The Cost of Travel in Singapore: My 2024 Budget Breakdown

You’ve probably heard that Singapore is expensive.

Well, at least, relative to the rest of Southeast Asia.

And yeah, this is one example where you should pay attention to the rumours: Singapore is expensive.

But not only that. Singapore is particularly expensive post-pandemic.

I’ve spent the past 13 years exploring this planet as a travel writer, so have passed through Singapore on countless occasions, thanks to its position as a global travel hub. I love spending time in this country, so whenever I spot a flight that calls for a Singaporean layover, I take full advantage and give myself two or three days to explore.

I’ve therefore visited Singapore on all manner of budgets and styles over the years, whether I was a stingy backpacker who was panicking over every spent cent, showing my parents around the country on their post-retirement vacation, adventuring as a solo traveller on a luxury budget, or travelling with my partner during Valentine’s Day getaway.

This year, I kicked off my big summer adventure by spending three days in Singapore and was surprised by how rapidly prices have increased.

But of course, they’ve increased everywhere. 2024 has been one of my most expensive years of travel to date and it feels like the days of basic, budget guesthouses are starting to evaporate.

That’s not to say that deals can’t be found, however. I was thrilled to find plenty of well-priced accommodation options, experiences, and restaurants while I was in town, and I’m going to be sharing all of them with you today.

Yes, it’s time for another budget breakdown!

I’ve been recording every single cent I spend in the countries I visit from day one of my travels — I now have over 70 of them on the site! — because I want to be able to give a realistic and accurate look at how much you can expect to spend in each country you visit. Today, it’s Singapore’s turn.

Singapore flags galore along Orchard Road for the country’s National Day

First, a quick primer.

This budget breakdown covers how much I personally spent on accommodation, transportation, activities, food, and other miscellaneous items over my many trips to Singapore. I’ve not included flights into and out of the country, as this will vary based on where you’ll be travelling from.

Most expenses are listed in Singapore Dollars, then converted into U.S. Dollars, Euros, and British Pounds at the end of each section, simply because that’s where the vast majority of my readers hail from.

I have three main rules when I travel:

I strictly don’t accept comps, freebies, press trips, or sponsored activities, so everything in this guide is something I paid for with my own money.I travel anonymously to ensure that service providers treat me the same as they would anybody else; I don’t want to receive special treatment by being a travel writer, as it means I can’t review experiences with accuracy.All photos are mine and all experiences are based on my own travels in Singapore. I have never, and will never, use AI on Never Ending Footsteps.

As a result, this guide does contain affiliate links. What that means is that if you decide to make a purchase through one of the links in this article, I receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Your support is what helps keep me on the road and Never Ending Footsteps sponsor-free.

Okay, enough waffling.

Here’s how much it costs to travel to Singapore.

Singapore’s famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel: staying here is not how you save money in this country!

I’ll start by taking a look at some of the cheapest ways to find accommodation in Singapore — because it’s actually possible to reduce your costs to zero if you have the time and patience to seek out an offer.

(And when you see the prices of hotels in Singapore, you might just be able to find said time!)

The Couchsurfing community is super-active in Singapore and allows you to stay with a local for free, sleeping on their sofa, and gaining a insight into life in their country. It’s not the most comfortable of living situations, but if your budget is tight and you don’t mind roughing it, it’s worth sending out a few requests to hosts to see if anything comes of it. You can search for potential hosts on the Couchsurfing site.

As an aside, the Singapore Couchsurfing community holds a weekly meet-up every Friday, so if you’re looking to hang out with travel-minded locals for a bit, this is a fun way to do so!

Housesitting is another option. This is where you take care of somebody’s house for free while they’re away, and usually look after their pets, too. It’s best for long-term travellers, retirees, or those who are flexible with their travel dates, as you’ll obviously be tied to the owner’s plans. If you do have that freedom, though, it’s a wonderful way to cut down your travel expenses, soak up some home comforts, and live like a local for a while. 

Trusted Housesitters is the best site for getting started with housesitting — they usually have several dozen housesits available for Singapore over the next couple of months, so it’s well-worth having a look to see if any coincide with your travel dates.

I’m suspecting, though, that for most of you, you’re not interested in the free accommodation and just want somewhere clean, safe, and affordable to rest your head each night. If that’s the case, there are several options available for you.

The first thing I want to note is that Singapore is home to some truly terrible accommodation. Of the 400 properties that are listed on Booking.com, a mere 15 of them are rated higher than 9/10. I don’t think I’ve come across another major city for which this is the case!

