The Itinerary 
Singapore and Bali in 10 days: three days of city, seven of island
Singapore for three days because that is exactly how long it rewards, then a week in Bali split between the Ubud gorge and the Bukit cliffs. The short flight that makes the pairing work, the levy and arrival card nobody mentions, and why Bali gets two bases rather than four.
- Southeast Asia
- 10 days
- ≈ AED 5,700 / person
- Two places that are nothing like each other, two and a half hours apart
Before you go
Singapore and Bali are two and a half hours apart and have almost nothing in common, which is the point. One is the most efficiently organised city on earth; the other is a volcanic island where the traffic is the main planning problem.
Three days in Singapore and seven in Bali. Singapore rewards exactly three — long enough for the zoo, the Gardens and a hawker crawl, short enough that it stays expensive-but-brief. Bali gets two bases, not four, because crossing that island repeatedly is how a week there disappears.
Singapore in 6 days and Bali in 7 days cover each half on its own.
Figure USD 1,550 (≈ AED 5,692) per person. April to October.
Before you go: the admin
Entry, which is two separate processes
- Singapore: 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 the free SG Arrival Card online within three days before arrival — the sites charging for it are not official.
- Indonesia: visa on arrival for a long list of nationalities, 30 days, extendable once. A tourist levy is payable on arrival, separate from the visa — pay it online before you fly to skip a queue.
- Do both online in advance. They are small, compulsory and easily forgotten in a two-country trip.
- Last checked: 2 November 2026.
The flight between them
- Singapore to Denpasar is about two hours forty, and the route is served many times a day.
- Book it as a separate ticket if it is cheaper, but leave a margin — a missed connection on a self-connected itinerary is entirely your problem.
- Fly in the morning. An afternoon arrival in Denpasar plus ninety minutes to Ubud puts you there after dark.
The two countries price differently
- Singapore is expensive for beds and almost free for food. A hawker meal costs a few dollars and is the best eating in the city; the hotel is where the money goes.
- Bali is the reverse of nothing — beds, food and drivers are all cheap, and the only expensive thing is a villa if you want one.
- Budget the two halves separately. A daily average across both is meaningless.
Day by day
Day 1 — Land in Singapore
- Jewel at Changi — the Rain Vortex and the Canopy Park — is inside the airport and is the right first stop, because nobody has to travel to it after a flight.
- Drop the bags, then a hawker centre. Chicken rice, satay, roti prata, a few dollars a plate. This is the best eating in the city and the cheapest.
- It is 30°C and humid every month of the year. One outdoor anchor a day, taken in the morning, is the rule that makes Singapore pleasant instead of punishing.
Day 2 — The zoo, and the Gardens after dark
- 08:30 — Singapore Zoo at opening. It is open-concept, consistently rated among the best anywhere, and by eleven the animals are asleep.
- 13:00 — Back for the heat. The afternoon is for a pool or a mall, and that is not a defeat here.
- 18:00 — Gardens by the Bay. The Supertree grove is free to walk among, and Spectra, the light and water show on the Marina Bay promenade, runs at 19:45 and costs nothing.
Day 3 — Cloud Forest, then a neighbourhood
- 09:00 — the Cloud Forest, held at around 23°C, which makes it the best mid-morning plan in this climate. Book the slot online; it sells out.
- 12:00 — Chinatown, Little India or Kampong Glam for lunch and a wander, or the Botanic Gardens, which are UNESCO-listed and free to enter.
- Evening — an early night. Tomorrow starts at the airport.
Day 4 — Into Ubud
- Morning flight to Denpasar, two hours forty. Take the early one — an afternoon arrival plus the drive puts you in Ubud after dark on your first Bali night.
- Land at Denpasar and go up. Ubud is about ninety minutes without traffic and longer with it.
- Stay ten minutes out of the centre — quieter, greener and cheaper, and the walk in is pleasant.
- Afternoon — the Campuhan Ridge Walk. Free, flat, about an hour, and the right introduction.
- Evening — dinner in Ubud. A driver removes the parking problem.
Day 5 — Terraces and temples
- 06:30 — Tegalalang at opening, or Jatiluwih, which is UNESCO-listed, an hour further and far less crowded. On a ten-day trip, take the drive.
- 09:00 — Tirta Empul, the holy spring. You can take part in the purification with a sarong and a guide, or watch.
- 11:30 — Back for the heat.
- 16:00 — A Balinese massage, which costs a fraction of what it does anywhere else and is best taken more than once.
- Skip the Monkey Forest. The macaques are organised and they take things.
Day 6 — A cooking class, or the north
- A cooking class is the best half-day in Ubud — market first, then a garden kitchen.
- Or Sidemen, an hour east — rice terraces without the coaches.
- Or nothing. The villa and the gorge are what you paid for.
Day 7 — Across to the Bukit
- 10:00 — Leave after an early lunch. This is the only transfer of the Bali half — about two hours.
- 15:00 — Arrive Uluwatu. The cliff, the pool, the afternoon.
- 18:00 — Uluwatu Temple at sunset, ten minutes away, with the Kecak fire dance in the clifftop amphitheatre. Book ahead; it fills. Watch the macaques here too.
