Itinerary suggestions for Singapore

[Van-Guard23]

My wife and I are visiting Singapore after Christmas and looking for
itinerary suggestions. We would be spending 3.5 days and 4 nights there as a bookend to a trip to the Philippines (so travel time and the need to get used to the time difference wouldn't be an issue).
We are mainly interested in culture, history and of course food. We heard/read Singapore is quite a culinary destination of sorts and we've already done some homework on TripAdvisor and various TV shows about the food scene there.
Thanks for any feedback you might have from any recent visit.

 

[Animorph]

We ended a cruise in Singapore and spent about 2 days. Our favorite spot was Gardens By The Bay. Not exactly culture, food, or history, it's fairly new and man-made, but we found it amazing. Only the domes required an entrance fee, which wasn't too bad. Just hanging around that area and the lake behind Marina Bay Sands at night is pretty cool.

Gardens by the Bay

 

[Nemo2]

Changi has been demolished, but there's always the Raffles Hotel.

 

[jerryo]

Visited Singapore perhaps a dozen times will living in Manila from 2011-2015...always felt like "zurich in the tropics." Beautiful, orderly, organized, and ocassionally a bit dull. But a wonderful book end to the Philippines. The botanical gardens (particularly the orchard gardens are fantastic! Great restaurants (particularly Indian food in the Indian quarter and Chinese food in Chinatown! The upscale bars on Club Street near China town are fun. As is the quaint museum with Buddha's tooth!?! Hiking in Cane Park. Hiking, beaching, playing on Sentosa. Bar hopping on the River Walk and/or Clark's Quai. The Red dot Museum. The Asian Arts Museum. The Singapore history Museum. Concerts at the concert hall. Some of the best dimsum and sate in the world. Pepper crab in East Bay Park. The Hawker food courts. Even the most touristy sites like the Zoo, the Gardens by the Bay and Universal studies and the upscale restaurants at Marina Sands. And out of the way spots, like Changi Prison Museum or bicycling on a nearby island nature preserve (I forget the name). More than enough for a dozen weekends. Just get a good guidebook and follow your inclinations.

 

[Van-Guard23]

Visited Singapore perhaps a dozen times will living in Manila from 2011-2015...always felt like "zurich in the tropics." Beautiful, orderly, organized, and ocassionally a bit dull. But a wonderful book end to the Philippines. The botanical gardens (particularly the orchard gardens are fantastic! Great restaurants (particularly Indian food in the Indian quarter and Chinese food in Chinatown! The upscale bars on Club Street near China town are fun. As is the quaint museum with Buddha's tooth!?! Hiking in Cane Park. Hiking, beaching, playing on Sentosa. Bar hopping on the River Walk and/or Clark's Quai. The Red dot Museum. The Asian Arts Museum. The Singapore history Museum. Concerts at the concert hall. Some of the best dimsum and sate in the world. Pepper crab in East Bay Park. The Hawker food courts. Even the most touristy sites like the Zoo, the Gardens by the Bay and Universal studies and the upscale restaurants at Marina Sands. And out of the way spots, like Changi Prison Museum or bicycling on a nearby island nature preserve (I forget the name). More than enough for a dozen weekends. Just get a good guidebook and follow your inclinations.

Thanks for the feedback. We already have some of the places you mentioned on our list of places to visit. Colonial District, Chinatown, Little India, Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and the Botanical Gardens, various Hawker Centers for good eats (Albert Food Center and Maxwell Road Food Center), Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Changi Museum and the National Museum. I figured that would be a full itinerary for our length of stay before we head back to Hawaii. We were going to add a side trip to Malaysia but soon abandoned that idea once we realized we wouldn't have time for it.
By the way, any recommendations for where to eat Hainanese Chicken and Chili Crab?

 

[Onward]

My favorite part of Singapore was Little India. There is also a "Japanese Gardens" area that's very beautiful.

 

[Koogie]

My favorite part of Singapore was Little India. There is also a "Japanese Gardens" area that's very beautiful.

We loved Little India too. And we went to the Maxwell Road Hawker Centre probably about three times (we stayed at a small hotel in China town).

If you enjoy such things, we really, really liked the "Night Safari" at the Singapore Zoo. You go around at night when a lot of their nocturnal animals are active. Standing about 10 feet away from a huge hyena while it sniffed the air for us... made the hairs on my arms stand on end.

The locals love going out to Sentosa Island. It was a little resorty/touristy for us but since it is basically in the harbour and has beaches it might be another idea.

Sadly the really cool Singapore train station is long gone. If you enjoy marine or maritime stuff, do try to get out in the harbor. I have never seen so many ships at anchor in my life (hundreds literally) as in Singapore.

 

[Nemo2]

If you're runners you could take a spin with the Singapore Hash House Harriers:

Home_LCH3

 

[Totoro]

Treetop walk. Even if you are no big fan hiking.

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-p...central-catchment-nature-reserve/treetop-walk

 

[jerryo]

Sounds like a plan!