Part of this is simply due to the high prices: you never really feel like you’re getting amazing value for money when it comes to accommodation in Singapore. That doesn’t mean that the properties are terrible, however, just that you’ll feel like you’re paying a lot for them!

In general, you can expect to spend around the following per night:

SGDUSDGBPEURDorm bed$26-46$20-35£15-27€18-32Capsule hotel$46-79$35-60£27-46€32-55Budget hotel$105-197$80-150£61-£115€74-€138Mid-range hotel$197-328$150-250£115-192€138-230Luxury hotel$328+$250+£192+€230+

The cheapest hostel in Singapore: 7 Wonders Boutique ($24 per night (S$30/£18/€21) for a capsule bed in a dorm)

This hostel is close to the subway, has fast wifi, and a basic free breakfast. It’s also located in Little India; my favourite Singapore neighbourhood! If you’re backpacking around Southeast Asia and travelling on a tight budget, this is a great option. Each capsule is fitted with a computer tray, power point, reading light, clothes rack with hanger, a locker, and a curtain for privacy. This is pretty much the cheapest accommodation in the entire city that doesn’t receive terrible reviews.

The best hostel in Singapore: Dream Lodge ($46 a night (S$35/£45/€42) for a capsule bed in a dorm)

When it comes to budget accommodation in Singapore, this country loves a capsule hotel. And to be fair, I tend to prefer them, too. After all, they give you a little more privacy than a standard dorm room and for a lower price than a hotel. Dream Lodge is the best-rated hostel in Singapore and you really do get great value for money here. You’re in a good location, with friendly staff, a basic breakfast, comfortable beds, soundproofing, clean bathrooms, lockers, and all of that good stuff.

My clean, modern room in Lyf Farrer Park

The best budget hotel in Singapore: Lyf Farrer Park Hotel ($140 a night (S$183/£108/€127) for a double room)

My new favourite Singapore property! This is where I stayed this year. Lyf Farrer Park was such a cool spot and packed full of amenities. Despite it being priced higher than I’d normally consider for budget hotel, the fact that you had access to a gym, rooftop garden with BBQ, laundrette, lounge area, and co-working space was super cool! It was in a great location, near Little India and one minute away from a metro station, and I felt very safe there, even at night as a solo woman. The staff were great, too! Overall, I think this is probably going to be my go-to spot in Singapore in the future.

A photo of my twin room at 30 Bencoolen: this is the best mid-range-priced property in the city

The best mid-range hotel in Singapore: 30 Bencoolen ($164 a night (S$224/£135/€155) for a double room)

30 Bencoolen is a little bit of a step up from Lyf Farrer Park, simply because you have access to a rooftop swimming pool! This is where I chose to stay when my parents were visiting Singapore for the first time, so I had particularly high standards for the accommodation. The staff were warm and welcoming, there was a free breakfast if you join the hotel loyalty program (which is free), and the rooms were quiet. And the rooftop swimming pool! There was perhaps no better feeling than returning back after a day of sweaty sightseeing and taking a swim while overlooking the city. Finally, the location was great, within walking distance of all of the main attractions and close to the metro for everywhere else. All in all, I’m really glad I stayed here and would recommend it if you’re looking for accommodation with a pool.

The best luxury hotel in Singapore: Marina Bay Sands ($500 a night (S$680/£410/€480 for a double room)

If you want all the bragging rights in Singapore then there’s perhaps no better place to stay. The Marina Bay Sands is Singapore; you can’t think of the city without picturing its famous design. Not only are the rooms luxurious and modern, with the best views of Singapore, but you also get access to what is one of the coolest infinity pools in the world. Only hotel guests can access the pool that overlooks the city and trust me when I say: this is a bucket list experience! Obviously, this is quite a splurge, but if your budget does stretch that far, you’re going to love it.

Singapore’s metro is extensive, easy to use, and not too expensive!

Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world, so getting around is never going to be much of a hardship. In fact, despite Singapore’s reputation for being expensive, public transport is very affordable here.

Let’s take a look at all the options.

