Singapore: a very common landing spot for a layover while traveling anywhere to and from South-East Asia. While commonly known at least for Marina Bay Sands, the giant pandas, fine-dining, and its extravagant shopping opportunities, there is a lot more to the city than just the pictures you see in travel brochures. It is possible to visit in Singapore as far as your layover is longer than a few hours – and you can do it without spending much money at all!
- Residents of many European countries don’t need a visa for a short visit. 0 euros spent.
- Leave your luggage at the Changi Airport. Left Baggage counter provided by EASYBAG is cheap and safe! Storage of a bag for a day will put you down roughly 3 euros. Ouch!
- The next question is how to get to the city cheaply. Use a train! The train is easy and affordable. Return trip to city should be around 5 Singaporean Dollars (3 Euros). So far so good.
- Now you’re in the city! Walk around, look around, take photos and eat cheap ice cream. The key here is to not visit Gucci, Louis Vuitton, or Prada flagship stores. Just stick to 7-eleven, and your credit card will not get maxed out.
- Singapore is one of the cleanest and safest Asian cities, and it is a pleasure to walk around town. In case the midday heat starts getting into you, just go inside one of the many malls and cool down.
That’s it! Once you’re over your little outing in the city, just ride the train back to the airport and catch your next flight. Here are some photos from just a few hours of walking around the city. Enjoy!
Look for the signs for the train to city.
Trains can be a little full – but they are nice, clean, and air-conditioned.
Make sure you finish your coffee before hopping on a train.
Singapore is safe and clean. It’s easy to walk around with children too. The area around Orchard Road (pictured) is one of the most famous shopping districts in Asia.
There’s more to Singapore than you would expect.
Modern, colorful business fronts create contrast to the well-organised and not very busy motor traffic.
Only need to park for a minute? Sweet – it will only cost you 3 cents.
Someone found a slightly riskier parking solution.
Colors and shapes. It seems that hotels are competing with each other on who has the nicest street-font.
Walk the streets with your camera and look for interesting light and shapes. Doing a city walk with a camera makes you look at Singapore differently.
It is hard to take a photo of a group of people and not have one person either using a phone or carrying an umbrella. In this photo, one person ticks both boxes.
High buildings everywhere. Don’t forget to look up either!
Local people taking a break from work
Shopping centres in Singapore provide a cool exit from the scorching midday heat – they are interesting for just walking around too!
Remember to respect privacy. While Singapore is super safe, there are buildings and areas you should not try to enter.
Brought your skateboard? Great – there are skateparks right in the city centre as well.
Did we mention the umbrellas? Yes, there are plenty of them when the sun is out.
There are more than enough 7-eleven stores to make sure you can always find a cheap snack or a cold bottle of water
If your legs get too tired, the bus-system in Singapore is very efficient too. There is also a free city tour bus, just look for buses with a big text “FREE CITY TOUR”.
Walk, run, or ride a train – one thing that is for sure in Singapore is that you won’t be alone.
