We love visiting Singapore. Between the two of us, we have visited the country five times now (at the time of writing). We have a compiled a list of activities that we fully recommend to make the most out of your visit in the country.
1. Sentosa Island
The Sentosa island has got to be one of the leading island resort getaways in Asia. Located about 15 mins drive from the central business district of Singapore, it's an island you do not want to miss during your stay in the country. It's home to several 5-star hotels, leading themed parks and attractions, golden sandy beaches and world-renowned golf courses.
2. Universal Studios
Located in the Sentosa Island, this is probably the most popular activity in Singapore. The Universal Studios (US) Themed park is the first and only one in Southeast Asia, featuring 24 rides. For the first timers, we recommend the "Transformers" and the "Mummy returns". At the time of writing, a ticket costs $79 per person but you can always save if you buy one of those activity bundles. Check out TIP #1.
For other details about Universal Studios, visit the official web page.
3. S.E.A. Aquarium
If you happen to be in the Sentosa Island, another fun attraction is the S.E.A. Aquarium, which is home to over a 100K marine animals across over 1K species. We definitely recommend visiting the aquarium and believe $40 for a ticket is pretty worth it. If you want to save, check out our TIP #1 in Singapore.
4. Sentosa Island beaches
While you are in Sentosa island, it's worth visiting the beaches. There are three main beaches: Palawan, Tanjong and Siloso. You can take the Sentosa express tram, which is free if you are already inside the Sentosa island, and get off at the Beach Station.
The beaches include restaurants, bars and night clubs and if you are lucky, you might also catch a concert scheduled near one of the beaches.
For those who own drones, you can also fly there as long as you don't do it directly above the beaches. There's a nice fake grass area in the Palawan beach where you can easily fly a drone from like our shot below.
5. Gardens by the Bay
This is also one of the top attractions in Singapore, which is located in the main land near the Marina Promenade. It's home to the iconic supertree grove you often see about Singapore, and several attractions you do not want to miss.
Adult tickets are at $28, which already gives you access to the two domes you see in the above. They are Cloud Forest and Flower Dome.
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Cloud Forest
This is an indoor forest that is home to the world's longest indoor waterfalls at 30m and several plants, from orchids and ferns and to the rarest plants. There is a walk filled with mist inside that goes up to the top of the dome with amazing views overlooking the city.
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Flower Dome
This has quickly become a tourist spot after it earned a record in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2015 for being the world's largest glass greenhouse. Not bad for being one of the two spots you have entry to when buying a $28 ticket to Gardens by the Bay.
6. Singapore Flyer
This is NOT a ferris wheel :) It's a moving observation deck from within a capsule! It's quite misleading and we had an auntie who once wondered why it was always closed when she visited. It wasn't. It just doesn't move fast so you can appreciate the amazing views of the city from different elevations. A full rotation takes about 30 mins. This is definitely recommended!
The Singapore Flyer is one of the activities you can choose from when purchasing an activity bundle so you might want to check out our TIP #1.
7. Walk across the Helix Bridge
Who doesn't want free-access and Instragrammable places?! Also known as the Double Helix bridge, this is a pedestrian bridge that links Marina Centre and Marina South in the Marina Bay area. It got its name from its inspiration, which is that of a DNA structure.
Not only is the bridge Instragrammable, it also is very close to the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel, as well as the glove structure "Art Science Museum". All three architecturally beautiful structures make up a fantastic shot.
Tip: Make sure to visit this area at night. You can get a fantastic shot of the same 3 structures at night with lights. Also, there is a light show @ 8pm, 9pm and 10pm so make sure to be around the area then!
8. Infinity Pool of Marina Bay Sands Hotel
To many travellers, swimming in this pool is a dream come true. The Infinity pool in MBS is the world's largest rooftop infinity pool. Unfortunately, you can only get access to the pool if you are a hotel guest. We only stayed there for a night and it costed us $480. Our room was a 1 bedder with the Garden as the view.
From the pool, you can enjoy the views of the expanse of the city from 57 levels above the ground. On the same floor is a bar and restaurant where you can order food and drinks from your own cabana.
Is $480 worth it? Absolutely. We only stayed for a night and that was well worth it. Check in the earliest possible to maximise your stay. We hit the pool twice (once in the afternoon and another the following morning)
On the same floor is an observation deck that only hotel guests have access to.
9. Do the Singapore river cruise
This is a 40-min boat ride that takes you through several important places in Singapore, giving you an audio tour as you cruise the Singapore river. A ticket costs $25 SGD for adults and $15 SGD for children.
We started our tour from Clarke Quay, which took us through all the way to the Marina Bay.
10. Dine @ the Clarke Quay
The Clarke quay is one of the historical places of Singapore that has been refurbished to host a number of notable restaurants, bars, night clubs and floating pubs. This includes the famous Hooters and Indochine. We recommend visiting the area @ night and enjoy some chilli crabs and a nice wine!
11. Eat @ a Hawker Centre
If you don't know what that is, a Hawker Centre is essentially the more sanitary option to street-food mobile hawker-carts. It's a centre of permanent stalls in an open-air complex that sell cheap food. You will find Hawker Centres in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong.
Singapore has a lot of Hawker Centres. In our most recent visit, we stayed @ Orchard road and so the closest one to us was the Newton Food Centre. Otherwise, check out the map below to find the other Hawker Centres in Singapore.
12. Shop @ Orchard Road
Retail heaven is what the Orchard road is known for. It's a street in the city that is home to many malls, which has gained the title "Asia's famous shopping street".
A tip for Filipinos: You can get your Jollibee-fix @ the Lucky plaza, on the 6th floor!