The quickest, easiest, and most comfortable way to travel around this country is via their metro system, otherwise known as the MRT. The first decision you’ll need to make is whether or not to buy a Singapore Tourist Pass, which gives you unlimited use of public transport while you’re in the country. The pass is priced at:

1 day: S$17 ($13/£10/€12)2 days: S$24 ($18/£14/€17)3 days: S$29 ($22/£17/€20)

I ran an experiment during my most recent layover, in order to see whether the Singapore Tourist Pass was worth it or not. During my time in the country, I made a concerted effort to hit up as many tourist activities as I could, from Gardens By the Bay to the Botanic Gardens, to the National Museum, to Little India, to Haw Par Villa, to… I covered roughly 30 different attractions and was on my feet every day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

I didn’t buy a Singapore Tourist Pass and instead tallied up how much I spent while using the metro in the city. The final amount came to S$27.72, or $21.18, but I also travelled a lot. I took 10 MRT journeys over two days and was exploring more than most tourists ever will!

Still, I would have saved just over $3 if I had bought the Singapore Tourist Pass.

The easiest place to buy the Singapore Tourist Pass is from the counters at the airport, beside the MRT station. Be warned: as you can see from my photo, queues can be lengthy!

Because there’s so little price difference in it, I wouldn’t recommend getting the Singapore Tourist Pass, especially if you don’t plan on trying to see as much as possible in a short amount of time. It’s pretty tough to take the metro enough times to make the pass worth it.

Note, too, that days on the pass expire at the end of the day you activate it — by which I mean that if you landed in Singapore at 10 p.m., bought a Tourist Pass at the airport and used it on the MRT, your day one of the pass would expire two hours later at midnight. If you’re arriving on a late flight, then, I wouldn’t buy one at the airport.

Speaking of, I definitely recommend using the MRT to travel from Changi to your accommodation, simply because it’s super-cheap and super-simple to do so! The MRT covers basically any area of the city you’re likely to be staying in, so you’ll rarely have to walk more than a few minutes to your accommodation from a station. I paid S$2 ($1.50) to take the MRT from the airport to Lyf Farrer Park.

In comparison, I paid S$24 ($18) to take a Grab taxi between the airport and Lyf Farrer Park, and have paid $27 in the past to use a private car service between the airport and the city before.

Why would you pay ten times more when it’s so easy to just hop on the metro? Even my parents were comfortable using the MRT to get from the airport!

Within Singapore, you can get to pretty much anywhere you’d want to go as a tourist using the MRT and it averages out at around $1-3 a ride. If you want to tally up your expected transportation costs before you arrive in the country, the MRT has a useful fare caculator on their site that will tell you how much each ride will come to.

It’s simple to pay for the MRT, too, as you simply tap your credit/debit card (or phone, if you’re using Apple Pay/Google Pay) at the payment terminal at the gates and walk straight through; too easy!

You can opt to take buses in Singapore, but I think the MRT is easier and faster

Buses are priced similarly to the metro ($1-2 per ride), but slightly more complicated and usually a bit slower, so there’s no real reason to opt for them instead. Much as with the MRT, you can use Apple/Google Pay or your contactless debit/credit card to pay.

If you do want to visit somewhere that isn’t served by the bus or MRT, you’re probably going to end up taking a taxi.

Uber isn’t available in Singapore, but most people use Grab, which is essentially the same thing. It’s simple to use, reasonably affordable (S$0.16 a minute), and better than standing around and waiting for a taxi to drive past. I’d recommend downloading Grab before you leave and adding your card details to the app, so that’s it’s all set up when you arrive.

Views of Sentosa from the cable car that takes you to and from the island

If you’re going to be visiting Singapore with kids, you’ll probably find yourself heading to Sentosa Island sooner or later. This action-packed island off the coast of Singapore is packed full of family-friendly activities and attractions, like Madame Tussauds, Universal Studios, S.E.A Aquarium, Adventure Cove Waterpark, plus plenty of beautiful (although man-made) beaches.

As with everywhere else in Singapore, getting there is relatively inexpensive.

You can actually walk on to the island using the Sentosa Boardwalk, which is, of course, totally free; it took me around 15 minutes to walk across from the Harbourfront MRT station. If you don’t feel like walking, you can take the Sentosa Express, which is a monorail that runs from VivoCity Mall and costs S$4. There’s also the pricey Sentosa cable car, which is kind of a pain in the ass. You have to take it from Mount Faber, which isn’t super-easy to get to, and it costs S$31. The views aren’t even that great, so I’d skip this option, personally.

So, overall costs of transportation in Singapore?

If, like me, you plan on using the metro as your sole way of getting around, you can expect to average $8 a day [£6/€7/S$10] on transportation.

A Singapore Sling from Raffles? It’s pricey but so worth it for the experience!

