This title is a little clickbaity—it’s not really a completely free all-inclusive trip. But I recently came across a promotion from the Singapore Tourism Board called Singapore Rewards, and if you’re visiting Singapore, you really shouldn’t miss it.

This promotion has been around for a while, but it seems not that many people know about it. Not long ago, a friend who visited Singapore found out too late and couldn’t book the activity they wanted most. Their mood was basically:

The person involved is now full of regret. Deep regret.

01 What Is Singapore Rewards?

Singapore Rewards is an incentive program launched by the Singapore Tourism Board starting in March to help revive travel. It lets visitors to Singapore join a variety of curated activities for free and experience a different side of the city.

Through these activities, the tourism board hopes to introduce travelers to Singapore’s lesser-known side and improve the overall travel experience. At the same time, it also gives local businesses a platform to launch and test new tourism products.

The idea is that if travelers have a good Rewards experience, they may later come back and pay for other activities.

02 Who Can Apply for Singapore Rewards?

To join a free Singapore Rewards experience, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Hold a short-term visit pass/visa (only tourists are eligible; locals and work pass holders are not);

2. Arrive in Singapore by plane;

3. Each person can redeem only one free experience.

03 How to Apply for Singapore Rewards

Complete the following four steps to claim a free experience:

1. Go to the visitsingapore website

(https://singaporewards.visitsingapore.com/en/registration) and register an account;

2. 3. Enter your travel document and flight ticket information, and the tourism board will verify it;

4. Use the email and e-voucher you receive to attend your activity on time.

 04 What Activities Are Included?

Now for the main event.

The free experiences are divided into four categories: “Novelty & Excitement,” “Dining,” “Sustainability,” and “Wellness.”

Novelty & Excitement

Category 1: “Novelty&Excitement” . Back in the day, the British divided residents into different areas by ethnicity for easier administration, which is why Singapore has so many distinctive neighborhoods today, such as Chinatown, Little India, and Arab Street. Even within the Chinese community, people were once grouped by origins such as Teochew, Hokkien, Hakka, and Hainanese.

This category is mainly about walking explorations through these urban neighborhoods. And it doesn’t look boring at all—for example, Chinatown has a “Chinatown Crime Scene Investigation” experience, something like an outdoor murder mystery game where you solve puzzles to find the “killer” while learning more about Chinatown.

Another example is “Sentosa Nighttime Nature Discovery”, where you spend an evening in Sentosa’s tropical jungle among plants and wildlife. And “Singapore Historical Bike Tour” uses a 4-hour cycling journey to help you learn more about Singapore’s history and iconic architecture, with snacks at a traditional coffee shop included too (I seem to run into this tour group on the road all the time, so it must be pretty popular).

Other Novelty & Excitement experiences include:

Haw Par Villa and its stories of life, karma, and reincarnation; behind-the-scenes stories of the old Supreme Court; early immigrant stories in Singapore; an introduction to Peranakan culture; a Bugis Instagram-style walking tour; Fort Canning and its World War II history; Duxton/Everton feng shui puzzle-solving; and improvisational art creation with cats;

New World's End immersive sound journey, a perfume-making workshop, a Little India doll-spirit exploration, a Jalan Besar historical tour (Malay district), a journey through the mystery and beauty of the south, and an architecture appreciation walk in Singapore.

Dining

Category 2: “Dining.” If you’re a foodie, there’s basically no way to choose wrong here. Singapore’s multicultural identity is reflected in its food too, and the tourism board really arranged it so you can eat your way from breakfast to dinner, from main dishes to desserts, and from Chinese food to Western food.

The first activity that caught my eye in this category was the “Singapore River Cruise Experience”. Not only do you get a free nighttime river cruise on the Singapore River (tickets normally cost 25 Singapore dollars), you also get free chili crab—well, not exactly, more like crab claws. After all, if they gave everyone a whole crab, the tourism board might go bankrupt.

Or you could choose a “Breakfast in the Wild” experience at the Singapore Zoo, or maybe you’d rather learn to mix a Singapore Sling with over 100 years of history in a shop that’s more than 80 years old.

Other Dining experiences include:

Tiger Brewery tasting sessions, farm-to-table cooking classes, hawker center food walks, a tour of Brass Lion Distillery Singapore, a chocolate workshop cocoa journey, and a tea appreciation experience.

Sustainability

Category 3: “Sustainability.” The activities in this category are either about getting closer to nature or learning about Singapore’s proudly promoted garden-city identity and sustainable design philosophy.

My favorite here has to be “Kayaking at Pulau Ubin”. You head out to an island that feels cut off from the modern world, visit Singapore’s last village, and learn about the natural ecosystem among the mangroves. Booking this on your own would usually cost 50 to 60 Singapore dollars, so this is absolutely worth it.

Or you could visit a workshop by local brand Chokmah and make your own coaster from recycled materials, or head to the Singapore aquarium to hear the stories behind it.

You can also visit Changi Airport and Jewel Changi to hear from staff how innovation helped create one of the world’s best airports.

Other sustainability experiences include:

a walking tour about Singapore’s sustainability story, Marina Bay night cycling, a pleated bag-making class, and a tai chi walking experience.

Wellness

Category 4: “Wellness” . There are fewer choices in this category—only three—but they all look pretty interesting.

For example, there’s the “Aqua Spin Class” at the rooftop pool of Hotel Jen. On classpass, this class normally costs 13 credits (40 Singapore dollars). Riding a bike in the pool while taking in the Singapore skyline sounds like a great experience.

If you’d rather not be overly active, you can take a wellness-focused cooking class using Chinese medicinal ingredients, or create a custom fragrance using essential oils from local Singapore flowers.

Still not tempted after seeing all that? Then it’s time to act—when you visit Singapore, book one of the activities you like and squeeze a little extra value out of the system while giving yourself a more memorable travel experience.