Day 8 — The Bukit beaches
- 09:00 — Padang Padang, Bingin or Melasti. The good ones are at the bottom of a cliff and the stairs are the filter.
- Check the tide. Several barely exist at high water, which is the commonest wasted morning here.
- 13:00 — Lunch at a warung above the beach.
- 19:00 — A cliff-edge dinner, which is the Bukit’s one real extravagance and worth doing once.
Day 9 — Surf, spa, or a boat
- A surf lesson at Padang Padang or Balangan — the famous breaks here are for experienced surfers and the beginner spots are separate.
- Or a day boat to Nusa Lembongan — shorter and calmer than Nusa Penida, with a mangrove channel and decent snorkelling, and you are back for dinner.
- Nusa Penida is the one to skip on a trip this length: a rough crossing and long queues for one cliff photograph.
- Sunset — a cliff bar, which is the one crowded thing worth joining.
Day 10 — Out
- The airport is 30–45 minutes from Uluwatu, which is the other reason to finish on the Bukit.
- Morning — a last swim and a late checkout if you can get one.
- Allow three hours at Denpasar. It is a slow airport.
Costs and practicalities
Best time to visit
April to October, driven by Bali; Singapore is the same all year.
- April to June — dry in Bali, green from the recent rain, and before the peak. The best window.
- July and August — driest and busiest in Bali, with rates up and the traffic at its worst. Singapore’s school holidays crowd its attractions too.
- September and October — dry, quieter and good value, with the rains building late in October.
- November to March — Bali’s wet season. It rains hard in the afternoon and clears, Ubud is at its greenest and rooms are cheapest. Singapore is unaffected.
- Nyepi, in March, shuts Bali completely for 24 hours including the airport. Check the date.
Travel tips
- Three days in Singapore, not six. It is the right length and the expensive half.
- Eat at hawker centres. Cheapest and best.
- Do both entry processes online before you fly — the SG Arrival Card and the Indonesian e-VOA plus levy.
- Morning flight to Denpasar, so Ubud is not an arrival after dark.
- Two bases in Bali, not four. The traffic is the thing that ruins a week here.
- Check the tide before a Bukit beach.
- Agree the Bali driver’s day rate and hours in advance.
- Do not ride a scooter without the correct licence — your insurance will not cover it.
- A light layer for Singapore’s indoor air conditioning.
What this trip actually costs
Two people, 9 nights, mid-range throughout, international flights excluded:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bali villa and Bukit hotel, 6 nights | USD 900 (≈ AED 3,305) |
| Singapore hotel, 3 nights | USD 600 (≈ AED 2,204) |
| Food and drink, 10 days | USD 620 (≈ AED 2,277) |
| Zoo, Gardens, the Kecak and Bali entries | USD 380 (≈ AED 1,396) |
| Private driver in Bali, and Singapore transport | USD 340 (≈ AED 1,249) |
| Flights Singapore to Denpasar, two people | USD 260 (≈ AED 955) |
| Total for two | USD 3,100 (≈ AED 11,385) |
- Roughly USD 1,550 (≈ AED 5,692) per person for ten days.
- Singapore is three nights and nearly a fifth of the bed budget. That is the trade for putting it in, and three days is where the value stops.
- Food across both is low because of hawker centres and warungs — the two cheapest good eating cultures in the region.
- The Bali driver is the cheapest useful line and the one not to cut.
- Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.
What to pack
- A light cardigan. Singapore’s indoor air conditioning is fierce.
- Reef-safe sunscreen and a hat for both halves.
- Shoes you can manage cliff stairs in for the Bukit beaches.
- A sarong for Bali’s temples, though they lend them.
- Insect repellent — dengue is present in both.
- A refillable bottle. Singapore’s tap water is drinkable; Bali’s is not.
- A Type G adapter for Singapore, Type C/F for Bali, 230V.
Part of a bigger trip?
- Singapore in 6 days is the city at length.
- Bali in 7 days is the island on its own.
- Singapore and Malaysia in 10 days is the other pairing from the same airport.
- Bali on a budget is the homestay version of the island half.
- Indonesia in 14 days adds Java and the volcanoes.
FAQ
Why three days in Singapore and seven in Bali? Because that is where each one’s value sits. Singapore is compact, expensive for beds and comfortably seen in three days. Bali needs a week to be worth the transfer, and needs two bases inside that week rather than four.
How long is the flight between them? About two hours forty to Denpasar, served many times a day. Fly in the morning — an afternoon arrival plus ninety minutes to Ubud puts you there after dark on your first night.
What do I need to enter each country? Two separate processes, both online and both easy to forget. Singapore needs the free SG Arrival Card within three days of arrival, and a visa in advance for some nationalities including Indian passport holders. Indonesia needs a visa on arrival — the e-VOA is faster — plus a tourist levy paid separately.
Is Bali worth it with only seven days? Yes, with two bases. Ubud for the gorge and the terraces, the Bukit for the cliffs and the beaches, one transfer between them. Trying to add Seminyak and Nusa Penida to a week is where people lose days to traffic and rough crossings.
Which is the expensive half? Singapore for beds, Bali for almost nothing. Three Singapore nights cost roughly two-thirds of six Bali nights, and Singapore’s food is cheap enough at a hawker centre to close some of that gap back up.
Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 2 November 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.
