4 Days in Singapore (2023)

Let me be honest! I had always underestimated Singapore. Just like Dubai, I never wanted to visit Singapore. But I realised how wrong I was about both of these places. In this post, you will find the perfect 4 days in Singapore.

Singapore has been one of my favourite countries ever since I visited it for the first time. During my first visit, I was in the city for just 4 days.

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About Singapore

Officially known as the Republic of Singapore, Singapore is an island country / city in South East Asia. Derived from a Malay word Singapura, which in turn has been derived from Sanskrit word Simhapura, Singapore means lion city. With high population of Chinese, Malay, Indian and other communities, Singapore is multi cultural.

How to get to Singapore?

By Air

Singapore is one of the major transit hubs and hence, the main one Changi airport is connected very well with most of the cities across the world. Singapore Airlines and Scoot airlines have their home in Singapore.

There are many direct flights from India to Singapore. As I was traveling from Sydney to Bangalore, I decided to make use of my transit and stop in Singapore for 4 days.

• Cost from Sydney to Singapore return = AUD 1312.

Where to stay in Singapore?

Singapore has no dearth of accommodation options. There are budgeted to luxury hotels and resorts throughout the city. You can consider staying at Marina Bay Sands, Village Hotel Sentosa or Holiday Inn Express Orchard Road, an IHG Hotel. If you want to stay closer to the airport, then consider Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, an IHG Hotel.

Budgeted Stay

I booked my accommodation in one of the hostels – Quarters Hostel. The hostel was clean and very conveniently placed with respect to the location. Located on the Circular Road, the surroundings of the hostel have plenty of eat out options. It is closer to Chinatown. The staff of the hostel are very friendly.

• Cost for 4 nights in a Standard 4 female dorm = SGD 126.56.

Best Time to Visit and Number of Days required

The best time to visit Singapore is during the dry season which are in the months of December to February. The weather is cool and dry, and is not that very humid as well.

Be prepared for humidity when you are traveling in Singapore.

I recommend staying in Singapore for 2 to 3 days. This is ample time to see most of the tourist attractions. However, I found that Singapore has plenty of things to do in Singapore and that is exactly why I decided to stay in this city for 4 days. If you just have only 2 days in Singapore, then here is the perfect 2 days itinerary in Singapore.

4 Days in Singapore – Itinerary

Day 1 – Universal Studios, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Night Safari at Singapore Zoo

Stop 1 – Universal Studios

I visited the Universal Studios in the morning as part of a tour that I had booked on Viator. Universal Studios is a theme park located on the Sentosa Island in Singapore. The Universal Studios market themselves as “one-of-its-kind” theme park and I couldn’t agree more.

• Tour booking details: Singapore Super Saver: Universal Studios, S.E.A. Aquarium, and Maritime Experiential Museum Admission.
• Cost = AUD 96.90.

My experience of the tour

I was dropped off at the entrance of the Universal Studios by my tour guide. All of us started clicking pictures with the Universal Studios globe that is right opposite to the entrance. It was a rotating globe with Universal written on it.

The theme park was not yet open for visitors, so I decided to explore the place in the meantime. I looked around and took more pictures with the colorful Merlion and Candylicious store.

I decided to visit the Aquarium and the Maritime museum first, before visiting the Universal Studios. The Maritime museum had a huge collection of artifacts – from Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka and Kenya.

The Maritime hosts a show at the Typhoon Theater. The entrance to the theater costed me an extra SGD 3. The show was 4 dimensional and I must admit it was fantastic. It felt like a real experience where we boarded the sailing ship and encountered a perilous storm. What made it even more memorable was the splashes of water. I would definitely recommend this show.

After the show, we exited at the basement where the aquarium was. I was amazed to see the number of fishes and marine life the aquarium holds. It was spectacular. The aquarium had sharks, manta rays, different kinds of jelly fishes and many more.

I spent half a day only at the aquarium and the museum. I decided to head to the Universal Studios. It was a mini world in itself. The park had many shops, restaurants, rides, trains, ice cream vans and so on. It had everything that I could have possibly imagined.