If you've got extra time Sentosa beaches and walks are nice (better than the more touristy Sentosa "sights") or maybe even the night safari. Chili crab at No name crab (branches in East bay park and by the concert hall on the bay); Hainanaise chicken at the little stand that Anthony Bourdaine ate in at Maxwell Rd hawkers court. Dim sum in the downstairs restaurant at the Sheraton (need reservations on Sunday). Have fun!!!

 

[jerryo]

Also....our favorite "romantic" hotelin Singapore has been the "Scarlet" in Chinatown....redone since the last time we were there, but in the past a great, funky, upscale, boutique hotel that sometimes has surprisingly reasonable prices....

 

[Van-Guard23]

Sounds like a plan!

If you've got extra time Sentosa beaches and walks are nice (better than the more touristy Sentosa "sights") or maybe even the night safari. Chili crab at No name crab (branches in East bay park and by the concert hall on the bay); Hainanaise chicken at the little stand that Anthony Bourdaine ate in at Maxwell Rd hawkers court. Dim sum in the downstairs restaurant at the Sheraton (need reservations on Sunday). Have fun!!!

Thanks for the suggestions. So Hainanese Chicken at Tian Tian at Maxwell Road Food Center, Chili Crab at No Signboard Seafood (heard Red House Seafood is good as well)..and dim sum at the Sheraton (how about Din Tai Fung?) I thought about Sentosa, but being from Hawaii, we get our share of beaches all around us...although the fort might be interesting

The Scarlet Hotel seems like a very nice hotel well situated in Chinatown...but we already made reservations at Fairmont Singapore right across from Raffles.

 

[Van-Guard23]

If you're runners you could take a spin with the Singapore Hash House Harriers:

Home_LCH3

My wife loves to run...and I run with her just because...but running and drinking are not good combinations for us, so we'll pass

 

[jerryo]

Other thoughts: the island for biking and walking near Changi is Pulau Ubin ... you take a little private ferry from Changi village (which also has a new food court). Lots of places to rent bikes, some seafood restaurants and lots of locals on the weekend. Still pretty wild in a Singaporean sort of way...a couple of snakes dropped 20 feet from the trees in front of my wife and me while we were walking.

The best sate used to be at the tables outside Lau Pa Sat, the old Victorian food court downtown, which itself is quite interesting. They were redoing the food court, though, last time I was there, so it may have changed....

The art museum near Marina Sands (the odd shaped building directly on the harbor) sometimes has really great shows. I saw the visiting Andy Warhol exhibit there, which was quite special, and far better arranged than when I saw it again a few months later in Hong Kong. The big Asian Art Museum, in the Colonial District, is fantastic; and the Singapore history museum is also interesting!

Duxton Hill, just past Chinatown, is another nice area of restaurants and bars that is a bit off the beaten track for tourists and less rowdy than Ann Siang Hill and Club Street in Chinatown.

We never found Orchard Road particularly attractive, but it is a mecca for shopping. Restaurants are also so, so there; but the food court at Ion Center is pretty good in a pinch!

Enjoy!

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

Walk in to the Fullerton hotel and look up - if you want to spend a little money sit and have a cocktail and look up.

Go to the Altitude Bar - another expensive drink - but the view at night from the 63 floor rooftop deck is awesome

 

[latexman]

Have a Singapore Sling at The Long Bar at The Raffles Hotel.

I recommend the pepper crab at The Golden ? or Suncoast or something like that (it's been 21 years) at East Coast Seafood. A small 1-2 kg Sri Lankan crab cooked in black pepper. Yummy! It's not hot. It has lots of flavor!

Sentosa, especially the butterfly farm.

The Singapore Zoo.

The Bird Park.

Maybe you want to take a day trip into Malaysia across the causeway. Shopping in Johor Bahru?

Looks like you have the rest.

 

[Van-Guard23]

Thanks for all the suggestions thus far. My wife and I are very much looking forward to our visit.

One question, I understand late December is still part of the rainy season in Singapore...is that something to be concerned about and be prepared for?

Additionally, my wife and I would primarily be walking and using public transportation while in Singapore. I read they have a very good public transportation system and I also read about getting an EZLink card. Can someone expound on that a little bit? I am familiar with London's Oyster card and Barcelona's T10 card, and imagine it would be the same.

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

Thanks for all the suggestions thus far. My wife and I are very much looking forward to our visit.

One question, I understand late December is still part of the rainy season in Singapore...is that something to be concerned about and be prepared for?

Additionally, my wife and I would primarily be walking and using public transportation while in Singapore. I read they have a very good public transportation system and I also read about getting an EZLink card. Can someone expound on that a little bit? I am familiar with London's Oyster card and Barcelona's T10 card, and imagine it would be the same.

It pretty much is - but just google YouTube EZlink Singapore and you will see how to use it - the MRT is amazing

 

[eleighj416]

Singapore is about 1 or 2 degrees off the equator, my wife and I were there last December. Make sure you have light clothing including shorts and good walking shoes. They have an excellent subway system which we used to get around the city. We have enjoyed out trips to Singapore.

Ed