Oh man, the Singapore food scene is incredible. You can eat so well in this country, and it’s one of the best ways to save money, too. If you eat from the hawker stalls, you’ll be spending less than S$5 for a tasty, fresh meal.

It’s tough to find bad food in this country, too. One of the great things about a country that’s full of tasty eats is that nobody is going to settle for anything less. If you’re serving bad food in Singapore, you simply aren’t going to survive for long.

One of the best ways to learn about the Singapore food scene is by taking a food tour! When my parents came to Singapore last year, this was going to mark their first ever foray into Asia, so I gifted them this food tour experience to help them get their bearings. And they loved it! They loved it so much, in fact, that they now take food tours in every new country they visit!

But really, this is so much more than a food tour and it makes for an excellent way to spend your first day in the country. The tour is run by Gerry, a charismatic, passionate local who takes you around the three tastiest neighbourhoods of Singapore: Chinatown, Little India, and Kampong Glam, introducing you to all of the best local eats. Arrive hungry, as there’ll be so many dishes to try; my parents counted 18 of them!

Along the way, you’ll learn about the history and culture of Singapore; wander around temples, talk to restaurant owners, and even eat at a Michelin-starred hawker stand! It’s pretty pricey at $150 per person, but my parents will emphatically vouch that it’s so worth it. Impressively, the tour has 500 reviews on Viator and every single one is 5-stars. Literally, nobody has ever rated Gerry’s tour less than five stars, and every person says it’s the best tour they’ve ever taken! Isn’t that wild? I’ve never seen that before anywhere!

Maxwell Food Centre is one of Singapore’s many hawker centres. Anthony Bourdain was a fan of Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice; you’ll find it by looking for the longest queue!

The easiest way to save money is at the city’s beloved hawker centres. 

Across Singapore, you’ll come across dozens of these food courts; there’s 120 of them spread around the country! Inside each one, you’ll find a hundred or so different food vendors, cooking up dishes through the day. These centres always interesting to wander around, make for great people-watching, and give you the opportunity to sample different dishes without breaking the travel budget. Some of the best food in the city can be found here, so don’t assume it’s an option that’s just for the backpackers!

Oh, and don’t worry: food hygiene standards are high in Singapore, with regular inspections of the hawker centres, so you don’t have to be concerned about getting sick.

So what type of food can you get in these hawker centres? 

There’s so much on offer! Singaporean cuisine pulls in influences from Malaysia, China, and India, and all of those flavours and spices make for some of the best eating on the planet. Chicken and rice is an iconic dish in this country — trust me, it’s not as bland as it sounds! — but aside from that, you’ll find all manner of curries, soups, grilled meat and vegetables, dumplings, salads, fried noodles, seafood here — practically anything you can think of.

And before you form an opinion that the food that’s served in these places is going to be mediocre, let me tell you that several of the food stands have been awarded a Michelin star! Yes, Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle Stall, in particular, is where you can score the cheapest Michelin-starred meal in the world. At a price of just $1.42 for a plate of chicken and rice, it’s impossible to be disappointed by it. I made this my first meal in Singapore and couldn’t believe how tasty such a simple dish could be!

Speaking of food experiences to dive into in Singapore, a lot of people go crazy over having a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel. This famous cocktail was invented there back in 1915 and if you want to have one in its birthplace, you’ll be looking at shelling out $29 (S$39) for the experience! Speaking of shelling… no, the Long Bar isn’t dirty: it’s just tradition to throw your peanut shells on the ground after eating them! (Yes, I almost complained when I sat down because I thought I’d been placed at a messy table!)

When it comes to alcohol, you can expect to pay around S$20 for a cocktail in a nice bar, and a glass of wine for around S$12 in a restaurant. Fun fact: Singapore is the 6th most expensive country in the world for beer, and you can expect to pay S$12 for a 330ml can. Yeah, alcohol sure is expensive in this city!

Singapore’s tap water is totally safe to drink, so you don’t need to buy bottled water (S$4 for a 1-litre bottle) while you’re in town.

In Southeast Asia, in general, I really don’t recommend cooking your own food, unless you have a strict dietary requirement. Buying ingredients for meals is simply too expensive — you can spend $10-15 on ingredients for a dish that you can get for $4 on the streets.

And as for restaurants, they’re everywhere and reasonably expensive compared to the hawker goodness. A two-course meal with a glass of wine can be around S$40.

