Singapore Holidays

A futuristic skyline rising out of tropical jungle, a food scene where hawker stalls win Michelin stars, and a city that runs like clockwork in the heat. Singapore is the easiest long-haul holiday in Asia, perfectly walkable, ridiculously safe, and packing more in per square mile than almost anywhere on Earth.

✨ Highlights of your Holidays to Singapore

• 🌳 Gardens by the Bay, the futuristic green space with the iconic Supertree Grove and the Cloud Forest dome, an actual indoor mountain with the world's tallest indoor waterfall

• 🏊 Marina Bay Sands, the architectural icon with the rooftop infinity pool 200 metres up, plus the Sands SkyPark observation deck open to all visitors for the city's best skyline views

• 🏝️ Sentosa Island, the resort island reached by cable car or monorail, packing Universal Studios Singapore, the S.E.A. Aquarium, beaches and the giant Merlion in one easy day out

• 🍜 The hawker centre food scene, government-subsidised food courts where two stalls have Michelin stars and a plate of chicken rice costs about £4. Lau Pa Sat, Maxwell and Old Airport Road are the must-hits

• 🏮 Singapore's neighbourhood mix, Chinatown for old shophouses and temples, Little India for the colour and the curry, Kampong Glam for the Arab Street boutiques and the golden-domed Sultan Mosque

📌 Good to Know

• 🌡️ Tropical climate year-round, hot and humid at 30-32°C every single day, with brief but properly dramatic afternoon thunderstorms most days during the monsoon seasons (Nov-Mar northeast monsoon, Jun-Sep southwest), pack light cottons and an umbrella

• 💰 One of the most expensive cities in the world (consistently top 5 globally), expect London-plus prices for hotels and restaurants, but the saving grace is the hawker centres where you can eat brilliantly for £4-6 a meal, alcohol is properly pricey (a beer is £8-12) thanks to high duty

• 🚯 Famously strict laws kept Singapore one of the cleanest and safest cities in the world, importing chewing gum is banned (you can chew it but not bring it in), jaywalking carries fines, and the country has zero tolerance on drugs (penalties are severe), but for normal visitors none of this is anything to worry about

🏨 Where to Stay on your Singapore Holidays

Singapore's hotel scene is properly varied: world-icon luxury at Marina Bay Sands and Raffles, Orchard Road shopping-belt towers, riverside heritage in the Civic District, and the resort-island option on Sentosa. Have a look at our picks below or browse all our Singapore hotels for the full range.

👨‍👩‍👧 Best for Families

• 🏨 Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa – The only Sentosa beachfront resort, with 454 rooms all featuring private balconies, kids' waterslides at the outdoor pool, kids' club, playground, water sports centre and a private beach. Easy walk to Universal Studios Singapore and the S.E.A. Aquarium. Properly built for families.

• 🏨 Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa – 3.8 hectares of gardens and natural rainforest with peacocks wandering the grounds, 140 rooms/suites/villas, just 1km walk from Universal Studios and Palawan Beach. Free shuttle to HarbourFront for shopping and easy MRT access.

• 🏨 Marina Bay Sands – The iconic three-tower hotel with the rooftop infinity pool 200m up, 2,561 rooms with floor-to-ceiling skyline views, on-site shopping mall, and the Gardens by the Bay light show happening on your doorstep every evening. The bucket-list family stay.

• 🏨 Hilton Singapore Orchard – Massive 1,080-room Orchard Road tower with five on-site restaurants, outdoor pool, 24-hour fitness centre and direct shopping mall access. Easy base for families wanting central convenience and reliable family-friendly facilities.

💕 Best for Couples

• 🏨 Raffles Hotel Singapore – The heritage colonial five-star, recently restored to full glory, with 115 suites, the legendary Long Bar (where the Singapore Sling was invented), tropical courtyards, indoor and outdoor pools and proper old-world service. The most romantic stay in the city.

• 🏨 Marina Bay Sands – Couples come here for the rooftop infinity pool, the city skyline at sunset, the Marina Bay light show below, and the genuine "is this real life?" wow factor. Pricier but properly memorable.

• 🏨 The Fullerton Hotel Singapore – Stunning neo-classical heritage building (the former General Post Office) right on the river in the Civic District, 399 rooms, outdoor infinity pool overlooking the bay, easy walk to Merlion Park, the National Gallery and Boat Quay. Sophisticated couples' base.

