Singapore - opinions / how many days to spend

68508224

Am planning a trip to Southeast Asia this summer and would really appreciate opinions on Singapore and/or advice on how long to spend there.

Some background info is that we are spending 4.5 days in Hong Kong before Singapore and then moving on to Kualu Lumpur for 2 days before going to Indonesia. We have travelled a lot of Southeast Asia so are used to big Asian cities etc.

At the minute I am thinking either 2 or 3 days in Singapore. Any opinions on whether 2 days would be enough time or too little? We generally move at a fast pace.

Cheers for any help.

ozzy jr

68508224 wrote: »

Am planning a trip to Southeast Asia this summer and would really appreciate opinions on Singapore and/or advice on how long to spend there.

Some background info is that we are spending 4.5 days in Hong Kong before Singapore and then moving on to Kualu Lumpur for 2 days before going to Indonesia. We have travelled a lot of Southeast Asia so are used to big Asian cities etc.

At the minute I am thinking either 2 or 3 days in Singapore. Any opinions on whether 2 days would be enough time or too little? We generally move at a fast pace.

Cheers for any help.

Singapore is quite a boring place, unless you're loaded and like going to designer shops. 2 or 3 days there would be plenty. I was there for 4 and seen everything I wanted to.

68508224

That's really helped me make my mind up, 2 days it is. Cheers ozzy jr

Bob24

68508224 wrote: »

That's really helped me make my mind up, 2 days it is. Cheers ozzy jr

+1

Developed and well managed country. Very safe and easy to move around. But not that many interesting things to see as a tourist unless you are into shopping. Still interesting to look at for those 2 days though.

Note that while I havent been there I would assume KL is probably even less interesting while not being as well managed.

killbillvol2

Bob24 wrote: »

+1

Developed and well managed country. Very safe and easy to move around. But not that many interesting things to see as a tourist unless you are into shopping. Still interesting to look at for those 2 days though.

Note that while I havent been there I would assume KL is probably even less interesting while not being as well managed.

KL is much more interesting and not too badly managed.

Bob24

killbillvol2 wrote: »

KL is much more interesting and not too badly managed.

Out of curiosity what would be the sights there which are clearly ahead of what Singapore has to offer?

He might have missed a few tricks but a friend of mine who was in KL for a day got on a Hop-On Hop-Off bus and said that basically the bus was driving from an shopping centre to another. And I had checked the website for Michelin travel which is my usual reference for what to see and they have much less sights listed for KL than for Singapore and with lower ratings. Hence my previous comment.

killbillvol2

Bob24 wrote: »

Out of curiosity what would be the sights there which are clearly ahead of what Singapore has to offer?

He might have missed a few tricks but a friend of mine who was in KL for a day got on a Hop-On Hop-Off bus and said that basically the bus was driving from an shopping centre to another.

There's some really good colonial architecture, some fabulous Islamic modern architecture, Chinatown is chaotic and vibrant and Brickfields and the area around it has some of the best Indian food you'll get anywhere. Fantastic street food all over the city, great markets, a lot of good bars (expensive though), good public transport, excellent hotels etc.

Your friend didn't miss a few tricks - he missed the whole city.

johnire

I agree.
We were there for about 5 days and had a ball.
There’s loads to see and do.

killbillvol2 wrote: »

There's some really good colonial architecture, some fabulous Islamic modern architecture, Chinatown is chaotic and vibrant and Brickfields and the area around it has some of the best Indian food you'll get anywhere. Fantastic street food all over the city, great markets, a lot of good bars (expensive though), good public transport, excellent hotels etc.

Your friend didn't miss a few tricks - he missed the whole city.

redcup342

Singapore is frikking amazing, the Parks are awesome, there's an activity park in the south and some great party areas and bars.


I think most Irish people say Singapore is boring because the beer is expensive

imme

Are cities your thing OP.

Are you concentrating on cities for this trip.

I cannot recommend KL or Hong Kong.

I can recommend Singapore.

