Singapore was a short stop for us. Three days. Enough time to get a feel for it, not enough to do everything.
It has a reputation for being expensive, and it can be. But we found that if you are selective about what you pay for, it works perfectly well as a mid-range destination.
This is how we spent our time and what I think was actually worth it.
Start with a walking tour
We always try to begin with a walking tour. It stops us from drifting around taking photos of buildings without really understanding what we are looking at.
Ours started in Chinatown, moved through Little India and included a wet market. We covered housing, religion, migration, politics, language and how Singapore plans itself so deliberately.
Free walking tours here operate on a pay-what-you-think-it’s-worth model. We paid well. It was worth it.
Singapore makes much more sense once someone explains how intentional it is. Nothing feels accidental. Even the greenery is planned.
If you only do one structured thing, I would make it this.
After our orientation walking tour in the morning, we opted it to an evening food tour. This was also a walking tour but one we paid for in advance. The food was good and we tasted a little of what Singapore has to offer – Chinese, India, and Malay cuisine. The price was quite steep if you were paying for the food alone but as this was a combination of food and history, it was worth it. Like all group tours, we enjoyed the learning, the tasting, and spending time with other travellers as well.
Hawker centres are the point
If you come to Singapore and do not eat in hawker centres, I think you have missed something.
We ate at Chinatown Complex and Maxwell Food Centre and tried roti prata, satay, fried carrot cake, pork rib soup and a few sweet buns. Some items were under a dollar.
What I liked most was the contrast. You can spend the afternoon looking at Marina Bay Sands and then eat a $1 snack surrounded by locals. It does not feel like “budget travel”. It just feels like Singapore.
For us, most meals were at hawker centres. That kept things reasonable without feeling like we were cutting corners.
Gardens by the Bay: choose one thing
Gardens by the Bay is one of those places you have seen in photos a hundred times.
You can walk around the gardens for free, which is already impressive. We decided to pay for the OCBC Skyway rather than the indoor conservatories. If I had a bigger budget, I would probably add the Cloud Forest. It looks extraordinary. But we were trying to be disciplined.
Earlier that morning we had walked past the Merlion Park, watching the usual line of people trying to “hold” the water in their hands for a photo. It is touristy, but it is also part of the place.
From the Skyway you look straight across to Marina Bay Sands and the scale of it all hits you properly.
It is hot. It is humid. But it is beautifully designed.
A drink instead of an observation deck
Rather than paying purely to stand on an observation deck, we went up to CÉ LA VI on the 37th floor of Marina Bay Sands.
For about 38 SGD you get entry and a drink. That felt like better value to me. If I am going to pay for a view, I would quite like something cold in my hand as well.
It was one of those moments where you lean back and think, yes, this is special.
We did not do many expensive things in Singapore. That was one of them.
Sentosa Island and an unplanned afternoon
We ended up spending a day on Sentosa Island almost by accident.
Our hotel had a promotion for a free activity there, so we chose 18 holes of mini golf at UltraGolf. Normally around 22 SGD each. For us, free.
It was silly and competitive and very hot.
Sentosa feels like Singapore’s playground. Beaches, attractions, sculptures, families everywhere. It is not subtle, but it is fun.
Sometimes when you are travelling long term, you need an afternoon that is just light.
Raffles and the civic district
We finished by wandering through the civic district, starting at Raffles Hotel Singapore.
Rooms start at around 2,000 SGD per night. Not this trip. But walking through the courtyards was enough. It is calm and restrained and feels very sure of itself.
Nearby is the Civilian War Memorial, which commemorates civilians killed during the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945.
What struck me was the tone. It is commemorative, but not heavy. There is a sense that Singapore acknowledges its past and then continues building forward.
The whole district is leafy and ordered. You can feel the long-term planning everywhere.
So, is Singapore manageable on a mid-range budget?
I think so, if you are deliberate.
We chose:
- A walking tour for context
- Hawker centres for most meals
- One paid attraction
- One intentional splurge
- Public buses to get around
- Plenty of walking
Singapore can be expensive. It can also be very reasonable. It depends on your decisions.
In the next post I will break down exactly what we spent over three days.
You can watch the full video below.
The Peterson Odyssey 