Singapore - advise and tips

[Aragog]

We are booked to go to Singapore in April, and just sorting out some plans for whilst here. I wondered if anyone here have any 'must dos' or 'definitely avoid' types hints and tips they'd like to share.

There are just he 3 of us - me, dh and 16y DD.

We will be having 2 nights in Abu Dhabi on the way there - that's pretty much planned as DD wants to go to Ferrari World on the one full day we have there. We are strung not too far from there anyway. We are big theme park fans :)

We will have 6 nights in Singapore. We are staying on Sentosa Island. The only plan for definite is Universal Studios for one day - we will go mid week when it is DD's 17th birthday.

We don't plan on having a car but will organise transfers to and from the airports.

We arrive 10am on the Wednesday, travelling form Abu Dhabi.
We leave 8pm on the Tuesday from Singapore, arriving back in the UK on the Wednesday.

Thank you.

Spend a day at Gardens by the bay, you may also want to buy your tickets in advance. Sometimes they occasionally close some of it there so it is worth checking in advance for any closures.

Orchard road is worth seeing. If you are planning to buy I would take your passport with you at the time as visitors can reclaim some tax back in many of the stores.

The Singapore flyer is worth a trip and on a clear day you can see miles. It’s also located right by the F1 racetrack.

The universal there is smaller than the ones in the USA but the Battlestar Galactica rollercoasters named colon and human are worth riding. The food offerings there are not too bad overall either. Try to get there for opening and if it is possible consider booking their vip experience in advance.

Thank you for some suggestions. I will add them to our list of potential things to do, and look at what can be booked in advance.

Good to know re tax back. The Gardens are def on our list.

Re Universal - we'd rather not have the VIP tickets ideally, though would like the Express tickets - but you don't seem to be able to buy them online unless you have an annual pass. I've read it may be possible to buy in the park, so fingers crossed. We normally have the express tickets when we go to the Orlando park, and when we went to the LA one too.

Actually I have just seen now I can get them as an Add On.

The zoo. The white tigers are magnificent and you can have breakfast with the orangutans.

One of my fav places. You can buy express passes at universal we did and got round everything in half a day. Sentosa has lots to do. The cable cars are fab. Walking to the most southern point of continental Asia and the aquarium.

I’d recommend one of these cards works out much cheaper if your doing all the tourist stuff.

www.attraction-passes.com/singapore/singapore-attractions-flexi-pass_24319

We did the zoo at night which was great.
Also recommend sky park, bum boat rides.

The bus tours are great and hop on hop off. Recommend china town for some food.

If I remember I’m sure sentosa gave you discount if you used a master card but that was a few years ago now.

maybe go to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel for a selfie & a cocktail (mocktail). It has an infinity pool at the top, 57 floors high I think, but only guests get to swim in it. Incredible views though.

Going in April too! Last time I went was 20 years ago.

I loved the botanical gardens and trip around the bay.

We found the Science Centre worthwhile. Went there to hide from a thunderstorm but ended up being a really good morning.

Botanic gardens were beautiful and Chinatown, Little India etc. were interesting and good for food.

Have lunch in one if the top floor restaurants at Marina Bay Sands. Cest la vie has fabulous views and tge menubisbt too ridiculous price wise. It will cist yoy 20 dollars each just to go up but you are given a 20 dollar voucher each back to use against food and drink. They charge to go up because it's the same place as the viewing deck - which is chargeable and to avoid crowds ruining the atmosphere and views.
China Town is a must.
Afternoon tea in the Singapore Cricket Club is highly recommended.
Raffles Hotel is due to re-open "Spring 2019" but no exact date last time I checked. Would be worth checking out. They had recently reopened the newly renovated Long Bar when we were last there so we did the very ££££ thing of the Singapore Sling in there - I enjoyed it but it wasn't cheap.
I havnt done the night time zoo safari. I've heard mixed things about the animals which has put us off but some rave about that.

6 nights will give you plenty of time to just enjoy Singapore. As much as it's lovely to do all the touristy stuff sometimes it's nice yo just relax and soak up your surroundings and with 6 nights you'll have time to do that.
Also enjoy Changi Airport. It's amazing in itself with pools, cinemas, gardens etc. We had a short delay coming back on our last visit and I actually got to see alot more of it for once. Very impressive.

Re the marina bay sands you do not see the infinity pool at the top of their observation deck unless you are staying there. The views all the same are very good.

If history is your bag you may also want to take a tour of the Battlebox where the British surrendered to the advancing Japanese forces when they overran Singapore.

Attila is right except if you dine at Cest La Vie at Marina Bay you can see the infinity pool. It is right next to it. There is a glass partition waist high to keep you out but you can sit right next to it - albeit the other side of the glass. Loads of people were taking photos to try and make it look like they are actually there 😁!!! Apparently it's an Instagram hotspot or something, so we were told by a group of late teen girls that politely asked us if they could take photos close to where we were sat. We tried a couple of restaurants before finding the right one on our last visit after being told this.
But like Attila says you cannot actually can go to the infinity pool unless you are a hotel guest.

Get a taxi from the airport in Singapore. Cheaper than pre arranged transfers and 100% safe and easy.
Eat at the food courts for a mouthwatering array of local and regional food at great prices.
Oh and do supercar spotting in Abu Dhabi 😱

Use cabs in Singapore, you can download the grab app before you go (like Uber).
Go to Din Tai Fung for a dumpling fest, particularly the Xiao Long Bao. Eat Nasi Lemak for breakfast and go to La Pau Sat for a satay dinner one of your evenings.
Do lots of eating!

Brilliant!

So much information and advice. Loads to wade through for me.

Looking forward to our trip.

Great advice re transfer thank you.

Eating? Oh we can definitely manage that 😆

Hey Aragog, I posted a question about holidaying in Singapore last year and got lots of great advice - it’s here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/longhaul/3347825-Week-in-Singapore in case it’s useful for you.

Ooo thanks; I'll go look

Hop on hop off bus is good will take you to all the places for 1ticket and has history as you travel.
Gardens by the bay after dark have a free light show.
Free Fireworks and laser show in marina the other side of marina bay sands hotel
Oculus water feature in bay sands shopping center is worth a visit.
Clark Key is nice place to hang out.
Botanical gardens are hot 🥵
As I say hop on hop off bus is the way to get to everything.

Re Universal - You can buy the express tickets on the day at the park, they may not be needed though, crowd levels are nothing like they are in Orlando.

It’s fun to take the cable car over to Sentosa to visit Universal.

I’d recommend going to a Hawker Centre to eat good, fresh, cheap local food. The atmosphere is really good too.

I've just got back from Singapore. Gardens by the Bay was our favourite, we did a morning trip to see the domes when it was quiet then back at night for the light show.

Far East plaza for cheap clothes and souvenirs your DD might like.

The zoo is great, we did the night safari.

Chinatown Heritage Centre is great, similar set up to the Tenement Museum in NYC.

Chijmes is an old convent with lots of restaurants and bars, had a few good meals there.