Singapore in 3 days – futuristic design & different cultures
Singapore in 3 days – futuristic design & different cultures
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Singapore is the perfect stopover and an amazing city for spending 2 or 3 nights before traveling to the next destination, since Changi Airport is a big hub for destinations throughout Asia. It’s futuristic design, the combination of different cultures and the diverse food make this city very special. This vibrant city-state boasts a beautiful blend of Malaysian, Indian, Chinese, Arab and English cultures. Whether you have a few hours, or want to explore Singapore in 3 days, you can build an awesome itinerary. Singapore has a lot of beautiful attractions to offer!
Day 1 – Indian & Arab Quarter
Probably you will arrive at day one in Singapore, therefore you can start exploring Little India around noon. At midday it can get really hot in the sun, we included some cafés and restaurants close to the attractions, so you can refresh in the cooler indoor areas from time to time.
1. Little India: Tan Teng Niah’s House
We highly recommend to visit Little India, it’s a district with colorful houses and a lot of incredible street art. Start at Tan Teng Niah’s House, a colorful and richly ornamented old building with cute windows alongside. From there you can stroll through the streets to discover all the beautiful graffitis at the house walls. You will clearly feel the amazing Indian vibes and the smell of Indian food in this area.
2. Café Groundstory, beautiful pieces of furniture
Running around in the heat will make you feel very exhausted and sweaty, especially in the beginning when you are not used to it. It’s time to refresh at Café Groundstory, a few steps from Little India located in the neighboring Arab Quarter. It’s a beautiful store for art and furniture combined with a café. The perfect place to plan your next days! Tip: The cold ice tea is very refreshing!
3. Muscat Street and Masjid Sultan Mosque – The Arab Quarter
Muscat Street is a popular street in the Arab quarter next to the big Masjid Sultan Mosque. From there you can walk along the smaller streets with palm trees surrounding the mosque. It’s the biggest and most important mosque for Muslims in Singapore. You are allowed to walk through the courtyard but you can’t go inside the mosque. The big golden dome looks really beautiful. Actually the mosque is surrounded by a lot of beautiful Arab buildings!
4. Kampong Glam Heritage Trail: more Arab buildings
From Masjid Sultan Mosque you can walk down the Kampong Glam Heritage Trail to see more old Arab buildings next to high modern skyscrapers and high residential buildings as well as sports parks. You will clearly see the mix of culture here! The Arab buildings are really beautiful.
6. Haji Lane – the hipster street in Arab Quarter
From Kampong Glam Heritage Trail you just have to walk to the side street, the Haji Lane. It’s a really cool hip street with loads of cute shops and bars. We found a lot of beautiful graffitis there! Just explore the little shops!
7. Next stop: Restaurant Symmetry
You might feel hungry now, just a few steps away you will find the modern restaurant Symmetry in the Arab Quarter. It’s a little more expensive but a really cool place to relax a little! The restaurant is famous in Singapore.
8. Walk along the harbor until darkness
Now that you’ve seen everything in the area of Little India and Arab quarter, it’s time to walk downtown. The fastest way is taking the MRT (metro) until you reach the station “Marina Bay”. From there, walk along the harbor until it gets dark. You might notice that the temperatures are getting more pleasant. If you have time left, enter the shopping center between the water and the famous building Marina Bay Sands Hotel to buy some food for your last stop: the light show on the water.
9. Last stop: Marina Bay Light Show on the water
In the evening, at 8 pm and 9 pm, you can watch the Light Show on the water at Marina Bay for free. The place with the bench seats and the best view for the light show is located directly in front of the Louis Vuitton building. The place gets really crowded with locals and tourists so make sure to be early to get a seat. The light show is highlighted with music. Eat your snacks while watching the show.
Day 2 – around the Gardens in Singapore
On your next day in Singapore we recommend to start really early for sunrise. The temperatures are much more bearable and you will see the famous Gardens by the Bay with hardly no tourists.
