A futuristic, spotless and green city-state: gardens, skyscrapers, spectacular food and a mix of cultures within a few square kilometres.
Singapore is a city-state the size of a large metropolis that functions as an entire country: ultra-modern, obsessively clean, green to the point of delirium, and with an efficiency that strikes you the moment you land at Changi, chosen several times as the best airport in the world. It is Southeast Asia in its most comfortable and safe version: everyone speaks English, the metro is impeccable, you can drink the tap water and you need not worry about crime. The contrast is that it is also among the most expensive destinations in the region.
Within a few kilometres you have a futuristic skyline over Marina Bay, the supertrees of Gardens by the Bay, the ethnic quarters of Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam (the Arab-Malay district), the leisure island of Sentosa and rainforest reserves with monkeys. Almost all of it is covered by MRT and on foot, making it an ideal destination for three or four intense days or as a luxury stopover on the way to Asia or Oceania.
The best of it is how smoothly everything works and the world-class street food for very little money; what surprises, for better or worse, is how strict the rules are: fines for things you would never think twice about elsewhere, like dropping chewing gum, eating on the metro or crossing the road in the wrong place.
The local currency is the Singapore dollar (SGD, written S$), divided into 100 cents. It is an expensive but very modern place: almost everything is paid by card or phone (Apple Pay, Google Pay), even small amounts, so there is no need to carry much cash. It is still worth having some for the hawker centres, some market stalls and taxis. There are ATMs everywhere and Visa and Mastercard are accepted without trouble; check your bank's foreign transaction fee and the day's rate. Do not confuse the Singapore dollar with the US dollar: they are different currencies.
Full converter for SGD →Almost all international flights arrive at Changi airport (SIN), repeatedly voted the best in the world: it is worth arriving with time to see the Jewel, with its giant indoor waterfall surrounded by gardens. There are direct flights from Europe, North America and across Asia, and Singapore is also a standard stopover between Asia and Oceania. From the airport to the centre is very easy: the MRT, the clean, punctual, air-conditioned metro network, connects Changi with the city in about half an hour, and there are also taxis and the Grab and Gojek apps. Being a small city-state, almost everything is covered by MRT and bus: you can pay by tapping a contactless card or your phone directly (the SimplyGo system), or buy a rechargeable EZ-Link card; for short stays there is the Singapore Tourist Pass with unlimited journeys for 1, 2 or 3 days. For short distances, walking between neighbourhoods is very comfortable too.
Singapore sits almost on the equator, so it is warm and humid all year, with fairly stable temperatures of 25 to 32 °C and no marked seasons. There is no clear 'bad time': you can visit at any point. It rains throughout the year in short intense downpours, above all in the afternoon.
The wettest period is the northeast monsoon, from November to January, with more frequent rain, which still does not ruin a trip because it passes quickly and everything is air-conditioned. February to April tends to be slightly drier and hotter. It is worth travelling around the events: Chinese New Year in January or February fills Chinatown with colour, the night Formula 1 Grand Prix is in September (with high prices and the city at full stretch), and Deepavali and Ramadan light up Little India and Kampong Glam. Whenever you go, a small umbrella and light clothing are compulsory.
Eating is the great national sport and one of the best reasons to go. The stars are the hawker centres, clean and extremely cheap street food courts where for USD 3 to 6 you eat world-class dishes: Hainanese chicken rice (the national dish), chili crab (crab in spicy sauce, more expensive), laksa (noodle soup with coconut milk), char kway teow, satay, and the typical breakfast of kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs and kopi coffee. The mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian cooking means you can eat differently every day.
A plate at a hawker centre costs USD 3 to 6; a mid-range restaurant USD 15 to 30 per person; and the rooftops and fine dining, far more. Alcohol is very expensive because of the taxes: a beer can cost USD 10 to 15, so if you want a drink, look for happy hours. You can drink the tap water without concern. Tipping is not customary, as many places already add a 10% service charge. Prices verified July 2026.
