1.28° N · 103.86° E — Marina Bay, Singapore

Guide

Things to Do on a Singapore Stopover

A Singapore stopover works in a long layover or over three nights. Here are plans for 24, 48 and 72 hours, plus the entry rules, the free transit tour and the weather.

Catherine CroweOctober 22, 20267 min read

Checked at the source13 sources, linked

Singapore is one of the few hubs where a long layover and a three-night stopover both work. The airport has its own attraction and a free city tour. And entry is visa-free for Canadian, US, British, Australian and New Zealand passport holders. For advisors, it’s an easy add-on to any Europe–Australia or North America–Southeast Asia itinerary routed through Changi.

Below: what to do with 24, 48 or 72 hours, and the rules that decide how much of that time you actually get.

Before you land: entry rules and the SG Arrival Card

According to Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand are not on the list of countries whose citizens need a visa. ICA does not publish a fixed number of visa-free days for them. Your permitted stay is set by the Visit Pass issued at the checkpoint, and the e-Pass notification shows your last allowed day.

ICA’s other requirements for short-term visitors:

Passport: at least six months’ validity.
Onward travel: proof of an onward or return journey, and enough money for your stay.
SG Arrival Card: every traveller clearing immigration must submit the SG Arrival Card, with its health declaration, within the three days before arrival (the arrival day counts as one of them). It is free through the ICA website or the MyICA app. ICA warns that commercial sites charging a fee are not affiliated with it.
Biometrics: all travellers give fingerprints, a facial image and an iris scan at immigration.

Passengers who stay airside and do not clear immigration don’t need the Arrival Card.

Making the most of a layover (under 24 hours)

The free Singapore tour. Changi Airport runs free 2.5-hour city tours for transit and transfer passengers with a layover of 5.5 to 24 hours. Your checked bags must be through-checked, and you may enter and leave immigration only once. There is one tour per passenger. The airport lists four routes: Heritage and Culture, City Sights, Singapore River and Marina Bay Sands, and Sentosa Discovery. Departures run from 10:00 to 19:00 Singapore time.

You can pre-book one tour up to 50 days ahead on the Changi website, or walk up to the booths in the Terminal 2 or Terminal 3 transit areas. Seats go first come, first served. The airport advises reaching the booth at least 90 minutes before the tour. Tours end at Jewel or at a terminal, and Changi takes no responsibility for missed connections. Tour times and itineraries change, so check the page before you go.

Jewel. Jewel Changi Airport is landside, so you need to clear immigration to visit. It connects directly to Terminal 1 arrivals. Terminals 2 and 3 are about 5 to 10 minutes away on foot by link bridge. Jewel suggests allowing at least five hours of transit time.

The centrepiece is the Rain Vortex, an indoor waterfall that falls about 40 metres. It runs daily from 10:00 to 22:00. The Light & Music Showcase is at 20:00 and 21:00 from Monday to Thursday, with an extra 22:00 show from Friday to Sunday and on public holidays and their eves. Larger bags can go in paid storage on Level 1.

24 hours: Marina Bay and a hawker supper

Afternoon: Drop your bags and head to Marina Bay. Explore the Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay. It’s free and open 05:00–02:00. The conservatories (Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) and the Supertree Observatory are ticketed.
Evening: Garden Rhapsody, the free light-and-sound show in the Supertree Grove, plays at 19:45 and 20:45 every night.
Supper: Go to a hawker centre. In 2020, UNESCO inscribed Singapore’s hawker culture on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It describes the centres as “community dining rooms,” where many stallholders specialise in a single dish they have cooked for decades. The National Environment Agency runs the public hawker centres. Stalls set their own hours and rest days, so have a second choice in mind.

48 hours: the old neighbourhoods

Spend day two on foot in the historic districts, which Singapore’s tourism authorities publish as cultural precincts with their own walking maps.

Chinatown: shophouse streets, temples and some of the city’s best-known hawker stalls.
Kampong Gelam: the historic Malay quarter around Sultan Mosque.
Little India: shops, temples and South Indian food.
Tiong Bahru or Katong–Joo Chiat: quieter residential areas for a slower afternoon.

In the evening, walk the Singapore River from Clarke Quay towards Marina Bay. From 8 to 22 December 2026, landmarks along the river and around Marina Bay will be lit red for the BTS events (see below).

72 hours: Sentosa or the wildlife parks

A third day gives you time to leave the centre. One option is Sentosa, a former British military base that is now a leisure island with beaches and Resorts World Sentosa. The other is Mandai Wildlife Reserve, with its zoo and wildlife parks, in the north. Both are best booked ahead, with timed tickets where available.

