Last summer my husband and I weren’t really looking forward to planning a trip abroad. My cousin, who is in Singapore, just happened to ask me about when we are going to visit her there so I told my husband about it. I was surprised when he asked me to book us a flight.

We haven’t been to a lot of countries (we aren’t really travel enthusiasts) but I’ve known for a fact that Singapore is an expensive destination so I asked my cousin on how we can save up money, basically to spend less without feeling miserable or decreasing the fun factor.

I’m sharing with you, from our experience, how we managed to save up money while fully enjoying our 5-day stay in Sunny Singapore.

Aside from only packing the essentials (we brought two backpacks to save on luggage fees) and bringing our own water bottles whenever we go out, here are some frugal travel tips.

Buy Cheap Air Tickets

My cousin told me to check for airline promos so we won’t have to pay that much for airline tickets. If you’re an early planner and you want to book in advance, the better. You may check out Airasia airline promotions online to score cheap flight tickets.

Find an Affordable Accommodation

This actually depends on your budget and your personal preference. If you’re just staying for like 1-3 days, 3 to 5 star hotels are fine. But if you’re staying for a week or so, I recommend that you search for more budget-friendly accommodation.

We never stayed in a hotel because my cousin offered her place for us. She even cooked breakfast everyday so we felt like we were getting service from a hotel. 🙂

Dine at Hawker Centers

Food in Singapore is a bit pricey. The most affordable meals are priced at SGD $5.00 – SGD $6.00, compared here in PH wherein budget meals are only SGD $2.00 – SGD $3.00. We chose to dine at hawker centers and food courts not only because of the price but also for their wide selection of delicious and authentic dishes.

Some of the places that we visited to satisfy our gastronomic cravings were Makansutra Gluttons Bay, Bugis Food Junction, VivoCity Mall Food Court, Food Republic, and Chinatown.

In Chinatown, we visited the World’s First Michelin-starred Street Food Stall – Liao Fan Hawker Chan. I’ll be writing about our dining experience there in another blog post.

Use Local Transportation

From the airport, we took a taxi cab to go to my cousin’s place and I couldn’t believe that the fare was high. She suggested that when touring the city, we use local trains and buses instead of taxis.

On the morning of our 1st day, we purchased EZ-Link cards from the nearest train station. The cards are convenient to use while getting around the city.

Visit Free Attractions

You don’t need to pay a lot to enjoy the beauty of Singapore. Some popular attractions are free to visit, including Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay (Supertree Grove), Clarke Quay, Merlion Park, Chinatown, Little India, and more!

Take Advantage of Deals and Special Promotions

While we were purchasing tickets to Universal Studios in Sentosa Island, somebody from Resorts World offered us a FREE membership. One of the perks is USS ticket discounts so we agreed to register.

Shop for Bargains

The Shoppes in Marina Bay Sands is an inviting place to shop especially if you’re wealthy, but for budget travelers like us we opted to go to Chinatown, Little India and VivoCity for pasalubong — the Filipino tradition of bringing gifts and souvenirs to loved ones back home.

Everybody has their own travel style and it is okay to splurge (that is if you have extra moolah), but getting the most out of your hard-earned money (while still experiencing the same level of happiness you get from exploring new sights) is a practical option, if not the best.

Right now we don’t have any plans of traveling overseas for the next 6 months but if ever we consider the idea, the kids are definitely coming with us. 🙂

Published: 2018-01-28 09:46:17