• 🏨 Conrad Singapore Orchard – Sleek modern luxury with floor-to-ceiling-window rooms, locally-blended sleep tea on arrival and a Michelin-starred dining scene. The design-led couples' pick on Orchard Road.

✨ Luxury

• 🏨 Marina Bay Sands – The city's most photographed hotel and one of the world's most iconic, the rooftop infinity pool alone justifies the price tag.

• 🏨 Raffles Hotel Singapore – Heritage five-star with proper colonial-era pedigree, the Long Bar, the tropical courtyards and the most discreet luxury in the city.

• 🏨 The Fullerton Hotel Singapore – Restored 1928 General Post Office building with riverside views, infinity pool over the bay, multiple dining venues and serious heritage credentials.

👯 Best for Groups

• 🏨 Pan Pacific Orchard – Forest-inspired four-star on Orchard Road with 347 rooms, lifestyle amenities, multiple restaurants, a fab spa and a 2023 refresh. Central enough for shopping and food, plus rooms with direct pool access for groups who want to spread out.

• 🏨 The Outpost Hotel Sentosa – Adults-focused 193-room boutique with the island's only rooftop pool day club, sleek modern design and easy access to Sentosa's beaches and bars. Made for groups who want the resort island vibe with the day-club energy.

💰 Best Value

• 🏨 Hotel Traveltine – Solid 300-room mid-range hotel in the Bugis area, outdoor pool, café and restaurant on-site, walking distance to Bugis market and 100m from the nearest MRT stop. Strong value for a properly central Singapore stay.

• 🏨 Orchard Hotel Singapore – Mid-range Orchard Road option with outdoor pool, fitness centre, Cantonese restaurant and easy walk to the Botanic Gardens (1km). Reliable value in the central shopping district.

• 🏨 Hilton Singapore Orchard – At 1,080 rooms it's a proper big-hotel option, often offering competitive Hilton-loyalty pricing, with five restaurants and direct mall access.

👉 See all Singapore hotels

🎯 Must See, Must Do in Singapore

Singapore is a properly compact city packing world-class attractions into about 30km end-to-end. The headline experiences for a first-time visit:

• 🌳 Gardens by the Bay, the futuristic 100-hectare nature park with the Supertree Grove (free) and the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome conservatories (paid). The free OCBC Garden Rhapsody light show happens at the Supertrees twice nightly at 7.45pm and 8.45pm

• 🏨 Marina Bay Sands SkyPark, the observation deck 200m up on the iconic three-tower hotel offers the city's best skyline views (the infinity pool is for hotel guests only, but the SkyPark is open to all)

• 🏝️ Sentosa Island, the resort island packing Universal Studios Singapore, the S.E.A. Aquarium, Adventure Cove waterpark, Mega Adventure zip line, Fort Siloso and three beaches into one easy-access island via cable car or monorail

• 🦁 Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, world-class zoo with cage-free open enclosures during the day, plus the world's first nocturnal zoo (Night Safari) where you tour by tram after dark to see leopards, tigers and elephants

• 🍜 A hawker centre crawl, the food courts that put Singapore on the world food map, hit Lau Pa Sat for satay, Maxwell Food Centre for chicken rice (Tian Tian, made famous by Anthony Bourdain), and Old Airport Road for the proper local experience

• 🏮 Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam, three culturally distinct neighbourhoods all within MRT distance, walk through Chinatown's shophouse-lined streets to Sri Mariamman Temple, lose yourself in the colours of Little India, and shop the boutiques of Arab Street in Kampong Glam

• 🚇 The Singapore River and Boat Quay/Clarke Quay, walk or take a bumboat ride along the river past Merlion Park (with the iconic half-lion-half-fish statue), then bar-crawl along the restored shophouses of Boat Quay or hit the Clarke Quay nightlife strip

• 🍹 A Singapore Sling at Raffles, the iconic gin-pineapple-cherry cocktail invented at Raffles Hotel's Long Bar in 1915, properly touristy but a tradition worth doing once (and you can throw peanut shells on the floor, the bar's famous quirk)

🌍 Where to Stay in Singapore

Singapore is small but each neighbourhood has a distinct character. Your base shapes the trip.

👨‍👩‍👧 Families

Sentosa Island is the family-first option, with Universal Studios Singapore, the S.E.A. Aquarium, Adventure Cove waterpark and three beaches all on one island. Most family resorts have kids' clubs and waterslide pools. Marina Bay is the alternative, with Gardens by the Bay on your doorstep and the iconic Marina Bay Sands as a centrepiece. Orchard Road works for families wanting central shopping/restaurant access, with massive multi-restaurant hotels and easy MRT links.

