A brief of our 4-day itinerary in Singapore:
Day 1. Arrive in the vibrant, modern city-state of Singapore, and check in. Once settled in, head out and get acquainted with your new surroundings on a full-day tour of the city. Start with Little India, home to the country’s Tamil community. Check out its charming shophouses, mosques and temples. Next, head to Arab Street, and pick up some unique textiles or perfumes. Chinatown is next on the itinerary, full of intimate eateries and watering holes favored by expats. Enjoy lunch from a hawker stall, before sailing away on a traditional bumboat river cruise - circling Boat Quay, Circle Quay and Marina Bay.
Day 2. After a gourmet breakfast at your hotel, you’ll be off on another full-day tour of the city today, this time, taking in the city’s fascinating architecture, from the traditional to the contemporary, accompanied by a Singapore architectural expert who will answer all of your queries. After this, visit the Sands SkyPark, located at the iconic Marina Bay Sands, where you can enjoy a leisurely dip in the hotel’s rooftop infinity pool.
Day 3. Unlock the secrets behind Singapore’s culinary culture today by starting your day with a Singaporean cuisine cooking class. Delve deeper into Asian culture with a visit to the Asian Civilizations Museum. Finish your day off with a night safari at the Singapore Zoo, located in a vast, dense rainforest.
Day 4. Spend all day today on Sentosa Island, Singapore’s island getaway. Here, you can enjoy beaches, water sports, zip-lining, and trying out Southeast Asia’s one and only luge: a unique sky ride that’s part go-cart, part toboggan. Finish your island escape with a visit to Underwater World, marvelling at the 2,500 marine animals visible through its glass walls.
Where to stay?
We recommend our new partner hotel Andaz Singapore for a casual, contemporary and immersive stay. And as always, we have some special Pomalo ammenities for you:
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Stay 4 nights and pay for only 3 when you book a 4 night stay from 2 January to 30 June 2019.
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Complimentary daily breakfast
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Complimentary room bar
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100 USD minimum food & beverage credit (No cash value)
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Local traditional gift
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Upgrade upon availabilitiy
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Early check-in upon availability
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Late check-out upon availability
For a contemporary yet sophisticated accommodation stay at the The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore. For and electric vibe stay at the new Six Senses Duxton. And for sleek boutique hotel we recommend The Warehouse Hotel.
Where to Eat & Drink?
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Sweet Tooth: in Tiong Bahru, there’s a bakery called Galicier Pastry, where you can find old-school Singapore confectionery.
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Signature Street Food: The best place to try out local specialties is at one of Singapore's thriving hawker centrers. Try Kaya for breakfast, which is a coconut-custard jam that’s spread on toast, typically served with a soft-boiled egg, Popiah, which is a crepe spring roll with hard-boiled egg, tamarind, shrimp, carrots, and lettuce), Singapore’s famed Hainanese chicken rice, their refreshing sugarcane juice, and the famous Fuzhou oyster cake or rojak (Malay for “mixture”): a fruit, bread, and cucumber salad that tastes better than it sounds.
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Our Favorite Centre: A top pick is the centrally located Maxwell Food Centre in the heart of Chinatown (1 Kadayanallur Street), with more than 100 stalls. Another is the open-air Tiong Bahru Food Centre (83 Seng Poh Road), located in one of Singapore’s first planned housing developments.
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Drinks with a View: There are some really good rooftop bars: A popular one is Smoke & Mirrors, on the rooftop of the National Gallery Singapore. It’s a panoramic wine bar where you get a good view of Marina Bay Sands and overpriced cocktails. You can also try other fancy bars such as the skyline rooftop bar, 1-Alititude, where Singapore’s young and hip congregate some 60 stories above street level; the views make the $20 cocktails worth the price. For a more intimate perspective, visit the bar atop the historic Fullerton Hotel, which was built in 1928 as the national post office. Called the Lighthouse, the alfresco bar/restaurant serves Italian cuisine and occupies the location where, in the 1700s, a beacon guided mariners into the city’s port. For a midday pick-me-up, sip an iced tea floated with whole lychee fruits.
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Traditional Treats: To get a sense of Singapore’s colonial era, visit the iconic Raffles Hotel. The vintage ceiling fans and live harp music in its Tiffin Room evoke the nineteenth-century ease of the privileged classes. The hotel was built as a ten-room bungalow in 1877; today modern air conditioning keeps the high-ceilinged room cool. During afternoon high tea, tiered trays with treats such as tuna and smoked salmon sandwiches (crusts removed, of course), mango mousse, and bite-size pistachio tarts complement a buffet with savories, including chicken and seafood dumplings. Later, stroll over to Raffles’ Long Bar for a Singapore Sling, the city’s renowned drink. Created in 1915, this gin-based cocktail is made with fresh pineapple and lime juices, grenadine, and a splash of Bénédictine. Its creator, bartender Ngiam Tong Boon, gave the Sling a rosy orange hue so it would appeal to ladies, yet the drink isn’t overly sweet. It’s the ideal cooler on a sweltering Singapore afternoon, along with a snack of peanuts from the bar’s burlap sacks – hew to tradition and toss the shells on the floor.
Must-Sees in Singapore
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Gardens by the Bay: This otherworldly botanic garden of soaring “supertrees” (metal structures covered by live vines), an indoor waterfall, and six-story domes filled with plants from around the world shows Singapore in its best light. Dine atop the tallest of the structures at SuperTree by IndoChine, an elegant Asian fusion restaurant.
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The Intan: This tiny but celebrated museum celebrates the culture of Peranakans, Malay descendants of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Chinese immigrants. Housed in antique collector (and seventh-generation Peranakan) Alvin Yapp’s home, the collection includes furniture, porcelain, beadwork, embroidery, and jewelry.
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Bumboat Tour: Singapore’s answer to the city bus tour is a brisk bumboat ride on the Singapore River, departing from bustling Clarke Quay. In a low-slung boat with a roof for sun protection, see the city’s most graceful bridges and sights such as the Merlion, a half-mermaid, half-lion fountain.
