Here’s exactly how we spent 24 hours in Singapore, including Gardens by the Bay, Chinatown, Marina Bay and some of our favourite food spots.
For many travellers, including us, Singapore is often a stopover on the way to somewhere else. This has meant the city has to wow you as quickly as possible, and it definitely succeeds. We arrived in Singapore late on a Tuesday night, with the whole next day as our time to spend exploring as much as we could.
We immediately noticed how clean, calm and walkable the city is. This was an immediate tick for travellers like us as it made it so easy to explore without having to find transport everywhere, particularly given the price of Singapore compared to other countries in the region. But given we only had about 24 hours, we had to quickly get our walking shoes on, and this is what we saw.
If you want to see our trip, you can watch our Singapore vlog here. This was our first ever vlog, as you may be able to tell!
Singapore Travel Tips
When Should You Visit Singapore?
Singapore's best weather is from February to April, coming just after the wet season and before the real heat comes. We arrived in mid-May and felt the heat starting to come on, with mid-30 degree weather taking a toll on us throughout the day, but definitely still enjoyable. Wear light clothing because the humidity is intense!
How Many Days to Spend in Singapore?
If you just want to see the city part of Singapore, the 2 nights that we had were enough, but it definitely wouldn't hurt to add a third to allow yourself a chance to slow down and enjoy it a bit more, if that fits in your schedule and budget.
However, there is plenty more to see in Singapore; a whole countryside that people rarely see, as well as Universal Studios that you could easily spend a day enjoying.
Where Should You Stay in Singapore?
Singapore is expensive, so we focused more on location than facilities and stayed at Wink at McCallum Street, a double bed hostel in the Chinatown area.
It was a great area with lots of great food spots around, although quite a walk to the bay compared to the more upper-budget hotels, and the hostel was certainly nice enough given the money we saved. I would definitely recommend it if that's what your budget wants.
You can book Wink at McCallum Street here.
If you want to book somewhere a bit nicer, or don't fancy walking as far, I would head towards the bay. You are certainly not short of flash hotels in Singapore.
What Do You Need to Budget for Singapore?
This is always the big question when planning a trip. Singapore definitely isn’t cheap compared to nearby countries, but here’s roughly what we spent.
- Transport: Any Grab trip is worth between $10–20 SGD
- Hawker food: $5–10 SGD per meal
- Restaurant food: $15+ SGD per meal
- Gardens by the Bay: $40 SGD per person
- Accommodation: $87 SGD per night for a hostel for 2 people
- Airalo eSims: $9 SGD per 3gb eSim
Everything included with snacks and drinks to keep us going, we spent a total of $475 SGD for 2 people for a 2 night stay in Singapore. However, we did no shopping and didn't drink while we were there, so you may want to take more.
Having an eSIM set up before your flight can save a lot of hassle, especially if you need maps, ride-hailing apps, or accommodation details as soon as you land.
We personally use Airalo when we travel and are happy to recommend it. If you choose to purchase an eSIM through our affiliate link, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, helping us continue creating free travel guides and content.
24 Hours in Singapore Itinerary
Tip: Start early to avoid the midday Singapore heat and humidity.
There is so much to see in Singapore, but if you do it in the right order, you can fit a lot into one day without working too hard. Maybe 20,000 steps, but that's fine.
This isn't exactly the order we did it in, but what we wish we had done.
8:00 AM – Chinatown
Head into Chinatown in the morning for a morning bite and coffee to take in the bustling vibes of everyone starting their day. Find some time to appreciate the murals painted on the walls in alleyways, as well as Sri Mariamman Temple.
10:00 AM – Merlion Park
A 20 minute walk will get you to Merlion Park, where you can see the famous Merlion shooting water from its mouth into the bay. There are plenty of spots around here to have a seat and an ice cream if you need a break.
11:00 AM – The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands / Lunch
If you enjoy shopping, I'm sure this is already on your list. If you don’t, this is still worth visiting. You can walk around the northern side of the bay to get there very easily. There is a Venice-like gondola on the bottom floor and some incredible high-end stores.
This is also a great spot for lunch if you don't want to leave the area, with a great food market on the bottom floor at the northern end.
I recommend getting the beef and rice sizzle plate — absolutely delicious.
If you want a hawker centre experience, head back around the southern end of the bay where there are plenty of options as you walk back towards Chinatown. We went to Lau Pa Sat and had fantastic food and a refreshing juice.
2:00 PM – Gardens by the Bay and OCBC Skyway
The main event of Singapore in our opinion. Gardens by the Bay has a range of different experiences you can do, including the Flower Dome and Supertree Observatory, but in our opinion the best of the bunch are the Cloud Forest and OCBC Skyway.
The Cloud Forest is a huge indoor area with different types of flora that you can walk through and learn about, but visually it is spectacular and a very relaxing experience. Even as people who aren’t hugely interested in plants, we absolutely loved this.
The OCBC Skyway is a walkway with a spectacular view of the skyline, and a great photo opportunity. This is also the area they use for the light show at night, but we'll come back to that.
I would recommend booking ahead of time. It was sold out on the website when we tried to book on the day, but thankfully we were still able to buy tickets at the desk.
5:00 PM – Dinner and Relax
By this point, you've definitely earned a slower afternoon. If you’re travelling on a budget, you can find a local restaurant or bar to have a drink and a meal. We went to BBQ Box back in Chinatown for some delicious, juicy skewers and some extras.
If you want to treat yourself, head to Raffles Hotel for the original Singapore Sling cocktail, although you may have to queue for around 20 minutes. You'll likely be walking back towards Gardens by the Bay and will pass hundreds of restaurants to pick from.
7:30/8:30 PM – Gardens by the Bay Light Show
Make sure you finish your night back in Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay for their free light show. It starts at 7:45 and 8:45 every night and runs for about 15 minutes.
I will say, we have seen some bad light shows in our travels — don't get me started on the light show at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur — but this is great. Our show was musical theatre themed, although they change them all the time to keep it fresh.
Make sure this is on your itinerary.
8:00/9:00 PM – Whatever You Like!
Personally, we were 25,000 steps in at this point so we headed back to the hostel, but if you've got more energy you can head to places like Zouk or Marquee Singapore to kick on into the night.
Final Thoughts
Singapore definitely exceeded our expectations! It's certainly a soft launch into Asia travel, which is helpful given it's most people's first stop. It's clean, it's super safe and it's walkable. Definitely make the time to spend a day or two here if you can.
If you're planning a Southeast Asia trip, Singapore is one of the easiest and safest cities to start with.
Even with only one day, we have plenty of great memories!
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