Few hours in Singapore
Travel Month – August
Sometimes the best travel moments are the ones you never planned.
This August, on our way home to Seattle from vacation, our flight was delayed — and we found ourselves with an unexpected overnight layover in Singapore. No itinerary, no bookings, no expectations. We grabbed a quick dinner, booked a taxi, and decided to see how much of this remarkable city we could take in before our early morning flight.
The answer, it turns out, is quite a lot.
Garden by the Bay
Our driver took us first to Gardens by the Bay, and the moment we arrived, we understood why it is one of Singapore’s most iconic sights.
Spanning over 101 hectares near Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay is a nature park unlike anything we had seen before. The centrepiece is the Supertree Grove — 18 towering vertical gardens standing between 25 and 50 metres tall, covered in ferns, vines, and tropical flowers, connected by a skywalk high above the ground. At night they are lit up in shifting colours, reflected in the water below — it looks, genuinely, like something from another planet.
The park also houses two enormous climate-controlled conservatories — the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest — though these require tickets and had already closed for the evening by the time we arrived. The outdoor areas, however, are free to walk through at night, and they were magical.
Tips for visiting Gardens by the Bay on a layover:
- The outdoor Supertree Grove is free and open until midnight — perfect for a late evening visit
- The light show (OCBC Garden Rhapsody) runs twice nightly and is completely free; check times at the official website
- Book the indoor conservatories in advance if you have daytime hours — they are worth it
- gardensbythebay.com.sg for tickets and opening times
Marina Bay Sands
From Gardens by the Bay, our driver brought us to Marina Bay Sands — and even if you have seen a thousand photos of it, nothing quite prepares you for the scale of it in person.
The three towers, each leaning slightly toward each other and connected at the top by the famous boat-shaped SkyPark, dominate the waterfront completely. The SkyPark is home to the world’s longest elevated infinity pool — 150 metres long, perched 57 storeys above the city — though access to the pool is reserved for hotel guests.
We walked the outdoor promenade along the waterfront, looked out at the glittering skyline, and simply soaked it in. The cool evening breeze off the water made the whole thing feel effortless and pleasant. What surprised us was how lively it still was at 11pm — families, couples, tourists, locals — all gathered around the bay in the warm night air.
Tips for visiting Marina Bay Sands on a layover:
- The outdoor waterfront promenade is free and accessible at any hour
- For the best views and photos, stand on the opposite bank — the Merlion Park side — looking back toward the hotel
- Hotel guests can access the SkyPark infinity pool; non-guests can access the observation deck for a fee
- The Shoppes mall at the base of Marina Bay Sands is open late and has a wide range of restaurants if you need to eat
Merlion Park
A short walk along the waterfront brought us to Merlion Park, home to Singapore’s most famous landmark — the Merlion statue.
The Merlion is an 8.6-metre-tall statue of a creature that is half lion, half fish, spouting water from its mouth into Marina Bay. It represents two things: the fish body references Singapore’s origins as a fishing village, and the lion head nods to the city’s original name, Singapura, meaning “Lion City” in Sanskrit. It has been a symbol of Singapore since 1972.
At night, with Marina Bay Sands glowing behind it and the reflections shimmering on the water, the Merlion is genuinely photogenic. This is where we got our best photos of the whole evening.
Tips:
- Merlion Park is free, open 24 hours, and right on the waterfront
- The best photo angle is from the viewing platform across the river, with the Merlion and Marina Bay Sands both in frame
- It gets busy — arrive before 10pm for more breathing room
The Drive Back — Chinatown & Little India
With jetlag setting in and an early morning flight ahead, we asked our driver to take us back to the hotel — and the route he chose turned out to be one of the best parts of the whole evening.
He drove us slowly through Chinatown, where quiet temples and hanging lanterns cast soft light over shuttered stalls; and then through Little India, still radiant with colour from its shopfronts and murals, even at midnight. He explained the history of each area — how Singapore’s diversity is not just cosmetic but deeply woven into the architecture, the food, and the daily rhythms of the city.
In less than twenty minutes of driving, we saw a city that had clearly spent decades making space for many different cultures to exist side by side, each with its own distinct character. It was, unexpectedly, the thing that stayed with us the longest.
Final Thoughts
We only had a few hours, and Singapore gave us plenty. We will be back. Next time, with more time.
Practical Travel Tips
- Travel doc: Check if you need a visa to enter the country.
- Getting Around: Taxis and rideshares are the easiest late at night. The MRT closes around midnight, so plan accordingly.
- Currency used – Singapore Dollar but cards are widely used too.
- Best time to travel: February to April
- A couple of days is best to see the country and city- state, enjoy the food and do some shopping.
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Shaminee is a U.S.-based mom and family travel blogger who designs detailed itineraries for her own family and turns them into practical guides for others. Her goal is to make family travel simpler, more organized, and more enjoyable.
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