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So last week I was sitting in this coffee shop in Little India (Singapore, not actual India lol) waiting for my friend Maya to show up – she was like 40 minutes late because the MRT broke down or something – and I started eavesdropping on these tourists next to me. They were complaining about how their Singapore tour packages was just the same stuff everyone does. Marina Bay Sands, Sentosa, Gardens by the Bay, repeat. And one of them literally said "I feel like I've seen Singapore through Instagram and now I'm just... here?"

That hit different because honestly? I used to plan trips exactly like that.

But here's the thing nobody tells you about Singapore tours – and I learned this the hard way after my third visit (yes, third, don't judge me). The standard 3 days Singapore tour package itinerary that every travel company sells you? It's like... fine. It's pretty. You'll get good photos. But you're basically doing the Singapore equivalent of only seeing Times Square in New York and calling it a day.

Wait, let me back up. How did I even figure this out?

Okay so here's what happened on my second trip

I had booked this Singapore tour package 3 days 2 nights thing through some website (I think it was around ₹45,000? Maybe more? I don't remember exactly). Standard stuff. Day one was Sentosa, day two was the city tour, day three was basically shopping time before the flight. And like, it was nice. I'm not complaining. But on day two, our bus got stuck in traffic near this neighborhood called Tiong Bahru, and our guide was like "oh we're gonna be here a while."

So I just... got off the bus. (Our guide was NOT happy about this but whatever, I'm an adult.)

And I stumbled into this whole different Singapore that wasn't in any Singapore holiday packages I'd seen. Old art deco buildings painted in pastels, these tiny bookstores that also served coffee, people actually living their normal lives instead of performing for tourists. There was this bakery – I think it was called Plain Vanilla? Or something vanilla – and I had the best croissant I've ever eaten in my life. And I'm including Paris in that statement, which is probably gonna make some people mad.

My friend thought I was insane when I told her I ditched the tour bus. But honestly that two-hour detour was better than the entire packaged itinerary.

The problem with how everyone plans Singapore trips

Here's my hot take: the Singapore tour package price isn't the issue. Most of them are actually reasonable when you break down what you're getting. The issue is that travel companies are lazy (sorry not sorry) and they all copy each other's itineraries.

So you end up with this situation where everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – does the exact same route. Marina Bay Sands at sunset. Gardens by the Bay Super Tree show at 7:45 PM. Universal Studios. Singapore Flyer if there's time. Clarke Quay for dinner. Repeat until you fly home.

It's like... imagine eating at McDonald's in a city with incredible local restaurants because that's what the tour guide recommended. That's what's happening.

Places I found that literally nobody talks about

(I'm rambling but stay with me, this is the good part)

Pulau Ubin – Okay so this is technically an island but it's part of Singapore local tour packages sometimes? Except most people skip it because it's "inconvenient." It's this weird time capsule of what Singapore looked like in the 1960s. You have to take a bumboat (which is exactly what it sounds like, a boat that looks like a bumpy ride). There are wild boars. WILD BOARS. In Singapore. Nobody tells you this.

I went there on my fourth trip (yes, I went back again, Singapore has a hold on me apparently) and rented a bike for like S$15. Cycled around these abandoned buildings and kampong houses and felt like I was in a completely different country. My phone barely had signal. It was kind of amazing?

But also my feet were killing me by the end because apparently I'm not as fit as I thought and cycling for 3 hours in humidity is no joke.

Haw Par Villa – This one is... okay I don't even know how to explain this. It's this park with these absolutely INSANE Chinese mythology statues and dioramas. There's a section called the Ten Courts of Hell that shows different punishments for different sins and it's genuinely disturbing but also fascinating?

I dragged Maya here (this was before the coffee shop incident) and she kept asking me why I brought her to "nightmare theme park." But like, where else are you gonna see a giant crab statue and detailed depictions of ancient Chinese hell in the same place? It's free entry too, which is wild.

The thing is, this would never make it into a standard Singapore travel package because travel companies think tourists want "Instagram-worthy" spots and Haw Par Villa is more "What did I just witness" energy.

