Worth the stop over? Couple of weeks time and looking to take a couple of days after a work trip. Enough for a solo tourist to meander round and enjoy?
Is it possible to do it cheaply without going backpacking style?

Tips, suggestions and ideas welcome.

(not going to take the bike)

Great place. Well worth a look round. Loads crammed into a small space. Hard to do it cheaply as accommodation is so expensive. Everything else is pretty reasonable though so the over all budget isn’t too bad.

There was a days bike tour of the usual sites when I was over there last. $100-ish. Really good way to get a bit of history and look around. Having been a few times and usually on the MRT it was a surprise how close some of the things actually are on the ground compared to troglodyte travel.

Been twice and still only scratched the surface.
Accommodation aside you can eat as cheaply as you want go to the hawker stalls and food halls where the locals eat.

Plenty of places are within walking distance and travel on the subway was quite reasonable I thought.

One of my favourite places is the Buddha tooth temple in China town, so ornate to view and very peaceful.

any suggestions on where to stay? Mostly just looking round the trainline from the airport at this point and a bit of random…

I always feel slightly shamed by my unreasonable loathing of Singapore. I’ve been repeatedly on business, and my favourite bit is between check-in and wheels up on the way home. 🙁

I guess my main tip is to avoid Ku De Ta bar at the top of the Marina Bay Sands like the plague. Unless you’re a huge git who loves $10 pints of course, in which case you’ll probably love it.

🙂

The Fullerton isn’t cheap, but nowhere near as expensive as you’d expect some weekends. Really quite pleasant. Although I realise it’s better positioned for traipsing around the banks or watching the GP than it is for owt else.

🙂

Cheers BigDummy, main reason is I’m going to Jakarta and there is no way I’m staying there any longer than I need to, Bali was a maybe but Volcano and no cheap flights mean no and in the end I’m transferring through Singapore and it will be 30c warmer than Tassie is at the moment.

We try to get somewhere in China Town. Good connections. Walkable to some interesting places and lots going on outside. Rooms are often small and sometimes noisy though.

Just stay in the airport for 5 days, it’s ace.

Oh and it’s carpeted for it’s entire length, which is simply lovely, fair play to them.

looks nice BigDummy, though as I’m actually paying for this one I will be downgrading a couple of stars from that 😮

Taxis are cheap.
Chinatown is great.
Sneak onto the lift at marina bay sands up to the bar on the roof at floor 58. Cracking views there!
There are mountain bike trails but I’ve not tried them yet
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Raffles (although the bar on one of the side streets makes better Singapore Slings).
Botanical Gardens.
Cable car to Sentosa Island.
Little India – Get your fortune read by a parrot and have curry in the food hall
Zoo
There was a micro brewery near the Fullerton Hotel which made some very nice beers.
Afternoon tea at the Fullerton.
Shopping malls if that’s your thing.
The Hindu and buddhist temples.

We has a couple of nights there in 2006 and would definitely go back if we were heading to OZ/NZ again. Maybe try Hong Kong on the way back.
Enjoy

I always used to stay at the Amara in Tanjong Pagar. Great location. Lovely pool.
Fullerton is rather pleasant, I’d agree.

Chinatown is good. Try Hometown on Smith Street.
Din tai fung at Raffles Plaza is a must visit.

As above, taxis are dirt cheap.

I too have been loads of time with work and not over enamoured with the place. Two days should be more than enough. There isn’t that much to see and not a hugely interesting or rich history. It’s hot, which is fine, but also steamily humid, which just becomes tedious and uncomfortable if you spend any length of time outdoors. I feel like I should love the place but after 3 years of travelling there just couldn’t. It’s not unpleasant, far from it, just a bit boring. I enjoyed Kuala Lumpur much more, just seemed to have a nicer feel to it and the people much friendlier, but only visited there a few times. But don’t let that put you off, a quick two day stop over will be fine.

Hunt out some Durian fruit. It’s…..interesting.

It’s…..interesting.

My local supermarket has a H&S warning on it! 🙂

There isn’t that much to see and not a hugely interesting or rich history

huh?! Are we talking about the same Singapore? It has a rich and fascinating history. A lot of it is hidden as they don’t seem to cherish it and seem keen to always be making progress but it is there. Loads to see and do, too, especially once you get away from the cbd.

Four floors 😀

Great place to stay for a couple of days particularly if you’re not well into SE Asia. Singapore Airlines always used to do good stopover deals with some very good prices on decent hotels and transfers. If you’re flying with them have a poke around the website or give them a call and ask.

Four floors

Just arranging my accommodation for my year out there from September(ish), have been told that’s where all the best local entertainment is. 🙂

OP, I lived there for 2 years, Lots to do and interesting stuff to see. Number 1 recommendation is to avoid the Touristy / glitz nonsense like Orchard Road Malls and IMO Clarke Quay. As others have said lots of cool stuff to seek out, those who think it’s sterile have just been to the tourist hotspots/obvious stuff

I used to live on Club Street which is very close to China Town, small hotel there is OK with a nice rooftop bar – “the club hotel” I think its called. The street has a lot of older traditional shop houses and many bars and restaurants a lot with a French theme (my favourite place IndoChine closed its branch there). Raffles Place MRT is close-ish by or just take a cab (there is a good taxi booking app you might want to download if you will have mobile data, works well with numbered taxi stands)

Visit the Chinese temple and also the adjacent Hindu one all within a few 100 yards of Club Street and next to China town. The food court / hawker centre there (Maxwell Court?) is a good one too. The Arab Street area with it’s Mosque is quite interesting too. Botanical Gardens if you like that sort of thing (quite sterile IMO but Orchids worth seeing for an hour or so). I haven’t been to the new gardens at Marina bay but they are supposed to be good.

