Day 1: Bay axis — why Bay first
After landing, humidity adaptation favours Bay walking + one hawker meal. Merlion → Helix → Gardens → (optional) Sky Park → Maxwell. Common mistake: Clarke Quay or USS the same night.
Day 2: lock one-and-a-half culture quarters
Kampong morning (mosque + Haji) or Chinatown heritage + Maxwell, then at most a Little India meal line — not three quarters as ten-minute stamps. Who splits across two days: heritage-street lovers.
Day 3: south island or north Mandai — never both
Sentosa: full USS or Oceanarium half-day+ — pick one. Mandai: Zoo / Rainforest axis. Botanic slow day is the no-ticket alternative, not a Sentosa add-on. Mandai suits families/nature; Sentosa suits ticketed rides.