Singapore
Singapore
Singapore: The City-State That Runs on Precision
- Port traffic
- QuietNext 30 days
Marina Bay is Singapore's defining modern landmark — a crescent-shaped waterfront with the ArtScience Museum (an iconic lotus-shaped building designed by architect Moshe Safdie), the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (with its observation deck offering a 360-degree view of the city), the Gardens by the Bay (two 25-metre-tall vertical gardens called Supertrees that light up at night), and the Singapore Flyer (a 165-metre observation wheel offering views across the island and into Malaysia and Indonesia). The area is walkable from the cruise terminal in 15-20 minutes.
Read the full guide
Chinatown, west of Marina Bay, is a dense neighborhood of historic shophouses (19th-century Chinese architectural vernacular), temples, and restaurants. The Sri Mariamman Temple (built 1827) is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, featuring an elaborate gopuram (tower) with carved deities. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple houses what is believed to be a tooth of Gautama Buddha.
Little India, northeast of the city center, centers on Serangoon Road and is a neighborhood of sari shops, Indian restaurants, flower garlands, and temples. The Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and the Sri Krishnan Temple are the principal places of worship.
Hawker centers — large open-air food courts with dozens of stalls serving different cuisines — are the heart of Singapore's food culture. Dishes cost $2-5 and are prepared fresh to order. The Maxwell Food Centre, Tiong Bahru Market, and Nasi Padang stalls at hawker centers throughout the island serve the best affordable food in Singapore. A meal at a hawker center is a rite of passage and requires navigating the ordering process (find an empty table, order at individual stalls, bring the dishes to your table).
The Singapore Zoo, located on the northern edge of the island, specializes in open-air habitats and is widely considered one of the world's best-designed zoos. It houses over 2,800 animals and is reachable by a 30-minute taxi or MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) from the cruise terminal. The Jurong Bird Park, an aviary housing over 5,000 birds from 600 species, is another popular half-day excursion.
Good to know
What to Expect
Cruise ships in Singapore use one of two terminals, Singapore Cruise Centre at HarbourFront or Marina Bay Cruise Centre at Marina South. Check which one your ship uses before you plan the day, because they are in different parts of the city.
- The MRT station for this terminal is HarbourFront, on the North East Line and the Circle Line, and the city center is about 15 minutes away by train.
- Marina Bay Cruise Centre is at Marina South. The nearest MRT station, Marina South Pier, is about 650 meters away at the southern end of the North-South Line.
- Taxis run on the meter, and a surcharge can apply at busy times.
Singapore on Your Own
Singapore is a straightforward city to see without a tour, because both terminals have MRT stations nearby, English is an official language and taxis run on the meter. A simple plan is one neighborhood in the morning, lunch at a hawker center, and an unhurried return to the terminal.
- From HarbourFront: Chinatown is on the North East Line from HarbourFront station. In Chinatown you will find the Sri Mariamman Temple and Chinatown Complex, the hawker center that took in the area's street sellers in 1983.
- Sentosa from HarbourFront: The Sentosa Express monorail leaves from VivoCity, the big mall in the HarbourFront area, and you pay on the way over. The ride back to the mainland is free, and you can also walk across on the covered Sentosa Boardwalk.
- From Marina Bay: Gardens by the Bay's largest garden, Bay South, is also in Marina South. The Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest are cooled glasshouses, a welcome break on a hot afternoon.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Leave time for the walk from the MRT, especially at Marina Bay.
- Know the rules: Vapes and e-cigarettes are banned and may be confiscated with a fine, smoking is banned in public parks and on all beaches, and littering can bring an on-the-spot fine. Selling chewing gum has been illegal since 1992, though a small amount for your own use is allowed.
Getting Around
HarbourFront station is served by two MRT lines, the North East Line and the Circle Line. Buses and metered taxis fill the gaps.
- Changi Airport is 40 to 50 minutes from HarbourFront by MRT, or 25 to 30 minutes by taxi.
- City buses stop at Seah Im Road Bus Terminal and at HarbourFront station, and the ride from the city takes 20 to 30 minutes.
- A taxi from the city to Singapore Cruise Centre takes 10 to 15 minutes.
- Every MRT station has lifts and platform barriers.
- The Singapore Cable Car, open since 1974, links Mount Faber, HarbourFront and Sentosa.
Hawker Centers
Singapore's hawker centers are the place to eat as locals do, and UNESCO added the country's hawker culture to its list of intangible cultural heritage on 16 December 2020. Look for Hainanese chicken rice, which many count as a national dish, along with laksa and chilli crab.
