This article first appeared on My Travelogue by Bhushavali
BUDGET-FRIENDLY 4 DAYS ITINERARY IN SINGAPORE
Unusual & Non-Touristy things to do in Singapore
(which may also be cheap & free things to do in Singapore!)
One of the things that everyone who has been to Singapore has always told me
was that it is expensive, even just to purchase tickets of attractions, as a
tourist. I thought, 'Challenge Accepted' (in the voice of Barney Stinson!).
But here's the thing, it was 'after' I made the plan that I realized that none
of the places I was visiting actually costed anything!!! That said, I didn't
visit Merlion, Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa, Universal Studios, Singapore Zoo,
or any of the usual touristy places which are essentially the ones that cost a
lot of dollars! So, here's My Travelogue on the unusual places to visit in
Singapore!
If you're an Indian, here's the reference to how big, the country of Singapore
is - Singapore is almost the same size as Bangalore, it is half the size of
Delhi, and one fifth the size of Goa!!!
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Sisters' Island - Best Beaches of Singapore
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Singapore Botanical Gardens
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Kusu Island (Singapore Tortoise Island)
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Tree Tunnel Singapore - Instagrammable spots in Singapore
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Battle box Singapore (WWII site)
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Pulau Ubin, Singapore
HIDDEN GEMS & OFF-BEAT PLACES IN SINGAPORE
DAY 1 - SINGAPORE BOTANICAL GARDENS
We landed in Singapore at 9:45AM and after heading to my friend's home to drop
our luggage and after a a nice breakfast, we headed off to the Singapore
Botanical Gardens, Singapore's only UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has no entry ticket, so visiting Singapore Botanical Gardens is one of the free things to do in Singapore.
The Singapore Botanical Gardens covers an area of 82 hectares, so basically it
is huge. It has 4 entry points to it and we entered via the Tanglin Gate which
is easily accessible via Napier MRT Station. We started walking on the paved
road and soon we heard the rustle in the midst of the dried, fallen leaves -
it was a monitor lizard! It was Atyudarini's first time seeing a Monitor
lizard and it was in the wild as well. I was told there were quite a few of
these here in Singapore Botanical Gardens. After this, in the rest of the day,
we spotted atleast 3 more!
Soon we were walking along a small path with water on one side and land on the
other with plants all over everywhere and soon we were at a gazebo with a
couple of sculptures in it, plus, right there, was a huge waterbody with a
large sculpture of flying swans. Our next stop was to see the Sundial - I
checked the time and the difference was only about 15 mins. Not bad at all!
Ginger Garden: From there, we walked over the Ginger Garden. This was perhaps the most
interesting, most fascinating, most fun-filled spot in the whole of Singapore
Botanical Gardens - the waterfalls! In the heart of the Ginger Garden in
Singapore Botanical Gardens, there's a small, artificial waterfalls with a
passage that goes behind it, so you can see it from behind! It was just
awesome and the 2 kids had so so so much fun. Both were completely drenched in
a few minutes, splashing water on each other!!! Then we did a bit of a walk
around the Ginger Garden seeing the varieties of ginger from across the world
segregated by region and soil/water varieties.
Canopy Walk & SPH Walk of the Giants: It was already afternoon, so I headed to the visitors center to ask what else
can I do in the next couple of of hours and he pointed us to the Canopy Walk.
The Canopy walk is a part of the Learning Forest Trail. Here's the top tip at
Singapore Botanical Gardens Learning Forest Trail - walk quietly, like
actually walking in the forest; there are quite a few animals & birds
which you can observe & hear if you're quiet. The Learning Forest Trail
has 2 sections - Canopy Trail and Discovery Trail and we headed to the Canopy
Trail. Spiral staircase took us 8m above ground to the boardwalk and canopy.
The Canopy was phenomenal and was a superhit with Atyudarini. It is basically
a net, 8m above the ground, secured by some iron, wood & concrete and is
called SPH Walk of the Giants. Why Giant? Well, walking on this, you'll spot
some of the Giants / Tallest & Biggest Trees of the forest. The
construction of it is quite fascinating - it doesn't touch the trees at all,
but a separate structure around the trees, but very close to the tree trunks.