Changi Village – Not the airport. The actual village near the airport. This was an accident discovery because I had a late flight once and decided to leave the hotel way too early (my usual anxiety about missing flights, even though I was like 6 hours early... I have problems).

Ended up in this super chill area with hawker centers where actual locals eat, not tourist hawker centers. Had the best nasi lemak from this auntie who barely spoke English and definitely judged my chopstick skills. There's also this coastal area where people go cycling and it just feels... normal? Like not trying to be anything for tourists?

Here's what I wish someone told me before my first trip

If you're looking at Singapore tour packages, don't just compare the Singapore tour package price. Ask what's actually IN the itinerary. If it's all the main hits and nothing else, you can honestly do that yourself cheaper and with more flexibility.

The best Singapore tours I've done (and okay, I've done like 6 now, I'm aware this is excessive) were ones where I booked a basic package for hotels and flights, then spent like half the time doing my own thing. Or found Singapore local tour packages that were actually run by locals, not big tour companies.

There's this walking tour in Kampong Glam – the Muslim quarter – that's run by this guy named... Hassan? Or Hasim? I'm terrible with names. But he grew up there and tells you stories about the neighborhood that you'd never get from a standard city tour. Like which coffee shop his grandfather used to own, or why there's suddenly a hip cafe scene in between the traditional shops. That context makes everything more interesting.

The whole "3 days Singapore tour package" thing is kinda limiting anyway

Hot take number two: three days is not enough for Singapore if you actually want to experience it beyond the surface level. I know everyone says "Singapore is small, you can see it all in a weekend" but that's only true if you're just checking boxes.

My ideal now would be like 5-6 days. Spend the first couple days doing the main attractions (because they ARE impressive, I'm not saying skip Marina Bay Sands entirely), then use the rest to actually explore neighborhoods. Eat at random hawker stalls. Get lost in places like Katong or Joo Chiat (which has these beautiful Peranakan shophouses that I'm obsessed with).

But I know that's not realistic for everyone because time off work is limited and blah blah adult responsibilities.

If you only have three days though, maybe pick ONE off-the-beaten-path thing per day? So you're still hitting the major spots but also seeing something real? Does that even make sense? I'm terrible at explaining but you know what I mean.

Random things I noticed that made my trips better

(In no particular order because I just thought of them)

• Don't eat breakfast at your hotel. Find a hawker center and eat what the locals are eating. It'll cost like S$4 instead of S$25 and taste infinitely better
• The MRT is incredibly easy to use and will save you so much money compared to tour buses everywhere
• Chinatown is cool but go EARLY in the morning before the tour groups arrive. Like 7 AM early. Different vibe entirely
• If you're scared to eat street food (some people are), start with the hawker centers that have Michelin stars. There are multiple in Singapore and it eases you into it
• The Southern Ridges walk is free, has amazing views, and barely any tourists do it. I think it's like 10km total? We only did half because it was so hot and I thought I might pass out (probably should have brought more water)
• Arab Street at night hits different than during the day. Same street, completely different energy

Actually, scratch that last one. I went there during Ramadan once and it was PACKED and amazing with the night market but I'm not sure if that's always the case or just during Ramadan. I might be remembering this wrong.

Look, here's my actual advice

If you're booking Singapore holiday packages, just... make sure there's some flexibility built in. The best moments I had in Singapore were never on the official itinerary. They were wrong turns, random recommendations from strangers, following my gut about whether a street looked interesting.

Travel companies want to maximize efficiency and minimize risk, which makes sense from their perspective. But the most memorable travel experiences are usually a bit messy and unplanned?

I'm probably the wrong person to give advice on this because I'm very chaotic with travel planning and Maya constantly makes fun of me for it. But every time I've stuck rigidly to a packaged tour schedule, I've come home feeling like I saw a place but didn't actually KNOW it.

So yeah. Book your Singapore tour package if that makes the logistics easier. But leave room to get lost. Literally and figuratively.

Anyway I need to go figure out what I'm doing for dinner. But seriously, if you end up going to Singapore, message me. I have so many random restaurant recommendations that didn't fit into this already-too-long ramble.