In general, I’d recommend expecting to spend around S$15 a day to have all of your meals/drinks at Hawker centres, and S$30 a day if you throw in a restaurant and cafe every now and then.

I loved spending a sunny afternoon walking around Singapore’s Botanic Gardens

We’ve covered accommodation, transportation, and food, so the only thing left to take a look at is the cost of activities in Singapore! If you’re not careful, this is the category that can obliterate your budget. There’s so many things to see and do in this country.

I’ll start with my favourite free activities in Singapore. If you’re on a tight budget or looking for ways to save money, there’s plenty of opportunity to spend nothing at all.

One of my favourite things to do in Singapore is wander through the city’s botanic gardens. And if you think you’ve seen botanic gardens before — trust me, you’ve never seen botanic gardens like these. They’re even a UNESCO World Heritage Site! The botanic gardens are completely free to enter and cover an enormous amount of ground; I would say you could easily spend half a day just walking around them.

Exploring the diverse neighbourhoods of Singapore is another free activity that is well-worth doing. Little India is packed full of colourful buildings, Chinatown is home to some of the best murals in the city, and Kampong Glam (the Islamic Quarter) is laidback and full of great opportunities for window-shopping. I spent a full day just walking through these three neighbourhoods, comparing the different religions, architectures, cuisines, and temples they had on offer.

Hitting up two Singapore icons in one fell swoop: the Merlion and Marina Bay Sands!

If you want yourself an iconic view, head to Merlion Park. The Merlion (half-lion, half-mermaid) is a famous symbol of the country and it’s located across the river from Marina Bay Sands; you can’t get more Singapore than that! I also enjoyed the view from the rooftop art garden at the National Gallery of Singapore; while you have to pay to see some exhibits, many of them are free, including the garden!

Fort Canning Park is another one of my favourite spots in Singapore. Again, it’s completely free to walk around this grassy area of land, snapping photos of the Instagram-famous tree tunnel and learning more about the park’s contributions to WWII (there’s an old bunker you can explore!)

And did you know that you can visit the nightly Gardens by the Bay light show for free? The show runs daily at 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. and is so worth experiencing. I almost cried when I was there because it felt so magical!

As you can see, there’s plenty to keep you busy if you don’t have much money to spend. To list out the above, plus the other free activities I’ve loved in this city:

Wander through Singapore Botanic GardensAdmire the murals of Chinatown and Kampong Glam, and the colours of Little IndiaSnap photos at Merlion ParkWalk around Fort Canning ParkCatch the Gardens by the Bay light showExplore the Buddha Tooth Relic TempleTake a look at St. Andrew’s CathedralHike the Southern RidgesStroll along Orchard Road shopping streetCheck out the Jewel Rain Vortex at Changi AirportGet spooked by Haw Par VillaChill on the beaches of Sentosa Island

Yes, you could easily spend your time in Singapore just crossing off the free activities! You would, however, be missing out on a lot of cool stuff.

The Fort Canning Tree Tunnel is such a beautiful landmark! This is one of my favourite photos I’ve taken in Singapore and it’s totally free to visit!

So which activities are worth the money?

In my opinion, you can’t go to Singapore and not go to Gardens by the Bay! This futuristic nature park is packed full of tropical plants and art installations, and has you feeling as though you’ve stepped foot on a whole other planet! There’s a whole bunch of different ticket options and combinations here, so it can get a bit complicated to fully optimise your visit.

If you’re on a tight budget, just opt for entry to the Cloud Forest and the Supertree Observatory (S$34 [$26/€24/£20]). If you want to see the best parts of the park, go for the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome ($S59 [$45/€41/£35]) ticket, plus the OCBC Skyway (S$14 [$11/€10/£8]). And if you want to see it all, you can add the Floral Fantasy exhibition ($S20 [$15/€14/£12]), too, but I personally didn’t think that one was worth it. Also, you don’t need to do both the OCBC Skyway and Supertree Observatory, as they’re both pretty similar.

I don’t know why the ticket options are all so complicated, eitherYes, it’s definitely worth the money! This is something you can’t experience anywhere else in the world, and it’s such a magical experience.Peak Singapore: watching the sun set behind Marina Bay Sands while inside the Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay!

If you love to visit museums when you travel, me too! And I’ve been to a lot of Singapore’s offerings. In my opinion, if you’re going to go to just one of them, opt for the National Museum of Singapore (S$10 [$8/€7/£6]) — I was so impressed with its exhibits and spent two hours roaming around! I learned so much about the history of Singapore while I was there; a lot of which I had no idea about before.

