Singapore: 5 Things not to Miss!

Since the first minute you step into Changi Airport you are already impressed with Singapore. This modern Southeast Asia country is a multicultural place where you can wander for hours and never get bored.

General Info

The currency is the Singapore dollar (SGD or S$) and is around $1 = 1.04 SGD. There are many languages spoken in Singapore, the four official ones are: Malay (the national one), Tamil, Mandarin and English. You can easily move around with English, I had no problem at all. If you are from Costa Rica you don’t need a visa to enter the country, if you are from somewhere else you can check here.

Public transportation is great and you can also use Uber. Singapore is one of the safest countries in the world so you don’t have to worry about carrying cash around. Debit and credit cards are accepted almost everywhere.

And a fun fact is locals might ask you for pictures but when you think they’re asking you to take a picture of them would probably mean they also want you in the picture, so be ready to feel a little famous 😉

Things to do

It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been in a big city, they always have some kind of charm on you and for me Singapore wasn’t the exception specially when I was coming from spending weeks between Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam which are also pretty amazing but very different.

It is a concrete jungle but also the city-state of Singapore is one of the greenest cities in the world that’s why is also called The Garden City. It’s so clean and beautiful and there’s so much to do but right now I’m gonna tell you five things that you can’t miss if you go to Singapore:

Gardens by the Bay: Such a magical place in the heart of Singapore, surrounded by plants and giant trees making you feel like if you were in Avatar! It’s a must do by day and by night. The entrance is free but you can go up on the trees to the OCBC skyway (which I recommend to do) for S$8 you get to take a walk between the super trees at a height of 22 meters and get a panoramic view of the gardens. It’s open daily from 9am – 9pm. And if you feel like having a drink or eating, there’s a restaurant called IndoChine on top of the tallest super tree.

Marina Bay Sands Skypark: If you are not staying at the hotel then this is a visit you can’t skip. It’s an observation deck with a 360-degree views of the Singapore skyline. It’s located on top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel, the entrance for adults is around S$23 and is important to notice that you don’t have access to the infinity pool unless you are a hotel guest. The view is amazing and you can stay as long as you want. I recommend you to go before sunset so you can see it from there and get a drink at the bar while enjoying the panoramic view. Opening hours: Monday – Thursday: 9:30am – 10pm, Friday – Sunday: 9:30am – 11pm.

Chinatown, Arab Street and Little India: The three of them are very cool and full of culture. With restaurants, traditional shops and cultural elements you have to go to all and discover their many sides. My favorite one was Chinatown. They are all within 5 – 10 minutes of each other by MRT (metro) so you can easily go to the three of them within a day.

Light Shows: There are three light shows in Singapore but the one you CAN’T miss is the OCBC Garden Rhapsody at Gardens by the Bay. It’s amazing and pure magic, a wonderful light and sound show with giant trees. I was in Singapore for four nights and I went to see it every single night haha that’s how much I loved it! They have it every night at 19:45 and 20:45. The other one I really liked was Wonder Full at Marina Bay Sands, also a light and sound show but with water fountains and lasers involved. The hours for this one are: Sun – Thu 20:00 and 21:30 and Sat 20:00, 21:30 and 23:00. Just double check the time once you are there in case it changed. Both light shows are for free and there’s no need to book a seat or anything.

Eat all the local street food you can! The food in Singapore is amazing. Try everything on your way (not kidding). I loved Chinatown for all the amazing street food you can try while exploring this area. Besides you can find the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant called Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle located at the Chinatown food complex.

Everyday at the Esplanade you can find the Makansutra Glutton’s Bay. It’s one of the best places to enjoy the variety of local street food of Singapore with an awesome view of the Marina Bay skyline. The opening hours are: Monday –Thursday: 5 PM – 2 AM, Friday & Saturday: 5 PM – 3 AM, Sunday: 4 PM – 1 AM.

Singapore is an amazing country, I really enjoyed my time there and I’ll definitely be back! Have you been there before? What was your favorite thing to do?

Thanks for reading and I would love to read your thoughts. Happy adventures 🙂