- Other dishes to try include kaya toast, roti prata and fish head curry.
- In 2016 two Singapore stalls, Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, became the first street food places in the world to win a Michelin star.
- Chinatown Complex, on Smith Street, has been a hawker center since 1983.
Gardens by the Bay and Culture
Singapore has four official languages, English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, and Chinatown alone has Chinese and Hindu temples and two mosques. A more recent landmark is a garden: Gardens by the Bay, 105 hectares of parkland beside the Marina Reservoir.
- Gardens by the Bay has two cooled glasshouses, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, and the Cloud Forest holds a 42-meter planted mountain with a 35-meter indoor waterfall.
- The garden's Supertrees also serve as air intake and exhaust for the conservatories' cooling system, and an elevated walkway, the OCBC Skyway, runs between two of the larger ones.
- Chinatown's places of worship include Thian Hock Keng Temple, the Sri Mariamman Temple, and mosques on Telok Ayer Street and Mosque Street.
- Pagoda Street takes its name from the Sri Mariamman Temple.
A Brief History
Singapore was a trading port long before the British arrived, and its modern history runs from a British trading post in 1819 to an independent city-state in 1965.
- Temasek: In the 14th century the island, then called Temasek, was a trading port under the influence of the Majapahit Empire and the Siamese kingdoms. The name Singapura replaced it before the 15th century.
- 1819: Stamford Raffles arrived on 28 January, and a treaty signed on 6 February gave the British East India Company the right to set up a trading post.
- 1824 to 1867: A further treaty in 1824 brought the whole island under British control, it joined the Straits Settlements in 1826, and in 1867 it came under direct British rule.
- 1942 to 1945: Japan occupied Singapore during the Second World War, and it returned to Britain as a Crown colony after Japan's surrender in 1945.
- 1959: Singapore gained self-government.
- 1963 to 1965: Singapore joined the new federation of Malaysia in 1963 and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.
- 2012: Marina Bay Cruise Centre received its first ship on 26 May 2012.
- 2020: UNESCO inscribed Singapore's hawker culture on its list of intangible cultural heritage.
- To learn more ashore: The National Museum of Singapore, at 93 Stamford Road, dates from 1849 and has been on this site since 1887.
Traveling with Family
Singapore works well with children on a port day, because every MRT station has lifts and much of the day can be spent out of the heat. From HarbourFront, Sentosa suits most ages; from Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay does.
- Younger children: Sentosa's southern coast has more than 2 kilometers of sheltered beach, watched by a beach patrol. Beach Station, the last stop on the Sentosa Express, is beside Palawan Beach.
- School age: In the Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay, you ride an elevator to the top of the planted mountain and walk down a path that passes under the waterfall. The Far East Organization Children's Garden is in the same park.
- History for older children: Fort Siloso, at the western end of Sentosa, was one of four forts built on the island to protect the harbor, and it became a prisoner-of-war camp after the British surrender in February 1942.
- Teenagers: Resorts World Sentosa has the Universal Studios Singapore theme park. Check height limits and prices before you go.
- Keep it simple: Choose the attractions near your terminal and leave the other side of the city for another trip.
Accessibility
Every MRT station in Singapore has lifts. Ask your cruise line about the gangway and the route through your terminal before you sail.
- Stations built before 2001 lacked lifts and ramps at first and have been refitted.
- At Marina Bay Cruise Centre, the nearest MRT station is about 650 meters away, so plan for that distance or take a taxi.
- On the Sentosa Express, people with disabilities pay a reduced fare to ride onto the island.
Shopping & Local Markets
VivoCity, in the HarbourFront area, is a very large shopping mall and the departure point for the Sentosa Express. For something more local, Chinatown's streets and its hawker complex are a short MRT ride away.
- VivoCity was designed by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito, and its name comes from the word vivacity.
- Chinatown has rows of shophouses and traditional markets.
Beaches
Singapore's beaches are on Sentosa, the resort island off the south coast, where more than 2 kilometers of sheltered sand is split into Palawan, Siloso and Tanjong beaches. The sand was brought in from Indonesia and Malaysia to make them.
- A beach patrol keeps watch over the sand.
- Palawan Beach has the Beach Station of the Sentosa Express, and bars along the beach serve food and drinks.
- Smoking is banned on all beaches in Singapore.
Port crowds
Next 30 days
Traveler photos
Photos from travelers
Reviews
Traveler reviews
Be the first to share your experience.
Suggest an edit
See something missing or incorrect?