Singapore trip itinerary: How many days are enough?

We visited Singapore in 2016 and recently planned Singapore trip for relatives visiting there for holiday. I have tried my best to list sample itineraries that will help you decide how many days would be enough in Singapore.

How many days are enough to visit Singapore?

I see many people planning a short Singapore trip while visiting some other destination in south-east Asia like Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong etc. However, there are many interesting things to do in Singapore and its a destination in itself rather than a transit city. We went for 7 nights/ 8 days (7N/8D) and could have definitely spent a day or two more exploring the city. I recommend minimum 6N/7D to get a feel of the city.

When is the best time to visit Singapore?

Singapore is an all-year destination. It has a tropical climate; which means it rains throughout the year. It is located 1 deg north of the equator, the weather is always warm and humid. Most of the time rain is short-lived and the sun is up in no time. The weather forecast for most of the days in September said rains/ thunderstorms, but they hardly lasted for 20 mins. You can check the daily weather forecast on http://www.weather.gov.sg/weather-forecast-2hrnowcast-2/.

A better way to decide when to visit Singapore is to look at holiday calendar. Schools have 1 week holiday in March, 4-week holiday starting in end May/ 1st week of June, another 1 week holiday in September and then 6-week holiday in Nov/Dec. Avoid school holiday time if you can.

What could be sample Singapore itinerary?

While there are many sample itineraries available online for 2 days/ 3 days, I fail to understand how a tourist can do so many things in 1 day. Either they do touch-and-go attractions, or they are super-humans 🙂

What to do in Singapore for 2 days or 3 days?

If you are in Singapore only for 2-3 days, consider visiting few of these based on your interests:

• Universal Studio Singapore(ideally covered in a day)
• Sentosa Island (ideally needs a day)
• Singapore Zoo – River Safari – Night Safari (all 3 can be done in a day, but would be very hectic) or Jurong Bird Park
• Gardens by the Bay (if you are a nature enthusiast, this is a treat for your eyes)
• Evening at Marina Bay Sands / Merlion Park
• One of the many museums or parks that Singapore has.

What to do in Singapore for 4 days?

A sample itinerary for 4 days in Singapore:

1. Day 1: If you reach early in the morning, keep your luggage at the hotel (check-in is usually at 1 am and very rarely do hotels allow early check-ins). Head to Gardens by the Bay to see the Cloud forest and Flower Dome. Come back to the hotel to check-in, lunch and rest. Head to Night Safari in the evening.
2. Day 2: Universal Studio and Sentosa. Ideally, both of them need a day each. USS would need 3/4 of your day, even if you do the popular rides. Prioritise the attractions in Sentosa and decide what you would want to do. Check out my posts on Sentosa Fun Pass Review and the Best way to explore USS where I have shared pictures and videos of the attractions.  You can end the day with Wings of time show at Sentosa.
3. Day 3: River Safari followed by Singapore zoo. I am suggesting River Safari first because the Panda enclosure gets very crowded in the afternoons. If you have energy left after the activity, go to Clarke Quay for dinner and Turkish ice cream. Check this video for the ice cream man.
4. Day 4: Jurong Bird Park. You should be done by 4 pm at max. You can then head to the Marina Bay where you can go to Merlion Park and either Singapore flyer or Marina Bay Sands Skypark Observation deck for sunset view.

You can shuffle the visits based on which day you are visiting. Avoid visiting USS/ Sentosa on a weekend.

What to do in Singapore for 5 days?

Sample itinerary for 5 days could be:

1. Day 1: Check-in or keep your luggage at the hotel. Head to the small attractions like Mint Museum of Toys or Battlebox Singapore so you can come back to the hotel for checking in around 1 pm. Relax and head to Merlion Park in the evening around 4 pm. Spend 30-40 min at the Merlion. Walk to the Art Science Museum and then Skypark Observation deck for sunset view. Have dinner at Suntec mall after looking at the fountain of wealth (highest fountain in the world) inside the mall.
2. Day 2: Head to USS. Spend an entire day at the Universal Studios. Check out my post on Universal Studio to know about the rides and how you can best utilise your day. If you have time left after visiting USS (some days it closes late), go to Clarke Quay for dinner and Turkish ice cream. Check this video for the ice cream man.
3. Day 3: Sentosa. Sentosa has many activities and one whole day could be less depending on what you plan to see. Check out the activities covered in Sentosa Fun Pass on my blog post. There are other paid activities like Adventure Cove Waterpark, Sentosa Dolphin experience, iFly etc which are not included in the fun pass. Finish your day with Wings of time, 20 min show at the beach in Sentosa.
4. Day 4: Depending on your interest, decide if you would want to see River Safari and Night Zoo. I would personally recommend River Safari because of the cute pandas, but if you prefer night trails looking out for animals, night safari may be your thing to do. You can do any 2 between Singapore zoo, night safari and river safari. All 3 are in the same premises next to each other, but doing all 3 in the same day would be too hectic. Also, they are little far from other attractions so it may not be feasible to come back again in this short 5-day trip.
5. Day 5: Jurong Bird Park followed by either Singapore flyer or Gardens by the Bay. Gardens by the bay has a light and sound show in the evening which can be combined with cloud forest and flower dome visit. Singapore flyer is the tallest Ferris wheel in the world.

