Singapore Travel Tips

[santario101]

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Was recently in SG with the family. Just wanted to share some tips for those who will be going for a short vacation.

Cash
-Have some SGD at hand before you step out of the airport, it's cheaper if you pay your hotel in cash than
using the credit card, it has additional charges.


Travel
-Book a flight that lands before 6pm? Why, because the MRT ticket counter that sells the Tourist Pass closes at 8pm
-The SG tourist pass that is valid for 3 days gives you unlimited rides to the MRT and basic bus routes. This pass does not include the Sentosa line that goes to Resorts World and Universal Studios .
The pass is very useful if you're really looking to go around a lot of places but if not ,just purchase a regular EZ-link card and put in about 15SGD in it. The fares are very cheap, so this should be enough.
-kids below 0.9 meters travel free so no need to buy a card for them.
-Bring a stroller, it's essential if you have a toddler with you.
-The tourist pass does not work on the shuttle whose route is the Khatib MRT station and SG Zoo. I don't know where to get the ticket for that shuttle, the driver was kind enough to let us through but he shouted at those white guys that were next to us on the line.LOL
-Download this apps, they're a life saver, Gothere.sg, Onemapsg, Rome2rio and of course Google maps. don't put too much trust on google maps, we got lost because of it twice during the bus rides. it's good for reference only.
-Get a map at the airport it's free, quite useful when you ran out of battery on your devices.
-Be prepared to do a lot of WALKING, best to wear running shoes when going around.

Communication
Don't buy the starhub "tourist" sim card at the airport kiosk in Terminal 4, it's overpriced.
-Get the Singtel Tourist card from 7-Eleven or at a singtel store in a mall, $15 for 7 days with 100GB Data, call and text and a few minutes of international call. this is a must have. We got our this at it's store in Capita Mall in Bugis Junction.
-Bring a powerbank 20,000 mAh should be enough
-Bring a universal power adapter and an extension cord, SG sockets are not compatible with philippine devices

Accomodation
-We stayed at a hotel in Bugis which was less than a 5 minute walk (pinoy pace ni nga walking ha, kanang relax kaayo ba) from the MRT station. choose a hotel that saves you a lot of time going to the bus stop or mrt station. Has a 7-eleven nearby and lot's of food choices too, we found this all in Bugis.
-Also check out AirBNB the accommodations are cheaper but i didn't find one near the bugis mrt.

Tax Refund
-if you buy something over 100 SGD single receipt you are entitled to a 7% tax refund, just make sure you ask for the additional "GST" receipt from the store. the tax refund counter is in the Airport.

http://www.visitsingapore.com/travel...st-tax-refund/

Pasalubong
-you can get it cheap at Chinatown, i think Chinatown mrt Pagoda st. exit . as soon as you step out the escalator it's all there, lots of food stalls here too.
-if you want to buy chocolates and the like go the Chocoexpress, we sought out this store and bought the Honey Butter Almond nuts. they also setup a shop in a middle of a mall where they stay for 7 days and everything is on sale.



This was our itinerary
Day 0 - Arrival 9pm (checked in at 12, got lost looking for the hotel, google maps fault not mine)
Day 1 - Universal Studios, Sea Aquarium, Gardens by the Bay (from here you can get a pic of the Singapore Flyer)
Day 2 - Singapore Zoo (be here early, they close at 6pm)
Day 3 - Chinatown, 3D Seiko shop at The Bencoleen to buy discounted watches. Flight back to PH. Oh yeah, amazing race mode on day 3 for us, got to the airport at 7pm flight was on time at 9pm.

As a last tip, enjoy your stay, don't rush it , trust me it's worth to savor the sites than rushing from one to the other just to have a photo op.

[Allan Latras]

@santario101 Thanks for sharing sir. This is informative as my family and some friends are scheduled to go to Singapore soon. by the way, I intend to purchase tickets on-line for our visit to some places like the Universal Studios and Sea Aquarium. My question is for the on-line purchased tickets would it be valid for a specific date only or for would it be valid for about a certain period like a week? If I would purchase the tickets there instead, would we be queuing through long lines? Also what kind of pass should we use (if not the tourist pass) to go to Sentosa for our Universal Studios visit? Thanks in advance for answering my queries....

Since since our arrival in SG is after 8pm, hence we cannot purchase the tourist pass right? Would it be possible to pay cash for the mrt to reach our airbnb apartment?

[cptn_star]

@santario101 Thanks for sharing sir. This is informative as my family and some friends are scheduled to go to Singapore soon. by the way, I intend to purchase tickets on-line for our visit to some places like the Universal Studios and Sea Aquarium. My question is for the on-line purchased tickets would it be valid for a specific date only or for would it be valid for about a certain period like a week? If I would purchase the tickets there instead, would we be queuing through long lines? Also what kind of pass should we use (if not the tourist pass) to go to Sentosa for our Universal Studios visit? Thanks in advance for answering my queries....

Since since our arrival in SG is after 8pm, hence we cannot purchase the tourist pass right? Would it be possible to pay cash for the mrt to reach our airbnb apartment?

You can buy mrt tickets in the mrt station through ticketing machines. But I suggest that you get an ezlink card at the ticketing booth instead. You can use it for mrt, bus and taxi rides.

[santario101]

We also bought online tickets via Klook, the validity i think was for a couple of months. don't worry about the queues, they have a lot of counters available. my tip to you is to print the online tickets barcodes in advance in 1 sheet of paper.

think you can get a regular ez-link card at the MRT station. just top it up, train and bus fares in SG are very cheap, a 10 SGD top up goes a long way.

You need to buy train tickets at the sentosa line station.

[digitalsuperman]

@santario101 Thanks for sharing sir. This is informative as my family and some friends are scheduled to go to Singapore soon. by the way, I intend to purchase tickets on-line for our visit to some places like the Universal Studios and Sea Aquarium. My question is for the on-line purchased tickets would it be valid for a specific date only or for would it be valid for about a certain period like a week? If I would purchase the tickets there instead, would we be queuing through long lines? Also what kind of pass should we use (if not the tourist pass) to go to Sentosa for our Universal Studios visit? Thanks in advance for answering my queries....

Since since our arrival in SG is after 8pm, hence we cannot purchase the tourist pass right? Would it be possible to pay cash for the mrt to reach our airbnb apartment?

based sa ila website ang transitlink mag close man 9pm sa changi airport. so makaabot paka. mas maayo ang tourist pass. di ka pwede bayad cash sa mrt. although pwede ka mupalit ug ticket for one trip sa kanang mga ticketing machines sa mrt stations.

[yabz89]

If around 8pm pa. Wala pa jud blema man... Naa pay tao sa ticket booth.. Makapalit pa mog card..

If naa moy card.. Makaload ra sad mo anytime.. Naa sa right end na side ang mrt.. If facing ka pagawas.

[digitalsuperman]

if manganhi mo sa singapore next week please avoid fullterton hotel or shangrila hotel or ang sentosa(ok ra sa popular tourist areas) sa june 12 kay naay summit sila si Kim Jong Un ug Donald Trump. grabe ang security. grabe ka busy ang airspace sa singapore daghan kaayo ko nakita nga mga F15 ug mga C130. galupadlupad. later naa napud mga navy destroyers manganhi.hehe.