How to get from Changi Airport to Singapore City Center?

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Changi International Airport is one of the busiest on the planet and has also been voted the best in the world. With connections to cities around the world, it is one of the main gateways for those who want to go to Asia and Australia. 

Many passengers pass through Singapore only as a place of passage to their final destination but we, in our family travel through Asia, have organized ourselves to be able to meet Singapore city-state for 2 days.


 After a nearly 13-hour flight from London, what any adult traveling with children wants is to get to their destination as fast as possible, so we tried to gather some information that allows us to feel less lost on arrival at the airport.

Changi Airport has 4 terminals, easily accessible via the Skytrain. This is a beautifully organized airport and we can guarantee you will not feel lost or disorganized.

How to exit the airport?

After landing, you should look for the Arrival indications in English, its impossible to not see it. You should follow this route to the Immigration and Passport Control area. There, you have to queue for control, and only after that, you can lift your bags, which should be done following the easily visible indications of Baggage Claim.


 Once you have your suitcases, follow the signs for Customs, you will also easily see the signs all the way, and after that, follow the signs for Arrival Hall.

When arriving at Arrival Hall, you will have indications of 3 possible means of transport to the city center, which is located about 17 Kms from the airport: Train, Bus and Taxi. There is a fourth possibility, the City Shuttle, of which we shall speak later.

Train - MRT (Mass Rapid Transit)

Time: 1 hour
Cost: About S $ 2 (2018 prices)
Schedule: from 05:31 to 23:18 from Monday to Saturday and from 05:59 to 00:06 on Sundays and holidays (please confirm here).

This was our choice. From what we have investigated, it is the option that best combines efficiency, price, and speed. If this is also your option, what you should do is follow the visible indications along the route to indicate the way to the Train and, going down the escalators that will take you there. The MRT station is located between Terminal 2 and 3 and is easy and fast to access.


 When you get to the floor of the train station, you have two options to get your ticket. In our case, we used a vending ticket machine, where we purchased a standard ticket for our trip to our destination. When you arrive at the vending ticket machine, you must choose the standard ticket, and then you will be asked for your destination station, which you can select by pressing on the screen of the machine.

If you do not wish to use the vending ticket machines, or if you wish to purchase another type of ticket, such as rechargeable cards or Tourist Pass, go to the Ticket Office, which is easily visible next to the vending ticket machines.

In our case, since we were staying in a central hotel, we opted for the standard ticket option, which cost less than 2 SGD (2018 price). Payment can be made with cash (coins or banknotes in the upper right corner of the machine) or credit card.



 We always advise you to carry out before traveling an online consultation at the MRT station near your hotel, so that you can calculate the route and the price of your ticket. For more information about prices and different transport tickets, see here.

Our final destination was the Chinatown DT19 station, so we had to make a train change. First, we caught the MRT at Changi station, East-West Line, and we went to one station to the MRT Station Expo. Subsequently, we took the Downtown Line and it was 16 stations up to Chinatown DT19. The total course lasted less than an hour.

Something we advise is to do at home this study of the stations that will go through, check the possible train changes, and where you should perform them. This is important in the sense of not wasting precious time because you have to study the route at the time or, even worse, miss your station during your trip. That's not a good thing after an intercontinental flight.

See here the MRT map so you can study your route in advance:

 
For those who, like us, travel with children, there is the possibility of not paying the child's ticket, if he is less than 0.9 meters in height and accompanied by fee-paying commuter travel. This rule applies to both the train and the bus.

Do not forget that you must keep your ticket throughout the trip, as you will need to use it to leave the destination station.

We also suggest you download the Singapore MRT and LRT Free application, for IOS and Android, where you can access the transport map and the best way to organize your trip.

 

Go-Head Bus 36 / 36A

Time: 1h10
Cost: About S $ 2, can increase depending on your destination (prices 2018)
Schedule: During the week bus 36 runs from 06:08 to 22:52, Saturdays from 06:07 to 22:52 and Sundays and holidays from 06:06 to 22:53 (please confirm here).


