Things to do in Singapore this weekend, this month and on the long weekends worth planning around, each with a price, a date and the honest alternative. The Diary is WahLiao’s desk for your Saturday. It does not tell you everything that is on; it tells you what is worth the evening, what it will cost, and what to do instead if the answer is no. Use the dated sources in each guide to check current details; a researched guide does not itself establish that the writer visited.
Find your next step
Choose a plan for the day, check its current opening and booking details, then allow for travel, weather and food.
Looking for a free-entry plan? Start with museum entry and eligibility; check transport and optional activity costs separately. Visiting Singapore brings arrival, accommodation and itinerary guides together.
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The ten things worth doing in Singapore, priced
- Garden Rhapsody at Supertree Grove. Free, 7.45pm and 8.45pm nightly, about fifteen minutes. If you pay: Flower Dome alone S$12 for residents; both conservatories S$34 residents, S$46 standard. Verdict: the free show is the reason to come. Pay for the Cloud Forest once; the S$12 Flower Dome is the repeat visit for a rainy afternoon.
- Singapore Botanic Gardens and the National Orchid Garden. The Gardens are free from 5am to midnight. The Orchid Garden is S$5 for residents, S$15 standard, under-12s free, open 8.30am to 7pm with last entry at 6pm. Verdict: go at 7am when the joggers own it. The S$5 is the best S$5 on the island; the Cool House alone earns it.
- The Southern Ridges. Free. Ten kilometres of linked ridge from Mount Faber to Kent Ridge Park, crossing Henderson Waves 36 metres up. Verdict: Singapore’s best free walk. Start by 8am or after 5pm, carry your own water, and do it end to end once before you start cherry-picking sections.
- MacRitchie TreeTop Walk. Free. A 250-metre suspension bridge, one-way only. Open 9am to 5pm on weekdays, 8.30am at weekends, last entry 4.45pm, closed Mondays except public holidays. Seven to ten kilometres as a loop from MacRitchie Reservoir Park; about 2.5 kilometres from Windsor Nature Park. Verdict: take the Windsor approach with children. This is a nature reserve, not a stroll: 1.5 litres of water each.
- Pulau Ubin. Bumboat S$4 each way from Changi Point Ferry Terminal, S$2 extra if you bring a bike, boats leave when twelve are aboard, S$36 to charter one and leave now. Bike hire on the island S$10 to S$15 a day. Verdict: the cheapest full day out in Singapore, under S$30 including a hawker lunch at Changi Village. Chek Jawa’s boardwalk is free. Bring cash.
- National Gallery Singapore. Free general admission for Singaporeans and PRs; about S$20 to S$25 for everyone else, with concessions for children aged 7 to 12 and seniors. Open daily 10am to 7pm. Verdict: the building is the exhibit. The former Supreme Court dome and the rooftop over the Padang justify the visit; take a free daily guided tour, and pay for a special exhibition only when the name pulls you.
- Night Safari. S$58 standard. Residents with a free WildPass pay S$46.40 on a regular night, Sunday to Thursday, and S$52.20 on Fridays, Saturdays and holiday eves; seniors S$20. Gates open at 6pm, the tram and trails start at 7pm, and last entry is 11.15pm. Verdict: tram first, then walk the trails, because the walking is the better half. Go on a weeknight, and know that taxis leaving Mandai carry a S$5 surcharge.
- Marina Barrage at sunset. Free. The rooftop lawn faces the whole skyline; kites go up from about 5pm. The alternative is the SkyPark Observation Deck at Marina Bay Sands from S$35 by day and S$39 from 5pm. Verdict: the free roof beats the paid deck for the skyline. Bring a mat and keep the S$35.
- A hawker centre meal. S$5 to S$8 a plate at Maxwell, Old Airport Road or Chinatown Complex, and the Bib Gourmand stalls cost the same as their neighbours. Verdict: this is the thing to do, not the thing to do between things. The Table has the plates and the queues timed.
- Sentosa on foot. Free entry walking the Sentosa Boardwalk from VivoCity, about fifteen minutes; the Sentosa Express is S$4 for unlimited rides that day. The beaches, Fort Siloso and its Skywalk are free. Verdict: free is enough for a beach afternoon. Pay only for the one attraction you came for.
Prices checked 27 September 2026 against the operators’ published rates. Each entry gets its paid-visit tick when the desk goes.
