Singapore in December: weather, events and what to do
| Temperature | 25–30°C, warm nights, no cold at all |
| Rainfall | Roughly 230–260 mm, about 15–17 rainy days |
| Monsoon | Northeast (wet season) |
| Crowds and prices | High: Christmas and New Year are peak |
| Best for | Light displays, food, indoor-leaning city breaks |
| Book early | Hotels for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, ideally 3–4 months ahead |
December is the month when Singapore trades good weather for atmosphere, and whether that is a good deal depends on how you travel. The rain is real, the hotels are expensive and the main sights are busy. In return, the city dresses up, the evenings are mild once a shower has passed, and the whole place is in a festive mood that it does not have in, say, June. This guide covers what the month is actually like so you can decide with open eyes.
For the wider picture across the year, the month-by-month weather guide and the best time to visit guide put December next to the other eleven months.
The weather: wet, warm and not as bad as it sounds
December sits inside the Northeast Monsoon, so it is one of the wetter months of the year. Expect temperatures of 25–30°C and somewhere around 15 to 17 rainy days, with monthly rainfall in the range of 230–260 mm. Those numbers are lower than November, which is the wettest month, but they are still enough that you should plan for rain on most trips.
What the figures do not show is how the rain behaves. In this season it can arrive as longer, heavier downpours rather than the quick afternoon storm you get in other months. Some days a shower passes and the sky clears; some days it settles in for a good part of the afternoon. Treat the forecast as information, not a verdict: a rainy forecast rarely means a lost day, but it does mean you need a covered fallback.
The upside is the temperature. A 25°C night in December feels pleasant, not oppressive, and the evenings after a shower are among the nicest times to be outdoors all year. Check the hourly rain radar on the NEA MyENV app before you leave the hotel; it takes ten seconds and saves a lot of guessing.
If you want the full playbook for wet days, the Singapore in the rain guide is the page to keep open.
The seasonal atmosphere and events
The main reason people choose December is the lights. Orchard Road’s Christmas light-up is the best known display in the city, and the year-end displays around Marina Bay add to it. Malls decorate heavily, and there is a general celebratory feel in the evenings that is hard to match at other times of year.
A few things worth knowing:
- Orchard Road is the centre of the Christmas look. Go in the evening, walk the pavement rather than watching from a taxi, and duck into a mall when it rains. The Orchard Road guide explains how the street is laid out so you can plan a walk that stays under cover as much as possible.
- Marina Bay is the other evening anchor. The waterfront is free to walk and gets festive displays around the year-end period. New Year’s Eve is a big night here, with large crowds and restricted movement, so arrive early and expect to stay put once you have a spot.
- Concerts and festivals often fall in December, including large music events on Sentosa. Programmes, venues and ticket details change from year to year.
That last point matters for everything on this list. Event dates, line-ups and ticketing are set by the organisers and change every year. Before you build a day around the Christmas light-up, a New Year’s Eve countdown or a festival, check the official organiser’s website for this year’s dates, times and tickets. Do not rely on a blog, including this one, for exact dates.
What to do in December
Plan the trip around two ideas: outdoor things in the morning or after dark, indoor things in the middle of the day.
Gardens by the Bay in the evening. The Garden Rhapsody show under the Supertrees is free and runs every evening at 19:45 and 20:45. It is outdoors, so a heavy shower can spoil it, but it is easy to try again on another night. If you want to go up, the OCBC Skyway costs SGD 14 for an adult (last entry 20:30), and the two conservatories are indoors and cool, which makes them a sensible choice on a wet day. Adult prices from the official site are SGD 26 for Cloud Forest and SGD 12 for Flower Dome, so check the official booking page for current prices before you buy.
Gardens by the Bay: Cloud Forest, Flower Dome and OCBC Skyway ticketsA river cruise with the evening light shows. A boat is a good way to see the lit-up waterfront without walking in the humidity, and most cruises have a roof. Time it for dusk so you see the skyline change. The Marina Bay after dark guide shows how to string the evening together.
Browse sunset river cruises covering the evening light showsA night walk at Marina Bay. If the sky is clear, a guided walk is an easy way to see the main viewpoints and hear the story behind them, instead of wandering without a plan.
Singapore Marina Bay night walk with Spectra & Rhapsody showHawker centres and food. Food is the one part of Singapore that December does not touch. Hawker centres are open-air but covered, so rain barely matters, and a bowl of laksa feels particularly good on a grey afternoon.
Universal Studios and Sentosa on a dry day. December is a school-holiday month, so these are busy. If the forecast looks clear, a weekday morning is the better bet for theme-park queues. Have a plan B ready, because rain closes some outdoor rides. The Universal Studios guide covers how to approach the day.
Singapore: Universal Studios Singapore entry ticketCrowds and the peak-season reality
December is high season. The school holidays overlap with Christmas and New Year, so you get families, regional visitors and long-haul travellers all at once. Hotels are among the most expensive of the year, the busiest attractions fill up, and the Orchard Road pavements are crowded on the evenings people go to see the lights.
What that means in practice:
- Book your hotel early, especially for the week between Christmas and New Year.
- Book timed-entry attractions ahead rather than on the day.
- Go to the popular light-up spots on a weekday evening if you can; weekends and the nights around Christmas Eve are the busiest.
- Leave extra time for taxis and the MRT around Marina Bay on New Year’s Eve.
If crowds bother you more than rain, late January is calmer, and the best time guide explains why.
Rainy-afternoon backups
The simplest way to cope with December is to have an indoor list ready before you leave the hotel. A few options that work:
- The two Gardens by the Bay conservatories, which are indoors and air-conditioned.
- The museums, many of which are free or low-cost for their main collections.
- The malls along Orchard Road, which are connected by sheltered walkways and underground links.
- A long hawker or kopitiam lunch, which turns a wet hour into a meal.
For a full day laid out around the weather, the rainy-day itinerary is already built for this. Use it as a template, not a rule: if the sky clears at 4pm, go outside.
What to pack
You are dressing for two climates: hot and humid outside, cold air-conditioning inside. Pack light cotton or linen, a thin long-sleeve layer for malls and the MRT, and shoes that can handle wet pavements. A compact umbrella or a light rain jacket is worth more here than almost anything else you can bring. Leave the winter clothes at home; 25°C nights are as cool as it gets.
The what to pack for Singapore guide has the complete list, including a data plan and chargers.
Top experiences
Bookable activities with verified prices and instant confirmation on GetYourGuide.
Singapore: Universal Studios Singapore entry ticket
Singapore: Gardens by the Bay bundle entry ticket
Singapore: Night Safari and tram ride ticket
Singapore: S.E.A. Aquarium entrance ticket
Singapore: Singapore River cruise
Singapore: Marina Bay Sands observation deck e-ticket
Singapore: Sentosa cable car Sky Pass roundtrip ticket
