Singapore Guide
Equatorial, engineered and endlessly edible — hawker centres and sky bars in the same evening, all on one train line.
Singapore is compact and air-conditioned in the right places: plan outdoor hours for early morning and after sunset, keep midday for Gardens by the Bay conservatories, museums and malls. Reservations matter for the tasting-menu tier and rooftops; hawker centres never take them. The MRT reaches almost everything, and taxis are cheap when a downpour lands.
Singapore business directoryMarina Bay to the shophouses, end to end
Illustrated
Drawn by hand for the KEY2 Singapore guide
Where to stay
Hotels
The KEY2 list
Happy Hour
Daylight
Hotel Pools & Pool Clubs
Eat
Best Food
Mornings
Breakfast & Brunch
Recover
Health & Wellness
After dark
Nightlife
Arenas
Sports
Tonight
Concerts & Comedy
Say it here
Weddings
Book the room
Event Spaces
Experiences
100 Other Things To Do
Singapore explained
Hour-by-hour plans drawn by hand — pick one and follow it from first coffee to last call.
24 Hours in Singapore
A single day covering Marina Bay's icons, hawker food, and a cocktail with a view.
48 Hours in Singapore
Two days pairing the colonial core and Chinatown with a Sentosa resort escape.
Singapore Nightlife Crawl
An evening moving from rooftop cocktails to Clarke Quay's clubs.
Singapore travel guide
The practical layer: when to come, how to arrive, how to move, where to base yourself and what it costs.
Best time to visit
February to April sees the least rainfall in this equatorial climate, though humidity stays high year-round; avoid late-year monsoon downpours in November and December if outdoor plans matter.
Getting in
Changi (SIN) connects to the city by MRT (around SGD 2–2.50, 30 minutes to central stations like City Hall) or a metered taxi/Grab, which costs SGD 25–40 and takes 20–30 minutes depending on traffic and terminal surcharges.
Getting around
The MRT network is fast, cheap and air-conditioned — use an EZ-Link card or tap a contactless bank card directly at the gates. Grab is the default rideshare app and is often cheaper than a taxi for short hops; walking between attractions in the heat is manageable in short bursts but the covered underground linkways in the CBD and Orchard Road are worth using at midday.
What it costs
Mid-range hotel doubles run SGD 220–350 a night; dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant is SGD 80–130, though a hawker centre meal for two can be under SGD 20; MRT fares are SGD 1–2.50 and a short Grab ride is typically SGD 8–15.
Where to stay
- Marina Bay
- Skyline views and proximity to Gardens by the Bay and the casino resorts, best for a first-timer's short stay.
- Orchard Road
- The main shopping strip with dense hotel supply across price points, well served by the MRT's North-South Line.
- Chinatown
- Heritage shophouses, hawker centres and mid-range boutique hotels, walkable to the CBD and Clarke Quay nightlife.
- Kampong Glam / Arab Street
- Bohemian, café-driven quarter near Haji Lane, good value and close to Bugis MRT interchange.
Traveller tips
- Chewing gum import is banned and littering, jaywalking and eating on the MRT carry real fines — Singapore enforces these rules.
- Hawker centres are cash-and-queue culture; 'chope' a table with a packet of tissues, a genuine local custom.
- Tipping is not expected and many restaurants add a 10% service charge plus 9% GST to the bill automatically.
- Book Gardens by the Bay's Cloud Forest and Flower Dome timed-entry tickets ahead, especially on weekends.
- Plugs are UK-style three-pin (Type G) at 230V, so UK visitors need no adapter but others do.
- Sundays see parts of Little India especially busy with migrant worker communities gathering — a good time to eat but expect crowds.
The Singapore calendar
The dates that actually move prices, crowds and opening hours.
January
Chinese New Year
Chinatown lights and street markets; many family-run stalls close for several days.
February
Singapore Art Week & peak dry season
The clearest, driest stretch of the year and the busiest art calendar.
May
Vesak Day & Michelin season
Temple processions, plus the restaurant awards cycle that reshuffles the top tables.
July
Singapore Food Festival
Hawker showcases and chef collaborations across the island through the month.
September
Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
A night race with concerts; the single biggest week for hotel rates and closures.
December
Christmas on A Great Street & year-end
Orchard Road lights and heavy monsoon rain in short, warm bursts.
Seasonal highlights
- Dry-ish (Feb–Apr)
- Hottest and clearest; best for rooftops, Sentosa and the Southern Ridges at dawn.
- Mid-year (May–Aug)
- Humid with afternoon storms; the food festival and long museum afternoons carry the trip.
- Race season (Sep–Oct)
- Grand Prix weekend distorts everything; the weeks either side are lively and calmer.
- Monsoon (Nov–Jan)
- Northeast monsoon brings daily downpours, plus the year's best festive programming.
Off-peak intel
- Late April to early June and late October are the softest weeks for luxury room rates.
- Avoid Grand Prix week unless that is the trip — minimum stays and tripled rates apply.
- Eat one meal a day at a hawker centre: Maxwell, Old Airport Road or Tiong Bahru, before 12:00.
- Build a rain plan into every afternoon; storms are heavy but usually over within the hour.