You can even climb the central iron structure around the tree and hug the
tree! To realize that I was hugging a tree 9m (30ft) above the ground was
quite something! We walked on the canopies, we jumped a bit, we lay down on
it, we rolled on it, it was fun! Perhaps the 2nd favourite of Atyudarini here,
after the waterfalls! After spending quite some time over the canopy net, we
walked the rest of the boardwalk loop before heading back down and then home!
Where is Singapore Botanical Garden (on Google Maps)? Botanical Garden Tanglin Gate
How to reach Singapore Botanical Garden? Nearest Bus/Metro stop - Napier
Singapore Botanical Garden Ticket: SG$ 0
Map of Ginger Garden Trail (incl. waterfalls):
Ginger Garden Trail
via NParks (opens/downloads as PDF)
Map of Learning Forest trail (incl. Canopy walk):
Learning Forest Trail
via NParks
General map of Singapore Botanical Gardens:
Singapore Botanical Gardens Map
via NParks
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Chilling 8m above ground
DAY 2 - ISLAND HOPPING IN SINGAPORE
Here's a thing to understand about Singapore - if you look into a map, you'll
see that it's a part of an archipelago. There's the main land of Singapore
which is a relatively large chunk of land, but then, around it are, no less
than 25 islands! The most famous of them and the nearest one as well, is the
Sentonsa Island. It's connected by road & rail transport and is the home
of Universal Studios, Madame Tussads, SEA Aquarium etc. This is super touristy
and almost everyone who has been to Singapore would have visited Sentosa. Even
if you skip it, there are still more than 24 islands to explore around
main-land Singapore (however, quite a few of them are closed to the
public)!
One of island trips I really really wanted to go were the Southern Islands. So, here's the ultimate travel guide to visit the southern islands of Singapore. There are 6 islands to the south west of Sentosa of which 2 are inaccessible
for general public and there's a ferry that connects the rest 4 and that's
what we took. There are a couple of ferry operators, and I chose Marina South
Ferries, since their schedule was perfect for me. The other 4 islands are
Sisters' Island, St.John's Island, Lazarus Island and Kusu Island. The ferries
could be taken to visit all 4 or just 3 skipping Sisters'. One of my main
destinations was Sisters' Island, so took the all inclusive ticket. Read on, to know, how to visit do Island Hopping in Singapore.
While you do have to buy the ferry ticket for transport, otherwise, going Island Hopping in Singapore is also one of the free things to do in Singapore! Technically, one of the cheap things to do in Singapore.
Sisters Island, Singapore:
The first stop was ofcourse Sisters' Island and here's your travel guide to visit Sisters' Island Singapore. It was the most
important for me because, it is the most pristine, and it was opened to the
public just recently in Oct 2024. Till then, it was open to public only in
guided trips twice a month during the low tides for nature & sealife
enthusiasts. Now, finally, it is open for the general public for leisure. The
island doesn't allow any overnight stays, and that's precisely the reason I
wanted Sisters Island as my first stop. That would mean, getting to the
island, as it wakes up, before other human intervention, and getting to
observe it, in its pristine beauty.
Sisters Island is a set of 2 islands. The smaller one, Little Sisters Island
is closed to public and has research going on. We were dropped at the jetty of
Big Sisters Island.
The legend of Sisters' Island: The story is that there lived 2 sisters Minah & Linah. Once Linah was
taken away by a pirate and Minah jumped into the ocean and swam to rescue her.
Looking at her sister, Linah managed to free herself from the pirate and
jumped into the ocean and swam to Minah. Sadly the ocean currents were too
strong and both drowned. Next day, 2 islands appeared at the very spot and
those are the Big & Little Sisters' Islands!
Ocean Network Express Coastal Trail: The island is absolutely visitor friendly. As soon as you enter, in a few
steps, are the toilets & changing rooms. Further ahead, to the right, is
the hiking path that takes you to the highest point of the small hill in the
center of the island. It can be skipped and if you go straight ahead, you go
the big lagoon. I definitely wanted to climb atop and we did. This hike is
called the Ocean Network Express Coastal Forest Trail and it's just 230m
long, with a staircase for most of the route. The view from atop was ok; we
could see other islands and quite a few ships. The climb down, lead us very
close to the small lagoon. Since we didn't change at the changing area (since
we wanted to do the hike and hiking with swimsuit may not be the best idea!),
we had to change under towels, at the lagoon! Haha...