💕 Couples

Marina Bay for the iconic skyline-and-infinity-pool experience, the Marina Bay Sands light show happening below your window every evening. The Civic District for heritage romance, the Fullerton's riverside elegance, walks along the Singapore River and dinner at Boat Quay. Raffles' neighbourhood (Bras Basah) for the colonial-era atmosphere with the heritage hotel, CHIJMES dining and the Singapore Art Museum nearby.

👯 Groups

Clarke Quay/Boat Quay for the nightlife base, the riverside is Singapore's main bar and club strip, with hotels nearby putting you in the thick of the evening action. Sentosa Island for groups wanting the resort island vibe with beaches, day clubs and theme parks. Orchard Road for shopping-and-eating-focused groups with massive hotels and endless dining options walkable.

🗣️ Local Lingo

Singapore has four official languages (English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil) plus the famous local creole "Singlish" which mixes English with phrases from all of the above. English is universal so you don't need any other language to get by, but a few useful phrases:

• 👋 Hello, English works everywhere

• 🙏 Xie xie, Thank you (Mandarin, pronounced "shyeh-shyeh")

• 🍜 Shiok, Singlish for "delicious / amazing", the universal local expression of enjoyment

• ✅ Can lah, Singlish for "yes, sure" (the "lah" is a sentence-ending intensifier you'll hear constantly)

• 🚇 MRT, the Mass Rapid Transit metro, locals just call it the MRT and use it for everything

✈️ Holidays to Singapore – Travel Guide 2026 / 2027

👨‍👩‍👧 Families

• 🎢 Universal Studios Singapore on Sentosa is a smaller park than the US versions but properly built for a family day, with Transformers, Madagascar and Sci-Fi City zones plus rides for all ages

• 🐠 The S.E.A. Aquarium on Sentosa is one of the largest in the world with manta rays, sharks and a 36-metre-wide viewing panel into the Open Ocean tank

• 🦒 Singapore Zoo's open enclosures and the River Wonders park next door are an easy half-day, then come back after dark for the Night Safari which is the kids' headline experience

• 🌳 The Far East Organization Children's Garden inside Gardens by the Bay is free, has water-play fountains for cooling off, and adventure equipment for older kids

• 🚡 Take the cable car from Mount Faber to Sentosa for the journey itself, kids love the view and it's a more memorable arrival than the monorail

💕 Couples

• 🌅 Sunrise or sunset at the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark for the city skyline views, then dinner at CÉ LA VI on the rooftop for cocktails with a view

• 🌺 A walk through the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site with the National Orchid Garden inside, properly tropical and walking-distance to Orchard Road

• 🛥️ A bumboat cruise along the Singapore River at sunset, the boats run between Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Marina Bay with the Merlion and skyline as the backdrop

• 🍸 Cocktails at Atlas Bar in the art-deco Parkview Square (one of the world's most photographed bars) followed by dinner at one of the riverside restaurants in Boat Quay

• 🏮 An evening wander through Chinatown, the lanterns lit up overhead, dinner at one of the heritage shophouse restaurants, then a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel for the proper colonial-era touch

👯 Groups

• 💧 Adventure Cove Waterpark on Sentosa has slides, a lazy river and snorkelling with rays, easy group day out

• 🌃 A Clarke Quay bar crawl is the obvious group night, the riverside bars and clubs are clustered together and the vibe is loud and social

• 🦁 Book the Singapore Zoo Night Safari as a group, the world's first nocturnal zoo, you tour by tram after dark and see animals you won't see anywhere else

• 🍻 Hawker centre takeover for dinner, Lau Pa Sat after dark turns the surrounding street into a satay barbecue street party, easy spot for a big group

• 🎰 Marina Bay Sands has one of the world's biggest casinos if your group fancies a flutter, plus the rooftop bar (CÉ LA VI) is a properly memorable venue for a celebration

🏝️ More Destinations

• Asia for the wider regional hub

• Thailand, Phuket, Bangkok and Chiang Mai

• Phuket, Thailand's headline beach destination, an easy 1.5-hour flight from Singapore for a beach-and-city combination

• Maldives, the ultimate beach add-on, 4.5 hours' flight from Singapore for the iconic over-water villa stay