We love Singapore, which is a very small country in the heart of Southeast Asia. Despite its small physical size, there is plenty to do and eat here.

How long to stay?

As visitors, we’ve only visited Singapore once, which was for three nights. (We’re not counting the times that all we needed to do was overnight at the hotel and didn’t explore the city.) I’d actually argue that adding another night would be ideal if it’s your first time in the city-state. Despite the country’s relatively small size, there is a lot of culture and entertainment packed within its borders. And when you need a change of pace from the city, head over to Sentosa where you’ll find resorts and theme parks.

For those worried about language, should know that English is an official language of Singapore. Other official languages include Malay, Tamil, and Mandarin Chinese. In other words, you’ll generally be fine here just knowing English.

Lastly, there are a lot of rules in Singapore. One of the more famous rules I recall hearing about before visiting was the no chewing gum rule. However, there are many rules and penalties can be severe. For example, accidentally bringing in products like shampoos or oils containing CBD (or even poppy seeds!) is forbidden and illegal. Penalties include up to 10 years of jail or a $20,000 SGD fine. Other rules to follow include not feeding pigeons, flushing the toilet (yes, there is a law for that), and not littering.

What we did in Singapore

Captain Explorer DUKW™ Tour

Our first day in Singapore, we did a DUKW (pronounced “duck”) tour, which combines a drive on land with a cruise at sea all in the same vehicle. We’ve done similar tours before, like in Boston, and this one operates very similar to those. The tour we took was in English and takes you around Marina Bay. The views from the DUKW aren’t going to be much different than the views you get from the shore, but at least there are fewer obstructions.

Across the bay, you’ll find the famous Marina Bay Sands. If you’re not staying at the mega resort, it will cost you to go up to the observation deck. We hear views from up there are impressive but we didn’t get a chance to visit.

Another noteworthy site from the tour was the Esplanade, where you could catch shows and performances. The building is shaped like the national fruit (the durian). Not familiar with durian? Perhaps that’s for your benefit. As you might tell, I’m not a fan of it given its intense-but-unique combination of smells. Jenn, on the other hand, is a fan of durian, but she knows once it emerges from a fridge, that I will smell it immediately in the house.

There is a reason public transportation signs forbid durian. Despite Singaporeans admiring the fruit, even they know it overwhelms.

Singapore FunVee Open Top Bus Tour

We purchased a package deal between the DUKW tour and this one, the FunVee tour. You can think of this as a hop-on-hop-off caliber tour, but without the hopping on or off. In other words, it’s a simple non-stop drive around town with narration. It’s not a personalized tour, but it can give you a nice view of the city that can help orient you on your first day.

Another famous hotel in Singapore is the Raffles, which is where you might go if you want a luxurious stay. This tour drove by Raffles, and we didn’t get a chance to visit. There is a lot of history with the hotel and has been well-maintained from what we’ve heard.

Gardens by the Bay Garden Rhapsody

If you want something impressive and free, check out the nightly Garden Rhapsody. There are two show times (7:45PM and 8:45PM) and there are different themes depending on the season. You can sort of think of this as a more massive version of the Bellagio Conservatory in Las Vegas. The show is impressive and worth a visit one evening when you’re in town.

Music and lights will fill the sky while you’re here, and it offers a lovely evening out.

Gardens by the Bay Flower Dome and Cloud Forest

There’s more to do at the Gardens by the Bay besides just watching the evening performance. We also came here during the day to check out both the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest.

Based purely off its name, I’m sure you could figure out what you’ll find inside the Flower Dome. Any flower lovers should absolutely make a visit. The varieties and colors here are impressive and pictures won’t do it justice.

The Cloud Forest is also a fun trek. The “cloud” nature of the exhibit means you’ll be viewing the forest from different heights.

Personally, what I admired the most here was the impressive dragon that sits perched above the tree trunks. It’s made of tree bark and tree roots, and perfectly blends in with the vibe of the forest.

The amount of detail on the dragon is impressive. I’ve always loved dragons since childhood. Seeing this dragon makes my inner child giddy.

Mandai Night Safari

It can get a little disappointing when you go to a zoo and you find all the animals asleep or lounging around because it’s too hot. Wouldn’t it be nice to see those animals at night when they’re more active? The trouble is that most zoos close when it’s late at night. Well, you’re in luck because the Mandai Night Safari will let you live out that (potential) fantasy. This special zoo is open between 6:30PM and midnight daily.

As you might expect from a zoo that’s intended to be dark at night, pictures aren’t going to look good. But there are several animal performances to watch.

We enjoyed watching the otters demonstrate their trash-sorting abilities (don’t you know they’re Mother Nature’s janitors?), which were adorable. There was a nice assortment of night-based animals on display during the Creatures of the Night show, including owls and pigs.

We also saw some flamingoes doing flamingo stuff. Unfortunately, we saved this visit for the night before an early-morning flight, which was poor planning on my part. If you’re coming from somewhere west of Singapore (like the Maldives), I’d recommend visiting the park the first night you’re in town. It’ll be easier for you (and the kids) to stay up late enough to enjoy the unique zoo.