Start here
- Things to Do in Singapore This Weekend, updated every Thursday
- Singapore Events This Month, updated monthly
- Singapore Public Holidays and the Long Weekends Worth Planning Around
- Free Things to Do in Singapore That Are Worth Your Saturday — researched guide to admission, registration, closures and the full outing budget; published 29 September 2026.
Visiting for the first time? Visiting Singapore is our first-timer’s guide: the SG Arrival Card, Changi to the city, a 3-day itinerary priced hour by hour, and what a day really costs.
How does a day out in Singapore work?
- MRT and Bus Fares in Singapore: What a Trip Costs and How Distance Fares Work
- How to Pay for the MRT and Buses: SimplyGo, Bank Cards and Concession Passes
- Taxi, Grab or Gojek in Singapore: Surcharges, Peak Pricing and Which to Book
- Ferries to Pulau Ubin, St John’s and the Southern Islands: Times, Fares and What to Bring
- Singapore Weather by Month: When It Rains, When It’s Hottest and When to Be Outdoors
- The Haze in Singapore: What the PSI Means and When to Move Plans Indoors
- Nature Reserve Rules in Singapore: What’s Not Allowed, and the Fines
- Otters, Monkeys and Wild Boars: What to Do When You Meet Singapore’s Wildlife
- How to Book a BBQ Pit or Campsite in Singapore: Permits, Fees and Rules
- Resident Rates, WildPass and Online Discounts: How Attraction Pricing Works in Singapore
- Free Museum Entry in Singapore: Who Gets In Free, and When
- SG Culture Pass Explained: What It Covers and How to Spend It
- ActiveSG Explained: Pool Entry, Gyms and Court Bookings, With the Fees
- How NDP Tickets Work: The Ballot, the Rehearsals and Where to Watch for Free
- Chinese New Year in Singapore: What Closes, What Opens and for How Long
- Festive Light-Ups in Singapore: When Orchard, Chinatown, Geylang Serai and Little India Switch On
- Getting Into Sentosa: Boardwalk, Monorail, Bus, Car or Cable Car, and What Each Costs
- Park Connectors in Singapore: The Routes, the Paths and the Rules for Walking and Cycling
- Film Ratings in Singapore: What G, PG13, NC16, M18 and R21 Mean at the Cinema
What is on this weekend, and what will it cost?
The weekend page is rebuilt every Thursday at the same address, so the link you saved last month still works this month. Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, the free option and the rain plan, each with a bill.
Coming soon on this desk
- 100 Things to Do in Singapore, Each With a Price and a Verdict (Wave 1)
- Date Ideas in Singapore by Budget: $30, $100 and $300
- Things to Do in Singapore at Night, Priced
- Rainy-Day Singapore: Indoor Plans That Are Not Just Malls
- Concerts and Shows in Singapore 2027: What’s Confirmed and What Tickets Really Cost
- Things to Do in Singapore With Kids, Island-Wide (Punggol families: the town guide is on eduKatePunggol)
The money underneath
A Saturday is a budget with weather. How to Plan for the Day, the Week, the Month, the Year and pillars, fillers, buffers and hoarding are the two pages behind every entry here.
How this desk judges
The Diary includes researched explainers and plans. A first-hand review must identify the visit date and the evidence for any paid experience; it must not be inferred from a desk label. Prices, opening times and booking conditions can change. Revenue never ranks, and any commercial relationship must be disclosed. Read how WahLiao judges.
Questions people ask
Is Singapore expensive to visit?
A day can cost S$20 or S$300 depending on what you pay for. Seven of the ten entries above are free, and the three that are not come in under S$60.
What can I do in Singapore for free?
Garden Rhapsody, the Botanic Gardens, the Southern Ridges, the TreeTop Walk, Marina Barrage, Jewel’s Rain Vortex, Sentosa’s beaches via the Boardwalk, and, for residents, the National Gallery’s permanent collection.
Is Sentosa free?
Yes, on foot via the Boardwalk. The Express is S$4; the attractions inside are ticketed separately.
Which attractions are worth paying for?
The Cloud Forest once, the Night Safari once, the Orchid Garden every time at S$5. Visitors should add both conservatories.
When is the best time to be outdoors?
Before 9am or after 5pm. Use 11am to 4pm for museums and malls.
Everything on this desk: The Diary archive. Where to eat afterwards is on The Table; getting out of town is on The Escape.
Last updated 27 September 2026.
