Singapore in 3 days: Marina Bay, Sentosa and the hawker centres

Marina Bay on the first evening, the three historic quarters on foot on the second, Sentosa on the third — and hawker centres throughout, because that is the real reason to eat here.

Southeast Asia
3 days
≈ AED 1,300 / person
A tight three days in a city where nothing is more than forty minutes away

Researched & checked by Nitesh Parasher Last verified 29 October 2026

Before you go

Singapore is small enough that three days genuinely covers it. The island is 50km across, the MRT reaches almost everything, and nothing on this page is more than forty minutes from anything else.

Three days: Marina Bay for the set pieces, the three historic quarters on foot — Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam, which are a short walk apart and completely different from each other — and Sentosa if you have children or want a beach day.

Running through all of it: the hawker centres. Hawker culture is UNESCO-listed, a plate costs SGD 4–8, and it is better food than most of the restaurants.

Want longer? Singapore in 6 days adds the zoo, the outer neighbourhoods and the islands.

Figure the budget below. Year-round, with caveats.

Before you go: the short version

Entry

Most nationalities enter visa-free for 30 or 90 days. Some, including Indian passport holders, need a visa in advance through an authorised agent.
Everyone must submit an SG Arrival Card online within three days before arrival. It is free; the sites charging for it are not official.

Getting in and around

Changi (SIN) is 20 minutes from the centre. The MRT is about SGD 2.50; a taxi is SGD 25–40.
Tap a contactless bank card directly on every MRT and bus gate. You do not need a tourist pass unless you are travelling constantly.
The MRT is clean, cheap and reaches nearly everything.
Grab is the taxi app.

What it costs to know

Alcohol is heavily taxed — a beer is SGD 12–15 in a bar.
Hawker food is the opposite: SGD 4–8 for a plate, and it is the best eating in the city.
No chewing gum sales, fines for littering, and no durian on the MRT. All real, none of it affects an ordinary visit.

Day by day

Day 1 — Marina Bay

Walking order: Gardens by the Bay → Marina Bay Sands (10 min through the mall) → the bay promenade to Merlion Park (20 min) → Esplanade. About 4km, flat, and largely shaded or indoors.

Arrive and go late. It is 31°C and humid every day of the year — the bay is an afternoon-and-evening place.
15:00 — Gardens by the Bay. The Supertree Grove is free; the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome are ticketed and air-conditioned. The Cloud Forest’s indoor waterfall is the better of the two domes.
17:30 — Marina Bay Sands and the ArtScience Museum, and the mall beneath it, which has a canal with sampans in it.
18:30 — The bay promenade to Merlion Park, with the skyline across the water — the photograph everyone takes is from this side, looking back at the hotel.
19:45 — The Supertree light show, free, twice nightly, and Spectra on the bay afterwards.
21:00 — Lau Pa Sat for supper — a Victorian cast-iron market hall, shipped from Glasgow in 1894, with satay stalls that set up in the street outside each evening.

Day 2 — The three quarters

Walking order: Chinatown → Maxwell Food Centre (on site) → MRT two stops → Little India and Tekka → MRT → Kampong Glam and Haji Lane. About 5km across three clusters, each walkable within itself.

09:00 — Chinatown. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Sri Mariamman, a Hindu temple, are on the same street — which is Singapore in one block.
11:00 — The Chinatown Heritage Centre, three restored shophouses showing how families lived eight to a room in the 1950s. It is the most honest museum in the city.
12:30 — Maxwell Food Centre for lunch. Hainanese chicken rice is the dish and the queues tell you which stall.
14:30 — Little India, and the Tekka Centre — louder, denser and more chaotic than anywhere else on the island, which is precisely its appeal. Sri Veeramakaliamman is the temple to see.
17:00 — Kampong Glam, the Malay-Arab quarter, with the Sultan Mosque at its centre and Haji Lane behind it — a single narrow street of independent shops that is the most photographed lane in Singapore.
19:30 — Arab Street for dinner — Turkish, Lebanese and Malay, all on one block.

