If you’re visiting Singapore, I recommend staying in the Orchard Road area, or Clarke Quay. Here are all the things I considered, as well as an overview of some of Singapore’s neighborhoods to help you decide the right location based on your budget and interests.

Location

The first thing I consider when choosing a hotel location is how I will get to / from the airport, and what attractions are near my hotel.

Singapore has an underground train system (MRT) as well as buses and taxi’s. I decided to take the bus to and from the airport so I could look at things outside the window instead of just underground tunnels. There is also no risk of a lift or escalator being broken, and I wouldn’t need to transfer to another train line. Plus, the bus is super cheap (approx. $2.50 SGD each way from Changi airport to Orchard Road).

It takes 50 minutes to 1 hour to get from Singapore airport to Orchard Road via bus, or just 20 minutes via a taxi or Grab. Uber does not operate in Singapore.

While I chose to stay in a touristy area, Singapore is very well connected by public transport that operates frequently and late into the night, so being in amongst all the touristy places isn’t as important as other cities you may have visited. Singapore felt quite safe at night, I took the bus at 10pm at night from Marina Bay Sands to my hotel near Orchard Road and there were still plenty of people out and about, at no point during my visit did I ever feel unsafe.

What amenities do you want nearby?

I’ve plotted the main attractions in Singapore in the map below. You can see most of them are clustered around Orchard Road, Clarke Quay, Marina Bay and Chinatown.

To take a copy of this map, click the star next to the title of the map which adds it to your Google account. Within your Google Maps app, select ‘saved’ and then select ‘maps’.

Budget

Singapore accommodation can be quite expensive. I don’t skimp on accomodation and I’m fine with paying more to stay in a convenient location.

I paid $680 Singapore Dollar ($810 AUD) for 3 nights in August (the week after Singapore’s National day celebrations). I booked the Citadines Connect City Centre Singapore 5 weeks in advance.

Singapore’s national day is on 9 August. Try and avoid visiting during this time to save money.

I like to use Booking.com to book hotels. The most options are near Orchard Road, Clarke Quay and Chinatown, with a few around Bugis as well.

Where do you want to eat dinner?

If you want to try one of Singapore’s hawker centres, here are some popular ones:

• Maxwell Food Centre (Chinatown)

• Lau Pa Sat (near Chinatown and Marina Bay) – Iconic for its satay street, especially busy in the evenings

• Newton Food Centre (a bit out of the way from other touristy attractions in Singapore, this is somewhat nearby Orchard Road) – this is the hawker centre that was in the Crazy Rich Asians movie

• Chinatown Complex Food Centre (Chinatown) – Singapore’s largest hawker centre, this one is a bit chaotic

Otherwise there are plenty of restaurants around Clarke Quay and within the food courts of the numerous shopping malls around Singapore.

Singapore Neighbourhoods

Here’s a quick overview of Singapore’s neighbourhoods that have popular tourist attractions which you’ll likely go to during your visit.

Marina Bay

This is where the iconic ‘boat’ building is located. Marina Bay Sands has a huge shopping centre, and provides a good view of the nightly Spectra light and water show. Gardens by the Bay with the Supertree Grove, Cloud Forest and Floral Fantasy is within walking distance. There’s also the art science museum, the Helix Bridge and a short walk around the harbour to the Merlion statue.

This area doesn’t come cheap and I don’t recommend it unless you’re celebrating a special occasion, or just really want access to that famous infinity pool on the rooftop. The famous tourist attractions are nearby, but there aren’t many affordable dining options.

Orchard Road

I stayed at Citadines Connect City Centre Singapore. The hotel was just off Penang Road (which is 1 block back from Orchard Road), down a quiet side street. Bus stop and MRT (underground train) stations were only a 5 minute walk away. I didn’t have to lug my suitcase far and didn’t have far to walk to get public transport to visit other parts of Singapore.

The other reason I chose to stay near Orchard Road, is that shops in Singapore stay open until late (10pm!). So I could do some shopping after I visited the more important touristy things, then didn’t have to carry anything far back to the hotel.

I can be a bit of a picky eater, don’t like spicy food and I’m not very adventurous when it comes to Asian food, I wasn’t sure I would like any of the food in the Hawker Centres. Orchard Road has an overwhelming number of shops, but it also has a number of food courts, Japanese bakeries, department stores and well known chains (like Five Guys and Shake Shack). So I knew I’d be able to find something for dinner nearby if I needed to.

Orchard Road is always busy which means there’s always plenty of people around and it’s a safe area to walk around at night (very important as I was travelling solo).

Chinatown

If you want to get a bit further from the touristy areas and stay somewhere a bit cheaper, Chinatown might be the right spot for you to stay.

It has streets with traditional Singapore architecture and one of the largest hawker centres where you can try plenty of different foods. if you want to escape the somewhat chaotic streets of Chinatown, it’s not far to walk to Marina Bay or Clarke Quay. It’s also a good mid point between Sentosa Island and Orchard Road.

Clarke Quay

If you can afford to spend a bit more, Clarke Quay has a slightly better location (I think), than Chinatown. It’s closer to Marina Bay, and you can get some nice views of the harbour from hotels in this area.

It’s within walking distance of Clarke Quay, Funan and Marina Square shopping malls. It’s a short bus ride to Millenia Walk and Suntec City.

I almost stayed in this area and would probably stay here if I visit again for a different experience.

Sentosa Island

I only recommend staying on Sentosa Island if you are actually going to visit the attractions on the island, or if you’re travelling with kids. You’ll be in a bit of ‘bubble’ surrounded only by touristy things which comes at a higher price tag. There aren’t any hawker centres nearby, and there’s more well known food chains in this area. It’s a nice place to visit, but even if you’re traveling with kids you could see everything in 1-2 days. Since you’ll likely need 2-3 days to visit Singapore’s other attractions, to be it doesn’t make sense to stay on Sentosa and commute to and from everyday.

You could split your holiday and spent a few days of your trip on Sentosa, with the rest in one of the other locations I’ve mentioned in this post.

Little India, Bugis & Kampong Glam

This area is ok for a quick visit, but there’s not much to see in this area. It’s not within walking distance of key attractions, it’s out of the way of everything else you probably want to see in Singapore. So to me, it doesn’t make sense to base yourself here.

Bugis Junction is really the only major shopping centre nearby. The alleyways were a bit of a blur during the day, I imagine it would be difficult to navigate if you got back to your hotel late at night via public transport.

Wherever you decide to stay, Singapore’s public transport system is excellent. It runs frequently, stations are in good locations near major tourist attractions, it’s affordable, there is plenty of signage making it easy to navigate and you don’t need to buy a special local transport card, you can just tap and pay with your card.

Some of the signs even tell you how packed the buses are!

Where I chose to stay

I stayed at Citadines Connect City Centre Singapore near Orchard Road.

Plan the rest of your trip to Singapore

• Guide to visiting Gardens by the Bay in Singapore (including the best photo spots for the Supertree Grove)
• The best stationery shops in Singapore (pens, highlighters, washi tape, stencils etc.)
• Is the SkyPark Observation Deck at Marina Bay Sands worth visiting?

Plan the best holiday with my travel itinerary template!

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