Singapore is one of the countries I wanted to visit for quite some time. Few of the reasons are the following: a) The place is VERY clean, b) They have Universal Studios and; c) Their airport is ranked #1 in the world. You know I had to mention the last one! :p
We went to Singapore last August 9, 2018. I know. It has been quite some time before I blogged about it! Actually, I wrote this a few days after we got back from the trip, but for some reason, I wasn’t able to publish it. lol. Reasons, reasons, blah, blah, blah.
Anyway, we only had 4 days to spend there since I wasn’t the one who booked our tickets.
When I travel, I make my own itinerary. I enjoy researching and writing stuff in my notebook, but for some reason, it took me days before to finish writing this one. Anyway, having to spend 4 days only in a country is VERY hectic! You have to consider the distance from each attraction (which is already given even for people who stay long in a country) and you also have to make the most out of the day. I know it isn’t IDEAL, but I wanted to go to a lot of places in a “short” span of time.
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Here’s our supposedly itinerary for 4D3N:
August 9, 2018 (Arrival)
-Settle things at Bright Star Hotel (the hotel we stayed at is located at 20 Lorong, 17 Geylang)
– Eat out at any eatery near the hotel
August 10, 2018 (DAY 1)
9AM Merlion Park
10AM Universal Studios Singapore
5PM Stroll around Sentosa (we didn’t get to do this since our feet practically were dead from walking and standing for TOOOO LONG! 🙁 )
August 11, 2018 (DAY 2)
9AM Little India
12NN Art Science Museum
3PM Marina Bay Sands
7PM Gardens by the Bay
August 12, 2018 (DEPARTURE)
11AM Eat out at any eatery near the hotel
12NN Check out from the hotel
1PM Shop at Orchard Road and Bugis Junction
5PM Go to Changi Airport
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I would also like to share with you where we changed our money, what transportation we used, etc.
I am from Davao City. So we went to Aldevinco to change our money to Singapore Dollars. It was worth P38.40 at that time. So basically, I only have S$240 pocket money (I was able to spare S$100+ for some reason lol).
When booking tickets, it would be best to book ahead of time and check your airlines if they have promos and such, which we availed a few months back before our travel. Back and forth, we only paid around P2,603.
I also booked our hotel online which is what I usually do. I want everything in place beforehand so we wouldn’t stress about our hotel payment, tickets and such.
Another reason I usually handle most of our expenses online is because there are sites which offer rebates when you book through them. One of those sites is Shopback. It may sound sponsored, but it’s not! I just love that site! Haha. Another website which I usually book my hotel accommodations is Agoda. Shopback doesn’t have Airbnb back then, so I opted for that one. Airbnb is great though if you want to live like a “Queen” without paying too much. In between the two, if you want a much cheaper accommodation and you’re fine with staying at a “worth the price” hotel, then go for Agoda.
We stayed at Bright Star Hotel by the way which is located at 20 Lorong, 19 Geylang, Singapore. It’s a 10 min. walk from the Aljunied MRT Station. We paid P8,232.69 for 4 days (good for 2 persons). It’s not the cheapest, but it’s worth the price. The reason I picked that hotel is because we have our own bathroom. If you’re fine with sharing bathrooms with other people for a cheaper price, then you can go for a backpackers inn.
Tip: When choosing a hotel, ALWAYS check the reviews! I usually look for reviews which says great things about the location and such.
I also booked our Universal Studios and Art Science Museum (Marvel Attraction) tickets through Klook. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to run smoothly, but it did! Again, this is not sponsored. Lol
When all of those are settled, then all you have left to worry about are the transportation and food. My mindset that time was to spend only S$50 per day for both things (or let’s be honest, for all other things! Lol).
Transportation
Modes of transportation I noticed when we were there are the following:
a. Taxi
b. Private vehicles
c. MRT and LRT
d. Bus
(Let me know if they have any other modes of transportation as I’m not familiar with all the other ones!😉)
We opted for the MRT! Before riding one, we asked for a map just so we’ll know which ones to ride. They have different lines so you really need to take that into consideration. At first, it was confusing, but after 2 rides, it gets easy.
