Singapore in 12 hours
Destination
Ever wondered what’s there to do on a long layover in Singapore? Consider yourself lucky if you have a layover at Changi Airport that is more than 12 hours. Apart from the amazing airport Singapore has, it is considered one of the best countries in the world for tourism. I have had a couple of layovers that have been at least 12 hours and usually overnight, so this blog will be based on me conquering Singapore in 12 hours and showing its highlights.
Singapore is located South-east of Asia off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Singapore is known as the city of manmade waterfalls, eco-friendly malls with a Botanic Garden that is listed as a World Heritage Site and has a World Class city Airport known as Changi Airport. The beautiful, sunny & tropical Island has four major communities including Chinese (majority), Malay, Indian and Eurasian. It is considered the safest place in Asia, and I couldn’t agree more. The currency used is Singaporean Dollar where $1 AUD is $1 SGD.
How to get to Destination?
From Perth (Western Australia) to Singapore; its takes about 5 hours travel time for the first lag of the journey. A return ticket usually costs roughly $500- $600 (AUD) if you book fairly ahead (>3 months). It also depends on the months visiting considering long weekends/ public holidays, Christmas, and school holidays.
I travel on budget airlines so Scoot airlines would be my first option so it’s good to pack snacks for the flight as well as a comfy neck pillow. They have meals available to buy but because I always choose to travel on red-eye flights, food isn’t ever a worry. Sometimes when returning from a trip, I’ve only ever arrived after 5pm so I have an overnight layover and travel at midday the next day.
Note: I know this will definitely not be ideal for parents travelling with kids or family. This blog will be leaning more towards a target audience of a solo, young travellers or young couples, and those wishing to travel comfortably cheap.
Where to stay & how to get around?
As it’s a layover, it really depends on the time you layover is and what your preference is.
For an overnight layover, you can choose to conquer Singapore at night with a wide range of activities available, then head back to the airport to wait for your flight (depending on what time your flight is).
You can also choose to wait around at the airport and book a room at a hotel near Changi airport to have a quiet night in with rest.
Or go with my last option which is to book a cheap (<$120) hotel in the city and conquer Singapore utilising all the hours you have as well as have enough rest for your next flight.
As already mentioned, I travel on a budget and usually it’s with my partner or sisters, so we chip in and get a small affordable apartment with the essentials (a comfy bed and a shower) to recharge and refresh. One hotel I’ve stayed at includes Champion Hotel. They are in no way fancy or luxurious but its affordable, clean and has the comfiest beds.
To get around, they have taxis, buses, trains, grab etc available. Taxis are quite cheap from my experience compared to the distance travelled and fee charged with taxis in Australia. It’s very affordable and between a group of two or 3, its efficient. If you’re a solo traveller and wishing to move around cheaper, you can use the trains and buses available, however keep in mind that; because you are time limited, you want to be able to see the things you’ve planned to see, and the easiest way is to travel by Taxi. We had a couple of things we needed to tick off so, we jumped in taxis and per ride cost about $15- $20. So altogether, it costs about $30 pp for all taxi’s used during the layover. .
Activities available to do
Singapore has a lot of activities to do during the day and night that you can never run out of doing. If I was laying over for a whole day (11 hours day light), I would spend a good 8 hours at Universal Studios. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do that but it’s a good way to kill time. The activities that helped me conquer Singapore in 12 hours includes, visiting the Gardens by the bay (includes the Rhapsody of lights at night), China town market, the 24/7 mall, Botanical Gardens, Marine Bay Sands and usually finished off at the Jewel Dome at Changi airport with 3 hours left before boarding.
This is a quick itinerary of how both my >12 hours layovers went:
Gardens by the Bay
I highly recommend Gardens by the Bay. It’s free of entry and has spectacular views. For other exhibitions you do you have to pay for a ticket which may by up to $35. We ended up paying to go into the flower dome which had a mad man waterfall. The climb to the top with all the exotic tropical flowers as well as the cactus exhibitions were amazing. We spent a good 1.5 hours in there. When we came out, we wondered the Gardens looking at other open exhibits. My sisters and I were passing through during the Lunar festival, so they had lanterns exhibitions, and the crowd was packed. We also arrived in time for the Rhapsody of Lights show that began at around 8:30pm. This was such a highlight; you could also walk on the tree domes (my preference would be during the day).
China Town
China town is a must for the food, atmosphere, and livelihood. It was great to walk around and see all the souvenirs and little gifts for sale at the stalls. Everywhere you went there were different smells coming out all the restaurants and food stalls. Food is quite affordable in Singapore, and it is hand’s down one of the best places to enjoy the country’s Cuisine. As already mentioned, it was Lunar festival so by the time we had late dinner it was roughly 11pm and the street was still super busy and packed. We had some special fried rice with Pork for dinner, that was unforgettable.
Botanic Gardens
This was definitely a great decision to go for an early morning walk. You can see why it’s listed as a World Heritage Site. It has a magnificent layout that sectioned out well with secret gardens and hidden ponds & waterfalls. We got to see a group of elderly people mediate which was very soothing for the soul. The Garden is massive, so we spent an hour walking through ¼ of it. It’s free of entry so if you’re looking to enjoy the lush vegetation and the outdoor or just looking to kill time, this is where to head.
Marina Bay Sands
This was probably the most I’ve spent while being in Singapore. When heading up to the top deck it costed about $70 pp and the view was quite amazing. They had a restaurant at the top that you could enjoy a meal with a view as well as a swimming pool, but we had a flight to catch so we ordered a $7 Singaporean sling shot and had that with a view. You do have a chance of getting your photo taken with a background of your choice that you can get a link to which was about $60.
Jewel Dome- Changi Airport
I always have to make it back to the Airport with 3 hours left before I board, so I can spend a good 1.5 hors- 2 hours exploring the Airport. It really is a highlight to go the Jewel Dome to see the man-made waterfall and the landscape there. If you are an influencer, this is a great spot to take photos and videos. Changi airport has some great activities that can also keep you busy while waiting at the airport for shorter layovers including shopping. This airport never fails to impress me.
Hot Tips
As you are laying over, it’d be wise to plan a carry-on overnight bag like we did. To be able to carry some spare clothes. This allowed for us to move around with less luggage without having to worry about carrying a big suitcase. It you Airline doesn’t allow for overnight suitcase; you can always store your luggage at the 24/7 luggage storage at the airport and leave airport with the overnight bag.
Have a rough plan in mind to know what you want to do and see in Singapore, so it limits time spent on thinking about what to do.
Most cheap hotels are around red-light district so know where you’re booking (had to learn this firsthand from a taxi driver).
Check that your passport is visa free transit.
There are so many thigs Singapore offers which I still would love to explore. I have another long visit coming up in a couple of months so I will try different things to include and update in the blog. This is one of the best cities to enjoy night life as well so I will try this in my next visit and squeeze in a sleep at a hotel near to the airport.
(Singapore 2018, 2019 & 2023)
