Singapore in 3 Days

Nearest station: City Hall (NS25/EW13), Exit B, about a 7-minute walk via the Art Connector

Opens daily at 10:00 and closes at 19:00, with last admission at 18:30. General admission is 20 SGD for non-residents, or 30 SGD all-access. Singapore citizens and permanent residents get in free, and there is 5 SGD off for children aged 7 to 12, seniors over 60 and qualifying students.

The catch: That 20 SGD buys the permanent Southeast Asian collection, and if you are not already interested in 19th and 20th century regional painting, two hours here will feel long. Non-residents pay for what locals get free, so the value calculation genuinely is different for you.

Out past the Padang, along the waterfront and across the Helix Bridge. It is free and it is the postcard.

The catch: It is also completely exposed. Do it with a bottle of water, or do not do it at one in the afternoon.

Nearest station: Bayfront (CE1/DT16) Exit B and the underground linkway, or Gardens by the Bay (TE22) Exit 1

The pricing here is odd in a way worth knowing. Flower Dome alone is 12 SGD for an adult, and it is 12 SGD whether you are a resident or not. The Flower Dome and Cloud Forest combo is 46 SGD for non-resident adults against 34 SGD for residents. Essentially the entire tourist premium sits on Cloud Forest. Gardens by the Bay publishes a Cloud-Forest-only rate for residents but no non-resident equivalent, so as a visitor your practical choice is 12 SGD for one dome or 46 SGD for both. Both run 09:00 to 21:00, and Gardens by the Bay puts the Cloud Forest at roughly an hour.

The catch: Last admission is 20:30 for the Flower Dome but 20:00 for Cloud Forest, a half-hour difference that catches people out. The cooled conservatories and the Supertree Observatory also close once a month for maintenance, so check the hours page the week you travel. There is nothing more deflating than a 46 SGD plan meeting a locked door.

14 SGD for non-resident adults, with last admission at 20:30. The OCBC Skyway is the same 14 SGD and takes about 15 minutes.

The catch: The Skyway gets suspended in bad weather, which in Singapore is not a rare event.

Garden Rhapsody is free at Supertree Grove, nightly at 19:45 and 20:45. Spectra is free too, 15 minutes, at the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza, Sunday to Thursday at 20:00 and 21:00 and on Friday and Saturday at 20:00, 21:00 and 22:00. Take the 19:45 Rhapsody and the 21:00 Spectra and you get both without running.

The Sentosa Express goes from VivoCity Lobby L on Level 3 at 4 SGD standard and 2 SGD concession, free for children under 0.9 m, with the first train at 07:00 and the last at midnight. The Singapore Cable Car both-lines round trip is listed by the operator at 32.90 SGD adult and 23.50 SGD child, running 08:45 to 22:00 with last boarding at 21:30. Other sellers quote around 35 SGD, so check which product you are buying. There is also the Sentosa Boardwalk on foot from VivoCity Lobby F on Level 1, and bus RWS8 at 1 SGD.

The catch: The cable car costs nearly nine times the monorail for the same crossing. The view is genuinely better and the Mount Faber leg is the good half, but if your budget is tight that difference is two conservatory tickets. Take the Express in and ride the cable car once for the view rather than as transport.

The beaches are free and they are the point of the morning. Imbiah Station is where the built attractions cluster, including Skyline Luge Sentosa, open daily 10:00 to 21:30.

The catch: Sentosa's own attraction page does not publish luge prices, so budget it as an unknown and check at the counter. We are not going to quote a number we cannot source.

Nearest station: Chinatown (NE4/DT19)

288 South Bridge Road, open daily 09:00 to 17:00, free for adults and children.

The catch: It shuts at 17:00, so it cannot be an afternoon filler, and being free it is busy from opening. Go at nine or accept the crowds.

The Hainanese chicken rice stall here holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and there is a queue to prove it. The neighbouring chicken rice stalls exist for exactly this reason and are not a consolation prize.

Nearest station: Bugis (EW12/DT14)

Sultan Mosque, Haji Lane and Arab Street. Free to walk, and the best street photography on this itinerary.

Nearest station: Little India (NE7/DT12), two stops up the Downtown Line

Tekka Centre, the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and the shophouses. Also free.

Nearest station: Napier (Thomson-East Coast Line) for the Tanglin gate, or Botanic Gardens (Circle and Downtown Lines) for Bukit Timah

The gardens are open 05:00 to midnight daily and free for everyone. The National Orchid Garden inside runs 08:30 to 19:00 with last entry at 18:00 and costs 15 SGD for a standard adult, 3 SGD for seniors and students and free for children under 12. Locals pay 5 SGD.

The catch: The Orchid Garden is a threefold price step for non-residents and it is entirely outdoors, which at 32 degrees and 90 percent humidity is a shorter visit than you are imagining.