Singapore is one of the safest countries on the planet: crime is very low, you can walk at night without concern and scams against tourists are rare. The real 'risk' is legal rather than a matter of safety: the laws are extremely strict and the fines high. Littering, spitting, eating or drinking on the MRT, smoking outside designated zones and even selling chewing gum are all prohibited and penalised; and with drugs there is zero tolerance, with very grave penalties, including the death penalty for trafficking. Respect the rules and you will have no problem at all.
On health, the system is first world — excellent but expensive, so take travel insurance. There are no compulsory vaccinations for the ordinary tourist, with one important exception: if you are arriving from a country with yellow fever and passed through an endemic area in the preceding days, you may be asked for the vaccination certificate. Dengue exists, so use repellent. Tap water is drinkable. The emergency numbers are 999 for police and 995 for ambulance and fire.
Singapore is among the most expensive destinations in Asia, but it can be tamed. A tight backpacker manages on USD 60 to 90 a day: a hostel bed (USD 20 to 35, as accommodation is the most expensive part), food at hawker centres (USD 3 to 6 a plate) and extremely cheap MRT transport (each journey costs under USD 1.50, and there is a Singapore Tourist Pass with unlimited travel for 1 to 3 days). The free attractions — the outdoor part of Gardens by the Bay, the light shows, the neighbourhoods, the botanic gardens — let you build whole days without spending.
A mid-range trip runs USD 120 to 200 a day with a three-star hotel, better meals and several paid attractions. The big costs are accommodation and alcohol, not the food. Concrete references: the Gardens by the Bay domes around USD 40, the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark around USD 25, Universal Studios and the aquarium on Sentosa around USD 60 to 80, the Singapore Flyer around USD 30, a beer in a bar USD 10 to 15. Since almost everything is paid by card or phone without a surcharge, keeping track of spending is easy. Figures verified July 2026.
English is an official language and is spoken everywhere, so you will communicate without any difficulty, albeit with a local accent known as 'Singlish'; Mandarin, Malay and Tamil are also official, reflecting the multicultural mix. It is an orderly and well-mannered society where punctuality and respecting the rules are valued: people queue for everything, do not raise their voices and give up seats on the MRT. To enter temples and mosques you must dress modestly and remove your shoes.
Practically: the plug is type G, the British three flat pins, at 230 V, the same as in Malaysia or the UK, so bring an adapter. Connectivity is excellent and there is free wifi in many places; buy a tourist SIM (Singtel, StarHub) at the airport or an eSIM before travelling. Download the Grab app for taxis and delivery. One local tip: submit the free SG Arrival Card before you arrive, because it is compulsory, and do not bother looking for chewing gum souvenirs, because it is not sold.
It's hard to find anywhere in the world that has changed as much, and as fast, as this diamond-shaped island. It's only a little bigger than the city of Buenos Aires and sits at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, where the Strait of Malacca meets the South China Sea. Barely two centuries ago it was a village of fishermen and smugglers surrounded by mangroves. Sixty years ago it was a newly independent former colony: poor, with no natural resources and not even its own drinking water, just expelled from the country it had only recently joined. Today it is one of the busiest ports on the planet, a global financial centre and one of the richest countries in the world per head. That transformation, squeezed into a single human lifetime, is the heart of Singapore's history.
But Singapore's history doesn't begin with skyscrapers or with the British. It begins much earlier, when the island was called Temasek and was a port of the Malay world. It continues with the arrival of Stamford Raffles in 1819 and the waves of Chinese, Indian and Malay immigrants who made it a melting pot. Then came the terrible years of the Japanese occupation and the Sook Ching, the failed merger with Malaysia and the figure of Lee Kuan Yew. It is the story of a crossroads: a piece of land so well placed that everyone wanted it, and which ended up making that location its greatest, and almost only, resource. This is that story, told with real names, dates and figures.
Read the full history of Singapore →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