Butterfly Garden at Changi Airport (Terminal 3)

Whether you’re here for a short layover or a longer stay, one of the most impressive airports in the world has a reason for you to explore it. There is a beautiful (free) butterfly garden in Terminal 3 spanning levels 2 and 3. Sure, it can be a little out of the way if you aren’t flying into or out of that terminal, but all terminals are connected airside via shuttle. Sometimes we like stopping by here more than just sitting in a lounge before our flight.

Fruit is left out on displays to make sure the butterflies make an appearance. Just watch where you’re stepping or you might accidentally bring one home with you on the bottom of your shoe.

As you can imagine, kids of all ages would love to come here and admire the sites.

• For more pictures from the activities we did at Singapore, check out our dedicated post.

Where we ate in Singapore

Full disclaimer, we ended up just eating at hawker stations in Singapore. There are touristy versions and perhaps more authentic versions, but the general premise remains the same. You’ll step inside the venue and find plenty of small shops selling food. It’s similar to food halls you might find in other countries. But the food here is cheap and delicious, plain and simple. The fact that it’s so cheap is almost surprising in an otherwise pricey city.

And I’m all for the Taylor Swift x Cornetto Caramel Shake collaboration that was around back when we were there. I’m not a Swiftie, but I can dig it. We certainly didn’t have a Cruel Summer when we were here. In fact, never in my Wildest Dreams did I think we would end up in Singapore when I was younger, but you know who is a big fan of the food? ME! I know, what a great Love Story we had while dining here. (OK, maybe that one was a stretch.)

Singapore Food Trail

This one is perhaps the more touristy version of a hawker station, found right by the Singapore Flyer. Prices are higher than what you might find at other centers, but that’s not to say that the food here isn’t good. It works if you are in the area already, but not one we would say you need to go out of your way to visit.

The emphasis is on local dishes, which is a blend of Chinese, Indian, and Malay cuisines. If you’ve taken Singapore Airlines, many of the dishes will look familiar to you.

Albert Centre Market & Food Centre

Close to the Bugis MRT station, the Albert Centre Market & Food Centre is a popular option to go get cheap, delicious food. It’s a popular stop for locals and tourists alike. This is one place that you might want to come out of your way to visit. We ate a few awesome dishes here, like Hainan chicken that ended up being cheaper than we had ever paid for it up to that point in our lives.

Or how about some fried fish laksa, which was quite tasty. Laksa can get spicy, which is consistent with the one we had here, but the rich coconut broth helps balance out that spice somewhat. Eat it quickly before the fried fish becomes soggy fish.

Lau Pa Sat festival market

The Lau Pa Sat hawker center is centrally located, close to several MRT stations (like the Downtown station). It’s also arguably the cleanest hawker center we’ve been to on our trip. You might wonder if that then means it’s not cheap, but you’d be wrong. Somehow the food stays cheap and affordable, even at some of the Michelin-mentioned shops inside this center. If there’s one place to come visit and get a sense of the food, this is probably it.

I’m a fan of white carrot cake. No, it’s not what you would normally think of when you say “carrot cake”. White carrot is the name given for turnip. Thus, this dish is more similar to lo bak go, but it’s done in a more local style. Cooked with eggs and fried, I’ve since craved it and made it at home after coming to Singapore. It’s a guilty pleasure if there ever was one.

Or, if you want something soupy, instead go for some tender beef dry egg noodle. Yeah, I was confused by the name too. With “dry” in the name, you wouldn’t think it would be a soup dish, but here we are. Still, it’s tender and has plenty of flavor, so I’m sure you’d agree this is a very filling meal at a relatively low price.

• For more pictures from the activities we did at Singapore, check out our dedicated post.

Where we stayed in Singapore

Grand Hyatt Singapore

The Grand Hyatt Singapore hotel has gone through some major renovations since we’ve last stayed. Perhaps that means it’s time to pay another visit? Practically, it means some of what we recall from our last stay isn’t going to be valid anymore. However, we should note that service at the hotel was top-notch. The club lounge was excellent and, from what we’ve seen of recent pictures and reports, continues to be.

The hotel is centrally located near Orchard station, which means public transportation isn’t too far away. There are some shopping malls nearby if you so desire to partake in shopping here. And it’s also in the same area as other high-end hotels (like the Conrad, the St. Regis, and the Four Seasons).

• For more information on what our original stay was like at this hotel, check out our dedicated post.

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport

We’ve stayed here twice. In truth, it’s an excellent hotel if you have an overnight layover at the airport, but we couldn’t imagine using this as a base to explore the city. It’s clean and connected to the airport, but families will need to spring for two rooms. Still, we easily managed to get rooms right next to each other when we were here on the way back from visiting the Ritz Carlton Maldives.

While you’re here, you might be interested to know that it’s easy to access landside restaurants at the airport for a meal. Alex got the late-night munchies and so I took him over to McDonald’s. This shouldn’t necessarily be a selling point of the hotel, but having access to food at any time of the day can be helpful if you’re at an airport hotel.

We’d return to the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, but only if we needed an easy overnight option.

Have you been to Singapore before?

Suggested reading:

• Other destinations we’ve visited
• Why I Like World of Hyatt
• The Ten Year Anniversary of Secret Trip