Lagoon & the best beach in Singapore: There were just 5 groups (families/friends) at the lagoon when I reached there
and it was beyond awesome! It was so pristine, clean, with hardly any humans. This was definitely one of the best beaches in Singapore. Atyudarini was swimming in the ocean, picking up molluscs & throwing them
back into the sea, and spotting some mangrove tree seeds floating away! I just
floated away my worries in the water, when Atyudarini decided to climb on
me!!! After spending quite some time there, I looked into the watch and it
said 11:00. The first ferry out is at 11:30 and the next was at 13:30. I just
loved the place too much to start packing! We hadn't even gone to the big
lagoon yet, so I decided to take the next ferry out!
Soon, we headed the big lagoon and there was just 1 other family there! That's
it! The entire length of the lagoon was just for us!!! This was even more
pristine and Atyudarini found intact shells in a variety of shapes (which she
knows to throw back into the sea)... We then came out of the water to have our
packed lunch.
Monkeys of Sisters' Island: It was then we spotted the residents of the island - monkeys!
There were atleast 10 of them and yeah, one did try to open my backpack to
retrieve a snack and I shooed it away before it could.
We headed back and
walked over the floating bridge, the base of which has been designed to create
a favourable environment for corals. After heading back to the shower+toilets
and changing, we got the 13:30 ferry to our next destination - Kusu island.
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Kusu Island, Singapore:
Kusu in Hokkien (Chinese dialect) means Tortoise and this island is called so,
thanks to the tortoises here! Here's more on how to visit Kusu Island, what to do in Kusu Island and places to see. There's a large 'Da Bo Gong' temple in the heart
of the island, which is visible as soon as you enter. The temple also has a
tiny pond with a few tortoises in it. The temples were on the face of a
monolithic rock and there was also this space for people to write their
prayers/wishes and tie them. It was quite multilingual and Atyudarini started
to hunt for Tamil ones. Da Bo Gong is the God of Merchants & Prosperity.
Further ahead is the tortoise sanctuary and then further ahead is a stairwell
to reach the top of a hill which has the Kramats (holy shrines) of 3 saints.
Here too, there was a yellow painted wall, with markers lying around, for
devotees to write their prayers on the wall. Walking down from there we headed
to the bay. The beach was pristine here too, just like Sisters' Island, but we
were already done with being in water for the day. There is no dedicated place
here to change to swimsuit & back, as well. This whole thing got over
pretty soon and we had atleast 30 mins till the next ferry. There were trees
and benches under them all over the island and we just slept! At 15:30 was our
ferry to our next stop.
St.John's Island & Lazarus Island, Singapore:
St.John's Island is the largest of these 4 and the closest one to Singapore
main land. Unlike the other islands, it is allowed to stay here overnight and
there are multiple hotels, campsites, restaurants & more! This is also a
bit more touristy.
As soon as you enter, you can either go right to the camp sites and the bay,
or you can go left towards Lazarus island. We headed to the left and after
looking into the information boards on the history, flora and fauna of the
island. St.John's island once served as a quarantine island, for whoever comes
to Singapore. Everyone were checked for infections and diseases and only
healthy people were allowed to proceed to the mainland. The huge prison here
was where prisoners of WWII were held.
Mangrove trees & Mudskippers: Soon, we stopped at a point to see the mangrove plants. There was a family
there, catching fishes with nets, standing inside the water. What fascinated
me the most here, were the mud-skippers. These fishes, could swim inside the
water, stay out of water, on the mangrove tree stems & the rocks around
for several minutes together, and also kinda fly, I mean, more like glide when
they jump from the rocks/trees into the water. It was quite fascinating for
both Atyudarini and myself to keep observing them.