If you wander around Boat Quay / Raffles Quay you can pop into the Asian Civilizations Museum too.

I am not a fan of the Marina Bay Sands but the view at sunset is pretty cool from the rooftop bar

I like an evening dinner by the looking at the skyline by Esplandae (theatre/concert venue), the No Signboard Seafood restaurant is good for your crab (pepper, chilli etc) or other seafood. Its a posh version of the original which you could seek out if you want. You can rent bikes at East coast park but its a bit boring riding up and down a tarmac-ed path (seafood places there too and one or two nice chilled lunch spots, small beach club called Mana Mana which I used to a bit of sailing from the foiling Moths are based there, officially members only but they don’t seem to enforce it). There is a cable tow water ski pond too

cheers Jambalaya, sounds like I’m going for it after some of the posts.
Was going to do it last time as the flights in and out of Melbourne are really badly timed (mostly overnights) so a stop over makes a huge difference.

Get the cable car up to mount Faber from Sentosa island, do that for when the sun goes down.
Arab street/Haji lane area is good early evening.
Go to China town and visit the Buddha tooth relic temple. Remember to go upstairs for the actual Buddha tooth temple.
Little india.
Geylang road on an evening.
Marina bay sands hotel infinity pool if you can get up there.
Long bar at Raffles for an expensive Singapore sling (it’s not the original bar but I suppose you need to go) eat as many free peanuts as you can.
The original Singaporean tourist attraction- tiger balm gardens.
Newton circus food court.
Down to the river for loads of bars, food, nightclubs, but you could be anywhere in the world in them, same as the shopping malls.
Orchard towers is worth going to for the experience.
Good cheap food all over the place.

I stayed at the Carlton hotel last time I went, well located in the middle of things and near an mrt station.

Typically spend 1-2 weeks here each month, as I am currently managing offices in both HK and Singapore (office is in fact in Chinatown), and although now a little jaded by being here its a good place for a 2 or 3 days stay.
Great if your a foody and happy to explore the local food markets (Maxwelss etc) and you have to try the two main staples out here, Chicken Rice and Spicy Crab.
Not sure of your budget but I usually stay in or near Chinatown mainly for work access and can recommend the Procelein or South Bridge Hotels, two clean no-nonsense places to stay, if your going to splash out then go for a room at the Marina Bay sands, it does give you access to the infinity pool at the top.
Travel is cheap and easy, Taxis are good but I would also recommend the MRT as a good way to get around town, just note that it closes at 11:55pm and then taxis call the shots.
If your looking to maybe get a ride in happy to see if some of the local guys I sometimes ride here can help, email in profile.

Disappointing no one has mention Orchard Towers yet!

@stewart, Orchard Towers = Four Floors, no?

Anyway, I lived there for seven months and I’d happily go back. he history is interesting despite what someone said up there – visit Changi prison and Fort Canning for a view of WW11. Eat where the locals eat and it’s cheap and very good (mostly).

OWG 4 floors indeed, used to always bring the new guys there after a few beers elsewhere and leave them in Mustangs to find there own way home.
Now married so stick to the usual places, in fact having a cider now in Boat Quay.

Our favourite bar was No 5 on Emerald Hill. Try the Chilli Vodka, it has magical properties

If you want to keep costs down you’re more than welcome to stay on my sofa bed 🙂

I live here, so happy to sort out taking you out on bikes if you want to have a ride around too. My email’s benscholey [at ] gmail.com if you want to drop me a line…

*Waves at ben!*

I’ll see how I’m going ben but I am a notorious snorer… PO comes tomorrow so will know more later.

@onewheelgood – I’ll second that bar nomination

Brotzeit is also nice for a few cold ones of an evening. Oh, and some nice scenery to admire while drinking there.

🙂

[url=https://flic.kr/p/wvqCpH]Dealing with the heat….[/url] by Mike Smith, on Flickr

That last picture looks like Boat Quay – walked past there earlier today!

well according to the fit app I’ve been walking for 4 hours today which explains why my feet are screaming, not the way to re introduce sandals as footware after a long winter. Been out snapping away remembering how to be a tourist without a bike
https://www.flickr.com/gp/mikewsmith/3b2j3E

Did a lot of walking around Singapore ourselves today – wouldn’t surprise me if we passed you somewhere on the way. Took quite a few photo’s as well – an example or two:

A pint of Tiger, beside the river in Singapore

Singapore skyline

nice, off to look at that thing later I think!

i seem to remember i did a big walk connected by boardwalk bridges through green spaces and wilder areas and it went on for miles and out from the city
excellent
museums and gallerys are pretty good

i loved the place

i liked the indian quarter, they had a “greasy spoon” cafe equivalent but with a choice of 10 currys, rices , dpsips, breads, roti all served on a big palm leaf, and the locals were nice and chatty – just remember to eat with the “correct” hand 😉

Caught happy hour in Boat Quay today – S$9 for a pitcher of Anchor:

Rather cheaper than the S$32 each for Singapore Slings in Raffles earlier!