This is the blog version of a video guide I published on YouTube:
Hello adventurer!
If you’re planning a trip to Singapore, you must read this because I’m gonna be sharing the worst time to visit that may ruin your trip.
At the end of this post, you’ll know exactly when to visit—for the least crowd and the best weather.
Let’s begin~
The TRINITY
There are 3 things that can make or break your trip:
- The Weather
Tropical Singapore is mostly sunny and rainy all year. However, some months are HOTTER and some other too much RAIN. During these months you might end up with a WET blanket over your plans. - Crowd Level
Singapore is a very popular destination in the region, welcoming about 1.2 MILLION visitors monthly. Visit during the peak holiday seasons, and you’ll be packed like sardines. - Seasonal Events & Festivities
Some special events could draw in surge of crowd or even cause business closures- disrupting your trip.
I’ll go through all the factors for each MONTH, then we’re gonna play a little game of ELIMINATION to figure out the BEST month to visit.
Monthly Review
I’ve looked up a bunch of weather reports, climate & visitor arrivals data to come up with these. Feel free to look into the sources I used and perhaps peer-review my post 😉
January ~ 14.2 rain-days
Generally the Weather in the first half of the month is TERRIBLE because of excessive rain. Due to the Northern Monsoon season, when there’s a monsoon surge we get rain that last for days. HOWEVER, in the later half of the month is the BEST weather in Singapore because it barely rains and there’s lots of cooling wind. I don’t even use my house air conditioning in this period. Statistically, the longest without rain in Singapore was 40 days from 18 January 2005.
Regarding the crowd, January is considered peak – about 10%-15% more tourists compared to rolling average. We welcome about 30% more Australians on their summer holiday and about 10% more Indonesians in January! However, if the Chinese New Year falls in January, we’ll also see a HUGE spike of visitors from China, potentially attracting 30-40% more chinese tourists than usual. Which is A LOT considering they are our highest contributor to arrival numbers.
February ~ 8.1 rain-days
In February: the cooling and drier weather continues – statistically February only has 8 days of rain! Considering February only has 28 days it’s a big deal.
The crowd in Feb is only slightly higher- about 5% above average. However, similar to January, if the Chinese New Year falls in February, this will also contribute to huge influx of 30-40% Chinese tourists celebrating their long holiday in Singapore
Speaking of Chinese New Year, unless you’re planning to join in the celebration it’s better to avoid this period. There will almost be a blackout in most CHINESE F&B & services on the night before and the first few days of CNY. So restaurants and hawker centers might be closed. Restaurants that remain open might charge extra festive charges. Even supermarkets may be closed for half-days.
It’s not a deal breaker, since major food chains like McDonald’s and most tourist attractions stay open and on the bright side, the festivity comes with lively decors and events you can enjoy like Chinatown Light up and Lion Dance performances. However if you’re hoping for a smooth-sailing experience, CNY might not be the best time to visit.
March ~ 12.6 rain-days
In March, the weather starts to worsen because temperature starts RISE, hitting up to 32 degree celcius outside. The wind slows down, resulting in more formation of convection-borne rain clouds that cause short thundery showers in late afternoon to evening period. In short, it’s now hotter and potentially wetter in the second half of the day.
The crowd in March is slightly higher- about 10% compared to rolling average- but these are numbers only account for INTERNATIONAL visitors… The problem with March is our SG school holiday. During this period, many of us locals will also be visiting the popular tourist attractions like GBTB or Sentosa – hence you’ll face significantly higher level of crowd.
HOWEVER, it’s very easy to avoid these periods because it’s well documented waaaay ahead of time in the MOE calendar. Just visit this LINK, which will take you to the schedule for SG school holidays.
In summary, look out for:
- March (1 week)
- June (1 month)
- September (1 week)
- December (1 month)
We’ll cover more about those later!
April ~ 14.8 rain-days
Similar to March, April is also generally hot with WEAK wind PLUS the occasional thundery afternoon showers. However when the winds change, we might also get this short HEAVY Thunderstorms that’s locally known as the Sumatra squalls which often comes with super strong winds that makes it look like it’s raining horizontally – but these shouldnt affect your day plans because usually they strike in the early mornings and clears in a few hours.
