Singapore Guide
 

Can anyone recommend a guide for our 12 Hours in Singapore? We arrive about 6.00am and depart around 8.00pm so maybe a giude would make best use of the time. We have never been to Singapore and I have saved some great ideas for things to do but I am still not feeling very confident about catching public transport. We will also be a bit tired having flown all night to get there.

Really, Singapore is so easy to get around. I guess there must be guides, but I've never met one or known anyone who used one.

One option for getting oriented to the city is that you can sign up for a city tour at the airport. They require that you have at least a four hour layover. You can have the tour leave you in the city and you can then do some of the things on your list.

The subway system (MRT) is quick, efficient, clean, and air conditioned. We use the MRT to get around with the occasional taxi to get somewhere off the MRT line.

Virtually everyone speaks English, the signage is all in English, and people are friendly and happy to help.

Which are the places you want to visit?

You'll have no trouble whatsoever. You can catch the subway from Changi to the Orchard Road area or City Hall, grab a bite to eat from any of a couple dozen different places and then head off to explore.

My first time in Singapore (and I've been there dozens of times) I printed off a walking tour of "Colonial Singapore" from either here or Frommer's and did that to kill a couple of hours. It was great!

If you want to get a really good overview of the City, you can get on the SIA hop-on/hop-off bus which can be caught on Orchard Rd. Anyone near a tourist info site can give you specific directions, and I suspect that Kathie is right - you may even be able to catch it from Changi.

One other option is to hop a cab to the Botanical Gardens, very relaxing and wonderful orchids. Alternatives for a daytime visit would be a quick hop into the Raffles Hotel, areas around Bugis, Clark Quay and Boat Quay for lunch or people watching.

You could take a walk up to the Battlebox 'museum' on Fort Canning hill. It is similar to the Imperial War rooms in London and provides a nice respite from the heat. I also like to spend some time down by the Esplanade where you can grab a bite to eat or drink.

Before heading back out to Changi, I'd hit a hawker stand for some authentic Singapore dishes like Chicken Rice, Chili Crab, or Mee Goreng, or satay!

Have a great day! Singapore is easy to navigate, taxis are plentiful and cheap, and you really shouldn't spend any time worrying about things to do!
Best, Dave

Thanks everyone.
Kathie, From what I have been told we will not be able to take the free city tour because we will not have access to the transit lounge as we are flying on Tiger Air we will come into the budget airport. We can go to the other terminals but will still not be able to access the transit area as we will have to clear immigration in the budget terminal to go to terminals 1& 2. We have looked at paid city tours but as there are 3 of us I wondered whether we would see more and pay about the same with a guide.

I see. Since you arrive so early, I'd just take a taxi to the Botanical Gardens. The gardens are lovely, and you'll see locals practicing Tai Chi. Don't miss the orchid garden. Then catch another taxi to where you want o go next (since you won't be near the MRT) Once you get to a stop where the MRT is near, you can explore from there. If you give us some ideas of what you want to see/do, we can give you the MRT stops. Of course, you can take the MRT back to Changi.

Honestly, I just can't imagine the need for a guide in Singapore.

If you want a guide, you can hire a taxi guide. http://www.visitsingapore.com/publis...r_guides0.html

There are also several buses that make loops. Ducktours, Hop on Hop off bus, Trolley, HiPPo...
http://www.visitsingapore.com/publis...ity_tours.html

http://www.visitsingapore.com/publis...ducktours.html

I am still open to suggestions about what to do. Here is a rough idea mostly copied from reseach of earlier posts.
Taxi to the BotanicalGardens and orchid garden.
Taxi to Raffles statue to catch a bum boat up and down the river.
Back to Raffles Statue and then a wander around Parliment house ect.
Off to China town by Taxi and have lunch some where.(Hawker Stalls?)
Back to Raffles for a Singapore Sling for afternoon tea.(By Taxi)
Now after this I am at a bit of a loss. I would like to go to Little India. How far is this?
I am also a bit concerned that after very little sleep the night before and 1 drink we will be legless.
Our flight departs at 20.15 so we will need enough time to collect our luggage from terminal 1 or 2 where we will have to store it and return to the budget terminal. I understand there is no luggage storage facilities at the budget terminal....the 'price' of saving money I guess.
We will arrive in Krabi at 20.55 so we can have a late dinner there if we feel like anything.
OK any suggestions? Am I missing the one thing that makes Singapore amazing?

