Tip #1 - Book your hotel online
Hotels in Singapore are very expensive. Thus it is the first place to save money during a Singapore holiday. By choosing the right hotel, you can really save a lot of money in Singapore.
Room prices at the reception and on the hotel web site are usually more expensive than what you can find online. A better alternative is to look at online hotel reservation sites like Agoda.com but the best is a hotel meta-search engine like hotelscombined.com. These online hotel search engines aggregates price and guest review data from many online reservation sites as well as some hotel web sites and puts them in a simple list from where you can choose the best hotel rates in Singapore (or anywhere indeed).
Tip #2 - Stay in a hotel near MRT Station or major bus lines
Singapore is quite small and its public transportation system allows you to access everywhere quite fast. Singapore's rail system, known as MRT (Mass Rapid Transportation) extensively covers almost everywhere in Singapore.
Instead of staying in a central hotel and paying a fortune to a tiny room, you can simply stay a little outside the Singapore city center in a hotel near MRT Station. As long as you are near an MRT Station you can go significantly out of the central region and save more money.
Tip #3 - Consider staying in a Singapore hostel
Singapore offers many nice hostels offering accomodation from plain-old dorm beds to pod-style or private room twin beds. Some of these hostels are quite luxurious. You can find nice hostels near Chinatown MRT Station.
Tip #4 - Read Wikitravel Singapore Guide
Online open-source travel guide wikitravel has an excellent Singapore Travel Guide which covers almost every topic a tourist will need to know and using it alone will save you tons of money.
Wikitravel Singapore Travel guide is also published as a pocket guide an can be purchased from Amazon: Wikitravel Singapore: The Free, Complete, Up-To-Date And Reliable Guide To Singapore.
Tip #5 - Beware of Singapore scams
There are many tourist complaints about scams in Lucky Plaza of Orchard Road, Sim Lim Square and People Park Complex in Chinatown. A popular scam is to sell you a very cheap smartphone and then force you to buy a very expensive warranty or subscription. If you stay clear away from too good to be true prices you can protect yourself from many scams.
If you are ripped off by a shop do not lick your wound and go away. Call Singapore Tourism Board's free hotline at 1800 736-2000. The Small Claims Tribunal at 1 Havelock Sq also has a special expedited process for tourists that can solve simple cases within 24 hours.
Tip #6 - Buy travel insurance
A visit to hospital in Singapore will be very costly and do not step into the country without a proper travel insurance. Although health system is quite good in the country, an extended stay in a hospital may cost you tens of thousands of dollars if you do not buy that 20+ USD something travel insurance.
Tip #7 - Buy a local SIM Card
Instead of paying a fortune to roaming you can buy simple prepaid SIM cards which are sold in 7-Eleven convenience stores, phone shops and currency exchange counters. All you need is a passport or Singapore ID to sign up.
Since almost everyone in the country has cellphones and prepaid SIM cards are available, number of public phones in the country is declining (but you can still find them in all MRT Stations and in the airport). Having a phone will local card may save a lot of time and money for you. Especially the cards with data plans will allow you use maps, Singapore specific apps (such as bus timings or call-a-taxi apps).
Tip #8 - Eat and Shop in hearthlands
Orchard Road may be the most famous shopping area in Singapore, it is the most expensive and food here is just average. For better service, taste and prices consider visiting malls and hawker centers outside tourist area. These places are less inclined to use hit-and-run sales tactics and more dependent on frequent customers (in a shop in town you’re just another faceless sales target).
Tip #9 - Save money on electronics
Singapore is still a good place to buy electronics if you know what you are doing. If you are planning to buy electronics in Singapore read this article: 5 Money Saving Ways to Buy Electronics in Singapore.
Hotels in Singapore are very expensive. Thus it is the first place to save money during a Singapore holiday. By choosing the right hotel, you can really save a lot of money in Singapore.
Room prices at the reception and on the hotel web site are usually more expensive than what you can find online. A better alternative is to look at online hotel reservation sites like Agoda.com but the best is a hotel meta-search engine like hotelscombined.com. These online hotel search engines aggregates price and guest review data from many online reservation sites as well as some hotel web sites and puts them in a simple list from where you can choose the best hotel rates in Singapore (or anywhere indeed).
Tip #2 - Stay in a hotel near MRT Station or major bus lines
Singapore is quite small and its public transportation system allows you to access everywhere quite fast. Singapore's rail system, known as MRT (Mass Rapid Transportation) extensively covers almost everywhere in Singapore.
Instead of staying in a central hotel and paying a fortune to a tiny room, you can simply stay a little outside the Singapore city center in a hotel near MRT Station. As long as you are near an MRT Station you can go significantly out of the central region and save more money.
Tip #3 - Consider staying in a Singapore hostel
Singapore offers many nice hostels offering accomodation from plain-old dorm beds to pod-style or private room twin beds. Some of these hostels are quite luxurious. You can find nice hostels near Chinatown MRT Station.
Tip #4 - Read Wikitravel Singapore Guide
Online open-source travel guide wikitravel has an excellent Singapore Travel Guide which covers almost every topic a tourist will need to know and using it alone will save you tons of money.
Wikitravel Singapore Travel guide is also published as a pocket guide an can be purchased from Amazon: Wikitravel Singapore: The Free, Complete, Up-To-Date And Reliable Guide To Singapore.
Tip #5 - Beware of Singapore scams
There are many tourist complaints about scams in Lucky Plaza of Orchard Road, Sim Lim Square and People Park Complex in Chinatown. A popular scam is to sell you a very cheap smartphone and then force you to buy a very expensive warranty or subscription. If you stay clear away from too good to be true prices you can protect yourself from many scams.
If you are ripped off by a shop do not lick your wound and go away. Call Singapore Tourism Board's free hotline at 1800 736-2000. The Small Claims Tribunal at 1 Havelock Sq also has a special expedited process for tourists that can solve simple cases within 24 hours.
Tip #6 - Buy travel insurance
A visit to hospital in Singapore will be very costly and do not step into the country without a proper travel insurance. Although health system is quite good in the country, an extended stay in a hospital may cost you tens of thousands of dollars if you do not buy that 20+ USD something travel insurance.
Tip #7 - Buy a local SIM Card
Instead of paying a fortune to roaming you can buy simple prepaid SIM cards which are sold in 7-Eleven convenience stores, phone shops and currency exchange counters. All you need is a passport or Singapore ID to sign up.
Since almost everyone in the country has cellphones and prepaid SIM cards are available, number of public phones in the country is declining (but you can still find them in all MRT Stations and in the airport). Having a phone will local card may save a lot of time and money for you. Especially the cards with data plans will allow you use maps, Singapore specific apps (such as bus timings or call-a-taxi apps).
Tip #8 - Eat and Shop in hearthlands
Orchard Road may be the most famous shopping area in Singapore, it is the most expensive and food here is just average. For better service, taste and prices consider visiting malls and hawker centers outside tourist area. These places are less inclined to use hit-and-run sales tactics and more dependent on frequent customers (in a shop in town you’re just another faceless sales target).
Tip #9 - Save money on electronics
Singapore is still a good place to buy electronics if you know what you are doing. If you are planning to buy electronics in Singapore read this article: 5 Money Saving Ways to Buy Electronics in Singapore.
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