1. Gardens by the Bay – sunrise tour
Start at 6am and take the MRT until arriving at the station “Bayfront”. Now you walk along the water to Gardens by the Bay, the beautiful constructed trees in the best golden hour light. The garden looks really magical in the morning light and you are able to take pictures with no other tourists. From 9am on, this place gets really crowded, especially for sunset in the evening! You will also see the Singapore Flyer next to the trees. Just explore the area and walk along the bridges. Unfortunately, when we’ve been there in August, they prepared some areas for a kind of fun-fair between the trees.
2. Visit Cloud Forest at 9 am
After exploring Gardens by the Bay for sunrise you are now ready for entering Cloud Forest. It opens at 9am and we highly recommend to be there 10 minutes before, to be the first one to get in. It gets crwoded really fast. The ticket is really expensive with 20 Singapore Dollar, but for us it was totally worth it. This place is so beautiful! In the middle of the incredible glass building you will see a 35-meter-high mountain with plants and viewing platforms. A 30-meter-high waterfall is pattering down under the glass dome. Compared to the temperature outside it feels very cold, so bring a scarf.
The museum raises awareness of climate change, animal welfare and plant protection as well as plastic pollution. Information boards tell you about biodiversity and different flora. With an elevator you get up to the 6th and 7th level, from there you walk along the walkways and bridges back down. In the middle of the mountain you will find a museum and a little cinema on the lower levels.
3. Helix bridge, Singapore Flyer & the Art Science Museum
From Cloud Forest you can directly walk along the water to the famous helix bridge. You can either walk along the Helix bridge to the other side of the river to the big Singapore flyer or if you need a cooler place, visit the Art Science Museum next to the bridge. In the museum you can walk through a room with a lot of hanging lights which looks like thousands of crystals.
4. Chill at Bakery Bread and Hearth
You might need a good breakfast and coffee now. Take the MRT until you reach “Outram Park” and visit this incredible Bakery. It’s the perfect place for breakfast and some chill time!
5. Eat at Restaurant Vegan Bowl
If you feel more like eating a vegan delicious bowl, we highly recommend to go to the restaurant Vegan Bowl, everything is vegan there and tastes really good. With the MRT you can drive to “Raffles Place” or “Telok Ayer”, this place isn’t far away from Helix bridge.
6. For the Evening: Gardens by the Bay, Supertree Grove Garden Rhapsody Light Show
For the evening you definitely have to see a second light show. Today it’s not a light show on the water, but a show with illuminated trees in the Garden by the Bay, also highlighted with music. It’s called the Supertree Grove Garden Rhapsody Light Show and it’s completely free as well. It starts at 7:45pm but be there earlier to enjoy the evening vibes in the park and the sunset. If you walk up some stairs, you will reach a higher level with a better view of the garden and some rocks to sit down. There you will also find beautiful pink flowers matching the colors of the trees. The light show itself is really nice, maybe a little tacky. Be prepared that there is a long line in front of the MRT ticket machine after the show.
Day 3 – around China Town & downtown
On your third day you can explore China Town and the old police station in down town. Also we tell you our favorite café and a cool spot for pictures at a roof top of an old building in China Town.
1. Chinatown, the Pagoda Street, temples & street food
Walk through China Town and have a look at the cute little shops, the little restaurants and the street food. The beautiful buildings and old walls where very fascinating. Strangely enough we ended up eating at an Indian street food restaurant in China Town. Pagoda Street contains a lot of beautiful buildings and temples.
2. People’s Park Complex – a big apartment building
On another blog we found a really cool photo spot on the roof top of a really big shabby looking residential building. It wasn’t easy to find the way up there. You have to walk in the shabby shopping center of People’s Park Complex located on the first floors, there you have to walk up some hidden stairs and escape at a roof exit. Ask the store owners for the way. On top of the shopping mall they build a gigantic yellow apartment complex, it’s unbelievable that people live here right? Look at all the different ventilation units. From the roof top you have a great view of the city, too.
3. Next stop: Old Hill Street Police Station in downtown
Just walk along the big street from People’s Park Complex or take the MRT for one station until “Clarke Quay” to see the colorful Old Hill Street Police Station. The old wall of the building looks really cool, look at the different colors of the windows! The building officially opened in 1934, and was the largest government building in Singapore at the time. The police vacated the building in 1980, the more than 900 windows have been painted in shades of rainbow colors.
