Getting Around Singapore
The MRT (Singapore's subway) is the best way to get around — clean, frequent, air-conditioned, and it reaches almost every neighborhood in this guide for under $2 a ride. Grab (not Uber, which doesn't operate here) covers everything the MRT doesn't. A rental car is genuinely unnecessary and expensive to own locally, so don't bother.
Getting to Singapore
Changi Airport is the main gateway, with direct long-haul flights from most major cities worldwide. Expect 13-19 hours from the US depending on origin and connections, with round-trip fares typically $700-1,600. From Europe, Australia, and most of Asia, direct flights run considerably shorter. Changi itself (see our Jewel Changi guide) is worth arriving a little early for.
Getting around: the real options
Singapore is compact enough that most visitors never need anything beyond its train and bus network — this isn't a country you drive across, it's a city you ride across.
- Trains (MRT) — the backbone of getting around; six color-coded lines connect nearly every neighborhood in this guide, trains run every 2-5 minutes, and a typical ride costs $1-2.50.
- Buses — a dense public network (SBS Transit and SMRT) fills in wherever the MRT doesn't reach directly; buses are air-conditioned, cheap, and use the same contactless card as the MRT.
- Domestic flights — not applicable; Singapore is a single city-state with no internal flights. The closest equivalent is a short ferry to Indonesia's Batam or Bintan islands, or a train/bus crossing into Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
- Car rental / driving — genuinely not worth it; car ownership here is deliberately taxed into rarity (a Certificate of Entitlement alone can cost more than the car), parking is expensive, and the MRT/Grab combination covers everything a visitor needs.
Getting around inside neighborhoods
Once you're in a neighborhood — Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Marina Bay — everything is walkable; Singapore's compact blocks and covered walkways (genuinely useful in the heat and sudden rain) mean you rarely need transit for short hops. For anything the MRT doesn't reach directly, Grab is the dominant ride-hailing app here — Uber sold its Southeast Asian operations to Grab back in 2018 and does not operate in Singapore. Gojek is a smaller second option, and regular metered taxis are also plentiful and easy to flag.
| Route/option | Typical cost | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Changi Airport to downtown | $2 (MRT) or $20-30 (Grab/taxi) | 30-45 min (MRT), 20-30 min (Grab) |
| A day trip to Johor Bahru, Malaysia | $3-5 (bus/train across the causeway) | 1-1.5 hours each way, plus border crossing |
| A one-day MRT/bus unlimited pass | $9 (plus a small refundable card deposit) | — |
Download the Grab app before you land — it's the one thing that actually replaces Uber here, and it also handles food delivery and bike-share if you need either. Just tap a contactless bank card or phone directly at MRT gates — no ticket machine queue required.
Common transport mistakes
- Looking for Uber and not finding it — Grab is the equivalent here; download it in advance rather than discovering the gap at the airport.
- Renting a car 'just in case' — it's expensive, parking is a hassle, and the MRT plus Grab covers every destination in this guide more easily than driving yourself.
- Forgetting that some MRT lines close around midnight — check the last-train time if you're planning a late night out; a Grab home is cheap, so just plan for it instead of assuming the train's always running.