It has lots to see and do.
Anyone who makes recommendations on Boards or any site will be a result of their own experiences.
I had good experiences in Sg and was impressed by it, their development; their determination in the course of history.

68508224

imme wrote: »

Are cities your thing OP.

Are you concentrating on cities for this trip.

I cannot recommend KL or Hong Kong.

I can recommend Singapore.

It has lots to see and do.
Anyone who makes recommendations on Boards or any site will be a result of their own experiences.
I had good experiences in Sg and was impressed by it, their development; their determination in the course of history.

Hi Imme, yeah I enjoy cities but also enjoy seeing things aside from cities also. Kind of like a nice bit of variety more than anything so between the cities above and then time in Indonesia I think we'll have a good mix. Can you not recommend KL or Hong Kong because you haven't visited them or you don't rate them?

Bob24

killbillvol2 wrote: »

Bob24 wrote: »

Out of curiosity what would be the sights there which are clearly ahead of what Singapore has to offer?

He might have missed a few tricks but a friend of mine who was in KL for a day got on a Hop-On Hop-Off bus and said that basically the bus was driving from an shopping centre to another.

There's some really good colonial architecture, some fabulous Islamic modern architecture, Chinatown is chaotic and vibrant and Brickfields and the area around it has some of the best Indian food you'll get anywhere. Fantastic street food all over the city, great markets, a lot of good bars (expensive though), good public transport, excellent hotels etc.

Most of these could apply to Singapore to be fair. And then it has some decent museums as well as the zoo/night safari.

-=al=-

At least two days for sure. I think I was there for 3 days, possibly 4 and thought that was a good amount of time. It's a fantastic place and I had a great time

redcup342

68508224 wrote: »

Hi Imme, yeah I enjoy cities but also enjoy seeing things aside from cities also. Kind of like a nice bit of variety more than anything so between the cities above and then time in Indonesia I think we'll have a good mix. Can you not recommend KL or Hong Kong because you haven't visited them or you don't rate them?

I was in KL just before Singapore.
It's nice but it's like someone walked around Singapore took notes, tried to copy it by building Kuala Lumpur and made a balls of it, also while people say you have to be careful in Singapore with the strict laws and so on, everyone forgets Malaysia is a Muslim Country, their fairly lenient on white foreigners but just something to be careful of if you happen to be Muslim and want a beer

Bits of it are fairly run down and there's a lot of poverty, KL tower is cool, Batu Caves are also nice.

Just walking around the town and the markets is an experience (just take normal precautions with minding your valuables)

I flew to Johor Bahru and did some flying lessons there in a little single engine plane then took the border train over to Singapore.

Also be aware coming from Malaysia to Singapore you have zero allowance, so any booze/cigarettes you'll have to declare.

Cocksy

I think 5 days is enough

imme

68508224 wrote: »

Hi Imme, yeah I enjoy cities but also enjoy seeing things aside from cities also. Kind of like a nice bit of variety more than anything so between the cities above and then time in Indonesia I think we'll have a good mix. Can you not recommend KL or Hong Kong because you haven't visited them or you don't rate them?

I visited both KL & HK.
Neither of them appealed to me.

A lot of traveling has to do with traveling companions, people you meet, maybe as much as about the place.

Even outside of that I don't know that HK or KL would have been more appealing in different circumstances for me.


I just didn't 'get' Hong Kong, I found it an anti climax, expected a standout city, I didn't find that.

With KL I was doing traveling in Malaysia.
Again I expected the city to be something significant.
It turned out to be a muddle without much to redeem it.

In that sense it is similar to Jakarta, a city without purpose, or character pretty much.

dohouch

Irish Independent 10 things to do in Singapore

dwayneshintzy

imme, out of interest, where were you staying in Hong Kong? And for how long?

miafricker

You can see a lot in two days, all depends on things you actually like to do. If you are interested in shopping for example - they have the most impressive shopping mall i ever seen, with the underground river in the middle of it. Just keep in mind that all the visitors need to have an arrival card https://sgarrivalcard.sg/ together with the visa.