Lazarus Island: After a while, we started walking towards Lazarus Island. Lazarus island is
connected by a man-made causeway to St.John's island. A bit of a walk, on a
asphalt road with trees on either sides, we soon reached the Lazarus Island
beach, which is also a bay. This is further connected to Seringat Island &
Kias island. While these are less crowded than St.John's island, I wouldn't
call it as beautiful as Sisters' Island. That said, the Lazarus Island Beach
was impeccable. It's a gorgeous white-sand beach and absolutely pristine &
clean. Lazarus Island Lagoon is one the best beaches in Singapore. Atyudarini had so much fun running around here. However, we were all
quite tired island hopping for an entire day and we wanted to go back home.
The last ferry of the day to head back to Singapore main land was at 18:00
(6:00PM) and we took it.
Where is Marina South Pier (starting point of the ferry)(on Google Maps)? Marina South Pier
Marina South Ferries Island hopping Tour Ticket from Marina South Pier: SG$15 for adults &
SG$12 for kids
Island Entry Ticket: SG$ 0
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Mudskippers at St.John's Island Singapore
DAY 3 - MACRITCHIE TREE TOP WALK (Original plan)
Here's what I came to know after going to Singapore. Cloud to ground
lightening strikes are not too rare in Singapore!!!! What??? Yeah, that's
true. I, literally saw, the burnt piece of asphalt road on my hike to
Henderson wave, caused by a lightening strike! There are boards everywhere in
Singapore saying that we should take shelter if lightening begins. The
meteorological site has a page dedicated to lightening forecasts.... Hiking is
a no-no when lightening begins because... one, there's no shelter in the
forests and two, tree branches may fall down if lightening strikes those!
Well... The day I had planned Macritchie Tree Top Walk showed lightening
forecast in the afternoon. So I gave up on going there and went somewhere
else. Anyways, if you'd like to go, here's the shortest 7km hike that goes via
Macritchie Tree Top walk...
Macritchie Tree top walk Ticket: SG$ 0
Macritchie Tree top walk Map:
Central Catchment Nature Reserve Hiking Map
via NParks (Opens/Downloads as PDF). The Route 6 starting at the Venus Drive
of Windsor National Park is the one that goes via Macritchie Tree Top Walk.
Brochure/Guide of the route:
A guide to the Treetop Walking Trail
by NParks
DAY 3 - FORT CANNING HILL & HENDERSON WAVE (Changed plan)
Once the plan to visit Macritchie was smushed, thanks to the weather, we
decided to head to Fort Canning in the morning, then Henderson Wave in the
evening.
Tree tunnel Singapore (Fort Canning Hill Tree Tunnel)
The Tree Tunnel is Fort Canning Hill is one of the famous instagrammable spots in Singapore and
it has gotten pretty famous in recent years. I reached here at 8:00AM and
there was a queue of about 15 people in front of me and I thought, "That's not
bad; if each take a 2 minutes, it would be our chance in 30 minutes of so".
But, boy was I wrong. While the first one left quickly, the next took 15
minutes and the 3rd took out a professional camera and tripod and I left
immediately. So yeah, if you want you photo taken here, come very early in the morning or be prepared to wait for a few hours!
Where is Fort Canning Park? (on Google maps): Fort Canning Park
Where is Tree Tunnel in Singapore? Fort Canning Tree Tunnel
Nearest Metro to reach Fort Canning Park: Dhobi Ghat
Fort Canning Hill and Bottlebox Visitors Center:
We headed up to the rest of the greenery and spotted the Fort Canning Gate,
Percival Steps, Old Married Couples Quarters, Hotel Fort Canning etc.
Our next
major stop was the Bottle Box which served as the Headquarters of Malaya
Command Operations Bunker. The self-guided tour starts with an audio guide
explaining how communication happened during the war from radio to morse-code
and more. What happened there on 15th Feb 1942, is no less than a thriller! A
major battle happened between the Japanese and British here, at this very
location, during WWII. The Japanese had very few soldiers but their tactics
were so well done, that inspite of its army strength, the British had to
surrender here. Everything from the Communications room, Map room, Gun
operations room, Officers room were there explaining the 3 days before the
d-day! The tour ends with 270° video show, which really should'nt be missed.
Out of the Battlebox, we headed to Fort Canning Heritage Center which is all
about the history of Singapore right from the 13th C CE. Many of the displays
were child friendly and Atyudarini had fun. The Fort Canning Heritage Center has no entry ticket and is one of the free things to do in Singapore. It was noon and we headed home for
lunch (& to escape the rain).
