Singapore History & Culture Tour: River Cruise, Hawker Dinner & Tea Tasting
5.0
48 Ratings
Singapore
Embark on a captivating journey through Singapore's history and culture. Cruise down the river, indulge in a Hawker dinner, and savor a traditional tea-tasting experience.
Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 6 days learn more
Highlights
  • Hello Singapore - This private tour of Singapore is just for you and your friends/family. No one else will join your tour. You can bring a maximum of 12 people on your tour. Private history and culture tours can be booked any day of the week and can start any time between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm Sunday to Thursday and any time from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Tours last 4.5 hours and finish in Chinatown.
What's Included
  • Traditional tea tasting experience with take home souvenir
  • All taxes, fees and handling charges included
  • Exclusive private tour for your group
  • Experienced professional guide
  • Refreshing Sugar cane juice
  • Local favorite Dinner (Chicken Rice)
What's Not Included
  • Prices do not include the costs of transport to get to the start and from end points of the tour.
  • The extra half an hour for hotel pick-up to take you to the start point of the Singapore night tour.
Additional Information

Embark with us on a temporal voyage through Singapore’s history until today. Relish a meal at a Hawker Centre followed by a tea ritual.

Your adventure kicks off with the establishment of modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles. Explore historic colonial architecture to understand the lives of the first settlers who arrived in Singapore.

Navigate the river on a traditional bumboat sailing towards the present day. Explore Merlion Park and bask in the amber glow of the sunset over Marina Bay, while discovering the colossal construction project that shaped it.

Delve into the political transformation spearheaded by Mr Lee Kuan Yew and uncover how Singapore transitioned from third-world status to a first-world nation in a single generation.

Savour Singapore’s emblematic dish; Chicken Rice at a Hawker Centre in Chinatown. Your guide will instruct you on the etiquette of Hawker Centres and will recommend other irresistible Singaporean dishes.

Post dinner, unwind at an exquisite teahouse for a traditional tea-tasting session. Sample the Imperial tea served to Queen Elizabeth II in the same teahouse.

