Turn your layover into a stopover
Lush gardens, hawker lanes, and glass towers in the city of the future.
Departs 10:00. Chinatown and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, a drive past the Singapore River quays, then Kampong Gelam, Arab Street and Haji Lane, with two short photo stops.
Departs 12:00 and 18:00. Civic District, Merlion Park and Gardens by the Bay, with two short photo stops.
Departs 13:00 and 16:00. Singapore River, Marina Bay Sands and the Marina Bay skyline, with two short photo stops.
Departs 15:00 and 19:00. Sentosa island highlights; the evening run takes in the waterfront after dark.
Your trip must route through SIN (Singapore) with a 5.5–24 hour layover. Eligible classes: Economy, Premium Economy, Business, First.
Pre-book tours up to 60 days ahead at fst.changiairport.com, or register at Free Singapore Tour counter in T2 or T3 transit halls (7am-1pm). For hotel package: book via singaporeair.com under 'Holiday Before the Holiday' or hbth.singaporeair.com.
The airline confirms your hotel and any included tours via email, usually within a few business days.
Make your own way to the hotel (most cities have cheap metro/airport taxis). Take any included tours, then continue your journey.
Questions? Email cag.fst@changiairport.com
Supertree Grove light show at 7:45 and 8:45 PM nightly, free.
Michelin-starred street food for under $10.
Spectra water-and-laser show over the bay.
Tours and skip-the-line tickets that fit a layover. Book on GetYourGuide.
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How much is all the free stuff actually worth?
Will the airline actually respond to my email?
Is this city worth visiting for 1-2 days?
The free tour from Singapore airport is well worth doing. We had a 12 hour layover and this was a perfect way to break up the day.
Traveled: Aug 2024
2025 video walks viewers through booking the Free Singapore Tour after Sentosa was added in August 2025. The Sentosa Discovery Tour operates once daily in the evening.
Traveled: Sep 2025
Vlog captures the Free Singapore Tour from Changi Airport transit, covering Marina Bay, Merlion, and the Supertrees at night.
Traveled: Nov 2024
Singapore Stopover Holiday package starting around S$63 delivers value for 1-night stays, though families should verify child pricing as some hotels charge adult rates for children.
Traveled: Mar 2024
Thread about what to do with a 7-hour Singapore layover draws unanimous responses recommending the Free Singapore Tour.
Traveled: Jul 2024
Approached the transfer desk and they had no record of my hotel booking — after 90+ minutes at the counter they said all airport hotels were booked.
Traveled: Jan 2025
AIRLINE GUIDE
Five Free Singapore Tours, the Holiday Before the Holiday hotel package for premium cabins, and the narrow visa rules behind both.
6 min read
HOW-TO
Whether you can step outside on a layover comes down to three things: your passport, the hours you actually have after immigration and the trip to town, and what happens to your bags. The answer for five hubs, passport by passport, with what each airline gives you if you go.
10 min read
HOW-TO
Layover and stopover aren't the same thing, and the difference is worth a free hotel: what each term means, the 24-hour line that separates them, and how a long layover or a multi-day stopover turns a connection into a free second trip.
7 min read
No. Singapore Airlines does not pay for a hotel on a long layover in Singapore. The Free Singapore Tour & Stopover Holiday gives you free tours in Singapore instead, and any hotel is either your own booking or a paid package. A hotel after a missed connection that Singapore Airlines caused is handled under its delay policy, not this program.
Singapore Airlines offers discounted stopover packages in Singapore rather than a fully free stay. Most travelers pay a reduced rate for the hotel and tours, and still cover meals, transfers, and any transit-visa fee. Check the all-in price before you book.
Passengers flying Singapore Airlines on a ticket issued by the airline, with a qualifying layover in SIN between 5.5 and 24 hours. Eligible booking classes: Economy, Premium Economy, Business, First. Free Singapore Tour: layover of 5.5 to 24 hours, four 2.5-hour guided bus tours with two brief photo stops, pre-book up to 50 days ahead at fst.changiairport.com or register at the Free Singapore Tour counters (Terminal 2 Level 2 near Gate F50, Terminal 3 Level 2 near Gates A1 to A8, 08:00 to 19:00) with passport and boarding passes. Immigration clearance and Singapore entry eligibility (SG Arrival Card) required. Three paid 3 to 4 hour tours exist for 6-hour-plus transits. Singapore Airlines' Singapore Stopover page (Sep 2026) offers partner hotel deals such as 3 nights for the price of 2 and up to 30% off, added after your stopover booking; no complimentary hotel nights are shown.
Your connection in SIN should fall between 5.5 and 24 hours. Two things travelers get caught by: flight-search sites usually show the shortest connection by default, and that's often too short to qualify. You may need to deliberately pick a longer-layover flight. And the layover shown isn't all usable: clearing immigration and any baggage steps eats into it, so give yourself comfortable margin above the 5.5-hour minimum.
Stopover programs are run by the airline, so the safest route is a ticket booked directly with Singapore Airlines on an eligible fare. Award and miles tickets, and bookings made through online travel agencies or other third-party sites, often follow different rules: sometimes they don't qualify, sometimes the stopover has to be arranged another way. Before booking like that, confirm directly with Singapore Airlines that your specific ticket type is eligible.
To leave the airport for your stopover you must meet Singapore's transit or entry rules, and this matters before you even fly: if your passport requires a transit visa and you don't have one, the airline can deny boarding. The good news: many nationalities get visa-free transit, visa-on-arrival, or a quick e-visa, and some stopover programs include the transit visa. Select your nationality on this page to see the exact requirement for Singapore, and arrange any visa well before departure.
Airlines do sometimes adjust schedules after you book. A change can shorten or lengthen your layover. If it drops the connection below the 5.5-hour minimum, or past the maximum, it can affect your eligibility. If you get a schedule-change notice, re-check your layover against the program's window and contact Singapore Airlines to rebook or re-confirm the stopover. It's worth re-checking your itinerary a few days before departure.
On a single Singapore Airlines ticket, your checked bags are normally tagged straight through to your final destination, so you head into Singapore with just your carry-on, and your luggage continues on the onward flight. You'd only collect and re-check bags if part of your trip is on a separate ticket. If you'd like a checked bag with you for the overnight stay, ask Singapore Airlines when you arrange the stopover.
Most stopover programs allow only one stopover per round-trip — on either the outbound or the return leg, not both. A few carriers are more flexible. Confirm with Singapore Airlines whether your specific itinerary can include a stopover on each leg before planning two stops.
Singapore Airlines offers discounted hotel packages in Singapore rather than a complimentary room; you pick from their partner options at a reduced rate. Confirm the all-in price when you book.
Pre-book tours up to 60 days ahead at fst.changiairport.com, or register at Free Singapore Tour counter in T2 or T3 transit halls (7am-1pm). For hotel package: book via singaporeair.com under 'Holiday Before the Holiday' or hbth.singaporeair.com.
Up to 30 days. You can extend your layover without paying additional airfare, as long as it fits within the program's rules.
Tours offered: Heritage and Culture Tour, City Sights Tour, Singapore River and Marina Bay Sands Tour, Sentosa Discovery Tour. Availability varies by season and requires advance booking through Singapore Airlines.
Choose your passport to see if you can leave the airport.
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