Singapore Airport Guide: Transfers, Lounges & Layover Tips — Trip Planner

What first-timers get wrong in Singapore

You no longer need a transit card at all: tap any contactless bank card or phone at the MRT gate and SimplyGo charges the fare. A packet of tissues left on a hawker table means the seat is taken, and moving it is genuinely rude. Durian is banned on the MRT and has its own pictogram. Tap water is drinkable everywhere. Service charge is usually added, so tipping on top is unnecessary.

What things cost in Singapore

A hawker plate costs four to seven dollars, which is the single biggest saving available in an otherwise expensive city. MRT fares run roughly one to two and a half dollars a trip. Museum tickets for non-residents sit around twenty to twenty-five dollars, with citizens and residents admitted free to the national ones. A pint in a bar is twelve to sixteen. Hostel beds in Chinatown undercut hotels enormously.

What to eat in Singapore

Hawker culture sits on the UNESCO intangible heritage list, and the centres are where residents genuinely eat: Maxwell for chicken rice, Old Airport Road for char kway teow and Hokkien mee, Tekka in Little India for biryani. Chilli crab is a sit-down restaurant dish, messy and priced by weight rather than by portion. Breakfast is kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs and thick coffee at a Ya Kun or Killiney counter.

Singapore with kids, realistically

Singapore Zoo pioneered the moated open enclosure, so animals appear unfenced, and River Wonders and Bird Paradise sit alongside it at Mandai. Everything is engineered for wheels: every MRT station has lifts, buses kneel, and nursing rooms are standard in malls. Sentosa is reachable by cable car, monorail or a boardwalk wide enough to push a pram along. Night Safari suits older children, since it opens at 7.15pm.

When the weather turns in Singapore

Storms here are violent and short, usually clearing inside an hour. The underground link from City Hall through CityLink to Marina Square and Suntec keeps you dry across the civic district, and Orchard Road's basements connect ION, Ngee Ann City and Somerset the same way. The National Gallery, Asian Civilisations Museum and Science Centre each absorb half a day. Jewel's canopy park sits under glass.

When to go to Singapore

The month to avoid is March — around 31°C (88°F) with roughly 25 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: January is the sweet spot, March the month most people skip.

Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, High-SPF sunscreen, sunglasses, and a refillable water bottle, Rain gear is non-negotiable — expect rain on roughly 25 days, Quick-dry shoes — downpours are short but heavy.

Where to base yourself in Singapore

• Marina Bay — Skyline icons — Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, Esplanade.
• Little India — Colorful streets, banana-leaf meals, Mustafa Centre 24/7.
• Chinatown — Temples, food courts, classic kopitiams.
• Tiong Bahru — Art Deco apartments, indie cafés, the bookshop neighborhood.