Is Singapore worth a stop?

IMO, Singapore is one of the jewels of SEA. It is a beautiful, modern city that at the same time maintains and encourages the cultural diversity of the people who live there. Gardens by the Bay, with its Skywalk and biodomes is like nothing you've ever seen before. The Botanical Garden, with its included Orchid collection is world famous. You can explore Little India, Chinatown, and the Arab Quarter. And eat at a few of the Hawker Centers. You can definitely fill 3 days.

I agree with CJean that Singapore is a fabulous city. I have been there twice and would return in a heartbeat. There’s more than enough to fill several days - my son spent two weeks there and had no problem filling his time. Gardens by the Bay is a unique experience. There are many world-class museums, botanical gardens and a zoo, amazing shopping malls with great food courts, an interesting history, a diverse population. The only down side is the very hot and humid weather year-round. Planning your day to include time in air conditioned venues, and going out in the evening (a very lively time) helps mitigate that. Get a couple of good guidebooks from the library and figure out what you are most interested in.

Singapore is easy to tour on your own, but if you want some day tours, you might look at this company:
https://www.monsterdaytours.com/destination/singapore
I used them for a small group walking tour of Little India and an evening food tour.

I don’t know which cities you are flying out of and into, but I took a very quick look at flights from Sydney to Tokyo and the options were long, 15-22 hours (with various layovers). You can fly Sydney to Singapore in about 8-9 hours, and Singapore to Tokyo in about 6-8 hours, both nonstops. So it might make some sense to break up the trip with a few days In Singapore.

I of course am biased, but yes, Singapore is definitely worth a few days, and a good way tk break up your trip. Personally my favourites are are our three cultural/historic districts - Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam, representing Singapore's three main ethnicities- Chinese, Indian and Malay.

Lots of other suggestions have also already been mentioned -zoo, Sentosa, Gardens by the Bag etc.

Singapore is very easy to get around with excellent public transport by MRT and bus, and is also very walkable. It's worthwhile downloading Grab (our version of Uber) for when you need to call a car.

Singapore is very clean, safe and has great public transport. If you are interested in World War Two history, there is a day trip to the old Changi POW Memorial. Personally, if I were to stop over in one Asian country, it would be Bangkok as I think there is more to see and I prefer Thai food. I agree with Chani’s comment below (but did not want to seem churlish about Singapore)

You probably have worked this out, but you can fly directly from Sydney to Tokyo in 10 hours or slightly less. So going via Singapore adds considerably to the flight time.

We like Singapore, and usually choose to fly Singapore Airlines when we travel and also do the occasional stop over. There is lots to see and the food is great. I find it quite hot there for most of the year, but that may not worry you.

I’m not sure I’d consider it worth the extra flight time, and might prefer to spend the extra few days in Japan, but I generally try to minimise flight times and fly directly where possible.

Here's a contrary (maybe contrarian) viewpoint. I've been to Southeast Asia several times. Once I was in Singapore for 3 nights (no choice, end of a wonderful 2-week cruise). It was very expensive and all man-made. Yes, it's clean and modern, but nothing is natural. Even the real plants (there are lots of fake ones) were brought from other places.

Cities that I would highly recommend - Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing (with private guide), maybe Saigon.

Singapore is great, we did five days there and loved it.
There is a wonderful loved the Botanical Gardens.
https://anywhereweroam.com/things-to-do-singapore/

While I like Singapore a lot...the food (!!), I agree with Chani about the man-made aspect. It's sort of "Asia lite," which is not necessarily a bad thing....and you do have that compelling mix of cultures. Are there other choices for stopovers, in cities you have not yet visited? Singapore was my very first stop in Asia, apart from India, so it was a good introduction....it's all easy there with few of the annoyances of, for example, Bangkok.

Singapore has a wonderful and very historic botanic gardens that is definitely worth a visit,
It’s open from 5am to midnight an is completely free. We went in the evening and it was very atmospheric.

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/SBG

You did not give the month and year of your trip. But note that it often quite hot in Singapore, and walking is important for sightseeing. The subway is air conditioned (and dynamic displays tell you which cars are the least crowded), but you need to be ready for the heat. As I remember, the Gardens By The Bay are a rather long walk from their subway stop. Some premium gardens require advance booking and payment. (As others noted, the outdoor orchid garden in the big (midtown, not By The Bay) Botanical Garden is included with the main admission.)

Although I am troubled by occasional reports of authoritarian rule, it is also significant that (as reported in other posts) how tolerant and culturally diverse it is. While touring a Hindu temple, someone pointed out the big school group of tweens, who are taken to all types of religious institutions by their schools, to make sure that they did not experience only their own family's worship! How would that go over in the U.S.?

You can't see Singapore in just 3 days, but you can make a good survey in that time. Bring extra napkins from Breakfast to use when eating at a Hawker Center.

"As I remember, the Gardens By The Bay are a rather long walk from their subway stop."

There is now an MRT station right next to GBTB - Gardens By the Bay Station. So that makes it easy.

"Bring extra napkins from Breakfast to use when eating at a Hawker Cente"

Or buy a little pack on tissues from an elderly vendor nearby and support someone with a low income - you can also use them to 'chope' (reserve) the table while you're selecting your food.

Simon, thanks. But looking only at Google Maps, it appears that both Bayfront MRT and Gardens By The Bay station are 500+ meters to the main big buildings of the Gardens

Tim, do you consider 0.5 km (0.3 mile) a long walk? That's about 10 minutes at a leisurely pace for me and my cane. Obviously YMMV.

Thank you for your input and suggestions. They were very helpful. We have decided to add Singapore to our mid-May trip primarily because of the mix of cultures and the limited amount of time we have for an additional spot. We are happy to hear about any must try foods/restaurants. Thanks again for your input!

Tim - from Bayfront there's an underground linkway and across the footbridge to Gardens by the Bay - it's not exactly far. The vast majority of visitors and pretty much all locals would come that way... But worth noting for anyone who has mobility issues that catching public transport always involves some walking, so Grab or taxi is another option.