Nine Women - Two-Night Stopover in Singapore on the Way to Vietnam ... Hotel? 1/2 Day Tour?

I'm quite familiar with Singapore.

Although I haven't stayed in the Holiday Inn Express, the location is quite good on Orchard Road with shopping and restaurants. An upscale sort of area where I suspect you would feel comfortable. I might suggest other areas for a longer stay, but for two nights, one day, the location is well situated close to anything you might need by way of restaurants, shopping for forgotten items, etc.

What interests does your group hold? I'm not sure what a half day tour might show you - many of Singapore's finest sites are multi-hour visits. I could suggest, for example, Gardens by the Bay for at least a half day or the Botanic Gardens if the group likes gardens. The zoo is one of the world's best. There are numerous ethnic areas with temples, shrines, and/or mosques depending on the religion. Evenings, there are river tours and free light shows. Museums, galleries, etc.

Singapore is easy to travel with fine public transport. English is an official language and spoken all over. Remember that it is very hot and humid. A full day outdoors may feel very strenuous depending on what the group is used to at home. edit - oops, I see Florida. You may find the climate familiar.

The Holiday Inn Express Orchard is basic/budget, but fine. Location is good if you want midrange shopping, not quite as convenient for the traditional neighbourhoods (Chinatown, Kampomg Glam and Little India), heritage, history etc. But the MRT network makes it easy and cheap to get around. And $300 a night is a good rate - I would say mid range is more like $400 a night. If you want something cheaper (about half the price) take a look at the Furama City Centre in Chinatown- a much better location, old and tired but still decent. Or the Wyndham - also old but recently renovated, and well sited near Ciry Hall MRT.

You definitely don't need a guided tour (and because all tour guides need to be licensed, this would be expensive). The vast majority of English speaking tourists just find their own way around.

If you can share your interests, I can make recommendations. Shopping? History? Temples? Mosques? Culture?

Getting around - use your contactless credit card for MRT and buses, download Grab for rideshare (no Uber here). Use an ATM to withdraw a little bit of cash or bring USD and change here - vast majority of hawkers centres only accept cash or local electronic payment. Taxis charge a 10% surcharge for card.

I have been in Singapore twice and there’s so much to see and do there! I loved it. My son spent two weeks there and never ran out of activities.

I want to second the warning about the hot/humid weather. It can be very draining. Use the air conditioned subway system (very easy and inexpensive) to get around. The stations can be huge, so study the maps to find the exit nearest to your destination. This will reduce the amount of time you’re walking in the heat. Another way to handle the heat is to plan your activities for the morning and evening (Singapore really comes alive then), and stay cool in the afternoon at your hotel or an air conditioned venue like a museum or shopping mall. By the way, the shopping malls are amazing and have terrific food courts with everything imaginable to eat.

On my last visit, I stayed at the Mondrian Singapore Duxton hotel, located not far from Chinatown and close to a subway station that will get you anywhere you want to go. It was very nice and the staff were friendly, but I don’t know if it’s in your price range. It’s part of the Accor hotel group. Join their loyalty program for a discount. Here’s their website:

https://all.accor.com/hotel/B7F8/index.en.shtml?utm_campaign=seo+maps&utm_medium=seo+maps&utm_source=bing+maps

Singapore is easy to navigate on your own (get a good guidebook). Your time is very limited so you’ll want to narrow down exactly what most interests you. Gardens on the Bay is quite a unique botanical garden and especially fun in the evening when they do a music and light show in its Supertree Grove. There are many wonderful museums. I especially liked the National Museum of Singapore (history) and the Asian Civilizations Museum (art).

For organized tours, I used a company called Monster Day Tours twice during my last stay: a walking tour of Little India and a food tour in the evening. These were small group tours with other travelers (an interesting bunch!) They also do private tours. Here’s the website:
https://www.monsterdaytours.com/

Have a wonderful trip!

We were in Singapore earlier this year and stayed at Oasia Downtown (five nights). Very nice, and conveniently located across the road from an MTR stop.

As previous posters said, you don't need a tour. You can easily get around everywhere, and communicate.

That said, we did do a food tour "Ten Tastings" (With Locals), and a walking tour called "of guns, graves and battles: a tour of Fort Canning Hill". Both were excellent.

The best value food is in the Hawker Centers. $11 for two, vs $100 at Clarke's Quay.

Hi everyone and thanks so much for your helpful tips.

I'll check out the hotels you all recommended.

We'll essentially have two and a half days. We arrive at 6am on February 20th (after taking "the longest flight in the world," almost 18 hours from JFK). When I go to Europe, I hit the ground running, but I'm not sure how we'll all feel after that long flight. That said, I doubt anyone will want to book the hotel for the night before in order to get into our hotel rooms early. Our outbound flight departs for Hanoi on the 22nd at 3pm

Great advice about the heat: only two of us are from Florida. I dislike the heat, and will advise everyone of "little tricks" like a neck wrap and portable fan. Visiting a museum one afternoon (recommendation?) and an air conditioned shopping mall on the second afternoon is good advice. We have a couple of serious shoppers in the group and the rest of us enjoy tagging along.

Gardens by the Bay is a must. (Is the evening preferred?)

Most of us were in Morocco together and visited mosques and we'll visit temples in Vietnam, so I don't think we need to do that

Everyone enjoys good food, so perhaps a walking food tour? Also an evening river tour looks interesting.