The first village (if I may call) I visited was the Madagascar village. Who hasn’t watched the Madagascar! It is one of my favorite animated movies so far. I love Alex, Gloria, Melman, Julien and Marty. The village had a ride that would take us all through a forest where the guys try to escape. It was so much fun – super fun.

I later visited Shrek’s and Princess Fiona’s palace. We were provided with the Ogre 3D glasses and the show started off by a story narrated by the mirror. After the narration, we were escorted to a theater where we sat on movable chairs with our 3D glasses on. The show was again 4D with water splashes and moving chairs. We all were part of the story where we rescued Princess Fiona. The show was mind blowing.

The next was the Puss in Boots. After about 40 minutes wait, I got into a mini train and this ride was the roller coaster ride. The train went up and down the roller and it was awesome. The adrenaline was pumping and it was great fun.

I had run out of time and I had to return, unfortunately. I will definitely visit Universal Studios again to cover the remaining villages and rides. This is a must do for sure when visiting Singapore.

Stop 2 – Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

I had reached well on time at Chinatown Visitor Centre and I was waiting for the tour bus for my third stop. Since I had some 15 to 20 minutes I decided to visit the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, which is right next to the Chinatown visitor centre.

The temple exhibits art and various sculptures of Buddha. They tell stories of culture over hundreds of years. The temple gets its name from what the Buddhists regard as the left canine tooth of Buddha. History says that the tooth has been recovered from Buddha’s funeral pyre in Kushalnagar, India.

The operating hours of the temple are from 7 AM to 7 PM and there is no entrance fee. The dress code requires that the shoulders and legs are covered. The scarfs and the skirts are provided at the entrance.

The architecture of the temple looks beautiful from the outside. The display of the sculptures of Buddha inside the temple was amazing as well. Each of them represented different avatar of Buddha. The main shrine has the big Buddha in the middle of the hall.

Visiting the temple provides a great insight into the culture of Buddhism and is one of the must dos in Singapore.

Stop 3 – Night Safari at Singapore Zoo

Yes, as everyone suggested the night safari is exciting and a must do. The night safari is a zoo safari at the Singapore zoo. It is about discovering and exploring the world of nocturnal animals.

Booking

I booked the tour at the Chinatown visitor center and it costed me around SGD 64.

Tour

The tour guide picked us up at about 6:30 PM and the zoo was approximately 40 minutes drive. He briefed us about what to expect and what not to.

The tour had three parts:

• First – to go on the safari,
• Second – to watch a 30 minutes animal show and
• Third – to explore, shop, and have dinner.

For Part 1, all of us queued up in a line and waited for the tram. The tram was a long three buggies connected one behind the other. As the driver drove through different open enclosures of the zoo, there was a constant commentary describing each of the animals we passed.

The safari initially started off with flamingos and different cattle – goats, buffaloes and pigs and then progressed to the lions, hyenas and elephants. The only animal that had a glass cover for the enclosure was my most favorite animal – The big cat, Tiger. Even lions did not have the glass covered enclosures. This clearly showed the power and respect given to the Tigers and I loved it. There were rhinos and Indian Gaurs as well.

After the safari, we were escorted by our tour guide to part 2 of the tour – the animal show. The animal show was cute and the zoo staff got some of the nocturnal animals out to do some small tricks.

We were then left alone to explore the zoo for the next hour, which was part 3 of our tour. All I did was have dinner. By the time I finished my dinner, it was time to leave the zoo and head back to our hotels. The tour guide dropped us to our respective hotels and I called it a night.

• Tour booking details: Night Safari at Chinatown visitor centre.
• Cost = SGD 63.

Day 2 – Henderson Waves Bridge, Kranji War Memorial, The Changi museum, Gardens by the Bay and Marina Sands Bay

Stop 1 – Henderson Waves Bridge

The first stop of my Singapore Island tour was at Henderson Waves Bridge. The Henderson Waves Bridge is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It is about 36 meters above the ground level. The bridge connects three major parks in Singapore – Mount Faber Park, Kent Ridge Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park. The bridge mimics the shape of a wave, curling, twisting and curving.

• Tour booking details: Singapore Round-Island Tour with Changi Prison, Kranji War Memorial, and Bright Hill Temple.
• Cost = AUD 81.55.

