Singapore is a fun city with a lot of things suitable for all age groups. Due to its close proximity to the equator its hot and humid all year round so there is no best time related to the weather. However if you are a shopaholic or a foodie, you might want to visit the city in July when the Great Singapore Sale and Food festivals are held.
We planned a one week trip divided into 4 nights in Singapore and 2 nights on Sentosa island. Singapore is pretty expensive when it comes to hotels and sightseeing. There are a lot of sightseeing options. We did not want to compromise on the experiences so we chose budget accommodations.
Here is our itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival – Little India – Mustafa centre
Day 2: Orchard road – Singapore flyer – Fountain of wealth – CBD
Day 3: Bugis St – Arab St – Chinatown – Clarke’s quay
Day 4: Singapore zoo – Gardens by the bay – Marina bay sands – Merlion park
Day 5: Departure
Day 1: Arrival – Little India
Little India
This area is a part of the road on Serangoon road between Little India MRT and Farrer park MRT stations. Its an ethnic budget area with cheap street shopping and it also has a 24 hour night market – Mustafa centre. The area also has Hindu temples that you can explore. We visited Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, strolled through the lanes of Little India and did some shopping in Mustafa centre. Besides Mustafa centre there are other malls like city square mall and Sim Lim Square where you can shop.
How to reach: Farrer park MRT or Little India MRT
Day 2: Orchard road – Singapore flyer – Fountain of wealth – CBD
Orchard road and Emerald hill
Orchard road is the main shopping road in Singapore with luxury shopping in Paragon, ION Orchard, Orchard central malls. However shoppers with a low budget head to lucky plaza and far east plaza. I am not much of a shopper so just quickly browsed through a few malls.
When we reached Orchard central mall we found a heritage building and a small lane going upwards. Its called Emerald hill and has many bars and restaurants. According to locals it becomes very lively in the night.
How to reach: Orchard road MRT or Somerset MRT
Singapore flyer and Fountain of wealth
After walking and shopping on Orchard road we decided to head to Singapore flyer. We took the MRT from Somerset to Promenade station and walked to Singapore flyer. It took us about 10 min. However we just enjoyed the flyer view externally without taking a ride on it. None of were keen to go. After viewing the giant wheel we decided to walk across the street towards the fountain of wealth.
The fountain is located in the hub of one of the largest malls in Singapore. The water in the fountain is used for two key reasons; water is symbolic of wealth and life, and its inward flow represents the ability to retain wealth within the mall’s vicinity, hence the name, Fountain of Wealth. The silicon bronze rings is based on the Hindu Mandala meaning Universe. When we reached the entrance there was a small queue to go inside.
During specific periods, the fountain is switched off and that gives visitors a chance to walk around the smaller fountain. There are a lot of little water spouts coming up from the ground and you walk up a path to the actual fountain which is smaller. The sign near the smaller fountain read that you must walk around it 3 times with your hand in the water and wish. We sure had a lot of wishes to ask for. There is a light and laser show in the night. You need to check the timings before you go if you want to walk around the smaller wishing fountain.
How to reach: Promenade MRT
Singapore CBD and waterfront promenade
After visiting the fountain of wealth we headed to the waterfront promenade. This is a nice place to just relax after all the walking in Singapore. We enjoyed beautiful views of sky hugging towers, Merlion, Marina bay sands, Fullerton hotel from here. I recommend to visit around evening and stay until night time. There is a light show that happens in the Marina bay sands hotel which you can watch from the esplanade outdoor stage. There are steps where you can sit and view the show.
There is a Go Scooot booth where you can rent electric scooters on hourly basis. Kids had fun riding the scooters on the promenade.
How to reach: Esplanade MRT
Day 3: Streets of Singapore
Bugis Street
Singapore has many lively streets. We explored a few of them. Bugis street is a cheaper alternative to Orchard street shopping. We bought many bags, clothes, purses, shoes, toys etc. Its a great place for ladies shopping. You can try your haggling skills here as the shopkeepers haggle a lot and you can get good deals.
There is also a high end shopping mall Bugis+ if you wish to buy branded stuff.
How to reach: Bugis street MRT
Arab Street
Arab street is just 5-7 min walk from Bugis street. Arab street will give you a feel of middle east in Singapore. There is a beautiful Sultan Mosque dated back to 1932. The architecture of the mosque is stunning with a gold dome. There are many quaint shops selling beautiful middle eastern stuff like perfumes, textiles, rugs, souvenirs and more. and Turkish restaurants in the lane opposite to the mosque.
The Haji lane – one of the side streets has many colorful restaurants of all cuisines. We explored this area and had delicious hummus in a famous restaurant ‘Tabouleh” We even tried ice cream scoops in freshly baked soft croissants at an ice cream shop called aRoma on Haji lane.
There are many other lanes like Muscat Street and Baghdad Street which are fun walking through too.