Everyone is interested in history and culture. I'll have to see what everyone thinks about the zoo and the botanical gardens.

Is it worth splurging on a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel?

Again, much appreciated.

Oh golly, I had to try a Singapore Sling on my first arrival - more than a decade ago now. Back then it was over $30 USD, but I still remember the experience! That's the one and only time I've been in the Raffles Bar. It was crowded with tourists - but kind of fun. I wonder what the going price is now!

You can see what others have to say about the big museums and tourist sites. Everyone has their favorites. Here's my take from my time living in S'pore:

Gardens by the Bay - the evening SuperGrove Tree show is unique. You can always return there just for the show. Daylight will give a better sense of the gardens. Don't miss the domes. https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/things-to-do/calendar-of-events/garden-rhapsody.html

There is also Spectra for evening light show:
https://www.marinabaysands.com/attractions/spectra.html

The "big" Musuems. (I have not researched for any current closings or on-going reno's):

National Gallery - art museum in the former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings. Galleries are good, rehab of former civic buildings fascinating. Might be worth a tour (free) if very interested. They used to have some focusing on the rehab and others on the art.

National Museum of Singapore - very good if interested in history of Singapore. Easy to self-guide.

Asian Civilizations Museum - heritage of various ethnic groups comprising Singapore. Good museum, self-explore. I think I would pick the National Museum if time for only one of these. Asian Civilizations is good, but National Museum will focus on Singapore and its development. Traveling on to other areas of Asia may cover some of what this museum does. Excellent exhibit of Maritime Trade with a Tang era shipwreck showing its cargo if this is an interest for anyone.

Several excellent "specialist" museums if interested in WWII or ethnic areas. I have not researched these to see the current status of openings, but to give you an idea:
ethnic - Peranakan Museum, Malay Heritage Centre, Indian Heritage Centre, Chinatown Heritage Museum
WWII - Changi Chapel & Museum, Former Ford Factory, BattleBox at Fort Canning, there are more - many are small and slightly out of the way, but excellent

Comments on the two Gardens options from my personal perspective. If time for only one, I couldn't advise which to choose - too personal a choice:
Botanic Garden and National Orchid Garden are incredible gardens. Traditional presentation of botanic gardens with lots more than many botanic gardens elsewhere. My favorite Botanic Garden in the world - for reference, London's Kew Gardens comes second for me.

Gardens by the Bay - unique (at least in my experience) The domes are great fun, the gardens extensive, SuperGrove unique. Many would consider an S'pore must-see

I am homesick!! I'm interested in what Simon has to say as a current resident!!!

Back then it was over $30 USD, but I still remember the experience! That's the one and only time I've been in the Raffles Bar. It was crowded with tourists - but kind of fun. I wonder what the going price is now!

ORDtraveler, you aroused my curiosity so I had to look it up. And it appears to be the same price—$30. :-)

Food - Hawker centers. Ask Simon for the current thinking on which is "best" and/or most convenient for your pick of museums or sites. I wasn't ever thrilled by Satay by the Bay near Gardens by the Bay, but that may have changed.

Chili crab and carrot cake (actually a fried daikon omelette) for me.

Mardee - Wow! No inflation in Singapore?????

I do remember being asked if we were staying at Raffles before being escorted to a table. Sadly, no.

One more. This place is (more than) a bit bizarre, but I have taken people that thought it was the best thing they saw in Singapore. It is unusual.... Maybe Simon will give an opinion. Haw Par Villa:

https://www.hawparvilla.sg

A friend has recommended two hotels in Singapore. The One Farrer Hotel and Hilton Singapore Orchard. Anyone have experience with or recommendations regarding these two hotels?

Haw Par Villa, yes excellent suggestion (albeit a bit out of the way). Used to take the kids there when they were small, but actually more suitable for adults. It calls itself "Hell's Museum" but really more of a funny theme park on Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

ORDtraveler's given lots of great details on what to do - can't really think of much to add for a short trip, but for anyone planning a longer visit, enjoy the great outdoors kayaking on McRitchie Reservoir or hiring a bike and exploring Pulau Ubin (take a bumboat over, and watch out for the monkeys).

If I had a very limited time I'd prioritise the ethnic areas - also great for food. In terms of hawker centres, Singaporeans tend to have preferred stalls, rather than preferred centres, but in general terms the central downtown ones are really popular with tourists - Newton, Maxwell and Lau Pa Sat. I find Lau Pa Sat to be lacking in authenticity, although the evening satay street stalls are fun. Newtown also gets LOTS of tourists, but has some great food as well. Maxwell is perhaps a little less touristy. If you want to experience a neighbourhood (aka 'heartland') hawker centre, you need to get out of the centre a bit, which may be difficult on a short trip. If you're in Little India, there's Tekka Centre, which is central.

Simpgolf, between One Farrer and Hilton Singapore Orchard - both good hotels, location is the main difference. Orchard is lots of mid range malls, shopping etc. Not great for local food, quite upmarket. One Farrer is in Farrer Park (Little India) which is a more local residential neighbourhood with great food, much less shopping (although you have City Square Mall, my local mall). Maybe slightly less central but still OK. It does get VERY busy on Sundays when workers have their day off.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your thoughts. Much appreciated and we now have a pretty good idea of what we want to do during our short stay

We're booked at the Holiday Inn Express Serangoon in Little India. It gets good reviews, includes breakfast and is reasonably priced.

Again, many thanks