The Museum of Asian Civilization is lovely.

How about a spa treatment in mid-afternoon rather than a Singapore Sling? I just don't see the Singapore Sling as a fabulous experience...

You may want a sit-down lunch somewhere since you'll be tired. One of my favorite lunch places is Doc Cheng's in the Raffles Hotel. You will want to wander around the hotel a bit.

Kathie, you are right about sitting for lunch. I'm not too sure about the spa treatment. My daughter(20) and I would really love it but I am married to a 'Typical Aussie Bloke' so I would need to think of something to keep him occupied. He did agree to a massage last year in Peru so maybe if I give it different name......Can you reccommend anywhere for a massage??(smile) The approximate cost would also be handy as well if you have any idea?
Is the museum in the area that we will be in?
Do they have maps of Singapore available at the airport for tourists? Also how long would I need to allow to get from Raffles to the airport in peak hour? Thanks so much for all your input.

The budget terminal is pretty sparse, I don't think there is tourist info there. There is a big tourist info with tons of flyers and maps in the main terminal though.

Allow at least an hour to get back to the airport. You can take the MRT if you like and not worry about traffic. The www.visitsingapore.com website is great for planning and worth having a good look at.

Thanks Kim. We will have to go to terminal 1 or 2 to store our luggage if we are not allowed to check it in. I doubt that we will be able to so we can pick up a map and any other brochures while we are there.
The good news is I spoke to my husband and he thinks it may be a very good idea to go to a spa in the afternoon. Any recommendations?

There are tons of spas, in shopping centers and in hotels. You will need an appointment, especially if you all want a treatment together. I went to the spa in the Four Seasons and it was very nice...I would recommend it.

http://www.visitsingapore.com/publis...a/day_spa.html list some spas. There isn't one listed there that is not supposed to be good. During our week in Singapore we really never encountered poor service or poor food anywhere.

The best food we ate was definitely hawker food and Indian, though we never had a bad meal anywhere. Hawker food was just so much fun and so delicious and so cheap...and we could all get something from a different stall and mix and match...great stuff.

The hotel, Raffles the Plaza has an excellent spa. It's basically across the street from Raffles hotel. You'll probably appreciate hvaing several things to do all in the same area. Raffles the Plaza and Swisshotel Stamford are both attaches to the Raffles City shopping center and the MRT station. Very convenient.

Hi,
I'm a local in Singapore,just offering some suggestions though.Singapore is a small country so it's easy and efficient to get around with our MRT and buses.

Well,i guess that our Botanical Garden is overrated that every tourists must go but if you are a flower lover you can go see though we locals don't really go there unless for school field trips whatsoever.

I guess what makes us Singaporeans is our diverse culture of Malays,Inidans,Chinese etc.So eating hawker food is a must in Singapore!Newton Circus is a good place to eat since it is a few MRT stops from from Orchard MRT.But beware of some vendors trying to jack up the prices of food especially if u order seafood like mussels or cockles.Try our local food like Hokkien mee,fried carrot cake,satay bee hoon etc.

Another good hawker place is at Serangoon Gardens at the Chomp Chomp where there are really many types of foods you can find here.There are also fast-foods like Macdonalds too and many banks.