Where is Battlebox Singapore? (on Google Maps): Battlebox Singapore
Battlebox Ticket: SG$20 for adults & SG$15 for kids
Where is Fort Canning Heritage Gallery? (on Google Maps): Fort Canning Heritage Gallery
Fort Canning Heritage Center Ticket: SG$ 0
Henderson Wave:
By evening, we headed to the Henderson wave, which was quite a surprise. This
is like a boardwalk, but more like a pedestrian bridge. But, guess at what
height this bridge is at? 36m (118 ft) above ground, it was just awesome. We
were so high up above the ground and walking on a pedestrian path - it was
quite something!
We reached the starting point of the hike at Telok Blangah Way by bus. It was
very short and very steep hike, but with a staircase, to reach 36m above
ground to reach the Henderson Waves. The view was quite interesting. Many
neighbourhoods of Singapore were visible from that height. To realize that
you're at a 'viewpoint' in the middle of the city, but surrounded by trees,
but with a road running under you, it was quite strange to say the least, but
beautiful nonetheless.
After crossing it, we continued to head on the Forest Walk trail, towards Alexandra Arch. It was totally dark by then and it was quite something to be walking on that elevated platform passage, surrounded by trees, when it totally dark all around! Walking the Henderson Wave costs nothing and is a one of the free things to do in Singapore.
Where is the trail head of Henderson Wave hike? (on Google Maps): Near Al-Amin Mosque
Henderson Wave Ticket: SG$ 0
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DAY 4 - PULAU UBIN
After seeing the stunning southern islands, I went in the North western
direction. There are 4 islands in the North Western direction of which Takong
Island is huge and almost like another mainland. The 2 islands that I wanted
to visit were Coney Island and Pulau Ubin. This time, I had the time to visit
only Pulau Ubin, so here's your Pulau Ubin travel guide so you can plan your own trip to Pulau Ubin.
Bumboat to Pulau Ubin: Reaching Pulau Ubin is interesting by itself. Unlike the southern islands
which are connected by ferries which run on a schedule, Pulau Ubin is
connected just by little bumboats which carry 12 people at a time! By this, I
mean, they actually carry 12 people, and won't move even if you're 10 or 11,
no matter how long it takes for the boat to fill-up, and that's tricky! We had
to wait for quite sometime before our boat departed.
Bike rentals at Pulau Ubin: It was quite a quick boat-ride and soon we reached Pulau Ubin and immediately
felt the rainforest feel there. As soon as you get down, you'll spot a few
bicycle rentals and I enquired in 1 for a regular and 1 kids for myself and
Atyudarini. They came at $6 each for the day plus $2 each for the helmets. So
for $16, we were off, exploring the island, in our own pace, on the
bicycles. If you choose to walk & not hire a bike, all you pay is for the bumboat. So yes, visiting Pulau Ubin is one of the cheap things to do in Singapore.
My idea was simple, to head to the Chek Jawa Wetlands for its Mangrove,
Coastal forest, Board walk, and Viewing Towers - just enjoy the nature of this
spot. What I did not expect was that, we'd be able to enjoy this all by
ourselves!!! We went here on a weekday and there was just 1 other couple here;
that's it; we had the entire space all for ourselves. The distance between the
Boat Jetty and Chek Jawa wetlands is about 4km. While Google says it taken 30
mins to bike, it took just 1 hr easily to stop at occasions to take photos and
the bike with a kid. We did spot very few people on the way, hardly 10-15.
It was just, such a feel, to be biking in the midst of the forest, with
absolute forest all around us. It even started to drizzle and the rain-forest
feeling was complete!
While biking something amazing happened - we heard the grunt of a wild bear!!!
Honestly, I got a bit freaked out. I wasn't entirely sure what to do I came
face-to-face with a wild bear! We kept biking and soon we were away from it,
but we did spot this board that explained what to do if we come face to face
with a wild-bear!!!
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Chek Jawa Wetlands: We reached Chek Jawa wetlands and locked our bikes there & walked towards
the mangroves. There are 2 boardwalks here - Coastal Boardwalk and Mangrove;
the Coastal Boardwalk goes into the sea while the Mangrove Boardwalk has the
Jejawi Viewing Tower. The 2 are so different and so fascinating in their own
way. I'll explain that later.