How to reach: Bugis street MRT
Chinatown
Chinatown is present in almost all big cities in the world. I love visiting Chinatown in all cities for cheap souvenir shopping, to have flavorful Chinese teas, quaint Chinese stores and visit Buddha temples. We walked along the narrow streets shopping to our hearts content. LOL. There are many street food stalls but being vegetarians those don’t matter to us.
The kids had fun choosing their stones according to their birth dates and then getting them engraved with their names in Mandarin.
There is a beautiful Buddha Tooth relic temple. Make a note that you need to dress appropriately to enter the temple. I had worn a skirt and a sleeveless top…perfect! But at the entrance they gave me 2 stoles to wrap around my waist and shoulders before entering the temple.
How to reach: Chinatown MRT
Clarkes Quay
This is a popular nightlife spot in the city. This is the place you can unwind after all the walking in the city. The whole area comes to life in the evening with live music bands and locals as well tourists unwinding. You can either choose to head to one of the bars or pubs or choose a quieter restaurant on the waterfront offering views of Singapore river. We chose a nice boat restaurant.
Day 4: Singapore zoo – Gardens by the bay – Marina bay sands – Merlion
This was a packed day and it would be possible to cover all these on same day only if you go to the zoo early morning like we did.
Singapore zoo
The Singapore Zoo was a MUST on my itinerary as my kids and me are very fond of animals. It is about 45 min away from the main city close to the Selatar reservoir in Mandai. The zoo has many attractions to choose – Main zoo, Night safari, River safari, Breakfast with Orangutans. We bought tickets which had the experience of ‘breakfast with Orangutans’ as an experience. Singapore zoo boasts of one of the top orangutan breeding programs. When you choose the breakfast option as add on with your ticket you get to dine with these lovely creatures in the open ‘Ah Meng’ restaurant. The breakfast buffet has a good spread of dishes.
One more added benefit is that you get to enter the zoo before its opening hours and thus get a head start before the crowds come in. We were seated on one of the tables. The zoo staff got a ehite python, peacocks, squirrels and finally orangutans.
We had fun watching the orangutans come jumping on the branches and get settled on their table. The zoo staff then feeds them fruits. So you keep watching the animals while having your own breakfast few tables away.
We also got an opportunity to click pictures. The best part is that they don’t want to make money out of it. They click a pic on your phone and there is a professional photographer as well. They give the prints in a nice Zoo photo frame.
Its a open zoo and you get to see a few animals really close. A lot of animals including the tiger weren’t caged. There were natural streams or rock walls separating the animals from visitors. The leopard was obviously caged 😉
The primates section has really cool colored monkeys.
The Singapore zoo gives a safari feel more than a zoo.
And no Zoo or Jungle is without the King. There is a small pride of lions here too.
Gardens by the bay
Gardens by the bay is a natural rainforest in the middle of the bustling city. It has different species of plants from different parts of the worls maintained really well. There is a huge rainforest with a cascading waterfall in the centre of the conservatory.
There is another conservatory called flower dome which has also been listed in Guiness book of records as the largest greenhouse. There are mnay sections with a variety of flowers and other plants. They have different exhibits. My son was marvelled at the different species of cacti.
The highlight however is the Garden Rhapsody show that happens every night. Its a light and sound show that transforms the super trees. There is a OCBC skyway which is an aerial walkway offering beautiful views of Singapore city but unfortunately we couldn’t go up due to long queues.
I found both the conservatories very innovative and spectacular.
Marina bay Sands
Marina Bay sands is an iconic hotel in Singapore with arooftop infinity swimming pool and an observatory. After visiting gardens by the bay we entered Marina bay sands through the connected walkway. The hotel is splendid with a canal passing through the shopping area of the hotel similar to the one in Venetian hotel Macau.
ALSO READ : The Venetian resort hotel, Macau
We passed through the hotel and headed to walk towards the Merlion on the opposite side. You must do this walk if you like walking as it will give you comprehensive views of the marina from all angles. The Marina bay sands to Merlion is about 20 minutes walk. We started walking on the bayfront ave towards Helix bridge. This stretch gives nice views of CBD on the opposite side. You will also pass the louis vuitton island maison.
After walking for about 5 minutes we took a turn on Helix bridge. Helix bridge architecture looks a sci fi film set. The kids huffed and puffed as they walked through the bridge to crossover on the other side.
Once on the other side we walked towards the waterfront promenade and crossed the Esplanade bridge. You get beautiful views of Helix bridge and Singapore flyer from here.
Once you cross the Esplanade bridge you reach the Merlion park. The kids were so fatigued on this day that one of them even started singing song in an unknown language on top of his voice. LOL
Well what did we do from here? We took a taxi back to the hotel. LOL.
ALSO READ: Siloso beach resort, Sentosa island
ALSO READ: Claremont hotel Singapore
ALSO READ: Best things to do in Sentosa