Road and Zoo/Night Safari
Begin your early morning at Botanic Gardens and make your way down Orchard Road. By late afternoon (3pm), head towards the zoo and when that attraction closes for the day, walk next door to the Night Safari.
Day 3 - LIttle India
Explore Little India and Arab street early in the morning, make your way to Raffles Hotel for a refreshment at the famous Long Bar or the Billiard Rom, or high tea.
To walk off the Raffles high tea when the evening arrives, make your way to the Bugis area for a night market.
At dinner time, make your way to East Coast Seafood center coz u just cant visit SIN and have not eaten the fabulous seafood. - 1 day itineraryIf you have only one day in town, take an early Chinatown trip, make your way to Orchard in the afternoon and go to the riverside areas in the evening. For the night, enjoy the Night Safari.
- For those traveling with kids ...
1) Singapore Zoo - dont forget to bring a change of clothes and swimwear as there are two areas that the kids can play in that are great fun. One is located at the playground area and the other is at the petting zoo zone.
2) Jurong Bird Park - great park and had very recently been updated, highlight is the aviary and the waterful, dont forget your camera! After the renovation, there is a new area where there is a nice playground as well as a misting wet play area so do bring along a change of clothes or swim wear for the kids. You can pack a picnic to enjoy here as there are many tables and chairs around and this is right next to the falconry show location.
3) Night Safari - due to the opening hours at night, younger travelers might not make it there or enjoy it as they might be too sleepy. For older kids, this is fun and exciting esp. when u take them on the tram ride and the animals come close
4) Science Center - great place for all ages, lots of visual and sound stimulation for the kids (also bring along some swimwear and clothes as there is an outdoor area for water related fun)
5) Discovery Center - a bit more learning here (as compared to Science center which is more fun) for the older kids but they will love the paintball shooting
6) WildWildWet - water theme park
7) Escape Theme Park - right next to wildwildwet
8) Snow City - is within walking distance to science center as well as the IMAX theater
9) Singapore Art Museum - they have programs for kids age 5 and up (8 and below need adult for supervision)
10) Philatelic Museum - the heritage exhibition allows u to put on some costumes and play with the instruments as part of getting to know Singapore heritage
11) Sentosa - gear towards kids 5 and up, younger ones and those who are in strollers will find it tough with lots of hills and steps. Main highlights are the musical fountain (only in the evenings), aquarium and the luge. the cable car ride is the beginning of the exciting journey.
12) Singapore River boat cruises - You can catch any of them from clark quay, boat quay, grand copthorne waterfront hotel or esplanade
13) Resort World's Universal Studios Singapore - this whole area known as resort world is a mixture of resorts and theme park located on Sentosa Island. It is definitely the place to be for kids 5 & up.
14) MINT - Singapore museum of Toys (a great place to get souvenirs for nieces, nephews, grandkids, etc.) - Looking for the unique gift that represent Singapore ?There are many souvenirs but most are the usual Tees, keychains that can be found easily at Chinatown, Little India, Suntec, Geylang Serai, etc. For something really unique, try :
1) Singapore Museum Shop - my favorite choice esp. the Peranakan items/products.
2) Food Item - Singapore being a Food Paradise, u can bring home some truly delicious products eg. Prima (available at Centerpoint Shopping Mall)
3) Map or painting of Old Singapore - available at Antiques of the Orient (in the Tanglin Shopping Center), I never fail to visit this shop/store in all these years that I had lived, worked and visited Singapore.
4) Orchids - the National flower, fresh orchids can be shipped to any destination, surprised your loved ones with some amazing varieties that are either not available at home or too costly
This itinerary is courtesy of TripAdvisor which is what I personally use to help us navigate and find the best places to visit and things to do in the destinations that I visit. With the user recommendations one can plot out and personalize itineraries as you seem fit just like what we did with this one. Though the general rule is to really try to stick to the plan, but if you are the adventurous type it does pay to go off the beaten track every once in awhile and check out what the locals themselves would be recommending. I am very excited to get to go back to Singapore and am also just as excited to see how my friends will find the place.
Till Next Time...
-Metz-
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