Coastal Boardwalk: I chose to head to the Coastal Boardwalk First which is more picturesque and I
though it would be more fascinating for Atyudarini than the other. Here comes
the best part, since we didn't go on a weekend, guess what, there was not 1
single person there other than us. The entire boardwalk was just ours.
Atyudarini just stood there watching the waves splashing the shore and
carrying all the moss with it and didn't want to move! The sandy beach here is
the meeting point between the mangrove and the sea, creating a unique
environment. This is where carpet anemones, sand dollars, star fishes, sea
cucumbers, and various crabs get washed up. We couldn't spot any, but
Atyudarini tried her best to scan every inch of the beach from the
boardwalk.
Mangrove Boardwalk: After just being there, mesmerized by the beauty of this place, we walked over
to the Mangrove Boardwalk and here Atyudarini had even more fascinating
experience. She spotted these tiny white things moving around and she knew
what they are and she even knew how they looked under polarized light! Those
tiny white things are the main pincer of the male fiddler crabs; Atyudarini
had seen them earlier in the Netflix show 'Life in Color with David Attenborough' in the Chasing Colour episode. We saw so many of these Fiddler Crabs here.
I was quite amused because, even though I watched the show with her, in my
mind, I had imagined them a bit bigger. They are so tiny!!! After watching
them for such a long time, I managed to move Atyudarini from there. Now, we
were truly walking in the midst of a very wet mangrove and mangrove flora
& fauna all around us. Soon, Atyudarini spotted the next wildlife and we
stood there observing it a bit, and trying to see if it's mate would come out
- what she spotted was Episesarma versicolor - commonly called the
Mangrove Crab or Tree-climbing Crab or Violet Vinegar Crab.
As I mentioned earlier, the Coastal Boardwalk is a pristine, picturesque
beauty but the Mangrove Boardwalk is a wildlife enthusiasts/ budding
zoologist's perfect spot to be.
Jejawi Tower: Soon, we were at the base of Jejawi Tower. It is a bit of a climb but totally
worth it. We strained our eyes the best to see if we could spot any
birds/monkeys/any other wildlife, but in vain. There was just 1 other couple
on the tower when we visited. If you're lucky you'd spot vultures &
hornbills right here. The name Jejawi means the Malayan Banyan which towers
over this viewing tower. The view from here was absolutely stunning. A few
steps from the Jejawi tower took us back to the main street that connected to
the bike-parking and we headed back.
Again, while returning, we were at the boat jetty at Pulau Ubin and had our
packed lunch, took some photos while we waited for the boat to fill up. In
about 15 minutes, 11 of us were there, and after another 15 minutes, we were
still 11, but another family of 5 came. So until another single person turns
up, were were stuck. And I was getting delayed for my flight too! So, I paid
for the 12th seat and we returned. I did ask a couple other tourists, if
they'd be ready to split the cost which was refused (well, they were ready to
wait as long as it needs).
So, here's a tip reg. Pulau Ubin: If you are on a tight schedule, skip Pulau
Ubin or pay for the empty spaces (meaning, the boatsman needs SG$48 per trip
(12 persons x $4 each), so if you fill it in), your boat will go
immediately.
Here's another tip reg. Pulau Ubin: Carry your passport. When you take this
bumboat, you're going from Singapore mainland to Pulau Ubin. While this
bumboat doesn't sail further, if you do, you're in Malaysia. While there are
no boats that operate in this route, there is border security police in force
here who might check for your documents.
Where is Changi Ferry Terminal? (on Google Maps)?
How to reach Changi Ferry Terminal?
Pulau Ubin Boat Ticket from Changi Ferry terminal: SG$8 per person (for
onwards & return)
Bike rental with helmet: SG$8 per person (can be avoided if you choose to hike
3.5km one way)
Pulau Ubin Island Entry Ticket: SG$0
Chek Jawa Wetlands Entry Ticket: SG$0
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Fiddler Crabs
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Mangrove Crab or Tree-climbing Crab or Violet Vinegar Crab
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View from Jejawi Tower
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Btw, now I already know what are the places I need to visit on my next trip to
Singapore!