The Bus option is not much more expensive than the MRT, but because we consider it more complicated and less fast, we do not choose it. If it is your choice, when arriving at Arrivals Hall you should go to the bus area, easily reachable following the various Bus indications. Each terminal (1, 2, 3 and 4) has its bus station, which is located downstairs from the airport.

 Bus 36 is the only bus line that connects directly to the airport and makes a return route between the airport and Tomlinson Road. There are a few important streets in Singapore such as Marina Parade Rd, Suntec City, Somerset Rd, Orchard, but if your hotel is not on your route you may need to make the connection with another mode of transportation to its destination, which makes this possibility probably the most time consuming (see here all the itinerary).

It is possible to use the EZ-Link Card to pay for your trip (see here how to purchase and use) or, If you want to use money, when you arrive at the bus you must have the exact amount to pay the ticket (in 2018, to our destination, was S$2.10), because no change will be given. And, this may not be an easy operation for those who have just arrived in the country usually have no coins to pay the exact amount of the ticket.

 
 Taxi

Time: 25 minutes
Cost: About S$23 (2018 prices)
Schedule: 24 hours

This is probably the most comfortable and quickest way to reach your destination. It has the inconvenience of being the most expensive.

Catching the taxi at Changi Airport is easy. To do this, simply follow the arrows to say TAXI that is at the exit of the different terminals and all have a place to queue, extremely well organized, even queue for priority passengers. Usually, the waiting time is very low or zero, and this is a service that runs 24 hours a day.

There is a visible price estimate before you pick up your taxi which, at 2018 prices, range from $ 23 to $ 40, depending on the brand of the car. However, taxis operate by a meter and are, in a general way, honest.

Note:
You will have to pay an extra for the transport of the bags, so check it before you catch the Taxi. You can check this site for an approximate cost of your taxi ride.

The City Shuttle

Time: from 30 minutes to 1h30
Cost: S$9 adults and S$6 children under 12 years of age (2018 prices)
Schedule: 24 hours, every 15 minutes during peak hours and up to 30 minutes during non-peak hours (please confirm cost and schedule here).


This is an option that can be very useful for those arriving after 11pm at the airport. As the last train from Changui is around 11.15 p.m. (confirm always) and the first one after 5:30 p.m., Bus 36 is even shorter. So, for those who arrive late at the airport, it is possible to take the taxi (more expensive) or to use the services of City Shuttle.

This is a service that distributes travelers through various hotels in downtown Singapore, so if your hotel is located in that area, this may be a good choice to consider, especially if you arrive late night when you only have a taxi as an alternative.

The big problem with this option is that the distribution of passengers by different hotels can make the arrival at your destination very time consuming and also not the best way to travel for those who land with a lot of luggage.

It is possible to make an advance reservation online for your transportation to the hotel here. If you don't make your reservation online, at the airport you should go to the Ground Transport Concierge at the Arrival Halls or make your reservation using the electronic kiosks available at the different terminals. You can pay with major credit cards and then just wait in the waiting area at your terminal.


 You can access more information on how to use this service here. 


Final note


We make reference to the duration of the trips but we always ask that you have this information as a possibility, since it can always vary depending on several factors, such as traffic, time of the trip, number of stops, etc. Also in relation to the amounts payable and the hours of operation of the different means of transportation, we always ask you to confirm on the companies websites, as there may be changes and our blog is not updated. If you discover any data that may not be up to date, we ask you to inform us through the comments box and we will try to update the information as soon as possible.
We hope that our article will help you plan your trip to Singapore and if you still do not have a place to stay, we always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and it's with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals in your destiny by clicking here, it will not cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.

Any question, leave your comment that we will be happy to help. You can also leave suggestions, comments, and do not forget to share on your social networks and see other Non Stop Family - Travel Blog articles.

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