The travel bug had bitten us once again, and we were thinking it was time for another trip. We were weighing options between a skiing trip to the Alps and basking in the sun on a sandy beach. The long-awaited desire for some sunshine won, and our chosen destination for February was Southeast Asia, a place that had been on our minds for a while.
We are generally not good at planning trips far in advance, and when the travel bug bites, we need to scratch that itch as soon as possible. This time, too, we needed to leave quickly, so after a couple of days of googling flights, we decided on Singapore and Malaysia as our travel destinations. We settled on a three-week trip. We booked flights four days out, which kicked off a whirlwind of preparations to gather the necessary items. For example, we came across a lot of social media posts recently suggesting to bring sunscreen from home when heading to Asia. It’s generally expensive on the trip, and many have reported getting badly burned using local sunscreens, which may also contain whitening agents due to the local preference for lighter skin.
We booked our flights with Finnair, a direct flight from Helsinki to Singapore and a return flight from Kuala Lumpur via Singapore to Helsinki. It was noteworthy that the return flight was cheaper from Kuala Lumpur via Singapore than directly from Singapore, even though it was the exact same flight. Finnair flights were slightly more expensive than, for example, Air France via Paris, but with only a one-hour layover in Paris, known as the Bermuda Triangle of luggage, the likelihood of our luggage making the same connecting flight was low, so we opted for Finnair. The convenience of a direct flight was also appealing.
We had a night flight departing from Helsinki around midnight, which went smoothly, and we arrived in Singapore at around 6 PM the next day.
Exploring Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport is itself one of Singapore’s attractions, offering all sorts of entertainment and sights. We briefly explored the airport upon arrival and planned a longer layover on our return flight to explore it further.
Here are our picks of the attractions and activities worth checking out at Singapore Changi Airport:
HSBC Rain Vortex – The World’s Largest Indoor Waterfall
This is a must-see at Singapore Changi Airport. The world’s largest indoor waterfall is truly impressive, and its lush surroundings create a very nature-like impression. You can view the waterfall from several different levels, and the skytrain between terminals 2 and 3 passes by the waterfall.
The waterfall is located in the public area outside immigration, so you can explore it upon arrival in Singapore. If you have a layover and are not leaving the transit area, you can still see the waterfall by taking the skytrain between terminals 2 and 3.
We visited Jewel when we arrived in Singapore, and actually stumbled upon the waterfall by chance, as we hadn’t planned to explore the airport at that point. This turned out to be fortunate because we had planned to explore the airport more thoroughly on our return trip, but since the waterfall is outside the immigration area, we didn’t get to see it again. However, we did ride the skytrain past the waterfall a couple of times while waiting for our connecting flight, so we saw it from that perspective too. But we definitely recommend seeing it up close, as the skytrain view doesn’t compare to being there in person.
Location: Jewel, in front of Terminal 1 – Public area
Various Gardens Inside and Out
The airport has numerous stunning gardens with different themes, providing a pleasant way to pass the time. These gardens are located both indoors and outdoors. Our favorites were Dreamscape (T2, transit), where there is an aquarium full of fish beneath a transparent floor, and Enchanted Garden (T2, transit), a path through beautiful floral arrangements. Additionally, there are gardens such as Cactus Garden, Crystal Garden, Butterfly Garden, and many others, where you can easily spend a lot of time.
Location: T1, T2, T3, T4 – Public & transit areas
Cinema
The airport also has a cinema showing movies around the clock. So if you’ve already explored the airport and still have time to kill, or if you prefer to relax while waiting for your next flight, you can spend a couple of hours here. The cinema has free entry, so you can come and go as you please. The schedule and movie listings are posted outside the theater doors, allowing you to check what’s playing and when. And yes, it’s free.
Location: T3 – Transit, 3rd floor
Getting Around Between Terminals
Switching terminals is easy using the Skytrain that runs between terminals T1, T2, and T3. This allows you to explore different terminals without tiring out your legs. The Skytrain operates both in the public and transit areas, is free, and runs every few minutes. Terminals 1-3 are also connected by walkways, essentially forming a single building, so you don’t need to go outside. Terminal 4 is accessible via a shuttle bus.
There’s plenty to do at Singapore Changi Airport, so you can feel free to arrive early rather than last minute, or even plan for a longer layover to explore more.
Get to know the attractions of Singapore airport in advance and plan what you want to see.
Getting from Singapore Changi Airport to the City
There are several options for getting into the city: MRT train, bus, taxi, or various ridesharing services.
We used a ridesharing app called Grab, which operates in several countries in Southeast Asia, so we were able to use the same app in both Singapore and Malaysia. Grab was also found to be reasonably priced in our quick comparison.
Ridesharing services work through a mobile app where you input your starting point and destination. The app shows the fare upfront, and you can order a driver with the push of a button.
Driver availability varies by location and traffic, but we generally got a driver within 5-15 minutes of our request. The app provides the driver’s information (e.g., car color, model, and registration number) so you know which car is coming to pick you up. You can also track the driver’s arrival and your own trip on the map.
The app charges the fare to your credit card at the end of the ride. Ridesharing services are often significantly cheaper than traditional taxis, you know the cost upfront, and it eliminates the risk of taxi scams, as you don’t need to haggle with the driver about turning on the meter.
The rides are also generally safe, as every ride can be rated, and drivers can’t afford to behave poorly.
Our hotel was located in the Kallang area, about 20 km from the airport, and the fare was 20 SGD (about €14).