Stop 2 – Kranji War Memorial

Kranji War memorial is a memorial and cemetery in Singapore, which honors men and women who died in the line of duty in World War II. The men and women were from Britain, Australia, India, Canada, Sri Lanka, Malaya, Netherlands and New Zealand. There are about 4500 gravestones lined up in cemetery.

My visit to the memorial was an emotional visit. The youngest age of a man who had died for his country was 19 years old. The cemetery was a reminder of the bravery of these men and women who fought and gave their life for what they believed and their country.

Visitor Information

The cemetery is open everyday from 7 AM to 6:30 PM.

Stop 3 – The Changi museum

The Changi museum is a museum dedicated to all the men and women who died during the line of duty during World War II. The Museum has a collection of paintings, photographs and personal effects donated by former POWs. The museum also has a chapel next to it.

We were given half an hour by the tour guide to see the museum and I honestly think half an hour is too less a time. The museum had personal messages displayed by the soldiers and it exhibited many artifacts. It is a great place to visit to gain some insight into Singapore’s history.

Booking and Pricing

The museum is open from 9:30 AM till 5 PM and the entrance is free.

Stop 4 – Gardens by the Bay

The Gardens by the bay is a nature park in Singapore. The garden has three waterfronts:

• Bay Central Garden,
• Bay East Garden and
• Bay South Garden.

I visited the Bay South Garden. The Bay South Garden aims at showcasing the tropical horticulture and garden artistry. The garden has four main parts –

1. The Conservatories
2. The Flower Dome
3. The Cloud Forest and
4. Supertree Grove.

All of these were worth visiting. But my favourite one was the Supertree groves. They are tree like structures that dominate the landscapes of the gardens. Every night there is a sound and light show that happens.

Booking and Pricing

Information can be found at their website – Official Gardens by the Bay.

• Tour booking details: Gardens by the Bay in the Night at Chinatown visitor center.
• Cost = SGD 74.

Stop 5 – Marina Sands Bay

When in Singapore, never miss dining at the Marina Sands Bay. The views and the vibes from the top floor are absolutely amazing.

Day 3 – Sentosa Island

Stop 1 – Sentosa Island

On Day 3, I started off my day by visiting the Sentosa Island.

• Tour booking details: Sentosa Island Afternoon Trip Including Merlion Tower and Tiger Sky Tower.
• Cost = AUD 94.98.

Wings of Time

I would like to admit that I love Singapore even more, because of the show – Wings of time. It was crazily amazing and very cool. I loved it. Period. There was nothing about the show which I didn’t like. Luckily, Singapore weather cooperated and the show happened.

What is this Wings of Time?

Wings of Time is an outdoor musical fountain show at Siloso Beach in Sentosa Island. The technology and the story-line is spell-bounding. It is the only show in the World that is permanently set in the sea.

The show starts off with a girl and a boy wandering around and getting caught in this mystical land and time.

How can I book this show?

The show was part of my Sentosa Afternoon highlights, which I had booked through Viator. The tickets for the show can also be booked through their website – www.wingsoftime.com.sg.

Is it that good that I can’t give it a miss?

It’s totally worth every penny and the time you spend. I have never seen anything like this in my life and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I would strongly recommend this show and I would give it a 15 on 10.

Day 4 – Breakfast with Orangutans

Stop 1 – Breakfast with Orangutans

One of the most fascinating and interesting things that you can do at Singapore Zoo is to have breakfast with the Orangutans. These Orangutans are playful and the guests are not supposed to touch or interact with them. Sure, you can take pictures with them.

• Tour booking details: Singapore Zoo with Transfer and Optional Breakfast with Orangutans.
• Cost = AUD 70.03

Highlights

• Breakfast with Orangutans.
• Singapore Sling.
• Singapore Chilli Crab.

Is it safe for solo female travelers?

Yes, Singapore is one of the safest countries in South East Asia for solo female travelers. I had a great time traveling alone and had no issues whatsoever. So, I would recommend this country for solo female traveling.

Closing Notes

After traveling in Singapore for 4 days, I feel that even 4 days is less in Singapore. The city offers so much for the tourists. And I am in love with Singapore. After this first visit, I have visited the city again many a times and each time I have made a promise to return.