Changi's MRT station is linked to Terminals 2 and 3. The ride to Marina Bay takes about 50 minutes with one change at Tanah Merah, and the last train back to Changi leaves between 11:21pm and 11:29pm. After that, a taxi takes about 30 minutes.
How do you get from Changi airport into Singapore?
For most layovers, take the MRT: from Changi Airport station change at Tanah Merah to the East West Line, about 50 minutes to Marina Bay (LTA). The last train back to Changi leaves City Hall at 11:26pm. A taxi takes about 30 minutes and costs S$25 to S$45 metered, plus an airport surcharge of S$6 or S$8. Be back at Changi 90 minutes before your flight.
Getting through the border
Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) publishes no immigration queue times, so this guide allows about an hour from landing to the MRT platform.
Changi says all travellers, including first-time visitors, can use automated clearance with a valid ICAO-compliant passport and no prior enrolment. Submit the free SG Arrival Card within 3 days before you land: visa and transit rules. If your airline doesn’t transfer bags, you clear immigration and collect them before going on, and ICA says several low-cost carriers make you clear immigration to collect your onward boarding pass.
The options at a glance
| MRT | Taxi | Booked car | |
|---|---|---|---|
| To | Raffles Place, City Hall, Bugis, Tanjong Pagar; Bayfront and Botanic Gardens with a change at Bugis | The city | Any Singapore address |
| Time | About 50 minutes to Marina Bay | About 30 minutes | Not published |
| Fare | By distance; LTA’s fare calculator gives it | S$25 to S$45 metered, plus S$6 or S$8 | S$70 for a 4-seater |
| Pay with | Contactless card, mobile wallet, EZ-Link, NETS FlashPay | Meter, card or app | Counter or online |
MRT: the best all-rounder
The Changi Airport MRT station is linked directly to Terminals 2 and 3. Take the train to Tanah Merah, change to the East West Line toward Tuas Link, and get off at Bugis, City Hall, Raffles Place or Tanjong Pagar. LTA says the current trip from Changi Airport to Marina Bay takes about 50 minutes. SMRT’s timetable shows the first train of the day, which runs through to the East West Line, reaching Bugis 25 minutes after it leaves Changi Airport and Tanjong Pagar 31 minutes after; at other times you change at Tanah Merah, and SMRT publishes no wait.
Changi lists payment by contactless bank card, mobile wallet, EZ-Link, NETS FlashPay or the Singapore Tourist Pass, and notes that foreign-issued bank cards incur admin fees. EZ-Link cards are sold at Changi Recommends stores, the Passenger Service Centre and the TransitLink office at the MRT station. Fares go by distance, and LTA’s fare calculator gives the card fare for each trip, transfers included.
First and last trains
| Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday and public holidays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First train from Changi Airport | 5:31am | 5:31am | 5:59am |
| Last train from Changi Airport to the city | 11:18pm | 11:18pm | 11:18pm |
| Last train back from City Hall | 11:26pm | 11:26pm | 11:26pm |
These are SMRT Journeys’ times for November 2026; each “last train back” is SMRT’s last train “Towards CG2 Changi Airport”, and it is the same on the eve of a public holiday.
Last trains back from
| Station | Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday and public holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raffles Place | 11:24pm | 11:24pm | 11:24pm |
| Tanjong Pagar | 11:21pm | 11:21pm | 11:21pm |
| Bugis | 11:29pm | 11:29pm | 11:29pm |
| Tanah Merah (change here) | 11:52pm | 11:52pm | 11:52pm |
Changi’s own page says the last train from Tanah Merah to Changi Airport is 11:50pm, two minutes earlier than SMRT’s; plan on the earlier time. LTA is converting the three stations from Tanah Merah to Changi Airport to the Thomson-East Coast Line and says train service adjustments will be needed near them, with no dates published, so check SMRT on the day.
Downtown Line: for Gardens by the Bay and the Botanic Gardens
Two plans change at Bugis from the East West Line to SBS Transit’s Downtown Line: two stops to Bayfront for Gardens by the Bay (Exit B), or west to Botanic Gardens. SBS Transit’s last-train times put Bayfront 4 minutes from Bugis and Botanic Gardens 10 to 11 minutes from it. This guide allows about an hour each way to Bayfront and a little more to Botanic Gardens, for the extra change.
SBS publishes no connecting times, so the guide works out the latest you can leave: Bugis’s last train towards Changi is 11:29pm, so leave Bayfront by 11:15pm and Botanic Gardens by 11:05pm, which allows the Downtown Line ride and 10 minutes to change and wait. The Downtown Line also reaches Expo, one stop from Changi Airport on the airport branch, where the last train to the airport leaves at 11:53pm, but the ride from the city is longer, so the plans don’t use it.
Taxis, ride-hailing and private cars
- Taxi. Taxi stands are in the arrival areas of Terminals 1 to 4. Changi says the trip to the city is about 30 minutes and S$25 to S$45, metered. The airport surcharge is S$8 from 5pm to 11:59pm and S$6 at other times; a midnight surcharge of 50 per cent applies from midnight to 5:59am; and a 25 per cent peak-hour surcharge applies on weekdays from 6am to 9:29am, on weekends and public holidays from 10am to 1:59pm, and daily from 5pm to 11:59pm.
- Ride-hailing. Grab, Gojek, Zig, Tada Mobility, Ryde and Geolah pick up at the Arrival and Ride-Hailing points at Terminals 1 to 4.
- Private cars. Changi’s Ground Transport Concierge is open 24 hours, at counters in the arrival areas of each terminal or online: S$70 a trip for a 4-seater, S$75 for a 6-seater, to any Singapore address with one drop-off.
A taxi beats the train mainly after the last train, when it takes about 30 minutes. Changi says taxis and private hire cars are available 24 hours a day from all terminals.
Jewel, bags and the terminals
- Jewel. It is a 5 to 10 minute walk from Terminal 2, by the Level 3 link bridge near the MRT station, and from the Terminal 3 departure halls; its north entrance joins the Terminal 1 arrival hall. Transit passengers must clear immigration to go.
- Left luggage. Smarte Carte counters are open 24 hours: public ones at Jewel Level 1, and Terminals 2, 3 and 4; transit ones in all four terminals. Per 24 hours: S$6 for loose items, S$11 for small items under 10 kg, S$16 for bigger or odd-sized items and S$19 for extra-large items. Delivery to a hotel is S$35 for the first bag.
- Between terminals. The Skytrain between Terminals 1, 2 and 3 is free and runs 5am to 2am, with a free shuttle between Terminals 2 and 3 from midnight to 2am. The Terminal 4 transit shuttle runs about every 8 minutes, and the public shuttle from Terminal 2 and the MRT about every 5 minutes from 6am to midnight.
Timing your return
Be back at Changi 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass. If you went through immigration, you clear departure immigration and security again before the gate.
The table assumes the Merlion Park plan: about an hour from landing to the MRT, 50 minutes in, 60 minutes back (the ride, the walk to the station and the wait) and 90 minutes at the airport. The walk-only plan to Jewel needs 4 hours and gives about 1 hour there; the Downtown Line plans give 20 to 30 minutes less than the table.
| Layover | Time in Singapore |
|---|---|
| 4 hours (Jewel) | About 1 hour |
| 5.5 hours | About 1 hour |
| 6 hours | About 1.5 hours |
| 8 hours | About 3.5 hours |
| 10 hours | About 5.5 hours |
| 12 hours | About 7.5 hours |