Day 1: Arrive, Settle & Marina Bay Evening
Arrive, Check In, Recover
Don't rush Day 1. Take the MRT from Changi (S$1.50–2.20) or Grab (S$20–35). Check in. Walk your neighbourhood, find a kopitiam for lunch. Explore slowly. Singapore heat (30–34°C year-round) hits harder when you're jet-lagged.
Marina Bay Orientation Walk
Walk the full waterfront loop: Merlion Park → Esplanade → Marina Bay Sands → Helix Bridge → Gardens by the Bay (exterior). A 4km loop. Sunset from the MBS waterfront (facing the Merlion and CBD skyline) is spectacular.
Supertree Grove: Garden Rhapsody
Free light show at the Supertrees. Then dinner at the nearby Satay by the Bay (affordable hawker food right inside Gardens by the Bay). MBS has restaurants at every price point if you want to splurge. Return to hotel by MRT.
Day 2: Chinatown, Tanjong Pagar & The CBD
Maxwell Food Centre Breakfast
MRT to Tanjong Pagar. Maxwell Food Centre opens at 8am. Try the soon kueh (steamed dumplings), fish ball noodles, or popiah (fresh spring rolls). The morning light here is lovely. Budget S$6–10 for a full breakfast.
Chinatown Heritage Trail
Walk Pagoda Street, Smith Street, and Neil Road. Visit the Chinatown Heritage Centre (S$18, recreated 1900s shophouse interiors, highly recommended). Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. Then explore the wet market at Chinatown Complex, 3 floors of everything from fresh seafood to herbal medicine. The Level 2 food centre is one of the cheapest in Singapore.
Lunch: Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle ⭐
Singapore's most famous hawker stall, the only hawker in Singapore with a Michelin star. Crawford Lane, near Lavender MRT. Queue opens 9:30am, expect 30–60 minute wait. The springy noodles with pork slices, dumplings, and sauce are worth every minute. S$8–12. Cash only.
Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area + Pinnacle@Duxton
Walk the beautifully preserved conservation shophouses around Tanjong Pagar. The Pinnacle@Duxton (50th floor Skybridge) offers panoramic views for just S$6, far less known than MBS and uncrowded. Tap your EZ-Link card to enter. Incredible views of the CBD and port.
Amoy Street Food Centre
Singapore's most atmospheric hawker centre in a 1950s building. Stalls include the famous Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon and Hong Kee Beef Noodle. The evening food smell wafting down the street is wonderful.
Clarke Quay Riverside Bars
Walk the quayside bars and restaurants along the Singapore River. Try Zouk, Canvas, or a riverside table at one of dozens of bars. Tiger Beer on tap S$10–14 a pint. The light reflections on the water are beautiful at night.
Day 3: Little India, Kampong Glam & Bugis
Tekka Centre Breakfast
MRT to Little India. Tekka Centre Level 1 is the wet market; Level 2 is the hawker centre. Try the roti prata with dhall curry (S$2–4 per prata), mutton biryani, or fish head curry. The banana leaf rice stalls open from 9am.
Little India Walk
Serangoon Road is sensory overload in the best way: garlands of jasmine, incense smoke, Tamil film music, the smell of fresh coconut. Visit Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple (free). Mustafa Centre for the best currency exchange in Singapore (open 24hrs).
Kampong Glam: Sultan Mosque + Haji Lane
Walk or MRT to Bugis. Explore Arab Street (batik fabric, hookah cafés, Persian carpet shops), Sultan Mosque (free, remove shoes at entrance, dress modestly), and then the trendy cluster of cafés and boutiques on Haji Lane. Perfect for an afternoon coffee and people-watching.
National Museum of Singapore
Excellent free permanent galleries (after 6pm) covering Singapore's fascinating history from colonial trading port to independent nation. Building is stunning, colonial white rotunda with a glass dome extension. The Singapore History gallery is outstanding. Budget 1.5–2 hours.
Dinner: Peranakan Food at Candlenut or True Blue
Peranakan (Nyonya) cuisine is Singapore's most unique food heritage, a fusion of Chinese and Malay ingredients developed by the Straits Chinese over 400 years. Candlenut (Dempsey) is the world's only Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant. True Blue Cuisine (Armenian Street) is more affordable and equally authentic. Try ayam buah keluak, laksa, kueh pie tee. Book ahead.
Day 4: Southern Ridges, Dempsey Hill & Botanic Gardens
Southern Ridges Morning Hike
Take MRT to Labrador Park. The Southern Ridges is a 10km elevated trail connecting four parks through rainforest canopy. Key sections: Henderson Waves (Singapore's tallest pedestrian bridge, wave-shaped wooden walkway), Canopy Walk through the forest. Free. Cool in the morning; humid by 10am. Wear good shoes.
Dempsey Hill: Brunch
Former British colonial barracks now converted into restaurants and antique shops. Brunch at Long Beach Seafood, Creamier ice cream, or PS Café (al fresco in the trees). A very different side of Singapore, expat, leafy, unhurried.