You absolutley don't need a guide in Singapore. I've been going there almost annually for nearly a decade. But a guide book, decide on what you want to see and do, and either get on the incredibly easy, clean, and safe MRT(subway) or get into one of the 10,000-plus, inexpensive taxis and go where you need to go.
If you decide to take the MRT then, you can buy an MRT card in the MRT station and before you leave Singapore just go to an MRT station and tell them that you're leaving and they will refund you the unused portion. You can also use the MRT card in the buses.
Singapore isn't that big. The entire counrty is only 254 square miles big...half the size of L.A. County. And the "tourist" parts are within a VERY small radius. Happy Travels!

Correction..."But a guide book" should have read, "Buy a guide book". Happy Travels!

Carwen
Is there anywhere that you would suggest that would be open at 6.00am? We arrive at 3.50am at the airport so even if it takes a while to get through and store oue luggage we will be finished at the airport very early.We like to take a walk in the sunshine after a long flight. I really would like to have a second plan in case it is raining.
I have the Lonely Planet Guide but I still don't seem to be able to decide.

Will your layover be too long to check into the intransit hotel at the airport? I would check in for a few hours...the rooms are rented by the hour....take a shower, take a two-hour nap, and then get up and go out into Singapore. I've stayed at the hotel in the airport before. Happy Travels!

The Transit Hotel requires that you book a minimum 6 hour block, additional hours are available at an hourly rate.

Suggest booking in advance as the hotel is often full. If you can't get a reservation, still check upon your arrival as they seem to have a high number of cancellations and no shows due to flight changes, etc.

If you don't want to stay in the hotel, you can use their shower facilities for approximately S$10.

Transit hotel is impossible for those using the budget terminal...you go through immigration and customs to exit the budget terminal, where there is no transit hotel. The transit facilities are inside the secure area in T1-2, impossible to access without clearing immigration, for which you need to be in transit for. Budget terminal passengers cannot be in transit technically.

Good point Kim - I'd overlooked the fact that skittle is flying into the budget terminal.

Thanks All
I did not realize that we would not be able to use the Transit Hotel but the name should have given me a clue because I knew we would not have access to other transit facilities as a budget passenger.
Does anyone know if we would have access to the pool? I thought maybe it would be nice to come back in the afternoon and lay beside the pool with a book.
We will not be as tired as those of you who fly from the US(I hope). We are also used to being sleep deprived as we have 4 children. Smile.

The gym and pool are located in Terminal 1 - also in the transit area.

I didn't realize that a budget terminal even existed. You learn something new everyday. Smiles. Happy Travels!

OK...Plan B...You could get a room at the YMCA International House Hotel at 1 Orchard Road....telephone 011.65.6336000...ymca.org.sg. I always call them as I don't like the internet reservation system.

I've stayed there for nearly a decade and it's really nice and there's a pool on the roof and breakfast is included in the price. A standard room is about US$60.00. It's private and has a
bathroom, shower,toilet, and sink and there's a fridge.There are 2 twin beds in each room.

If you book the room for the day before you arrive and then tell them that you will check in around 7AM on the day of arrival, then when you arrive to the hotel at around 7AM, the room will be ready otherwise I think it's a 2PM check-in time. You can then shower, rest, and go to sleep for a while a get up and be out by the 12 noon check out time.

After you check out, you can then go and do all of your Singapore sightseeing and then catch a cab at around 5:30PM and head back to the airport for your 8PM flight. Or take the MRT back to the airport.

A taxi to the YMCA Hotel from the airport cost only about $S20.00 if that. I have gotten off the plane, gone through customs, picked up luggage(which you won't have), exchanged money in the airport, and arrived at the hotel all within an hour. Singapore is highly efficient. Plus the YMCA Hotel is almost next to the Dhoby Gaut MRT subway station which is a great location. It's about 2 stops from the heart of Orchard Road in one direction and 1 stop from Clark's Quay and 1 or 2 stops from Raffles City Shopping Center which has the Chjmes complex...food/shopping across the street in one direction and the Raffles Hotel in the other...where the Long Bar is located. You could always just taxi to and from as taxis are quite inexpensive and since you would be in the heart of things distances will be shorter. Hope this has helped. Happy Travels!