What to do in Singapore for 6 days?

Sample itinerary for 6 days could be:

1. Day 1: Check-in or keep your luggage at the hotel. Visit attractions like Mint Museum of Toys, Battlebox Singapore or Changi Museum depending on your interest. These won’t take a lot of time and you can come back to the hotel in time for check-in and lunch. Relax and head to the Merlion Park followed by Art Science Museum & Skypark Observation deck.
2. Day 2: Universal Studio. USS opens at 10 am. Reach early to make sure you can do everything you want before the queue for the rides gets impossibly long. Read my post on tips when you visit USS. If you finish early, you can head to Suntec Mall to see the Fountain of Wealth and have dinner.
3. Day 3: Sentosa. Check out my Sentosa Fun Pass review to know the activities covered in their day pass. There are other paid activities like Adventure Cove Waterpark, Sentosa Dolphin experience, iFly etc which are not included in the fun pass. Finish your day with Wings of time, 20 min show at the beach in Sentosa.
4. Day 4: Gardens by the Bay followed by dinner at Clarke Quay. You can start little late, spend some time shopping (Mustafa in Little India is open 24 hrs) in the morning. Or visit the Buddha Relic Temple in Chinatown. Go to gardens by the bay after lunch and explore their cloud forest and flowers dome. Do not miss the light and sound show. Head to Clarke Quay for dinner and Turkish Ice Cream.
5. Day 5: Jurong Bird Park and Singapore flyer for sunset view. Try to reach the flyer an hour before sunset time so you can get for the ride just before sunset even if it’s crowded. Have dinner at food trail below the flyer. Unless you are a vegetarian, you will find something to your liking.
6. Day 6: River Safari followed by Singapore zoo. Though zoo opens at 8:30 am and river safari at 10 am, I recommend river safari first because the cute pandas are most active in the morning and their enclosure is least crowded then. You can finish both by 6 pm. I don’t recommend river safari on the same day, but if you have enthusiasm, you can go ahead and check it out. Or you can do what we did. Look at the fire show, one of the animal shows, do the tram ride and head out by 9 pm.

What to do in Singapore for 7 days?

Sample itinerary for 7 days could be:

1. Day 1: Check-in or keep your luggage at the hotel. Visit attractions like Mint Museum of Toys, Battlebox Singapore or Changi Museum depending on your interest. These won’t take a lot of time and you can come back to the hotel in time for check-in and lunch. Relax and head to the Merlion Park followed by Art Science Museum & Skypark Observation deck.
2. Day 2: Universal Studio. USS gets very crowded and the queue for popular rides could be around 45 min. Reach early so you can finish the popular rides before peak time. Read my post on how to make the best of your day at USS. Depending on the day of your visit, Universal Studios may be open late. If you finish early, you can head to Suntec Mall to see the Fountain of Wealth and have dinner.
3. Day 3: Sentosa. There are many activities in Sentosa, some part of the day fun pass and some paid individually. Check out my Sentosa Fun Pass review to know the activities covered in their day pass along with how to cover most of them in the limited time. Adventure Cove Waterpark, Sentosa Dolphin experience, iFly etc which are not included in the fun pass will have to be done separately and account for them if you are interested. Finish your day with Wings of time, 20 min show at the backdrop of the open sea.
4. Day 4: Gardens by the Bay followed by dinner at Clarke Quay. You can start little late, spend some time shopping (Mustafa in Little India is open 24 hrs) in the morning. Or visit the Buddha Relic Temple in Chinatown. Go to gardens by the bay after lunch and explore their cloud forest and flowers dome. Do not miss the light and sound show. Head to Clarke Quay for dinner and Turkish Ice Cream.
5. Day 5: Mac Ritchie Nature trail followed by night safari. Start early and finish Mac Ritchie trail before lunch. We did the shortest trail which meant walking around 8 km (parking to parking). Took us 2 hours + with our 5 yr old. Relax after lunch (you will need it after the trail 🙂 ). Head for night safari which starts at around 7:15 pm.
6. Day 6: Jurong Bird Park and Singapore flyer for sunset view. Reach Jurong bird park early because it gets very hot in the day. You can finish the bird park by 4 pm. Try to reach the flyer an hour before sunset time so you can get for the ride just before sunset even if it is crowded. Have dinner at food trail below the flyer. Unless you are a vegetarian, you will find something to your liking.
7. Day 7: Singapore Zoo and River Safari: I recommend visiting river safari before the zoo because of the cute pandas. You can get enough time watching them eat and roam around before the crowd gets in and they shy pandas hide inside or sleep.

What to do in Singapore for more than 7 days?

If you have more than 7 days in Singapore, you can explore many other attractions that I have not mentioned above. Some of them are:

• Botanical garden
• National Orchid Garden
• River Cruise
• One of the many museums
• One of the many temples/ monasteries in Singapore
• You can also cross over to Malaysia and go to Legoland in Johor Bahru (need a separate Malaysian Visa for that). Johor Bahru can be covered in 2 days depending on whether you want to do only Legoland or waterpark/ hello kitty town etc.

I hope this helps you in planning your trip. Do share your thoughts and suggestions in comments below. If you know someone who is visiting Singapore, do share the post with them.