The Ultimate 3 Night Singapore Itinerary: Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa Island & The World’s Best Airport
Singapore was stop number two during our 5 week East Asia trip after first visiting Thailand, and it felt like entering a completely different world. Out of every country I’ve visited so far, Asia gave me the biggest culture shock in the best possible way, and Singapore especially felt futuristic, tropical, and ultra-modern all at once.
We visited from March 9th to March 12th and even though it was only a quick 3 night stop, it ended up being one of the most unique cities I’ve ever seen. Before visiting, I mainly pictured giant skyscrapers, rooftop pools, and futuristic architecture, but I definitely did not expect Singapore to also have beach clubs, suspension bridges, palm trees, and an entire island dedicated to tropical resort vibes.
Even though Singapore is more expensive than many other Southeast Asian destinations, I still think it’s worth adding to an Asia itinerary, even if only for a few nights.
Best Time to Visit Singapore
Singapore stays hot and humid year-round with temperatures usually ranging between 77°F and 90°F.
Best Overall Time to Visit: February to April
This period usually has the lowest chance of rain and the highest chance of sunny days.
Best Time for Events: June to August
This is peak season thanks to events like the Great Singapore Sale, Glow Festival, Singapore Food Festival, National Day and the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival.
Best Time for Fewer Crowds: Late October to Early November
You’ll usually find slightly fewer tourists while still getting decent weather.
Months to Avoid: November to January
These months are part of Singapore’s monsoon season and tend to experience heavier rainfall.
We visited in March and had mostly hot, partly sunny weather. Some attractions were crowded, especially around Marina Bay, but nothing too overwhelming.
Singapores Jewel Changi Airport & How to Get Around
We flew into Singapore from Koh Samui, Thailand on a direct 2 hour flight.
One of the wildest things about Singapore is that the airport itself is basically a tourist attraction. Singapore Changi Airport is consistently ranked one of the best airports in the world and after visiting, I completely understand why.
Singapore Airports main highlights:
- The world’s tallest indoor waterfall (open to public in the Jewel Changi Airport)
- Canopy Park (open to public in the Jewel Changi Airport)
- Rooftop pool and jacuzzi (Terminal 1; need boarding pass)
- Cactus garden and rooftop bar (Terminal 1; need boarding pass)
- Butterfly gardens (Terminal 3; need boarding pass)
- Free movie theaters (Terminal 3; need boarding pass)
- 4 story high slide (Terminal 3; open to public)
- Rock climbing (Terminal 3; open to public)
The centerpiece in the Jewel Changi Airport, which is open to the public, is the HSBC Rain Vortex, the giant indoor waterfall surrounded by tropical greenery beneath a massive glass dome. Seeing it lit up at night was one of my favorite first impressions of Singapore.
Getting Around Singapore
Singapore is one of the easiest cities to navigate.
We mainly used Grab, which is Southeast Asia’s version of Uber. Cars came quickly every time and most rides between attractions were around 15–20 minutes.
Singapore also has an excellent public transportation system with MRT trains connecting nearly all the major neighborhoods and attractions.
You can use:
- Apple Pay
- Contactless credit cards
- EZ-Link pre paid transit cards (can be bought at train stations or 7-Elevens)
- Make sure to tap at the entry and exit of each train ride
The MRT trains generally run from around 5:30 AM until midnight.
Looking back, we probably could’ve saved money using the trains more often, but since we only had a few days, we prioritized convenience.
Where to Stay in Singapore
We stayed in the Little India area at Hotel Boss.
The rooms were definitely tiny, which seems pretty common in Singapore unless you’re staying somewhere luxurious, but the hotel was affordable, clean, and included free breakfast.
Little India had restaurants and convenience stores nearby, but we ended up taking Grab rides to most attractions.
If I visited Singapore again, I’d probably stay in either Clarke Quay or Marina Bay.
Best Areas to Stay in Singapore
Marina Bay
Best for luxury hotels, skyline views, and iconic attractions.
Chinatown
Great food, culture, and more affordable accommodations.
Little India / Kallang
Colorful, affordable and vibrant with strong South Indian influences.
Sentosa Island
Perfect for beaches, resorts, and family-friendly attractions.
Clarke Quay
Best for nightlife, restaurants, and riverside energy.
