Singapore travel essentials: your first hours sorted

Changi airport (SIN) connects to the city by MRT (the metro) — cheap, fast and easy, about 30–45 minutes with one change, tapping a contactless card at the gate. Taxis and Grab are honest, metered/upfront and reasonably priced too, which many prefer with luggage or late at night. Changi itself (the Jewel waterfall, gardens) is worth arriving a little early for on the way out.

A Singapore eSIM set up before you fly gets you online instantly. The city is also blanketed in fast, free public wifi (Wireless@SG), so connectivity is never a problem — an eSIM just means you’re covered the moment you land and on the move.

Singapore is almost entirely cashless — contactless cards and phones work essentially everywhere, including hawker centres increasingly. Carry a small amount of cash for the most traditional hawker stalls, but you’ll rarely need it. Tipping is not customary: restaurants add a service charge (the “++” on menus), and you don’t tip taxis or at hawker centres.

The MRT is world-class — clean, cheap, air-conditioned, signed in English and reaching almost everywhere, with buses filling the gaps. Just tap a contactless card. It’s genuinely one of the easiest cities anywhere to get around solo, day or night.

Singapore is exceptionally safe partly because the rules are strict and enforced, and visitors aren’t exempt. The practical ones: no eating or drinking on the MRT (fines apply), don’t jaywalk, vaping and e-cigarettes are banned entirely (don’t even bring them in), littering is fined, and — most seriously — drug offences carry extremely severe penalties, including the death penalty for trafficking. None of this affects an ordinary trip; just know the lines before you cross them.

Being straight with you: Singapore decriminalised sex between men in 2022, and the city is safe, with a discreet scene, but it remains socially conservative and does not recognise same-sex marriage. LGBTQ+ travellers visit comfortably with ordinary discretion; public affection is best kept low-key. We keep the current detail on the dedicated guide.

Singapore’s headline attractions — Gardens by the Bay (the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome), Universal Studios and the Sentosa resorts, and the excellent Singapore Zoo / Night Safari — use timed tickets and get busy at weekends and holidays. Booking online ahead saves queueing and often a little money.