Singapore: A Travel Blog

SINGAPORE

Welcome to Disneyland! Jk – it’s Singapore. And it’s basically a grown up Disneyland. I had no expectations when visiting Singapore, but was quickly blown away. I also realized that this is the first vacation I’ve taken in a few years that was not based on luxury and beach relaxation. Instead I was being a real explorer again! So I’ve decided to start a new series that catalogs tips I learned during my travels and how much it cost.

Flight
I found the lowest cost flight I could that didn’t have crazy stops or layovers: $771.62 on EVA Air. This included a 13.5 hour flight to Taipei, a 4.5 hour flight to Singapore and the return flights – which are 4 hours less! Lessons learned from the flight is that the first row of economy is usually occupied by babies and are called “bassinet seats.” Despite me being close to these and them being occupied I wasn’t too bothered by them. Thank you noise cancelling headphones!

Money
Money in Singapore is easy to get. At the airport there are many ATMs and currency exchange centers, which shockingly don’t have a commission! No money lost! Singapore is mostly a cash city and has extra charges for credit cards in many places, such as taxis, so having cash on hand is a must.

Transit
Taxis
Taxis don’t take Visa so if that’s all you have you need a new plan. They do take all other major credit cards, but they slap on a 10% fee. Also note that taxis have different charges based on time of day (peak vs off-peak). You also need cash for…
Public Transit
Public transit! You can buy a card if you’ll be in Singapore for a while that costs $5 and allows you to easily tap in and out of the bus or train. If you are not going to stay long enough to justify the card note that when you pay in cash they will not give you change. Fares are distance based so they fluctuate and can be difficult to pin down. Like most public transit systems each ticket includes a transfer so if you’re using multiple buses and using cash don’t throw away your ticket. Buses and trains are crazy efficient and come every few minutes depending on the time of day. Walking is also a great option, but be aware of that heat!

Food
It’s cheaper in Singapore to eat out than to cook because Hawker Centres are heavily subsidized by the government. The cheapest kinds are open air and the price tiers increase with air conditioning and if it is in a mall and how fancy the mall is. The absolute fanciest option is actual sit down restaurants. I personally recommend going to the cheap, outdoor Hawker Centres because it’s what the locals do and you get the exact same food as the more upscale places for much less money. There is also an insane amount of variety because of the mix of cultures in Singapore: Chinese, Malay and Indian.

Alcohol
Singapore has heavy “sin” taxes, which include alcohol. Basically cheap alcohol is pretty hard to find, but the best deals include $6 SDG tall boy beers at Hawker Centres, buying wine from a grocery store ($16 SGD) and buying duty free liquor at the airport ($15 SDG). So drinking is part of your Singapore plan  duty free is your friend! It was my first time using duty free and I discovered that you’re allowed to purchase only 1 liter per person so bring your friends over if you’re traveling together 😉

THE BUDGET
So how much did I spend in this amazing metropolis? Outside of the flight I spent only $191.66 USD over 10 days or $19.16 per day while eating out 3x a day and taking buses all over the place. That’s amazing! Here’s how everything broke out:
Food: $88.05
Alcohol: $50.08 – This was totally unnecessary. I saw I was WAY under budget and lived it up the last few days.
Transit: $50.62 – This included taxis to and from the airport like a princess, which was $43.12 of this.
ATM Fees: $2.91
Flight: $771.62
Cost per day: $96.32/day USD for an amazing adventure halfway across the world. Worth it!

So that’s what I learned in Singapore. My next trip is to Ecuador – my first time in mainland South America! I’ll let you know how it goes.