In April, the crowd level is also slightly higher- about 10% compared to the rolling average. Fun fact: we attract 20-30% of tourist from Philippines in April! likely due to the Easter holiday.
Theres also 1 weekend to AVOID in April, which is the Good Friday, similarly this is the weekend that many locals will be your fellow tourists. This is also SUPER easy to avoid, simply visit the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) website that publishes all the Public Holidays.
Where possible, avoid the public holidays to avoid bustling with local tourists.
May ~ 15.3 rain-days
May weather is statistically our HOTTEST. Expect lots of short and heavy thunderstorms in the afternoons. Fun fact April and May is the Thunderiest months in Singapore. Or is it most Thunderful?? Lightningmost???
The worst part about the heat in May is… it persists through the night. It’s not as hot as when the sun’s out but the humidity is super uncomfortable. If you come from a relatively dry climate, you might wanna get a hotel with good air conditioning. It remains around 28-29 degree celcius throughout the night here.
The INTERNATIONAL crowd in May is only slightly higher about 5% above rolling average – but the good news is, May is usually the mid-year exams for most schools. Most local families are cooping at home to let their children study for exam. As a result, we can expect LESS of the local crowd!
Other than that, try to avoid Labour Day on the first of May
June ~ 14.0 rain-days
In June, the sun is almost as hot as May. Expect scorching day and toasty nights. This month we get more than just squalls from Sumatra.
Due to the HOTTER and DRIER season in Sumatra, forest fires are more common. All that smoke from the fire gets blown towards Singapore resulting in the Sumatra haze. In 2015 the haze was SOOO bad because plantation owners were ALSO doing lots of slash and burn – ironically some of these plantations has offices in Singapore.
My friends used to jokingly blame me for the haze because I was from Indonesia, then I just blame them back saying the haze is from the Singaporeans burning incense paper. Both are very bad jokes HAHAH. On the bright side, there’s generally LESS afternoon showers in this period.
June international crowd is also slightly higher around 5%-10% above rolling average – Except when it’s haze season.
The influx is likely due to the start of school holiday in the region in Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia. It’s also the start of locals’ month long school holiday resulting in greater number of domestic crowd.
June is usually popular time to start catching FREE fireworks in Singapore. To prepare for upcoming National day celebrations in August, there will be rehearsals that fires REAL fireworks. I have another video guide on how to catch that you can watch later.
July ~ 14.6 rain-days
July is generally the same as June: During the day burning, during the night sweating. Expect early morning thunderstorms and occasional afternoon showers. I also shower a lot in this period. Can’t stand all the sweaty feeling.
The crowd in July is exceptional. It’s our busiest month. We get up to 25% more visitors in July. This influx is due to the regional school holidays continuing into July and the start of summer holidays in the Northern hemisphere. Can you imagine? It’s so hot and there’s so many people. It’ll be so uncomfortable.
August ~ 14.4 rain-days
August weather is generally the same as June. Hot and sweaty. Pro tip shower in the morning to get rid of all the yuckiness from sweating. Throughout the night you can expect early morning thunderstorms plus the occasional afternoon showers.
The crowd in August is not as bad as July, but it’s still considered super peak, about 15% above average. The regional school holidays is over, but the summer holidays from the Northern hemisphere continues. Beware if you’re travelling in the first week of August, you might hit our National Day.
During this time, some streets around the civic area will be closed off for the National Day celebrations. As a result, some bus services might be diverted or they may not stop around these streets anymore. So you better check if your bus is affected, otherwise you’ll get lost. Train services are uh, not affected.
On the bright side, if you’re interested in watching Singapore Military assets zipping by, this is the only time you can do that. And it’s free. Just hang around Marina Bay and City hall all the rehearsal evenings.
September ~ 13.6 rain-days
September is our least crowded month with visitors as low as 10% below average, likely due to the end of summer holidays and little to none regional holidays in this period.
The highlight of September is the start of F1 season. Usually the race is scheduled in late September, but in some years it’s in October.
