GITU

Seems I can't go to the beach as its monsoon season in late October/early November.

But I'm doing a MR to Singapore and would like to have some fun. Gonna go to the financial district one day and look at the buildings; would like to go to the zoo, but beyond that, I have no idea!

Can you give me some recommendations? I'm on a student budget, and will be couchsurfing.

Thanks!

Braindrain

Take a discount airline to somewhere more interesting?

GITU

Oh, it can't be that bad!

deltaflyer256

Go to any hawker center (besides newton) and find a stall that has a line. Pay S$4 or S$5 for some of the best food anywhere. Digest. Repeat.

tkelvin69

THe beach might still be ok. Pop over to Kuching for 3 nights.

beergut

Botanical gardens, Singapore flyer, Chinatown market, Jurong bird park.

I was going to suggest the cable car ride from Mount faber to Sentosa but it may be closed for refurbishment when you're there.

jpatokal

http://wikitravel.org/en/Three_days_in_Singapore

A bit old but still more or less valid:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/singa...singapore.html

(I'm pretty sure there's a newer thread about this as well, but Google can't find it...)

schley

The OP specifically asked for 4 days, not 3. Repeat day 1 maybe?

beardedgeologist

Jump on a ferry to Batam (Sumatra, Indonesia) for an afternoon on the wild side.

IIRC, ferry takes 1 hour or so.

Merlin666

Thanks, this thread is useful for me too. I have never been to Asia and may be visiting Singapore in January for a day (or more). Are there any decent budget hotels for a short stay, and what kind of transportation would be best to get to the "attractions"?

jpatokal

a) yes
b) MRT

Details: http://wikitravel.org/en/Singapore

I like your use of quotes for the "attractions" though. Enjoy the "fine" city and watch out for the "ladies" near Orchard Towers

thewinchester

Happy to give you a truckload of recommendations on this, as I'm a frequent holiday traveller to Singapore.

Must do: Visit either/combination of the Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. You can get a park hopper pass for either 2 or 3 of the locations at a really deep discount, and that'll easily take up a full two days if doing all three.

Getting out to them is a breeze. Bird Park can be accessed by MRT and bus, for the rest of them Singapore Attractions Express operates services from multiple pickup locations in the middle of Singapore to any of the locations for SGD4 one-way.

You can easily kill a day at Sentosa, and if you're going to do that I'd recommend purchasing the Sentosa Choice package for SGD36.90 as its the best value package of all. This allows you to pick and choose the attractions on Sentosa you want to visit - and I would strongly recommend Fort Siloso as one of your must visit destinations, and do the Tiger Sky Tower if you've not been to Singapore before.

Easiest way to Sentosa is the purple line (NEL) to Harbourfront, then exit the MRT to the top floor of VivoCity. Quickest way is to take the lifts to the right of Subway rather than negotiate the escalators of this impenetrable fortress.

Another good low-cost activity is the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) at Boat Quay. Entry is only SGD5, and you'll really enjoy it if history is your thing. Walking thru the ACM side of Boat Quay will also give you a good view of the CBD and some different aspects of Singapore architecture - including the development activity on Marina Bay.

I didn't get to the Botanical Gardens, but I would recommend the Chinese Garden which can be accessed via the station of the same name on the green line.

Finally, the Changi Chapel and Museum is also worth a visit - found the place very moving, and couldn't help tearing up and needing a few moments of solitude. Entry is free, and there are taxis and public bus services out there.

Easiest way out there is hop the green line to Tampines MRT then get a taxi for about SGD10 return. Taxi rank is outside the MRT near the entrance to the Tampines Mall. You'll need to put aside at least 10min to get a taxi from this location during peak periods due to the bad design of the surrounding road network and positioning of taxi rank entrance/exit. At least there's seats there.

That's just a quick brain dump of some options for you. If you or anyone else would like to pick my brains on Singapore, feel free to send me a DM or ask here. Hope this is of assistance.

If you're looking for decent budget accommodation, then Hostelworld is a great place to start. The reviews on there are frequent and will give you a great idea of how great the places are.