Kampong Glam
Known for cafes, street art, and trendy vibes.
Orchard
Shopping district
Our 3 Night Singapore Itinerary
Day 1: Arriving in Singapore & Exploring Changi Airport
We landed around 7:30 PM and instead of immediately heading to our hotel, we spent hours exploring Changi Airport.
The indoor waterfall lit up was incredible. Everything in Singapore somehow looked futuristic and larger-than-life.
We wandered through the shops, watched the waterfall show, and paid around $11 USD to walk across the glass Canopy Bridge overlooking the indoor forest.
Even after a long travel day, the airport was impressive enough to keep us awake way longer than expected.
By the time we finally left, we were exhausted.
We took about a 20 minute Grab ride to Hotel Boss in Little India, grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant, and immediately went to sleep.
Day 2: Gardens by the Bay & Marina Bay Sands
We started the morning with a short Grab ride to Gardens by the Bay, one of the most iconic attractions in Singapore.
Gardens by the Bay is a massive waterfront nature park filled with futuristic structures, indoor ecosystems, giant vertical gardens, and skyline views.
Supertree Grove
The Supertree Grove is free to walk around and is probably the most recognizable area of the park.
We decided to pay for the OCBC Skyway, which is a suspended aerial walkway connecting some of the Supertrees.
The views overlooking the skyline were amazing and definitely worth it.
- Cost to do the walkway is $14 SGD ($11 USD) per adult and you get around 15 minutes to use the walkways.
Garden Rhapsody Light Show
One thing I highly recommend is staying until nighttime for the Garden Rhapsody light show at Supertree Grove.
The free shows happen nightly at 7:45 PM and 8:45 PM.
Supertree Observatory
We also purchased tickets for the Supertree Observatory Deck.
There’s a rooftop viewing area and bar, so we grabbed wine and relaxed up there for a while while taking in the views over Marina Bay.
- The cost for the observatory was also $14 SGD ($11 USD) per adult
Cloud Forest
Next we walked about 7 minutes over to the Cloud Forest
The second you walk inside, the temperature drops and you’re surrounded by mist, waterfalls, hanging plants, and elevated walkways.
After spending time outside in Singapore’s humidity, this place felt amazing.
At the time we visited there was also a Jurassic World dinosaur exhibit inside.
Flower Dome
Right next door is the Flower Dome, officially the world’s largest glass greenhouse.
Inside are rotating floral displays and themed gardens inspired by different regions around the world.
Compared to the Cloud Forest, I personally found the Flower Dome slightly less exciting, but it was still beautiful and worth seeing.
- Tickets are combined for Cloud Forrest and Flower dome and cost about $46 SGD ($36 USD) per adult.
You can also pre-purchase combo tickets that include Supertree OCBC skyway, the Supertree Observatory Deck, Cloud Forrest, Flower Dome and Floral Fantasy. (We didnt explore Floral Fantasy but if you are wanting to do all 5 attractions the combo ticket saves you about $12 USD)
Marina Bay Sands Hotel
After exploring Gardens by the Bay, we headed over to Marina Bay Sands.
You can walk there in around 15–20 minutes, but because of the heat we ended up taking a quick taxi.
Marina Bay Sands is one of the most recognizable hotels in the world because of its rooftop infinity pool overlooking the skyline.
Its also filled with:
- Shopping, restaurants, Observation Deck, ArtScience Museum, casino, nightclubs, indoor sampan boat rides and a free nightly water and light show along the waterfront boardwalk.
We first explored the Observation Deck which offers some great views of Marina Bay and Gardens of the Bay. The cost is about $27 USD. There are options to pair the observation deck with food and a drink for a little more money.
Unfortunately the infinity pool is only accessible to hotel guests, but non-guests can still visit rooftop restaurants and bars.
We went up to Spago Bar & Lounge for food and drinks and spent the rest of the evening there. We managed to hangout on some lounge chairs in the pool area since it was pretty empty during the time we were there.
Day 3: Sentosa Island Beach Day
For our final full day in Singapore, we decided to switch things up completely and head to Sentosa Island.
I really did not expect Singapore to have beaches like this.