1. Macritchie Tree Top Walk
2. Coney Island
3. Thomas Dambo trolls trail in Sentosa! Remember the huge trolls we visited in Belgium, close to Mechelen? Well, those were the creation of Thomas Dambo; and
the same Thomas Dambo has made 4 similar trolls here in Singapore at Sentosa
island!
Singapore Public Transport for 4 days: Approximately SG$20 per person
There is a Singapore Tourist Pass for Unlimited Public Transport for 1,2, or 3
days. This costs SG$ 17, 24 and 29 respectively for purely transport pass.
There is another pass which includes Sentosa and another pass that includes a
few more premium transport services.
Since I was there for 4 days (& since I knew this would work out cheaper
& be useful for my future trips), I opted for the regular EZ-Link Simply
Go smart card. This is similar to most other city transport cards like Oyster
card of London or MOBIB card of Brussels or SL card of Stockholm. You load it,
tap it and go! That said, Singapore has a distance based fare which varies
from SG$1.09 (for upto 3km) to SG$2.37 (for more than 40km). So, depending on
where you stay and how many trips you make, your charges are going to vary. I
was staying in the south of Singapore and I took 2 trips on most days and 4
trips on 1 day via public transport. I had originally charged the cards for SG$30 per
card but I still have balance in the cards after 4 days.
It is also possible to use your contactless bank card. However, depending on
your bank account type, your bank might levy extra charges. If you're using a
card from India, every transaction would cost Foreign Transaction charges +
GST on it. This may not be a great idea unless you're gonna use it just twice
or thrice the entire trip.
Photo Credits: Photos of me & Atyudarini together were clicked by my niece, Nandana
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Lazarus Island - Best Beaches of Singapore
PIN IT / BOOKMARK NOW & READ LATER
Singapore looks like an incredible place to visit with the whole family! I didn't realize that there were so many things to do not just for adults, but for the little ones, too.
ReplyDeleteWe only had a few days when we visited Singapore and wanted to do the more popular tourist spots on our first trip. But good read about spots you found for a more budget friendly visit with your family. And I love that these are all not the big tourist spots. Outdoor attractions like the Botanical Garden and the treetop walk are always a good choice. When we visited, I did not actually realize there were other islands to enjoy and so much to see on visits. And we sadly missed the Thomas Dambo trolls trail in Sentosa. Definitely some thingx for a return visit.
ReplyDeleteI never thought that Singapore was so kid-friendly. In fact, I always thought that Singapore is an urban conglomerate, with both high and historic buildings, but I never imagined it is also so green or that it has so many islands. When I was in Malaysia I had the opportunity to go to Singapore but I refused, thinking I wouldn't like it. Now I see that I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteSingapore has some many amazing places to visit. The coastal boardwalk, the mangrove boardwalk, the Lazarus island and the botanical gardens. No wonder Atyudarini had a wonderful time spent visiting these spots with interesting mudskipper fishes and the mangrove crabs in sight.
ReplyDeleteHappy to stumble upon your post as we're headed to Singapore this May. I had no idea that we can do some island hopping. In fact, I had no idea that there are other islands to explore aside from Sentosa. Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you so much for this post. I have been to Singapore many many years ago and I always wanted to go back and explore the islands! I was not aware that there is so much green and nature - fascinating. The mangrove walk would be definitely on my list!
ReplyDeleteDuring my weeklong trip to Singapore what I loved quite a lot was the Botanical Gardens. And of course the usual attractions and were lucky to witness the New Years celebrations firworks. Sisters Island looks so lovely and wasn't there when I was there. Certainly a lovely addition.
ReplyDeleteWe were discussing if we should visit the Singapore Botanical Garden and after reading, we certainly should. It would be cool to see the ginger garden since I had no idea there are a lot of different varieties. It would also be nice to take that Canopy Walk. The best part? It's free.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a refreshing take on Singapore! Everyone talks about Marina Bay and Sentosa, but I love discovering the lesser-known gems. Haw Par Villa has been on my list for a while, it looks so unique! Were there any good vegan food spots near these places? Always on the lookout for local vegan-friendly eats!
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