I would personally recommend G4 Station, as its a great place. Totally secure, brilliant crowd, lightning fast internet access and top notch staff. Also has the added advantage of being ~40m from the entrance to the Little India MRT so you'll be travelling to where you need to go in no time.

Most hotels, even at the low end will price gouge. Singapore doesn't really have an off-season, it's peak all the time and the service charges and GST will kill you. Expect to pay around AUD120 for a reasonable 3 star property.

I've also heard really great things about the Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen. Property is less than 6mths old, and everyone I've spoken to who's stayed there has nothing but good comments about it. Accor is currently reporting hot deals at the property for USD75, and deals including breakfast are available.

JackDaniels

Bintan Indonesia for some Beach/Golfing (World-class $55) - Nice Banyan tree there also

Sentosa Island - Spa treatments 15 mins out of the city

Esplanade for drinks at 7ate9

Sunday Champagne brunch at Hyatt, Four Seasons, Equinox, etc

Club street, clark quay - eating/drinking

Orchard road - shopping

tkelvin69

Consider Priceline. I got the Conrad Singapore with a very nice room for <$100/nt(total price) recently.

Reporter

With four days in Singapore, you really need to do advance research. Otherwise you are likely to find the island either tedious or overwhelming. This thread has some good advice; I hope I can add to it, based on two trips, the more recent being at the start of November/09.

You can start with www.visitsingapore.com , the typically smooth official tourist site. As in so much else, Singapore tourism is well organized.

The National Museum can easily consume half a day if you tune in to all the entries on the audio tour guide, included in the $10 Sg admission. The museum doesn’t flaunt dusty old artifacts; it has the Walt Disney flare, which in the once-hidebound museum business is a compliment. Twin themes of politics and society are carefully developed in the dramatic presentations, with lots of audio-visual records of more recent events and trends.
http://www.nationalmuseum.sg

The Changi prison where the Japanese inflicted so much abuse on soldiers and civilians is particularly worthwhile for tourists from the U.K., India, New Zealand and Australia whose troops suffered so horribly there. Because of its location near the airport, it’s worth the cost (around $40) to take a coach tour. I went with www.singaporewalks.com but an Internet search will come up with other operators, including www.viator.com

Singapore Walks also does actual walking tours in various quarters of the city, at much cheaper rates.
www.bluewalks.com also has a catalogue of neighbourhood walks (which I haven’t taken.) It’s fun to find one that includes Raffles hotel, oozing colonial atmosphere, especially if it includes a stop in the famous bar to see the bartender concoct the original Singapore Sling cocktail (pretty tasty, too, although I could only afford a sip from his sample.)

You can easily spend much of your day planning where to eat, and then doing it. The city-state, as a crossroads of trade and ethnicity, is a simmering pot of culinary styles and fusions. The famous hawker stalls have been collected into what now look like shopping mall food courts – but they sure don’t taste like the local mall. A pinch of bravery and a few dollars will open unknown delights; look for the places where the locals are, because Singapore takes food very seriously. And with so much commercial development, those places often actually are glistening multi-level shopping centres now.
At the other end of the price range, hotels often boast the top chefs as a gold mark of prestige. Lots of advice on the Internet, but the places I though worth the price, both high and low, include Samy's for pungent curries in an unusual setting http://samyscurry.com/index.html (and the Red Dot brewpub next door www.reddotbrewhouse.com.sg); Blue Ginger on the edge of Chinatown www.theblueginger.com specializes in the Malay/Chinese blend known as Peranakan, including curry fishhead (actually a whole red snapper);
Restaurant Ember, 50 Keong Salk Road, in the quirky Hotel 1929 situated in a series of shophouses on the edge of Chinatown. www.hotel1929.com is not particularly illuminating but reservations for dinner are required at [email protected] The deft continental cooking with hints of Asia enchanted me, from seafood to a perfect confit of duck leg and I did not regret a penny of the $150 I dropped there on a lunch and dinner.