5 Easy Ways to Save Money in Singapore for Tourists

Hello Metro! The biggest lie about Singapore is that it's too expensive, not worth going and that you should go to Malaysia instead. The truth is, there are only two types of people. Those who know where to get the best deals and those who hasn't watched this video. I'm your local Singaporean guide and today I'll spill all the secrets to save money while you're in Singapore. So that you won't be poor after Singapore. Let's begin! Here's the secret to get the most delicious and the most affordable food in Singapore. Guess how much is this noodle, this chicken rice and this curry soup that we call the laksa. All of this very delicious food are less than $10 per portion and the easiest way to get them is to visit our very unique communal food hubs that we call the hawker centres. You'll find rows of hawker stalls selling local food at very affordable price. However, the eating environment can be a little bit uncomfortable because our hawker centres are open air spaces so the temperature and the humidity could be too much of a warm welcome to you. Also, the top hawker stalls are notorious for being too popular. Can't help it if you have good stuff that is affordable, it's gonna be very popular. So if you want to eat at those shops, you might have to queue for a very long time, especially if you're eating at peak hours. Customer service is also very lacking here. In fact, there's none. After you order your food, you have to go and collect it yourself and once you're done with your plates and your cutleries, you have to return them to the return point. It's also a punishable crime if you don't return your used utensils. However, it's super worth it because you get to choose from so many budget-friendly options. If you're looking for a more comfortable dining experience where you can sit down and be served within an air-conditioned environment, pick one of the many many restaurants that we have here. You can expect to pay about 10 to 20 Singapore dollars for your comfortable dining experience. And if you're looking for a fancier dining experience where you go to a restaurant with good vibes, have some wine, some beer, and you want your food to be served to you nicely plated, you're looking at anywhere upwards of $40 per person. My personal recommendation is to hit the hawker centres because this is where you get the most value for your money. With a budget of $20 to $30 per day, you'll eat very happily at the hawker centres. I have another video guide about hawker centres that you can watch later. For now, let me show you the next trick that can save you at least $10 per day. This is the ancient technology that can save you $10 per day. Simply bring your water bottle around when traveling in Singapore, drink from it, and just keep refilling from our tap because our tap water is drinkable straight from the tap. Sometimes you'll find water dispensers like this, and there's these Google Maps where you can locate these water dispensers. But if you're not fussy, just go to any toilet and refill your bottle straight from the tap. Just imagine, each time you're thirsty and you buy bottled water, especially from the convenience stores that's nearby tourist attractions, you're gonna drop at least $2 to $4 per 500ml water bottle. Assuming you'll drink 3 litres of water per day by drinking free tap water from your bottle, you're gonna save so much money every day. And one critical advice when eating at the restaurants is to never ask for water because they'll assume that you're asking to buy their premium gold-infused volcanic spring water that costs you at least $20 per bottle. By the time that they bring the bottle to your table, you'll be too ashamed to ask how much it is or to cancel it. So you'll just suck it up and pay the $20. Don't ask me how I know. To avoid this, you must specifically ask if they serve tap water and if it's chargeable. Some places give you water for free, some charge you tap water for $0.50 per cup. But if you have your water bottle, might as well save that $0.50. Next, let's talk about affordable hotels. Influencers and social media will lead you to believe that you need to spend thousands of dollars at the Marina Bay Sands to spend the night in Singapore. But here, I'll show you how to get the most value for your dollars in accommodations. For the bare minimum of clean sheets, access to a working toilet, and a bed that's comfortable to sleep in, you can choose from one of the many backpackers hostels or capsule hotels that will cost you around $30 to $50 per night. This will get you a bed in a shared bunk-style room, access to a shared toilet, and showering facilities. Although you don't get your own private space or the luxury of an attached bathroom, most of these places usually have a common living area that you can hang out in. Some of them might even have common kitchen where you can save even more money by doing your own groceries and DIY some simple meals. The big brand move here is to hang out at a common area and find people who want to share experiences with you. For example, I love visiting the hawker centres with at least three of my friends. Each of us will get different dishes and we'll share everything. This way, everyone gets to try a lot of different things without being too full. If you're planning to visit faraway places such as the Singapore Zoo, it's also a lot more affordable to share a taxi with people who might also be interested to go there with you. These backpackers hostels are definitely the most affordable and value option for solo travellers. One tier above the basic, you'll expect to have your own private room with an attached bathroom. To get a good price, you will need a travel buddy because it's easier to find a good value for double rooms. A simple two-person bedroom with an attached bathroom generally costs around $100 to $180 per night. After splitting per person, that's around $50 to $90 per pax. Of