Singapore
An iconic city-state.
General information
Singapore is an island which is a city-state, with a population of about 6 million people. The currency is the Singapore Dollar (SGD) and the official languages are English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Their capital city is Singapore (remember: it is a city-state). Famous for its unique architecture, hawker centres, and Gardens by the Bay.
Safety tips
Emergency number: 999
Singapore is generally considered to be safe for travelers. Nevertheless, always check your home countries’ travel advisory before heading off. In addition, it can be good to also read other countries’ advice, just to get a better idea (see for example US, Canada, Australia & UK’s advice for Singapore).
Budget
Singapore is relatively an expensive country to visit.
Low budget travelers: 50-90 EUR /day
Mid budget travelers: 90-160 EUR /day
High budget travelers: 160+ EUR /day
Itinerary
Singapore has diverse neighborhoods with their own characters.
Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands are the largest tourist attractions in Singapore. The Gardens offer a free lightshow daily at 7.45pm and 8.45pm, which is definitely worth a visit. The Marina provides the iconic rooftop.
Chinatown is a lovely area, which is relatively central and quite bustling. It has fantastic food options with various hawker centres.
Little India is a neighborhood worth visiting for its amazing food, rich culture and colourful streets.
If you like hiking, then it is good to know that Bukit Timah (163m) is the tallest point in Singapore. I didn’t find that hike too impressive however. I did very much enjoy the Macritchie Treetop Walk Trail.
Travel tips
Flights to Singapore can be quite expensive from Europe, even though there are various direct routes available from various destinations. If you’re visiting other countries in Asia however, such as South Korea, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, or Thailand anytime soon, there are often cheap flights from there into Singapore, so the destinations are easy to combine if you’d wish to do so.
Traveling within Singapore is very easy: there is an excellent metro and bus network.
A big part of traveling Singapore is the international cuisine. Definitely try various types of food, almost any cuisine is available at the hawker centres. The architecture is also quite unique as the city has been built in a very concious, efficient, and livable way, which is interesting to notice.
As is true everywhere: make sure you have an adequate travel insurance that will cover you throughout your stay. Medical help might be more expensive in Japan than in your home country, so make sure your travel insurance covers medical expenses too.
Accomodation
Booking a stay while traveling in Singapore? I usually compare prices on Booking.com, Hostelworld and Agoda. Searching on Google Hotels can also help to make an easy price comparison.
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