Singapore and Bali

This depends a lot on what you're interested in and how long you're planning on staying for - if you could post some more details that would be helpful.

Visiting Bali, aim to avoid the wet season if possible (although we've traveled at this time and enjoyed good weather). In Singapore it's not really an issue as there are so many indoor attractions.

Tours are not necessary as both places are easy to get around. In Singapore the public transport is amazing and the taxis are cheap, in Bali it's common to hire a driver for the day who will take you wherever you want to go, or suggest what to do.

For Bali, you can hire a car with driver. You can set your own itinerary.
The price is usually already includes parking and gasoline.
Go to tripadvisor Bali. Their Bali experts are really helpful.
In 2017, we hired a van for 10 people and driver.
I don't remember how much we paid, have to check my notes. But it was very reasonable.

Thank you Simon and thank you Holly for your suggestions ! Here is a bit more detail .

I will be in Singapore and Bali in early March and traveling solo, hence my first thought was to join local tours rather than getting around on my own . U still think Its safe and doable for me to sightsee as a solo? Is English signage and as spoken language pervasive ?

Recommendations of a conveniently located Rick Steve’s style hotel in Singapore and a spa like hotel in Bali would be appreciated.
Thank you fellow travelers

J

Hi js
I can only speak to Bali, we were there last summer. I traveled with my husband, but I think I would have felt very safe traveling solo. English was spoken everywhere we went, even by the young children. We used drivers to get from place to place. We were always able to arrange them through our accommodations.

I'd suggest reading the Travelfish website to get a feel for some of the locations. And the tripadvisor travel forum can provide lots of advice. Our favourite areas were the less touristy spots, Munduk and Amed, but we also stayed in Ubud and Sanur.

Thank you Lisa, Holly and Simon,

LM add I can stay 4 nights in Bali and same in Singapore

JS

Singapore can be an expensive destination if you opt to stay along Orchard Road or in the Marina District, which is where most of the high end resort hotels are located. For more reasonable accommodations look at either Little India or Chinatown, which have some very good deals indeed if you can live without the resort amenities. Suggest using booking.com as your search engine and taking advantage of their filters to narrow things down a bit, keeping in mind that prices go down dramatically the further away you look from the city center. The city-state is quite compact, and the world class MRT system makes it easy (and cheap) to get around. Taxis are plentiful and cheap too, so there's really no need to restrict yourself to staying anywhere near the city center with its higher prices.
There are numerous day-trip and tour providers that cater to every interest. Check the Trip Advisor "Things to do" pull down menu for Singapore to see what's on offer. There used to be a company offering educational walking tours of various parts of the city when we lived there. Cost was only about SGD20 which made them a cost-effective way to delve into the innards of one of the most fascinating places in Asia. Can do a google search to see if they're still operating.
Might add that you can eat cheaply too if you take advantage of the local Hawker Stalls, plus there are cafeterias located on the ground floor of virtually every high-rise shopping center that offer quality food at reasonable prices - it's where the locals eat.

Four days isn't much for Bali, it's an island but not small. I'm not sure it's worth leaving the southern tip, Kuta, Ubud, Tanah Lot, with such a short visit. You could easily hit these short trips with the local minibuses and not a tour.

I hope you are not going all this way for just 8 nights. I would short Singapore a day if you want to see more in Bali like Batur.

Thank you all for your guidance.

The whole trip including flights is 10 days- I know that sounds short, but Americans’ time away from work isn’t unlimited, right ?
I’ve traveled a lot but only once to Asia.
This is an impromptu trip - I impulse bought a great ( I think) Black Friday ticket on Singapore airlines, so I feel fortunate and kind of sassy that I’m going.
I will now consult guidebooks as well .

The Rick Steves’ community is AWESOME 😎