Singapore

Where to Stay

  • Andaz Singapore

    We absolutely LOVED our stay at the Andaz, Singapore. The hotel was truly stunning and had wonderful accommodations. The bathroom had a very luxurious rain shower where you could enjoy a view of the city. It is also very centrally located, allowing you to get to most areas in the city in a 10 - 20 minute uber ride, which was super convenient! The and the pool have a beautiful view of the city as well. Cannot say better things about this hotel!

  • Swissotel

    While we did not stay at the Swisshotel, many of my friends have stayed at this location and loved how centrally located it was! There is also restaurant on the top floor with an incredible view of the city and a club, which we went to one night! The hotel is connected to a huge mall as well - overall excellent location!

  • Marina Bay Sands

    Marina Bay Sands is the quintessential Singapore hotel that most foreigners love to stay at! The best part about the Marina Bay Sands hotel is its location, as it is right by Gardens by the Bay, the harbor, many luxury restaurants, the Art Science Museum, and a huge indoor mall. If you don’t stay at Marina Bay Sands, it is one of the places you must visit during your stay!

Must See & Do!

  • Marina Bay Sands Observatory

    You MUST go to the Marina Bay Sands Observatory, which is accessible through the Marina Bay Sands hotel. The observatory is the highest viewpoint in all of Singapore and gives you a 360 degree view of the city! The view is unmatched and there is a quaint restaurant at the top of the observatory, allowing you to dine with the best view of the city! You can’t miss this if you are visiting :)

  • Gardens By the Bay

    The only non-negotiable thing to do (in my opinion) in Singapore is visiting Gardens By the Bay, which is one of the my favorite experiences in all of my travels. Gardens by the Bay is a stunning indoor/outdoor park by the Marina in Singapore. There are two main domes: the Cloud Dome (pictured above) and the Flower Dome. The Cloud Dome is where the world’s largest indoor waterfall is found along with tons of tropical plants. I also loved the Flower Dome, which is a beautiful indoor garden and a perfect instagram spot! Truly cannot recommend more and the indoor gardens are a nice escape from the heat and humidity

  • Sentosa Island

    Sentosa Island is one of those locations that some of you will absolutely LOVE and some will be okay missing out on. It is largely a huge theme park (think: Universal Studios), with tons of rides, theme park food, ect! You can also do more adventurous activities there such as indoor sky diving and zip lining! While theme parks are not entirely my thing, I loved going to the beach club at sunset. It was nice to relax outside of the city before dinner

  • Afternoon (or Morning) at the Pool

    Many hotels in Singapore have rooftop pools which are wonderful, especially in the heat (or in the rain). I spent a couple afternoons at the pool, reading, swimming, and enjoying the view of the city! Given the humidity, it is super refreshing on a hot sunny day but still very warm while raining (even if the picture makes it seem chilly)!

  • Water/Light Show by the Marina

    While I am not sure the exact name of this light /water show by the Marina, it is something you cannot miss. It is absolutely incredible that the city of Singapore puts this show on EVERY NIGHT at 9pm. It lasts probably around 20 minutes, with modern music accompanying the show. Highly recommend!

  • Little India

    Little India is a charming neighborhood in the center of Singapore! It is a very fun place to walk around, explore, and eat! I’d recommend spending a couple hours exploring the streets and some historical monuments, including temples. Come here if you are interested in diversifying the parts of the city you are seeing (it gives a more local feel) or are wanting to try some authentic Indian food!