4. Our favorite café: The Common Man Coffee Roasters in downtown and yoga?
This café is located at the edge of downtown. From the old police station it’s the easiest to take a Grab to The Common Man Coffee Roasters, because there is no MRT station directly next to it. It’s totally worth it to visit this modern and hip café. They have incredible meals and it’s the perfect place to relax or work. Upstairs they have a yoga studio if you want to join a yoga class. We loved the granola bowl and the hummus bread. However, he prices here are a little higher.
5. Shopping mall called Somerset
If Singapore is only a stopover for you and you move on to another country on the same day or the next day, you might need to buy a few things you forgot. Singapore has really good shopping malls. We really liked the shopping mall “Somerset”, because it’s directly located at the same named MRT station. There we found really good shops for camera gear as well as Billabong and Co. They also have some discount campaigns.
6. How the cars on the streets are displaced by street food tables in the evening
If you still have the late afternoon or evening in Singapore it’s really nice to walk from China Town to downtown. You will see how they close off the streets to set up hundreds of street food tables in front of roadside stalls. The atmosphere changes from working, hectic-vibes to relaxing, sitting-together-vibes.
Do you have more time left in Singapore?
- Universial Studios, Sentosa Island
- take a boat to Hantu Island for snorkeling
- district Geylong and Koon Seng Road, colorful houses, historic shops
- National Museum of Singapore
- Mount Faber Park
Where to Stay?
Singapore is really expensive and even the budget hotels are really expensive. The best chance is to look for a deal online for 2 or 3 nights.
Budget hotels:
– Butternut Tree Hotel in China Town (really basic!)
– Dickson 81 in Little India (really basic!)
More pricey hotels:
– Marina Bay Sands (incredible roof top pool), in the background of the picture
– Lloyd’s Inn (modern and beautiful, a little outside)
– Holiday Inn Express Singapore
How to get there? How to get around?
You will probably arrive at Changi International Airport. If you have enough time, take a look at the big waterfall inside the airport, it’s incredible. After immigration with your visa on arrival for maximum 30 days, you take the MRT, the Mass Rapid Transit (metro), to your hotel. You will need around 20 to 30 minutes to get to the centre.
While Singapore is a small country, it has a remarkable amount of must-see neighborhoods like Little India, Chinatown, Marina Bay, the Financial District, and Sentosa Island. A taxi is way too expensive and takes really long. The MRT is an easy, fast and affordable way to get around Singapore.
The app Grab is also popular here, and the ride prices are cheaper than what a traditional taxi ride would cost.
About the heat
I have never been to a country with more humidity than Singapore. In the midday it gets really hot around 35 degree. Be prepared that you are completely sweaty all the time, especially when you are not used to this humidity. Make sure to drink enough water and to have enough stops in refreshing cafés with AC.
Singapore is hot all year round and they hardly have any seasons. Year end tends to be cooler but also more rainy, though really it can rain any time of the year (the country sees an average of 167 days of rain per year).
Singapore Dollar
The Singaporean dollar (SGD) is the currency of choice here. Currently, 1 Singapore dollar get you 0.70 U.S. dollar or 0.65 Euros.
To get a visa in Singapore for other countries like Indonesia
We got our two month visa for Indonesia at the Indonesian embassy in Singapore. In Bali it would have taken us at least 5 days, in Singapore you get your 2 month visa in 2 days. Unfortunately the embassy is located outside the city but reachable with the MRT. There was a line from 9am on and you were only allowed to go inside with long trousers. You have to assign a number and hand them over your completed request, a letter of motivation, your passport photo and very important – your return ticket from Indonesia. Your passport has to stay until the next day and you have to pay 75 Singapore Dollar. The next day you can pickup your two month visa.
Fun fact: We forgot to print our return flight ticket. After waiting hours in the line we had to go back to a shopping mall. We decided to ask a caretaker at a big neighboring office complex who helped us printing the tickets in his small office. We were so glad that we found this amazing helpful human!!! Otherwise we would have needed a grab to the other side of the city to a shopping mall with a print shop.
*Anzeige/ad This article contains recommendations of hotels and restaurants. However we payed everything on our own. This article reflects our own and honest opinion.
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