Day 3 — Sentosa, or the green city

Sentosa, with children or for a beach day

09:30 — Over by cable car from HarbourFront, which is the best approach, or the Sentosa Express monorail.
Universal Studios Singapore, S.E.A. Aquarium (one of the largest in the world), or the beaches — Tanjong is the quietest of the three.
17:00 — Skyline Luge down the hill, which is more fun than it has any right to be.

Or the green city, without

08:00 — The MacRitchie TreeTop Walk, a 250m suspension bridge through rainforest canopy in the middle of the island. Go early; it is hot and the monkeys are bold.
11:00 — The Botanic Gardens, UNESCO-listed, and the National Orchid Garden inside it.
14:00 — The National Gallery, in the old Supreme Court and City Hall, which holds the largest collection of Southeast Asian art anywhere.
17:00 — Tiong Bahru, the 1930s art deco estate with the city’s best bakery and bookshop, which almost no visitor reaches.
19:00 — Newton or Old Airport Road food centre, the latter being where Singaporeans actually argue about the best stall.

Costs and practicalities

Getting around, and what it costs


MRT, typical journey	SGD 1–2.50
MRT from Changi	SGD 2.50
Taxi from Changi	SGD 25–40
Cloud Forest and Flower Dome	SGD 53
Universal Studios Singapore	SGD 83
S.E.A. Aquarium	SGD 44
Sentosa cable car	SGD 35
Hawker meal	SGD 4–8
Beer in a bar	SGD 12–15

Tap a bank card on the MRT. No pass needed, no queue.
Eat at hawker centres and drink sparingly and Singapore is not an expensive city at all.

Best time to visit

Year-round, 25–32°C and humid every single day. There is no cool season.
February to April is marginally drier and the haze risk is lowest.
November to January is the wettest, with heavy afternoon downpours that pass in an hour.
Smoke haze from regional fires can affect air quality, typically between June and October. It varies enormously year to year.
Chinese New Year and Deepavali are both excellent times to be in the relevant quarter.

Travel tips

Submit the SG Arrival Card before you fly.
Eat at hawker centres, not restaurants. Better, and a fifth of the price.
Do the Gardens and the bay in the evening, not at midday.
Budget an hour for Changi itself — the Rain Vortex is the tallest indoor waterfall in the world and is free.
Alcohol is the one genuinely expensive thing.
Tap water is drinkable everywhere.

What this trip actually costs

Two people, 2 nights, mid-range comfort, international flights excluded:

Item	Cost
Hotel, 2 nights	SGD 400 (≈ AED 1,145)
Food and drink, 3 days	SGD 220 (≈ AED 630)
Gardens domes, Sentosa cable car, museums	SGD 180 (≈ AED 515)
MRT, Grab and the airport	SGD 60 (≈ AED 172)
Incidentals	SGD 40 (≈ AED 115)
Total for two	SGD 900 (≈ AED 2,576)

The hotel is the cost. Singapore’s rooms are expensive and small; everything else is reasonable if you eat where locals do.
Adding Universal Studios takes it up by about SGD 170 for two.
Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.

What to pack

Light, breathable clothing and a change for the middle of the day — you will sweat through one.
A layer for indoors; the air conditioning is severe.
An umbrella, for the daily downpour.
A Type G adapter, 230V — the same as the UK.

Part of a bigger trip?

Singapore in 6 days adds the zoo, the islands and the outer neighbourhoods.
Singapore and Malaysia in 10 days runs north to Melaka and Penang.
Kuala Lumpur in 2 days is five hours by road or an hour by air.
Just connecting? See Singapore in a 24-hour layover.

FAQ

Is three days enough for Singapore? Yes — the island is small and the MRT is fast. Three days covers Marina Bay, the three quarters and either Sentosa or the green city.

Is Singapore expensive? The hotel and alcohol are. Food and transport are not: a hawker meal is SGD 5 and an MRT ride SGD 1.50.

Where should I eat? Hawker centres — Maxwell, Lau Pa Sat, Tekka, Old Airport Road. It is UNESCO-listed as a cultural practice and it is the best food on the island.

Is Sentosa worth a day? With children, yes. Without, the MacRitchie canopy walk and the Botanic Gardens are the better day.

Do I need a visa? Most nationalities do not. Indian passport holders and several others do, arranged in advance. Everyone needs the free SG Arrival Card.

Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 29 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.