course, there are much more that you can ask for in an accommodation. You want a nice city view, room service, access to a gym or a swimming pool, a grand all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, a beautiful lobby to walk through. Anything more that you add on from the basic will add a little bit more to your price per night. Spoiler, a lot more. To get the best value, stick to the bare minimum that you're comfortable with because most of the time, you'll be out there having fun anyway. So you might as well spend your money where you'll be at. If you think that I've helped you save some money, please leave a like so that more people can find this video. Thank you very much. Next, the cheapest way to get around the city. Did you know that it costs us at least $100,000 to get a car in Singapore? In fact, it's so expensive that most people scrap their car within 10 years. So, how do us Singaporeans get around? Easy. We take the bus and the trains. We have a very user-friendly and a very affordable public transportation system that's been time and again been regarded as the best in the world. But don't take my word for it. Just take a look. Clean floor, fast, frequent. The train comes every 5 to 10 minutes. It's very rare that I wait more than 20 minutes for a bus and very well connected. You can go almost anywhere in Singapore with the public transportation and it's really affordable. For example, if you want to go to the Merlion Park from the Changi Airport, it will only take you about one hour and cost you slightly over $2. If you want greater comfort and speed, you can take the taxi, which will take you only 20 minutes but cost you 10 times more. Usually, taking a taxi here is not worth the cost unless you're carrying a lot of luggage or if you're rushing between places like maybe catching the flight that you almost miss. One tourist trap to be wary of is the Singapore Tourist Pass. It offers you unlimited travel on the public transportation but if you break it down to the price per day, then it starts to make no sense because they're making dollars off you. So how much do you need per day for transportation in Singapore? On average, you'll take the public transport three to four times a day. Each trip costs around $2 to $2.50. So all in all, you shouldn't spend more than $10 per day especially if you plan your route properly because a lot of places in Singapore are near each other so they are very walkable and walking is free. So comparing the prices per day for the Singapore Tourist Pass, you can see that you can save so much more by not buying this. On the bright side, this STP actually comes with a lot of other benefits. So unless you're planning to use all these discounts, you are better off without it. But if you still want to travel in a car, maybe with a private chauffeur who will bring you everywhere in Singapore in a nice car and that you're willing to pay, call me. Just kidding. This is not even my car. I'm just in a parking lot. Here's how you can experience the most iconic attractions in Singapore within the budget of $40. It's actually very easy because many of our iconic attractions are free to explore. Let me list down the top few for you. Want to experience the cultural side of Singapore? Visit the Sultan Mosque. There are also many beautiful Hindu and Buddhist temples and our majestic heritage buildings and churches. The walls along our heritage streets are also loaded with historical murals. My favourite thing to do is to hunt for nice murals. A lot of them drew inspiration from our immigrants and colonial past so you get a good glimpse of what modern Singapore looks like. All of this will cost you $0. Want to experience the garden city of Singapore? Visit our world-famous Gardens by the Bay. The garden itself is actually free to explore. You only have to pay to enter the special greenhouses. The two that I highly recommend and are actually part of a combo ticket are the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. Did I mention the free musical light show that runs every night? And the most iconic of all, the Merlion. It's at the Marina Bay which is absolutely free to visit. This is also where you can get the best view of the Singapore skyline. Across the Merlion is our very famous Marina Bay Sands where you can find another free musical light show. This time with very colourful waterworks. Even our airport is a very cool destination to explore. Can you imagine us local Singaporeans actually go to the airport? Not to fly, but to hang out. I've actually arranged all these top attractions into one single day itinerary and published it in this video guide that you can watch later. For now, let me spill you one last secret about our super valued attractions. Would you like a day of adventure watching animals from all over the world? From elephants, giraffes, lions to spiders, snakes and crocodiles and even our long-lost cousins? Experience all of this at the Singapore Zoo. Although it will cost you around $60 per adult and $35 per child, it's super value because it fills up your whole day. If you enjoy watching animals, the Bird Paradise is another super value attraction. Their unique walk-in aviary really makes you feel like To get the most of these zoos, I recommend watching my ultimate video guides on each of them. This is where you'll get the best visiting route. Wow, I actually have an ultimate guide for each of the zoos. Now, let's count how much you need to get the best value in Singapore. For food, $30 per day. Transport, $10 per day. Activities, $50 per day. And accommodation, about $50 to $100 per day depending on your comfort level. And that puts you around $140 to $200 per day per person. Indeed, it's still kind of expensive but at least at this level, you're getting the most value. The next best way to optimize your budget and your itinerary is to pick a hotel in a good area which you can learn about in this next video over here. I'll see you there.