Singapore Day Trips
 

Please provide any helpful feedback. I have come through Singapore three times this year and have about a seven hour stop over each time which I find isnt sufficient time to do anything.
Can I get to and back from Sentosa beach in this amount of time?

Sentosa is attached to the main part of Singapore by a bridge...it's about 25 min from the airport so you could easily get there, but I don't know why you would want to. I find Sentosa to be totally devoid of charm or interest. The beach is yucky and the man made attractions corny, with the exception of one museum about the history of Singpaore. IMO, your time would be much better spent exploring the historic (colonial) district and taking a bumboat ride on the river, or strolling the Botanical Gardens and having a meal in one of the ethnic neighborhoods, such as Chinatown or Little India.
The only place you can get to out of Singapore in 7 hours is Johor Bahru, Malaysia, just over the causeway. Singaporeans go there by the thousands every day to shop but there is absolutely nothing of interest for tourists.

What have you seen on your other trips to Singapore? What is it you want to do on this trip? I agree that Sentosa “beach” may not be what you are expecting. For outdoor activities, I have some other suggestions for you, although I agree with the poster above about going to the downtown area or the Botanic Gardens (other than perhaps on a Sunday when it is full of Filipina maids on their day off....). I think Little India or the remaining colonial bits around the Padang and the Cricket Club are very interesting, and the Asian Civilizations Museum in Raffles Place usually always has a good exhibition going (http://www.acm.org.sg/home/home.asp) and is in a very lovely restored building. The other branch in Armenian Street is also interesting.

1. East Coast Park. This is a large public park which runs along a pretty stretch of the east coat of the island. This is on the way into town from the airport and would be maybe 20-30 minutes by taxi. The water clarity is not as good as other parts of SE Asia of course, and you can see all the tankers and other huge ships out in the roads (and can sail around them) which is very different. I would not call any of the beaches in Singapore especially beautiful, but they do make a nice afternoon of walking, biking or sailing. You can also rent bikes or rollerblades and ride along the East Coast park, and there are some very good inexpensive open-air seafood restaurants. The website for national parks in Singapore is http://www.nparks.gov.sg, this site is full of ideas for visits to this park and other parks as well.


There are also some beaches out northwest of Changi Airport in the Pasir Ris area which also has good bike paths and you can rent sailboats, try the national park website above.

2 Pualu Ubun. This is an island in the narrow waterway between Singapore and Malaysia, and most of it is a national park. You can rent bikes and explore the little bit of wild jungle and wildlife left in Singapore. There are some good seafood restaurant here as well. Take a look at the website for national parks.

3. If your layover is on a Sunday, the Polo Club has polo matches, usually at least one Sunday a month. 80 Mount Pleasant Road. This is a bit north of the Orchard Road area, maybe 10-15 minutes by taxi. These are great fun to watch. This club is private, but the rules are ignored on match days and you can just walk in; the restaurant is generally open to the public on weekend evenings. The club is in an area of "black and white" bungalows and is worth strolling around to see how the British Raj once lived and how some very lucky (mostly expats) live today in colonial splendor.

Many thanks. I have a return flight in April and now I have some things I can look forward to. The boat ride on the river and the colonial district is what I will plan on this next time. Then when I come back through again I can plan to hit Pualu Ubun and bring my tennis shoes and suitable clothing for some bike riding.

Typo, should read "Pulau Ubin"

http://www.wildsingapore.com/ubin/

Just got back from Singapore. I've been to Sentosa a few years back and was really impressed with the changes to the beaches. As man-made as it is, I think Palawan beach (best of the 3 beaches there, I thought) at Sentosa is a worthwhile stop-over if you're the beach going type. There's also a food court with local food at that beach. Cheap and good. I'm quite certain you have more than enough time to make it to Sentosa and back during the 7 hour lay over.