This sample is drawn from a Brief written for a couple in their thirties: five days in September, food-forward, moderate walking, one rest afternoon requested. Names and dates changed; the structure, voice and level of detail are untouched.
The Local Brief — [Client], 5 days in September
Party: two adults · Base: Tanjong Pagar · Pace: moderate, one rest afternoon · Food: adventurous, no shellfish
Day 1 — Land, orient, eat well without trying hard
On arrival
Bank card straight through the MRT gates — no tourist pass, fares cap themselves. Downtown Line to your hotel, ~35 min.
4:00pm
Don't nap. Walk to Maxwell Food Centre (8 min) — it's quiet before the dinner rush.
6:45pm
Marina Bay blue-hour loop. Start at the Merlion end. The photos you came for happen 15 minutes after sunset — not at sunset.
7:45pm
Supertree light show (free). Be on the lawn by 7:30; skywalk-facing side.
If it rains: flip Day 1 evening with Day 3's Jewel visit — it's entirely indoors and the Rain Vortex is better in wet weather anyway.
Day 2 — Heritage before the heat
8:30am
Kaya toast set at a kopitiam near your hotel — crack the eggs into the saucer, soy and pepper, dip the toast. This is the local breakfast, done properly.
9:15am
Chinatown walk in this order: Buddha Tooth Relic Temple → Sri Mariamman → the medical halls on Sago Street. Order matters — the temples are calm before 10.
11:30am
Chinatown Complex, 2nd floor. Beat the 12:30 queue wave by an hour.
12:30–4pm
Indoors, deliberately. This is not a wasted afternoon; it's the reason you'll still be enjoying yourselves on Day 5.
Cut, honestly: you had the Singapore Flyer here. Skip it — you'll have seen this skyline better and free on Day 1. Those 90 minutes and SGD 80 buy your Day 4 dinner instead.
Days 3–5 — [abbreviated in this sample]
The full Brief continues in this format: Katong & Joo Chiat with the Peranakan lunch, the rest afternoon you asked for, Jewel timed against your flight, plus the closing sections below.
What every Brief closes with
Your five named meals (stall, dish, best time) · The cuts list — everything removed and why · Rain plan per day · The one thing you'd have missed — the personal add · Practical page: transport, tipping, chope etiquette, 995 · My WhatsApp, open through your trip week.
What you can't see in a sample: the part clients mention most is the WhatsApp line during the trip — the "it's pouring, what now?" message answered by a person who knows where you are. The document is the plan; the human is the safety net.
Honestly: who this is for, and who it isn't
Worth it if you have limited days, you'd rather not spend evenings researching, you want to eat where locals eat, or you're travelling with people whose energy you must budget for. Not worth it if you love planning (genuinely — the free guides here will serve you well), if you're staying two weeks with a loose schedule, or if a fixed plan makes you anxious. I'll say so if you write to me and I don't think you need one.
See the Local Brief — SGD 220 →
Ask before you buy →
Includes one revision round · typically 3 working days · commission-free: no venue in your Brief paid to be there.
Questions before you buy
What do you get with a Local Brief?
A written day-by-day Singapore itinerary built around your dates, party and appetite: specific timings that avoid queues and midday heat, named hawker stalls and restaurants, honest cuts explaining what to skip and why, a rain plan for every day, and WhatsApp access to the local who wrote it during your trip.
How is a Local Brief different from a free itinerary online?
Free itineraries list attractions; a Brief makes decisions for your specific trip — the order that beats the queues and heat, what to cut given your days, where to eat near where you'll actually be, and what to do when it rains. It is commission-free, so no venue paid to appear, and it is written this month, not scraped from older lists.
How long does a Local Brief take to arrive?
Typically 3 working days from your intake message. It includes one revision round, and the WhatsApp line stays open through your trip week for the questions no document can anticipate.