The Best Day Trips from Singapore 2026: 8 Tested Itineraries
Best day trips from Singapore: Johor Bahru (Malaysia) + Bintan Island (Indonesia) + Batam + Pulau Ubin + Sentosa — international escapes 30 min to 2 hrs away.
Top 8 Day Trips from Singapore
1Johor Bahru (Malaysia)
Cross to Malaysia for Legoland + KSL City Mall + cheap massages + chicken rice + Hello Kitty Town.
2Bintan Island (Indonesia)
Pristine beaches at Lagoi Bay + Banyan Tree + sunset over South China Sea.
3Batam Island (Indonesia)
Cheap massages + seafood + golf + duty-free shopping — Indonesians + Singaporeans favorite cheap weekend.
4Pulau Ubin
Last "old Singapore" island — biking + Chek Jawa wetlands + kampung village glimpse.
5Sentosa Island
Universal Studios + S.E.A. Aquarium + Adventure Cove + beaches + casino. Singapore's resort island.
6Kusu Island
Tortoise island + Tua Pek Kong temple + September pilgrimage festival + quiet beaches.
7Tioman Island (Malaysia)
Diving paradise from Mersing — turtles + reef sharks + budget paradise vs. luxury Bintan.
8Mersing + Endau Rompin
Mangrove tour + Tioman gateway + Endau Rompin rainforest (older than Amazon).
The one most people skip, plus what changes in late 2026
Everyone piles onto the Batam and Bintan ferries and ignores the islands sitting 30 minutes off Marina South Pier. St John's Island and its causeway-linked twin Lazarus Island are the day trip most visitors miss, and they are the better call for a beach day. The Marina South Pier ferry runs to St John's for about SGD 18 return, and from there you walk a short causeway to Lazarus, which has the cleanest swimming sand in the country and almost no crowds on a weekday. Bring your own food and water because there are no shops once you land.
Two things worth knowing. Skip Sentosa as a "day trip" if you want to actually leave the city, since it is a 4-minute monorail ride from VivoCity and reads more like an attraction than an escape. And if you are reading this for a 2026 trip, the new Johor Bahru RTS Link train is targeted to open at the end of 2026, running Woodlands North to Bukit Chagar in about 5 minutes for a fare expected near SGD 5 to 7, with immigration cleared before you board. That will make Johor Bahru the fastest border day trip anywhere.
Singapore Day Trips FAQ
You Might Also Love
Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.