Within the Botanical Garden, you can pay to enter the National Orchid Garden (S$15 [$11/€10/£9]), which contains the largest display of tropical orchids in the world. I found it really quite wonderful to explore, but if you’re not into your flowers you may not be all that excited to visit! For me, it was worth it — you could easily spend over an hour just in this part of the gardens, as it holds over 1,000 different species of orchids!

If you’ll be visiting Singapore with kids, there’s tons of activities to keep you busy; many of them over on attraction-packed Sentosa Island. Across the country, you’ve got:

Singapore Zoo: S$50 (adult); kids go free — [$38/€35/£29]Singapore Night Safari: S$35 (child); S$50 (adult) — [$27-38/€25-25/£21-29]Universal Studios Singapore: S$62 (child); S$83 (adult) — [$47-63/€44-58/£36-49]Adventure Cove Waterpark: S$32 (child); S$40 (adult) — [$24-30/€22-28/£19-23]Madame Tussauds Singapore: S$26 (child); S$38 (adult) — [$20-29/€18-27/£15-22]S.E.A Aquarium: S$44 — [$33/€31/£26]

Yep, the prices can quickly add up here, but they’re no more expensive than you’d expect in other major cities around the world.

On my most recent trip to Singapore, I crammed in tons of the aforementioned free activities and averaged S$35 [$27/€25/£21] a day for the paid attractions. I’d say that’s about average for any of my childfree travellers.

If you do have kids, estimate your expenses per person to be anywhere between S$35 and $S100 [$27-76/€25-70/£21-59] a day, depending on how many amusement parks you want to squeeze in.

An eSIM: I don’t know about you, but one of my least favourite aspects of arriving in a new country is having to figure out how to get connected. Specifically: buying a local SIM card so that I have data to use while I’m in the country.

There’s locating a store that will sell you one, language barriers to deal with, various forms of ID you might need to bring, scams to navigate, and… well, it’s a headache.

This year, I started using eSIMs and it’s been such a game changer for my travels! What that means is that you can buy your SIM online before you arrive in Singapore, and then as soon as you land in the country, switch on your data and start using it. It’s worked flawlessly for me and now, I’ll never go back to physical SIM cards.

Every time I travel, I buy eSIMs from the main providers — Airalo, AloSIM, and Holafly — to compare prices and data speeds while I’m on the grounds. In Singapore, AloSIM was easily the best option. I paid $14.50 for 3 GB of data over 30 days. I had data speeds of 198 Mbps download and 75 Mbps upload; lightning fast! This was roughly twice as fast as the speeds I was getting from my similarly-priced Airalo and Holafly eSIMs.

Travel insurance: If you’ve read any other posts on Never Ending Footsteps, you’ll know that I’m always yelling at you about travel insurance. I’ve seen far too many Go Fund Me campaigns from destitute backpackers that are unexpectedly stranded in a foreign country after a scooter accident/being robbed/breaking a bone with no way of getting home or paying for their healthcare. In short, if you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. Many of these incidents quickly land you with a six-figure bill to pay at the end of it.

Travel insurance will cover you if your flight is cancelled and you need to book a new one, if your luggage gets lost and you need to replace your belongings, if you get struck down by appendicitis and have to be hospitalised, or discover a family member has died and you need to get home immediately. If you fall seriously ill, your insurance will cover the costs to fly you home to receive medical treatment.

I use HeyMondo as my travel insurance provider, including on this most recent trip to Singapore. They provide worldwide coverage, don’t require you to have a return ticket, and even allow you to buy coverage after you’ve left home. They’re affordable and have a clear, easy-to-understand pricing structure. I paid $3 a day for insurance while in Singapore; part of a three-month trip around Asia.

I always like to share my own personal expenses when travelling in a country, as I think it helps you figure out what you should be expecting to pay each day while you’re there. A list of expenses is great and helpful, of course, but putting them all together in order to come up with a reasonable estimate can be trickier.

Here’s what I spent on my 2024 mid-range trip to Singapore

Accommodation: $70 per day Transportation: $10 per day Food and drink: $13 per dayActivities: $60 per day

My average daily cost of travel in the Singapore was therefore: $150 per day. It’s certainly not as cheap as elsewhere in Southeast Asia, but it’s still a lot more affordable than I expected! Had I skipped out on all of the paid experiences and focused just on the free activities, I’d have averaged under $100 per day!

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