Photo: Astari28 / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Everything a traveller from Ghatal needs to plan a Singapore holiday — the flight routing, the visa, what it costs and how long to go for.
Start with the fact that shapes every other decision: Ghatal has no international airport. Your trip begins with roughly 75 km by road — about 1 hours — to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International in Kolkata, and from there Singapore is a nonstop flight of about 4h 20m.
This guide covers the whole trip from Ghatal — how long to go for, what it costs, the visa, and which version of Singapore suits families, couples and first-timers differently.
How long to go for
Four nights is the sweet spot for a first visit. Three nights covers Marina Bay, Sentosa and one big attraction but keeps you moving; five nights adds Universal Studios and the Night Safari without any day feeling rushed. Past six nights the famous attractions run out and the trip becomes a neighbourhood-and-food trip, which is excellent but a different holiday.
Read the detailed plan in our 5 day Singapore itinerary.
Visa
Indian passport holders need a visa before boarding — no visa on arrival. Applications from West Bengal are filed electronically by an authorised agent, so there is no consulate visit, no interview and no biometrics. Apply three to four weeks ahead. Full detail in our Singapore visa guide for Ghatal.
What it costs from Ghatal
Per person, on a mid-range four-night trip:
| Land package (4N/5D, from) | ₹55,999 |
| Return airfare from Kolkata | ₹18,000–32,000 |
| Visa | ₹2,000–2,700 |
| Food and spending | ₹15,000–30,000 |
Who you are travelling with changes the trip
Families
Singapore is unusually easy with children: lifts at every MRT station, clean toilets everywhere, and almost no distance long enough to trigger a meltdown.
Worth knowing: Build one unstructured afternoon in. A family that has done three attractions in two days will not enjoy the fourth.
Couples
The city rewards couples after dark — Marina Bay, the Supertree light show and the riverside are all free and all better at night.
Worth knowing: Book one dinner properly. The difference between a queue at a food court and a reserved table is the difference between a nice day and a memorable one.
First-Time Visitors
The classic first-timer set — Marina Bay, Sentosa, Gardens by the Bay, a hawker centre — genuinely is the right list. It is famous because it works.
Worth knowing: Do not try to add Johor or Bintan on a first short trip. You will spend the time at immigration.
Senior Citizens
Every MRT station has lifts and every attraction has wheelchair access, but the distances inside attractions are longer than they look on a map.
Worth knowing: "Near MRT" in a hotel listing can still mean a 700–800m walk. Ask for the actual distance before booking.
Where to stay
Four areas cover almost every sensible choice. Marina Bay is the postcard — expensive, walkable to Gardens by the Bay and the light shows. Orchard Road suits shoppers and has the deepest hotel supply, so it is usually where value appears. Little India and Lavender are where budget travellers and most Indian families end up, and the food alone justifies it. Sentosa is a different holiday altogether: quiet after 9pm, excellent with young children, and inconvenient if you wanted the city.
The thing to check before booking is the real walking distance to an MRT station. "Near MRT" in a listing can mean 800 metres, which matters at 33°C with luggage or a tired child.
Getting around once you land
The MRT does almost everything. Buy a stored-value card or tap a contactless credit card directly at the gate — fares run about SGD 1–2.50 a trip, and a tourist pass rarely beats pay-as-you-go unless you are travelling constantly. Trains are air-conditioned, signposted in English and run until around midnight.
Taxis and Grab are reasonable by Indian metro standards for short hops but add up fast across a week. Changi to the city is roughly SGD 25–35 by taxi, or about SGD 2 on the MRT with one change.
Eating, especially if you are vegetarian
Hawker centres are the single best thing about the city for a budget-conscious traveller: a proper meal for SGD 5–8, in clean, government-regulated food centres rather than street stalls. Maxwell, Lau Pa Sat, Tekka and Chinatown Complex are the ones worth planning around.
Vegetarian travellers are well served — Little India has dozens of pure-veg South Indian restaurants, and most hawker centres have a vegetarian stall. The one thing to ask about specifically is fish sauce and oyster sauce, which appear in dishes that are otherwise meat-free. Jain and no-onion-no-garlic needs more planning; tell us when booking and we will build the itinerary around it.
Booking from Ghatal
We package the flights, hotel, transfers, attractions and visa together for travellers from Ghatal. See the Singapore packages or send an enquiry with your dates.
Practical things worth knowing before you fly
Staying connected
Buy a tourist SIM at Changi on arrival — Singtel, StarHub and M1 all sell them in the arrivals hall from about SGD 12 for a week with generous data. An eSIM bought before you leave India works just as well and saves the queue. Free public wi-fi is widespread but requires a local number to register, which is the catch that sends most people to the SIM counter anyway.
Language
English is an official language and the working language of the whole country — every sign, menu, ticket machine and announcement is in English. Tamil is also an official language, and Little India operates largely in Tamil and Hindi. Communication is genuinely not a barrier for Indian travellers.
Laws that surprise visitors
Singapore enforces rules that are unusual by Indian standards, and enforcement is real rather than nominal:
- Chewing gum cannot be imported or sold. Bringing a packet in your bag is a genuine problem
- E-cigarettes and vapes are completely banned — possession alone carries heavy fines, and this catches out more Indian travellers than anything else on this list
- Smoking is prohibited in most public places; use the marked yellow-box zones
- Eating and drinking on the MRT is fined, including water
- Jaywalking is an offence — use the crossings
- Littering, including cigarette butts, carries substantial fines
Drug offences carry the death penalty, and this is not a formality. Do not carry anything for anyone.
What you can bring in
Duty-free allowance for travellers arriving from India is up to 1 litre each of spirits, wine and beer, and only if you have been outside Singapore for at least 48 hours. There is no duty-free cigarette allowance at all — every cigarette brought in is taxable, and undeclared cigarettes are the most common enforcement action at Changi. Declare or dispose of them before you clear customs.
Tipping, safety and emergencies
Tipping is not customary; restaurants add a 10% service charge and 9% GST, shown as "++" on menus, so the menu price is not the final price. Singapore is among the safest cities in the world, and using public transport alone at night is unremarkable rather than brave. Emergency numbers are 999 for police and 995 for ambulance and fire. Tap water is safe to drink everywhere.
If any of this changes what you were planning from Ghatal, tell us before booking rather than after — itinerary changes are free at the quote stage and chargeable once confirmed.
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