  • You must be physically fit and be able to walk 9km to join this tour. We do walk at a slow casual pace but if you tire easily we will suggest to make use of the occasional taxi ride to cut down the walking. In this case taxi costs would be payable by yourself.
  • If you are a vegetarian we promise to get you something to eat at the Hawker Centre but we can not guarantee what will be available, it might be quite basic (like rice and veg)
  • If the tea house is closed for any reason we will include a larger dinner section.
  • If the rooftop of The Pinnacle is closed due to bad weather we will take you to a different HDB building.
  • Cancellation Policy: If you cancel more than one week (more than 168 hours) in advance we will give you a full refund (excluding the booking service fee). If you cancel between 7 days and 2 days (between 167 and 48 hours before) we will give you a 50% refund (excluding any service charge). No refund under 48 hours cancellation.
Location
City Hall
North Bridge Road
Your tour starts from outside Exit B of City Hall MRT Station. Your guide will be waiting for you at street level. Please fully exit the MTR Station, do not wait inside. If you are arriving by taxi Exit B is located on North Bridge Road. Ask for St Andrews Cathedral, North Bridge Road.
Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 7 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel between 3 and 6 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a 50% refund.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(48 Ratings)
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Yolandam835
Apr 5, 2024
Highly recommended experience - The views were incredible, we took some beautiful photos, the guide was a 10, the explanations were super interesting. Recommended 100%, we loved it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
William_d
Mar 6, 2024
Fun and learning in Singapore - We had a great day with our guide Su Ling. We learned a great deal about the city and she helped us plan the rest of our time in Singapore.
Review provided by Viator
Michelegg8754hr
Feb 26, 2024
Very informative, educational and enlightening - Our experience with Richard was amazing. He is a very knowledgeable and educated tour guide answering every question we asked. It was extremely humid so I suggest taking plenty of water and a powered portable fan. Comfortable shoes is a must because of all of the walking. We had a wonderful time and highly recommended this excursion. Thank you Richard☺️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lorraineps7133zs
Feb 25, 2024
Definitely worth going on - My gosh our guide was amazing Richard Kan was full of interesting facts and humerous! He paid alot of attention to his group and paced accordingly. Definitely would recommend him. I am only sorry I left early the next morning and could not book a future tour with him ! I don’t give him a 10 but 100!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marta
Feb 13, 2024
Planned very carefully and well organized - Richard was punctual and well prepared for the tour. He made sure we got a good mix of exposure to food, architecture, and local culture. Richard was courteous, engaged, and answered all of our questions. Tea tasting was a lot of fun. I also particularly enjoyed all the sustainability facts he was sharing. After the tour, he got a detailed overview of everything that we saw and some recommendations for a good meal and drink. Highly recommend Richard for private tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cathy_g
Jan 30, 2024
A wonderful Experience - What a wonderful day we spent with Pam. Not only is she knowledgeable about the history and culture of Singapore, she is a pleasure to be with and learn from. The river cruise was great and gave a full sense of the changes Singapore has gone through and the growth and change that has been experienced. Loved the tea tasting. A lovely way to end a great tour. Pam was very conscious of the pace that worked best and any requests we had. She was a joy to be with! Highly recommend this tour! Cathy and Paul
Review provided by Viator
935annamariae
Jan 12, 2024
We spent a wonderful time knowing Singapore with Gee Soo as our tour guide - Good morning, Some days ago we have made some excursions in Singapore with the Company Hello Singapore, specifically we had Gee Soo as our guide. We are very happy to having him as our tour guide because he always had a true smile on his faces, he is a very nice person with a great heart and very positive. So, we had 3 excursions for 3 days with Gee Soo. One curious thing is that during the trip Gee Soo took us some photos in his phone and at the afternoon of the same day he emails you sending them, so you do not need to worry to take photos during the excursions. We really liked him very much because he explained all the history of Singapore, also explained very interesting things from this place. We could see that he loves his job as a tour guide and it is amazing. The trips that we most liked were the food tour because is a combination of food and history and the cruise river because you could see from the river Singapore. We are really happy to have him as our guide, we spent a wonderful time knowing Singapore with Gee Soo. We recommend him 100%, he is very flexible and a great person. Thank you very much Gee Soo for being with us. You are a great guide! Continue working from your heart!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Isabelamoura
Jan 3, 2024
Best time, best guide! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Our guide Richard was amazing. So kind knowledgeable and tireless in showing us Singapore telling us about its history and culture and making sure we had the best time and fantastic experience. He was extremely well versed in the city’s latest past and present events and did not rest until we did everything we wanted, answered all our questions and felt like locals. He shared his personal experiences and family history which was so enriching as well. Lastly, Richard spent more than 8 hrs w us! He’s the best Singapore guide and a tour w him is not 5 but 10 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H1996cdthomasc
Dec 26, 2023
Incredible Time with Gee Soo - Highly Recommend!! - This was our second tour with Hello Singapore and cannot recommend them enough! We had already gone on the River Cruise and been to a Hawker Center on a previous day. After looking at the itinerary and emailing the company less than 24 hours before this tour, they were accommodating enough to change our itinerary for the day so that we were seeing all new sights in Singapore. Gee Soo was our incredible tour guide. If you want someone that is personable, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic - request him! My family (consisting of myself, my wife, and three adult kids) had a wonderful and fun time with Gee Soo. He answered all of our questions about Singapore thoroughly. Since this tour consisted of a fair amount of walking, he was very accommodating and let us take as many breaks as needed. We don’t know how his energy was still so high after all the walking and the heat! This tour was a great mix of cultural and food activities - would highly recommend this tour, especially with Gee Soo!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Time2060
Dec 10, 2023
Packed so much into this tour - Fantastic Tour, Gee Soo was a great guide, we enjoyed the stories and explanations he provided about the history of Singapore, the people and the buildings both modern & historic.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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