Hi, Planning on taking SQ/LH at Christmas time to Europe.

Hi,

Planning on taking SQ/LH at Christmas time to Europe. Have a nearly 9hr stopover in SIN. What's the easiest/quickest way to get into the city? (Orchard Road area, or even Marina Bay Sands). Had a quick look on SMRT website and doesn't seem as clear cut as the HK Airport Express!

Cheers for your help in advance!

I think SQ offers a city tour but if you want to roam the city I would recommend a taxi from the airport. Plenty of them and easy access. Just be aware that most taxis do not accept Visa cards in Singapore

Definitely taxi for reasons mentioned above. It'll no doubt be sticky humid so might be worth flagging one of the premium cabs. (they're black for memory and marginally dearer but will certainly have aircon and possibly credit card facilities)

As first poster mentioned, majority of cabs don't offer visa.

you can catch the SMRT, it takes about 45 mins to get to the business district, you will need to change metros once at the end of the airport line. its quite cheap, i think maybe $5

Or you could basically catch any airport shuttle, and just say you are going to marina bay sands and the taxi will drop you off there no problems. from memory it was only $9 per person from changi to marina bay sands with most airport shuttles, and they run every 10-15 minutes.

Either way, you would end up with a good 5 hours of exploring time in Singapore no matter what method you take

You are best to get a taxi. Takign the SMRT means changing trains at a station near Changi and then going into the city. Most direct route would be cab. Taxis in singapore are pretty cheap when compared to australia. 

If you are travelling during peak hour, i'd still consider the train

Taxi rides in Singapore are relatively cheap.

Don't waste time fuffing around with the MRT. They're not really designed to cater for tourist from the airport. It's primarily to ease the commute of airport workers from their home in the suburbs. 

Take the taxi.

Taxi would be my first choice given your timeframe. It'll cost you just under SGD$30 and about 20 minutes (subject to traffice) to Orchard Rd or Marina Bay Sands (MBS as locals call it). 

Again as mentioned many times above, Visa is mostly not accepted but MasterCard and AMEX are fine. The taxi industry there boycotted Visa because of their much delayed transaction settlement (apparently 30+days). Good on them I say!

Agree with all above - taxis in Singapore are one of the cheapest things there. A taxi to top of Orchard Road last week cost us S$25.  Train is not an express and is an all stops to the city.  Getting a ticket at the airport is also not as easy as it should be either, which is far different to the rest of the MRT system.  Having said that, there once was a free 3 hour guided bus tour of the Singapore top spots, whereby they take your passport as you enter the bus, and return it once back at the terminal.  Not sure if that still operates, but it was a good way to kill time.  The help desk at the exit gate just before the taxi stand used to arrange the tour.