By the way, we got an EZ Link card which you can use to pay for MRT fares. There are 3 cards available in Singapore. The following are:
1. Singapore Tourist Pass
2. Standard Ticket
3. EZ Link
If you want to know what card to avail, you can check this blog: https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/trevallog.com/singapore-tourist-pass-ez-link-standard-ticket/amp/
Food
When we were there, we ate at their “carenderias” or their “food courts” as they call it, as it’s much cheaper! The cost of our food ranged from S$2-S$3 only! Imagine that!
Tip: Compare stores before eating there. A lot of eateries would charge around S$5 and up. Do not buy food and drinks at 7/11 because they tend to be more expensive! Buy those at their local stores and supermarkets!
For example, a 1.5 liter of water in 7/11 is worth S$2.50 each, while a 1 liter of water in their supermarkets is worth S$0.50. If you do the math, you’d really save some cash. I know it’s not that much, but the coins in Singapore when you’re a traveler, really means a lot!
Internet
You can either buy a tourist sim card from the airport or from any phone shops in Singapore. We opted for the second one. We bought a 100gb sim card for S$18. We were 5 in the group, so we divided the expenses.
Souvenirs
If you want to buy chocolates, Little India and the Orchard Road are the perfect places for you. We came across a store in Little India around 1 Hindoo Rd. which had a closing down sale, so obviously, we bought a lot even if it was still our 2nd day there. Lol
Cost of brands like Toblerone and Snickers in packets were only S$1 each.
We also bought key chains and some more chocolates in Orchard Road specifically the mall called “Lucky Place”. There are a lot of Filipinos there, so you’d feel comfortable shopping. Even some sellers are Filipinos!
Note: Prices may change from the time I wrote this.
Here are the places we’ve visited:
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
Some Other Tips
1. Wear light clothes as it’s very hot and humid there. (Don’t forget to wear sunscreen!)
2. Invest in good shoes! Keep in mind that you’d be walking a lot, so a good walking/running shoes would lessen foot pain. I used sneakers, so the whole time I was there, my feet would hurt and I feel like the sole of my shoes would tear apart. Lol
3. Bring snacks or food from home before going to another country. I brought 4 pieces of pancit canton and 3 pieces of Skyflakes. Eating pancit canton everyday is not healthy at all, but we ate it at breakfast as we usually start our tour at around 8AM. It also saved us money! We only ate it for a day though. I also brought Skyflakes when we went to Universal Studios which was a lifesaver when we were queueing in the Transformers Attraction. It took about 3 hrs before we experienced it! Good thing they have a water fountain there where you can refill water while waiting for your turn.
4. Universal studios: Try the less popular attraction first before going to the more popular ones if you want to go to a lot of them. Check for the queue time which is posted on a signage on the sidewalk. Some of the popular attractions are as follows: Transformers, The Mummy, and Rollercoaster.
5. Have a daily budget! We were there for 4 days only and I told myself to only spend S$50 per day which saved me S$100 on the last day. I bought a lot of chocolates but weren’t interested in clothes, so basically I saved a lot.
Overall, Singapore was great! I would definitely go back there and experience the mummy in Universal Studios as we weren’t able to do that. A lot of people told me that it’s great!
I am not a good traveler, but I still hope you like this post and I hope you learned something from our experience! Feel free to ask any questions and share this to your friends who want to visit Singapore as well. 🙂
Thank you for reading!
xo,
Ela
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Overall Cost
Airfare (back and forth):
DVO-SG – P393 each
SG-DVO – P2210 each
Travel Tax + Terminal Fee – P2,170 each
Hotel – P4,116.345 each for 4D3N( my boyfriend and I shared a room so we divided the cost into two)
Transportation – P960 each (S$25)
Tickets:
Universal studios – P2,797/1 day admission/person
Art Science Museum – P699/person
Food and Drinks (including the food we bought at the airport when we were waiting for our flight and some groceries for our “pasalubong”: e.g. cup noodles, green tea, and coffee): more or less around P3356 for 4D/3N
Souvenirs (chocolates and my pillow from USS): around P921.60 (S$24)/each (me and my sister divided the expenses)
Wifi Sim: P138.24 each (S$18 divided into 5 – 400GB)
Total: P 17,801.185 (P5,415.85 pocket money spent at SG less the online purchases)