How to Get Around Singapore

Singapore is a great city to visit.  Its clean, orderly and very modern.  I spent 4 days in Singapore and this is how I got around to see it.

SINGAPORE TRANSIT PASS

After I landed at Changi Airport, I knew I had to find my way to my hostel by train.  I looked around and went to the Tourism booth set up in the arrivals hall.  I told them I was there for 3 nights (4 full days) and the gentleman promptly set me up with a 4 day transit pass.   This pass allowed me unlimited access to all buses and trains in Singapore for all four days.  It costs me $39 SD (37.45 CDN)  and well worth it.  I used this pass to get on the train from the airport to my hostel and also at night to visit places at night like Clarke Quay and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.


HOP ON HOP OFF BUS

I also visited the Hop On Hop off Bus booth set up in Changi Aiport.  The Hop On Hop Off  Bus allowed me to hop on and hop off at all the sights that I wanted to visit.  I chose the Singapore 7 package.  This allowed me to hop on and hop off on all 7 sightseeing lines that ran throughout Singapore.  It also included admittance to The Gardens By The Bay. You can purchase the 1 day or 2 day pass.  I purchased the 2 day pass. The seats were comfortable and had an open air top.  Lucky for me, the bus stopped just outside my hostel in Chinatown.  To find the stops, just use the corresponding number on the map to the number on the city bus stop.  Sounds complicated but it really isn't.

You need to find a City Sightseeing booth that will issue you a sightseeing passport which you will show to the bus driver as you hop on.  There is one on Pagoda St in Chinatown, if you can't find one.  Do not lose the passport.

My hostel wasn't ready til 2:30 pm and I arrived there at 10am.  The hostel was great in letting me store my bag in a backroom while I went out and spent some time sightseeing.  I hopped on the bus and went straight to Merlion Park where I stayed until my hostel was ready for me.  Purchasing it at the airport was great as it enabled me to sight see as soon as I got there.  It cost me $49 SD ($47.05 CDN)

GRAB APP

The Grab app originated in Singapore which means that the app is widely used here as well as Malaysia and in Thailand.  The Grab App is a cheaper version of ride sharing Uber.  Grab has actually bought out Uber in these countries so Grab is the way to go!  I used Grab to get to the zoo in the early morning for my date to have breakfast with the Orangutans.  The Zoo is located a little outside of  the city so its harder to get out there. The drivers I had going and coming back from there were great and one of them was chatty and told me all sorts of fun tidbits about Singapore once I told him I was visiting from Vancouver, Canada.

RIVER CRUISE

If you want to cruise down the Singapore River, buy a ticket at Clarke Quay and hop on a river cruise.  I bought a ticket for $25 SD ($23.97 CDN) and it went around the river towards Merlion Park, under the Helix Bridge and by the durian fruit looking building.  I took this cruise at night so I could enjoy the city all lit up.  It was beautiful.  Make sure you see it at night.  I got off on the way back to Clarke Quay, by the Art Science building that looks like a lotus flower.  I then walked up towards the Helix Bridge that is supposed to look like DNA.  I walked over the bridge to the other side to get to Merlion Park to get a closer night time view.

River Cruises are great options to get around if they have stops along the way like mine did.

TRAINS 

The MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) was the closest  line to me in Chinatown.  There are 5 metro lines on the MRT and 3 LRT (Light Rail Transit) lines you can use.  The MRT lines are colour coded.  I used the EXPO line alot to get back to my hostel at night.  They use the Mark III trains here and it reminded me alot of the ones back in Vancouver, Canada. Just like here, it shows you the different platforms where you can change trains to catch a different line.

FREE HOP ON HOP OFF TOUR BUS

Last but not least, if you are just transiting thru Singapore, you can sign up at the airport for a free Singapore City tour that takes up 2.5 hours of your time.  You must have at least 5 hours in transit to be eligible to sign up for this FREE tour.

These are some options for you if you want to be able to go out and enjoy what Singapore has to offer.  Hope this helps in your travels to this small but incredible city!