Getting a stopover on your ticket

Singapore Airlines sells stopovers as multi-city bookings. You search your origin to Singapore and then Singapore to your destination (or the reverse on the way home). The airline defines a stopover as a stay of 24 hours or more. It does not currently market a packaged “Singapore Stopover Holiday” with hotels included. Instead, its stopover pages list separate partner offers: hotel deals, Kris+ privileges in Singapore, and discounts on Pelago, the Singapore Airlines Group’s activities platform. Some markets also get Changi transit e-vouchers. Offers vary by market and change often; check terms on your local singaporeair.com site.

Two route notes this season:

Western Sydney: Singapore Airlines plans to start daily Airbus A350-900 flights between Singapore and Western Sydney International on 23 November 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. That gives Sydney travellers a second airport for a Singapore stopover. See our Western Sydney airport opening guide.
December: The Singapore Tourism Board is staging BTS THE CITY ARIRANG SINGAPORE from 1 to 31 December 2026, around four sold-out BTS concerts at the National Stadium (17, 19, 20 and 22 December). Expect high hotel demand in mid-December. Our BTS December story has the details.

Weather by month

Singapore is hot and humid all year. According to the Meteorological Service Singapore (1991–2020 normals at Changi), daily mean temperatures range from about 26.8°C in December and January to 28.6°C in May. Daytime highs are usually 30–32°C.

Period	What to expect
Dec – early Jan	Northeast Monsoon, wet phase. December is the wettest month (about 332 mm).
Late Jan – early Mar	Northeast Monsoon, drier and windier phase. February is the driest month (about 105 mm).
Late Mar – May	Inter-monsoon. Afternoon thunderstorms are common; May is the hottest month.
Jun – Sep	Southwest Monsoon. Relatively dry (June about 135 mm, September about 125 mm), with occasional squalls and short afternoon showers.
Oct – Nov	Inter-monsoon, and wetter than the spring one (November about 252 mm).

Thunderstorms are most common in the afternoons and evenings during the inter-monsoon months, so keep indoor plans (Jewel, the conservatories, museums) for that part of the day.

Planning around school breaks? Our school holiday dates cover Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

For advisors

Sell the layover, not just the stopover.: For clients with 5.5–24 hours at Changi, pre-book the free tour up to 50 days out. Remind them to through-check bags and submit the free SG Arrival Card only through ICA.
Watch December inventory.: BTS concert dates (17–22 December) will tighten Marina Bay hotels. Quote early for anyone connecting through Singapore in the second half of December.
Check the airline's market page before quoting perks.: Stopover add-ons such as Pelago discounts and Changi e-vouchers differ by point of sale and are time-limited.
Pair with onward Asia trips.: Singapore works as a bookend to Japan itineraries; see our Japan destination file.

13 primary sources

1.28° N · 103.86° E — Marina Bay, Singapore

FAQ

Do I need a visa for a Singapore stopover?
Not if you hold a Canadian, US, British, Australian or New Zealand passport, according to ICA. You do need a passport valid for at least six months, onward travel and the free SG Arrival Card.

Can I leave Changi Airport during a layover?
Yes, if you meet the entry requirements. The free Singapore tour is for transit passengers with 5.5 to 24 hours between flights who clear immigration once.

Do I need to clear immigration to visit Jewel?
Yes. Jewel is landside, linked to Terminal 1 arrivals and by bridge to Terminals 2 and 3.

Does the SG Arrival Card cost anything?
No. Submission through the ICA website or the MyICA app is free. Sites that charge a fee are not official.

What is the best month for a Singapore stopover?
February is the driest month on average. December is the wettest, and this year it is also the busiest because of the BTS concerts.

Prices, tour schedules, show times and airline offers change often; check the official pages linked above before booking.

Last checked: 19 October 2026

Sources

Where to stay near Marina Bay, Singapore

Map by Stay22. If you book through it we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. It never decides what we write.

Catherine Crowe Pacific Market Editor

Catherine Crowe is Pacific Market Editor at Not An Atlas, leading our Australia and New Zealand coverage from just outside Wellington, on the southern coast of New Zealand's North Island, by way of Canada. A speech-language pathologist, mother and former model, she travels the way she listens: closely, and for the story underneath. She still writes on family and wellness travel, and the long-haul logistics of both.

Sources are linked above. Spot an error? See our corrections policy.