Sentosa is basically Singapore’s resort island filled with beach clubs, sandy beaches, luxury resorts, restaurants, water parks, and attractions.
It felt like a completely different destination compared to the futuristic city center.
We took about a 20 minute Grab ride from our hotel to Sentosa Station and then rode the Sentosa Line cable car to Siloso Point.
The cable car ride itself was worth doing for the views.
From Siloso point we hopped on a free beach shuttle that brought us to Tanjong Beach.
Tanjong Beach Club
Our first stop was Tanjong Beach Club.
This ended up being one of my favorite places in Singapore.
The whole atmosphere felt tropical and relaxed with music playing, palm trees everywhere, people lounging around the pool, and the beach directly in front of us.
After nonstop sightseeing the previous day, this was the perfect slower-paced beach day.
We grabbed drinks and food and stayed there for a while just enjoying the atmosphere.
Palawan Beach
Next we headed toward Palawan Beach, known for its suspension bridge leading to a small offshore islet.
The suspension bridge is free and leads to a small viewing tower overlooking the water.
You will find the southernmost point of Continental Asia here.
Walking Between the Beaches
One thing I loved about Sentosa was how walkable everything felt.
We walked the coastal path between Palawan and Siloso Beach which took around 20 minutes.
The full walk between Tanjong beach and Siloso beach is about 30 minutes.
Siloso Beach
Siloso Beach had more energy with beach bars, volleyball courts, and activities.
After walking around for a bit, we hopped back on the Siloso Point cable car and headed back toward Imbiah Lookout.
We also walked through Resorts World Sentosa, past Universal Studios and walked the Sentosa Boardwalk before eventually heading back toward the city.
We ended the night with dinner at “The Spot” located in Marina One before heading back to the hotel.
Day 4: Leaving Singapore
On our final morning we had an early flight out to Bali.
Even though 3 nights was short, I still feel like we experienced a good mix of Singapore’s biggest highlights.
More Information on Sentosa’s Cable Car System
One of the best ways to explore Sentosa Island is by using Singapore’s scenic cable car system. Not only is it a convenient form of transportation, but the views overlooking the city skyline, harbor, beaches, and lush greenery make it an attraction on its own.
The Singapore Cable Car system is made up of two different lines: the Mount Faber Line and the Sentosa Line.
Mount Faber Line
The Mount Faber Line connects mainland Singapore to Sentosa Island and includes the following stations:
- Mount Faber Peak
- HarbourFront Station
- Sentosa Station
This line offers some of the best panoramic views as you travel between the city and the island. Once you arrive at Sentosa Station, it’s about a 3–5 minute walk to Imbiah Lookout Station, where you can transfer to the Sentosa Line.
Sentosa Line
The Sentosa Line operates within Sentosa Island itself and is a great way to move between some of the island’s main attractions and beaches.
Stations include:
- Siloso Point Station
- Imbiah Lookout Station
- Sensoryscape Station
Operating Hours
The cable cars operate daily from approximately 8:45 AM to 10:00 PM, making it easy to explore both during the day and around sunset.
Ticket Options
There are several ticket options depending on how much of the system you want to use. You can purchase tickets for:
- Just the Sentosa Line
- Both the Mount Faber and Sentosa Lines
- Premium SkyOrb cabins with glass-bottom floors for even better views
Ticket prices generally range from around $14–$40 USD per adult depending on the package and cabin type you choose. You can pre-purchase tickets online or buy at any of the cable car stations.
Singapore Summary
Singapore completely surprised me.
Between the futuristic architecture, glowing Supertrees, rooftop skyline views, beach clubs, tropical island vibes, and the most unique airport I’ve ever seen, it felt unlike anywhere else I’ve traveled.
What stood out most to me was how clean, efficient, and visually impressive everything was. Every area felt completely different from the next.
One moment you’re surrounded by giant skyscrapers and futuristic gardens, and the next you’re walking along a beach with palm trees and music playing.
Even though Singapore is often viewed as just a stopover destination, I definitely think it deserves a few full days.
After Singapore, we continued our East Asia trip with 7 nights in Bali split between Ubud and Seminyak, which ended up being the perfect next destination after such a fast-paced city stop.
If you’re planning an Asia itinerary and debating whether Singapore is worth adding, I absolutely think it is.
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