Thank Guenmai
I have just spent a few hours looking on the internet for a cheap clean hotel to do exactly as you described.Why will I not have to collect my luggage? I think it will be too early to be allow to check in for my evening flight and all budget flights are point to point so you are responsible for your own luggage. If I want to leave it at the airport I would have to but it in storage over at terminal 1 or 2. This discount ticket is getting tiresome and I haven't even left home yet! I am hoping that a little homework before we leave will make things a lot smoother on the trip.

The hotel idea is a good one. Then you wouldn't have to store your luggage, and you could save time by not having to go to the main terminal twice, once to store and once to pick up. You are right, budget terminal, no checked through bags, so you have to collect luggage after flight 1 and recheck it when you check in for flight 2.

Thanks for confirming this for me Kim. I have not flown on a discount airline(except domestically) before and I was not sure that I had read the fine print correctly. Of course I read the fine print after I booked the tickets. The price was so good I think I would have booked them anyway.

I didn't know that you would have to pick up your luggage. I see that this budget system is different than what I'm used to.

What I do,if I'm in Singapore for only 24-plus hours, is when I check in in L.A., I have the airline check my main luggage through to my final destination which is Bangkok. Then when I arrive into Singapore early in the morning, I just get off the plane with either a carry-on bag or a carry-on suitcase and then take a taxi to my hotel where I stay all day and overnight before returning to the airport the following morning for my flight on to Bangkok. That is what I was referring to. I thought with your long stop in Singapore, you wouldn't have to deal with luggage since I was thinking that it would be checked through to your final destination. Happy Travels!

But even with luggage pick up, it's still very fast in Singapore. Happy Travels!

Thanks everyone.When I read the terms and conditions of the tickets it didn't immediately sink in how that would effect us in each place. Another disadvantage is if they are running late they have no obligation
to help you if you have missed a connecting flight.
This is what we have decided to do in Singapore.We have booked at a backpackers in Little India called the Inn Crowd. They get good reviews on many,many sites and I had already started to make inquiries with them before I recieved your suggestion Guenmai.The cost is only S$66 for the three of us in our own triple room. They were extremely helpful by email and they have a great website??? They have ten self-guided walking tours on the website that all sound good and for $6 extra we can us the facilities(showers) until we leave in the PM.
Will let everyone know on our return if it was a good idea.

Skittle, your situation is a good example of how flying a discount airline may not be worth the trouble for the money saved. While I often warn people about the luggage limit issues and that the discount airlines will not rebook you if you miss a flight (even if they cahnged the time), you've run in to things I'd never thought about.

I'm glad you've been able to work things out. I happened to glance at the YMCA's prices and they have had a significant increase in price. I paid a max of about US$60. the last time I stayed there, but now they're up to S$190. They do however run good specials.

That YMCA Hotel is on prime land and the vulturs have been swarming around it for years. Also the YMCA Hotel in Hong Kong is on prime land which the developers have also been swarming around so I've been told. I've known the rooms manager at the Y, for many years, and am kept up on what's going on.

Please let us know how every thing turned out for you. Happy Travels!

Kathie, the airlines don't actually say they won't rebook you but they make it clear that they don't have to. We have been very careful to choose a travel insurance that we hope covers us if this should happen. I'm hoping that I will not be able to report how they handle things like that and that all our flights will be on time. We did not plan to take a trip next year so the discount flights allow a bonus trip. I am going to wait a see how things go before I decide whether it was a good idea or not.
Guamai, The Y is still excellent value compared with the other hotels in the same area. It also seemed as though there would have been a problem getting a room for 3.

Skittle...For future reference...the YMCA International House has family rooms...ymcaih.com.sg. or ymca.org.sg and then scroll down and click on International House in the bottom left column. Happy Travels!

Topping for HANK. Happy Travels!