During this time you can expect 100,000 people daily crowding around the circuit area. So unless you’re there to watch the race, I recommend staying away from here.
There’s also one week of local school holiday that you want to avoid, usually in the first half of the month
October ~ 15.6 rain-days
In October, the winds are at their lowest, resulting in more frequent afternoon showers. As the month progresses, the northern winds starts to pick up, resulting in wetter weather. The temperature remains hot throughout the day, but gets bearable in the night.
The crowd level in October is average, but relative to July and August is super chill.
October’s highlight is the Deepavali festivities, but you gotta check because sometimes this falls in November. During this time, the streets around Little India will be lit up in decorations and comes to life with celebrations. Similarly, avoid this area if you want to stay out of the crowd
November ~ 20.9 rain-days
November: our second WETTEST month with an average of 20.9 rainy days. You should never leave home without an umbrella in November. As the month progresses, we’ll see more and more rain as the North-Eastern wind brings in lots of moisture. At the same time, as the wind is still- winding up, the afternoon thundery showers will still be pouring in
Similar to October, the crowd is very chill in November. However, the local crowd will start to pick up in the last week of November as the year end school holiday begin
December ~ 19.2 rain-days
Our wettest month of the year… Although it clocks only 19.2 days of rain compared to the 20.9 days of rain in November, the December rains are heavier with monsoon surges that will bring Rain that lasts for days.
This is the worst month to plan outdoor activities. Maybe if you get lucky it will be just clouds with no rain, so you get to do your things under the shade. At least the cooling trend continues. The cool temperature and the rain outside might help you get very good sleep.
The crowd level in December peaks at 10 to 15% above average as visitors from the northern hemisphere flock to Singapore to escape the winter chill. Just to be hit by the tropical showers! We also welcome a lot of regional visitors spending their year end holiday.
The highlight for December is Christmas. My favourite XMAS activity is to walk down the orchard road to admire the lights and the Christmas trees. Sometimes there are also fun Christmas markets that you can visit.
Best Months to Visit
Eliminating by our preference…
- Avoid extreme rain: Late Oct to early Jan
- Avoid peak crowds: March, April, July, August
- Avoid local holidays: June & September
- Avoid heat if possible: May
Result:
- Late January to February
- September to Mid-October
(Just avoid Chinese New Year & Sep school break)
Too Late… Already Bought Ticket?
DAMN… You already bought tickets or can’t visit at any any other time? No worries, I have just the solutions for you!
Visiting in the Hot Season (March–May)
To survive the HOTTEST seasons…
- Avoid outdoors 10am–5pm
- Bring hat, sunglasses, sunblock
- Wear sporty long sleeves & long pants for outdoor days to avoid UV exposure
- Or better still, use an umbrella that doubles as rain protection!
To survive the added heat humidity in the nights between May to August, find an accommodation that has a good air conditioning. Otherwise you will easily drown in your sweat.
Visiting During Rainy Season (Nov–Jan)?
To protect yourself against WET blankets over your plans…
- Have a Plan A (outdoor) and Plan B (indoor) ready
- Check NEA weather forecast each morning
- Dry? go with plan A
- Wet? go with plan B
- For your convenience, I’ve marked how WEATHER-PROOF are the TOP attractions in Singapore in this table. Basically those that you can visit whether it’s rain or shine!
- The NEA website is quite powerful as it can also show the movement of LIVE rain clouds. This allows you to make some educated guess whether the rain is lightening, getting worse, or going away!
- Wear waterproof footwear
- Personally I wear Crocs = comfy, non-slip, airy (not sponsored—just love them)
Visiting During Peak Crowd (July–Aug)?
- Visit near opening/closing hours of attractions for less crowd
- Avoid weekends/public holidays to avoid the domestic tourist crowd
- Explore off-the-beaten-path spots:
- Fort Siloso
- Hawker food outside town (Ghim Moh, Tiong Bahru)
- Hidden walks (Henderson Waves, Marina East)
Final Words
And congratulations! Now you know the best time to visit Singapore—and how to survive any season- But what are the best things to do here? Just check out my next video or guide here—I’ll see you there!
Dashing Heights 