MRT
Default in the daytime and evening. One change at Tanah Merah. The airport station is not a direct ride to Raffles Place.
SIN · Out and back · published · checked
SIN to the city and back
The train is the default once you have entered. The complications are the border, which terminal you landed in, and the hour the trains stop.
Decide if you are entering
Airside transit is a finished layover. This page is for people who clear immigration.
The SG Arrival Card comes first, within three days of arrival, free, on ICA's site or the MyICA app. It is not a visa.
Find the MRT
Changi Airport station (CG2) is under Terminals 2 and 3. Terminal 1 connects through the terminal links. Terminal 4 connects by the shuttle.
Ride to Tanah Merah and change to the East West Line toward the city. Changi's own leaving-the-airport page is the map. Pay with a card that the gate accepts, or buy a stored-value card in the station. Foreign cards can carry an admin fee.
Taxi when the train is the wrong tool
Stands are in the arrival areas of Terminals 1, 2, 3, and 4. Changi says a ride to the city takes about 30 minutes and costs on the order of S$25–S$45. Traffic changes both numbers.
Use the stand. A person offering a car upstairs is not the system.
Back upstairs at Changi
Reverse the train while it is running. Changi has published last connections toward the city in the late evening. Check the day, and do not take the last one.
Three hours in the departure terminal for a long-haul. Add time if you still have to cross from Terminal 4.
Taxi
The late-night mode, and the mode for a group with luggage who are not in the mood for a change of trains. Official stand only.
What not to do
Do not start with Sentosa. Do not treat Jewel as airside. Do not hire a car from someone who found you at baggage claim.
Live detail lives on the operator's site: Changi, leaving the airport (opens in a new tab).