The Marina Bay skyline lit up at night, its colours reflected in the water

The Singapore travel guide

Discover
Singapore.

The garden city on the equator.

Marina Bay · Chinatown · Little India · Kampong Glam · Orchard · Sentosa

Explore the guide Travel & live
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Supertrees and the skyway against a blue sky Marina Bay Sands and the garden domes across the water The lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum in front of the skyline The Rain Vortex waterfall under the glass dome of Jewel Changi

About the guide

One island. Every corner.

Singapore is small enough to cross in an hour and dense enough to fill a month. Discover Singapore is a complete travel guide to the city: when to go, how to get around, where to stay, what to eat, what it costs, local rules and etiquette, and how to handle the heat and the rain.

1965year Singapore became independent
2015the Botanic Gardens became a UNESCO World Heritage Site
2020hawker culture joined UNESCO’s intangible heritage list
A plant-covered Supertree lit up at night at Gardens by the Bay

The series

Visit first. Stay longer.

The travel guide covers everything for a first or fifth trip. A second book, for expats and digital nomads, follows later for anyone planning to live and work here.

The travel guide Expat & nomad edition
Skyscrapers lit blue at night above old shophouse roofs

The travel guide

Skyline, streets and hawker stalls.

Mornings in the gardens, afternoons in the shophouse quarters, nights at the hawker centres. The travel guide is built around neighbourhoods, food and easy days out, with maps for each area.

See the neighbourhoods on the map →
  • Marina BayThe skyline, the waterfront and the light show.
  • Gardens by the BaySupertrees, cloud forest and cooled domes.
  • ChinatownTemples, shophouses and Maxwell Food Centre.
  • Little India & Kampong GlamSpice shops, Sultan Mosque and Haji Lane.
Cover of Discover Singapore, the complete travel guide

The travel guide · Coming soon

Discover SingaporeThe Complete Travel Guide

Neighbourhoods, food & maps

  • Neighbourhood by neighbourhood
  • Hawker centres & what to order
  • MRT & area maps
  • Weather & festival calendar
Notify me at launch See the expat edition
The financial district at night seen from above

Coming later

Stay longer. Work from the equator.

For anyone moving here or basing themselves in Singapore for a few months. The expat and digital nomad edition covers passes, housing, neighbourhoods to live in, coworking and the real cost of a month in the city.

Get notified when it launches →
  • Visas & passesThe options for working and living here.
  • Where to liveNeighbourhoods compared by budget and commute.
  • Coworking & cafésPlaces to work, with good Wi-Fi and air-con.
  • Cost of livingRent, food, transport and healthcare.
Cover of Discover Singapore, Expat and Digital Nomad Edition

The expat & nomad guide · Coming later

Discover SingaporeExpat & Digital Nomad Edition

Living, working & settling in

  • Passes & paperwork
  • Renting a home
  • Coworking & internet
  • Healthcare, banking & schools
Notify me at launch See the travel guide
Gardens by the Bay and Marina Barrage with ships anchored offshore

The garden city

Grown from the sea. Planted like a garden.

Singapore has grown by roughly a quarter since independence, much of it land reclaimed from the sea. Then it planted that land so thickly that it now calls itself a city in nature. After dark the Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay light up for the nightly Garden Rhapsody show.

Read the history →

The history of Singapore

A port with a long memory.

Malay harbour, British trading post, independent nation. The guide opens with the story behind the skyline.

Read the journal
  • Temasek and the old Malay port
  • Raffles and the 1819 trading post
  • The Japanese occupation, 1942–45
  • Independence in 1965

From the journal

Tips, maps & field notes

Clouds over the skyline at sunset
Planning · Weather

Best Time to Visit Singapore: A Month-by-Month Guide

Monsoon showers, festival dates and the months with the clearest skies.

Coming soon
City towers rising behind rows of shophouses at night
Neighbourhoods

Where to Stay in Singapore: Neighbourhoods Compared

Marina Bay, Chinatown, Tiong Bahru and more, by budget and style of trip.

Coming soon
The city centre at night seen from above
Getting around

Getting Around Singapore: MRT, Buses & Taxis

How to pay, which lines you need, and when a Grab beats the train.

Coming soon

Start here

Singapore highlights

Supertrees lit up at night with Marina Bay Sands behindGardens by the BaySupertree GroveLights and music every evening. Marina Bay Sands at night with the ArtScience Museum in frontMarina BayMarina Bay SandsThree towers and a SkyPark on top. The Rain Vortex falling through the glass dome of Jewel ChangiChangiJewel ChangiThe Rain Vortex, an indoor waterfall. The ArtScience Museum under a bright sky with palm treesMarina BayArtScience MuseumThe lotus-shaped museum on the bay. The skyway curving between Supertrees above the gardensGardens by the BayThe SkywayA walkway between the Supertrees. Aerial view of Marina Barrage and the garden domes with ships at seaMarina BayMarina BarrageDam, park and the anchored ships. The Fullerton Hotel and financial district reflected at sunsetDowntownThe waterfrontThe Fullerton and the CBD at dusk. Supertrees covered in plants against a blue skyGardens by the BaySupertrees by dayVertical gardens under steel canopies. Marina Bay Sands, the skyline and the Singapore Flyer reflected in the bay at nightMarina BaySingapore FlyerThe bay and skyline from the water’s edge. Glowing pink egg-shaped lights on the water below Marina Bay SandsMarina BayLights by the bayGlowing art below the towers. Marina Bay Sands seen between two bridges, reflected in the water at nightMarina BayBayfront at nightBridges, palms and the SkyPark. Three Supertrees lit purple and red, seen from above at nightGardens by the BaySupertrees from aboveThe grove lit up after dark.
The waterfront at dusk with the city towers under heavy cloud

Beyond the postcards

Discover the quiet Singapore.

Past the skyline and the malls the island slows down: kampong houses on Pulau Ubin, rainforest trails around the reservoirs, and old shophouse streets where breakfast is kaya toast and kopi. The guide points you there too.

See the guide

The city

Six neighbourhoods, one island.

Schematic map of Singapore neighbourhoods Orchard Road Little India Kampong Glam Marina Bay Chinatown Sentosa

Schematic map, not to scale.

The guides

Visit or stay.

The travel guide is in preparation, and the expat & digital nomad edition follows later. Leave your email below and we will tell you the day each one launches.

Marina Bay Sands and the garden domes beyond a bed of flowers

Free download

The Singapore Travel Checklist

A free two-page checklist for planning your trip, from landing at Changi to your last hawker meal.

One email per new guide. Unsubscribe any time.

  • Getting there: Changi & transfers
  • SG Arrival Card before you fly
  • MRT, buses & contactless cards
  • Heat, rain & what to pack
  • Local rules & etiquette
  • Emergency numbers (999 & 995)

Part of the Discover series. Independent travel guides, one destination at a time.

Discover Hawaii →