Singapore,Singapore.

Almost all international visitors arrive via Singapore Changi Airport, consistently rated one of the world's best, which is directly linked to the city by MRT. The Changi Airport MRT station sits in the basement between Terminals 2 and 3; from there it's a quick ride on the East-West Line via Tanah Merah into the downtown core. Taxis and ride-hail apps like Grab are readily available at every terminal and are the only option once the trains stop running late at night.

Singapore's MRT and bus network is clean, frequent, and simple to navigate using contactless payment. Fares are distance-based, so the same trip costs the same whether taken by bus or train, and free transfers apply between the two within a set window. Tourists no longer need to buy a stored-value card at all, since any contactless Visa or Mastercard taps directly at gantries for the same fare as a local EZ-Link card, with only a small daily admin fee for foreign-issued cards.

Singapore sits almost on the equator, so temperatures and humidity stay high year-round, but the calendar still has a sweet spot. The driest, sunniest conditions typically arrive between February and April, before the inter-monsoon rains pick up, making this the most comfortable window for walking tours, rooftop bars, and outdoor gardens. Rain can fall any month in short, heavy bursts, so travelers visiting outside this stretch should simply plan for brief afternoon downpours rather than avoid the trip altogether.