Singapore Botanic Gardens (UNESCO)
Southeast Asia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Free entrance (National Orchid Garden S$15). The main lawn on a weekend afternoon is quintessential Singapore, families, joggers, wedding photoshoots. The Healing Garden, Ginger Garden, and Evolution Garden are fascinating. Wander for 1.5–2 hours.
Orchard Road Window Shopping
Singapore's famous shopping strip: ION Orchard, Paragon, Takashimaya, 313@Somerset. Even if you're not buying, the architecture and people-watching is great. Ion Orchard basement food hall has great hawker bites. The Orchard Road Christmas light-ups (Nov–Jan) are famous globally.
Dinner: Old Airport Road Food Centre
One of Singapore's best and most underrated hawker centres. Try Original Katong Laksa, Chuan Kee Boneless Braised Duck, and the famous carrot cake (chwee kueh). Less touristy than Maxwell or Chinatown Complex. Bus from Mountbatten MRT.
Day 5: Pulau Ubin: Untouched Singapore
MRT to Tanah Merah → Bus to Changi Village
Take MRT to Tanah Merah (EW line), then Bus 2 to Changi Village (30 min). Eat breakfast at the Changi Village Hawker Centre, excellent nasi lemak, roti prata, and Malay kueh. The village itself feels like small-town Singapore of the 1980s.
Bumboat to Pulau Ubin
From Changi Point Ferry Terminal, bumboats (small wooden motorboats) leave when they have 12 passengers, S$4 each way, 10-minute crossing. You'll share with locals and hawker-stall supplies. The island has no fixed ferry timetable. Last boat back is around 8pm.
Rent a Bicycle + Explore
Bicycle rental shops at the village charge S$8–15/day. Pulau Ubin has barely changed since the 1960s, kampung houses on stilts, granite quarry lakes, wild boar, monitor lizards, and old coconut plantations. The village has 40 permanent residents. It's like stepping back 60 years.
Chek Jawa Wetlands
Cycle 4km to the northeast tip of the island. Chek Jawa Wetlands is one of Singapore's richest ecosystems, mangroves, coastal forests, seagrass, and coral rubble. The boardwalk extends over the water. At low tide you can see mudskippers, sea cucumbers, and horseshoe crabs. Free. Check NParks website for tide times.
Lunch at Ubin Village
Return to the village for lunch. Ubin Food House and other restaurants serve fresh seafood (prawns, squid) and local dishes for S$12–20 a person. The kampung prawn noodle soup is legendary among regulars.
Quarry Lakes + Pekan Quarry
Granite was quarried here until the 1980s, the pits filled with water and are now eerily beautiful emerald lakes. The German Girl Shrine (a small Taoist shrine dedicated to a German girl who died during WWI) is a 120-year-old mystery worth visiting. Cycle the quarry loop (4km).
Return to Mainland + Changi Village Dinner
Take the bumboat back by 5pm. Dinner at Changi Village Hawker Centre, the nasi lemak here is rated among Singapore's top 5. Then bus and MRT back to the city. Arms tired from cycling, mind refreshed from the green.
Day 6: Sentosa Full Day
Universal Studios + Beach + Night Show
Universal Studios Singapore (S$88, book online), then beach time at Palawan or Siloso, dinner at Resorts World, and Wings of Time (S$18) to end the night. Full details in the 2-day itinerary Day 2 section.
Day 7: Johor Bahru Day Trip & Farewell
Cross to Johor Bahru
Early MRT to Woodlands, then Bus 170 or CW1 to JB Sentral (S$2.50–3). Breakfast in JB: teh tarik and roti canai for RM5. Shop the Premium Outlets (25–65% off), explore the heritage town, eat fresh seafood. Full details in the 5-day itinerary Day 5 section.
Return to Singapore + Chilli Crab Farewell
Cross back, drop shopping, freshen up. Farewell chilli crab dinner at Jumbo Seafood (Clarke Quay) or Palm Beach (One Fullerton). Then a nightcap at the MBS rooftop bar (Ku Dé Ta / CÉ LA VI) or Lantern Bar at Fullerton Bay, unbeatable skyline views for your last Singapore night.
7-Day Budget Summary
| Category | Budget (S$) | Mid-Range (S$) |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel (7 nights) | 280–420 | 1,050–1,750 |
| Food (7 days) | 210–280 | 490–700 |
| Transport (MRT + bumboat) | 80–100 | 80–100 |
| Gardens by the Bay | 53 | 53 |
| USS + Wings of Time | 106 | 106 |
| Night Safari / Zoo (opt) | 0–104 | 104 |
| Chinatown Heritage Centre | 18 | 18 |
| National Orchid Garden | 15 | 15 |
| Pulau Ubin (bumboat + bike) | 20 | 20 |
| JB shopping + food | 40–100 | 150–400 |
| Total per person | S$822–1,100 | S$2,068–3,266 |