Singapore is a diverse country in cultural attractions, cuisine, architecture, and experiences. One thing that it is not diverse in is climate. Singapore is HOT! Located close to the equator and you can guarantee that your time there will be hot and sticky! We spent four days in Singapore and did a fair amount of walking combined with resting in hotel lobbies to cool off in the air conditioning. Continue reading for our four days in Singapore itinerary including tips for staying cool in this warm destination:
Day One
We arrived in Singapore really late at night (after 25 hours of travel from NYC for me and 4 hours of travel for Chris from Taiwan). Meeting at the airport, we took a Grab (Asia’s version of Uber) to get to our hotel in Katong. Singapore has an excellent public transportation system, but it wasn’t open late enough for us to use.
Due to our late arrival, we planned a relatively relaxing morning into our itinerary for the first day. We were overly ambitious to think we would start the day with a run along the East Coast Park. Catching up on sleep was quickly prioritized over running.
Joo Chia Street – Peranakan Houses
Once we were rested and ready to explore, our first stop in the Katong neighborhood was the famous Peranakan Houses on Joo Chia Street. Joo Chia Street has become an insta-famous street showcasing the Peranakan culture and history in rows of colorful homes. The homes are as beautiful as they appear in the pictures, but what you don’t see is the busy street full of traffic separating the two rows of homes. Many people played frogger to jump between the sides of the street for the perfect instagram photo.
Putu Piring
Next we walked to the hawker stands on Haig Road. We were on a mission to find Haig Road Putu Piring. Putu Piring is a sweet dessert rice cake that is steamed, filled with melted palm sugar and topped with shredded coconut.
Katong Laska
Our next stop was for more food at another popular spot. 328 Katong Laska on East Coast Road is a no frills spot that draws crowds of locals and tourists alike. Their speciality is a spicy coconut based curry noodle soup comes with an extra packet of spice on the side for those that are bold enough to use it.
We checked out of our hotel in Katong and relocated to the Village Hotel Bugis in Kampong Glam. This is where we stayed for the rest of our time in Singapore. The hotel had a great view of the Sultan Mosque and an expansive breakfast buffet.
Arab St and Haji Lane
We spent the evening of our first night exploring the area close to our hotel. Arab St and Haji Lane are filled with two of our favorite things: street art and bars. We walked around the Sultan Mosque and took photos of the Andaz Singapore hotel (both are stunning!)
Day Two
Time to leave the city and explore nature!
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
We started our second day with a hike at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Take a Grab to the Nature Reserve as it would take twice as long to get here using public transportation. We did the Tree Top Hike, which took about 4 hours to complete. It is a beautiful hike with a lot wild life along the way, including lots of monkeys!
Little India
After the hike we took another Grab that dropped us off in Little India. We ate lunch, explored markets, and took photos at another insta-famous spot the Selegie House.
This colorful house is the Selegie House.
Spectra @ Marina Bay Sands
We changed our planned Singapore itinerary and decided to visit the Gardens by the Bay for the evening light show. Followed by watching the Spectra Light Show at Marina Bay Sands. For some reason, I insisted we walk to Gardens by the Bay from our hotel. Let me remind you about how HOT it is in Singapore, it was not my best decision.
Gardens by the Bay is a magical place and the light show is fantastic, but we made the mistake of visiting on a Sunday night. Try to avoid seeing the light show on a weekend because the place is jam packed with people. Everyone has the same idea to watch the light show and then walk across the bridge to Marina Bay Sands and grab a spot to watch Spectra, a water and light show. Both are worth it, but just try to see them on a weekday if possible.
Day Three
Gardens by the Bay
We started Day 3 by returning to Gardens by the Bay to explore the futuristic garden in the daylight. We wanted to see the Supertrees up close so we bought tickets to the OCBC Skyway. I highly recommend touring this skywalk during the day because there is no line. Many people try to visit during the evening light show, but there is a ridiculous line, a 15-minute time limit, and you can only go in one direction. During the day you will likely be enjoying the skywalk alone or with a few other people.
Chinatown
We left the gardens and walked around the Marina Bay Sands mall during lunch, which we timed perfectly and missed a major rainstorm. After lunch we walked to Chinatown and visited several temples. We continued walking to Clarke Quay, Fort Canning Park, and the Orchard Central Mall. Of course we stopped in several 7-11s and hotel lobbies along the way to cool off from the heat.
Kampong Glam
We returned to our hotel and decided to stay in the Kampong Glam area. We had personalized cocktails at Bar Stories followed by some late night bar snacks on Haji Lane, somehow we ended up skipping dinner.
Day Four
Our four days in Singapore were almost over. Our last full day in Singapore was devoted to seeing a few more of Singapore’s iconic spots.
Raffles Hotel, Merlion, Old Hill Police Station
We stopped to see the iconic Raffles hotel, birthplace of the Singapore Sling. We continued walking across the Esplanade Bridge to pay a visit to Singapore’s Merlion. The Merlion is considered the mascot of Singapore. We rounded out the morning by walking past another beautiful building and instagram famous spot, the Old Hill Police Station.
Happy Hour at Marina Bay Sands
Our last night in Singapore was spent sipping cocktails at the top of the most iconic building in the city, the Marina Bay Sands. We highly recommend planning a happy hour at Marina Bay Sands and if you can stay to watch the Spectra light show from the best vantage point at the top.
Our four days in Singapore flew by! We jammed in a lot of exploring and sightseeing, but also had plenty of time to relax and truly enjoy our time. When planning your own Singapore itinerary, we recommend spending at least three or four days in this tiny and impressive country.
Check out our other Singapore blog posts including 10 Instagram Worthy Photo Spots in Singapore and Happy Hour at Marina Bay Sands. Happy Travels!