  • National Museum of Singapore

    As someone from San Francisco, I was a bit shocked by the National Museum of Singapore, as it is quite different from typical museums you would see in Europe or the United States. The National Museum of Singapore is primarily focused on telling the history of Singapore, detailing its time as a British colony, involvement in WWII, and development as an individual nation. It tells the story of many Singaporians who were brutally killed and oppressed by the Japanese during WWII, which I found to be quite informative and inspiring

  • Orchard Lane

    Orchard Lane is the main shopping district of Singapore. Something you will grow to learn if you visit Singapore, is their love for malls and shopping - they are, quite literally, everywhere! I recommend checking out this area, as it is full of locals in addition to the tourists. Consider going on a particularly hot afternoon or a rainy day, both of which are quite common in Singapore :)

  • Art & Science Museum

    The Art & Science Museum highglights the intersection of art, science, and technology, similar to the Artechouse in New York City. We visited on a rainy afternoon and went to the three live exhibits, though two of them rotate every couple of months or so. My favorite exhibit was on mental health, showing how different types of art and technology can either aid your mental health or contribute to stress! It is also a great place to bring kids, as many of the exhibits are interactive :)

  • Marina Bay Sands Mall

    The Marina Bay Sands Mall is accessible through the Marina Bay Sands hotel and is very close to a lot of key places to visit! The Art & Science Museum is right outside and so is the harbor where the water show happens every night! Additionally, if you are interested in window shopping by luxury stores, this is definitely the place to be :)

Food & Drinks

  • Ippudo

    I think we went to Ippudo two (three?) times during our five day stay in Singapore, so if that doesn’t say something, I am not sure what will. (And the camera clearly did NOT eat first any of the times) Named one of the best ramen places in the world, it definitely lives up to the hype! The ramen is truly delicious and I LOVED the gyoza. Also, the lemon soda is a super refreshing drink and super light, just soda water, lemons and mint! So so so delicious :)

  • Firanzi Superstar

    When I say this might have been the best meal of my life, I am not exaggerating. I DREAM of this meal. Everything about this restaurant was superb - the service, the flavors, the drinks, the ambiance, all just WOW! The owner of the restaurant takes each table through the menu and recommends drinks based off of your preferences for cocktails (or mocktails). We shared three appetizers and one main dish, which was objectively too much food but we were not mad about it. Cannot say better things about this place!

  • Genki Sushi

    Genki sushi is SO SO fun! It is one of those sushi restaurants where the dishes roll out to you on a conveyor belt (so fun). It is also super affordable and you can find one of the locations in many places throughout the city. I also loved how the portions were super small, so you could try a lot of dishes :)

  • Tsuta

    Tsuta is the first ramen restaurant to receive a Michelin star, and my goodness, does it deserve that Michelin star! The flavors in the ramen were so wonderful and each bowl was very unique! They also have delicious sushi rolls available as well, in addition to other Japanese food. The best part about this restaurant though, is how affordable it is! We spent less than we would on a similar lunch in LA, NYC or SF :)

  • 665

    665 is a very fancy restaurant in the Andaz hotel that my partner and I went to for a little “treat ourselves” night! And bonus, if you stay at the hotel, you get a $150 gift card for the restaurant, making it affordable! I absolutely loved the salmon but I think my favorite part were the truffle fries (not pictured).

  • Wonton Noodle

    Something surprising to me, is how DELICIOUS all of the food in the malls are - I was a bit shocked when friends from Singapore recommended them to me, but they did not disappoint! Our favorite was Wonton Noodle in the Marina Bay Sands food court - so yummy! The veggies were also super flavorful!

  • Hawker Center

    Hawker Centers are a MUST if you are visiting Singapore, as they are a great way to try local food and flavors! The dishes are all very traditional and very affordable as well. The dish above was super interesting - it is a dish made out of radish and tapioca flour that is fried and also put with scrambled eggs (Singaporians LOVE eggs - they are in EVERYTHING). If you go to a Hawker Center though, make sure to bring cash, as they do not accept any form of card payment.

  • Din Tai Fung

    Din Tai Fung is a very popular dim sum restaurant that you can find in many locations throughout Singapore. My partner and I LOVE dim sum and our favorite here were the soup dumplings. Cannot go wrong with anything here, though!

  • Flash Coffee

    If you find yourself in Orchard Central, one of the main shopping malls in Orchard Lane, you MUST try Flash Coffee. My partner and I stumbled upon it while searching for coffee and I think we both agreed it is the best coffee we’ve ever had! Must try!