SINGAPORE SAVER
SWAP GLITZY HOTELS AND SWANKY RESTAURANTS FOR MORE AFFORDABLE OPTIONS, SAYS HANNAH STEPHENSON
you really do Singapore on the cheap? If you’re considering exploring this expensive island state for a few days en route to destinations including Australia and New Zealand, but don’t want to break the bank, there are ways of visiting with a budget in mind.
When to travel for the best deals
There isn’t really a low season in Singapore, given that the climate – hot and humid – doesn’t change much throughout the year. Avoid school holidays (and that includes Asian school holidays), as well as events like the Formula 1 Grand Prix in September, when hotel prices tend to be higher.
Where to stay and save pennies
Yotel is the brainchild of former Dragons Den star and Yo! Founder Simon Woodroffe, who brought us Yo! Sushi. Stay in the city’s best known shopping street at Yotel’s Orchard Road property (from £116 for a room), five minutes from the MRT station.
The rooms are compact and contemporary, just enough room for a comfortable double bed and a good shower. Resident robots Yoshi and Yolanda provide room service of fresh towels and bottles of water.
Getting around without spending a fortune
Cabs are much cheaper than they are in UK cities. Grab – Singapore’s equivalent of Uber – is your best bet if you want to travel by taxi. We paid around £12 for a 20-minute ride across town.
But for the budget conscious, the best mode is the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) Singapore’s underground train system which is fast, clean, airconditioned, efficient and easy to navigate. A three-day pass for unlimited rides on public bus and train will set you back around £14.
Or you can brave the heat and humidity and walk – many of the tourist areas are pedestrianised and you can take in the views along Marina Bay with the best view of the eponymous hotel.
Alternatively, get the MRT to other areas like Chinatown and Little India, to explore their colourful architecture and temples.
Be warned, though, you’ll be looking for air conditioning after about 30 minutes.
Dining out on a shoestring
Fine dining is no stranger to Singapore, with 55 Michelin-starred restaurants. But there are also 53 value-for-money hawker centre stalls which are Michelin rated in the city, while Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle hawker stall has one coveted star.
Pick up a meal of traditional favourites, from chicken and rice to nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice), braised pork belly, wanton noodles, signature chilli crab (priced by weight), salted egg dishes and ipoh hor fun (shredded chicken rice noodles cooked in a broth) for £3 or £4.
Bars that won’t leave you broke
Wine drinkers will have to dig deep into their pockets for their favourite tipple. Australian wines tend to be a little cheaper than Italian or French, but don’t expect much change out of £50 for a bottle or more if you’re going up-market for your food.
Instead, take in the atmosphere at one of the many hawker centres in town, where you’ll get an ice cold Tiger beer for around a fiver.
Cocktails are everywhere and, of course, the Long Bar at Raffles is the birthplace of the legendary Singapore sling, which will cost you an eye-watering 39SGD plus taxes and service (46SGD/£27).
More affordable options are readily available. The seriously good mixologist at the Orchard Road Yotel’s impressive Komyuniti bar and restaurant will shake you up a mean margarita for around £13 once you’ve remembered to add the 10% service charge and 9% tax.
What to see that’s free... Singapore Botanic Gardens
The island’s first World Heritage Unesco site provides a peaceful green oasis in the heart of the city. Wander around the 82 hectares (202 acres) of tropical flora and fauna at your leisure – and you’re allowed to take in a picnic.
Garden Rhapsody: Gardens By The Bay light shows
At night (7.45-8.45pm) Supertree Grove comes into its own as the tree-like edifices are lit up in an array of colours accompanied by dramatic opera music.
During the day, it’s worth paying to see the nearby huge air condiCAN tioned glass domes, Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, which house not only a wealth of flora and fauna but also one of the world’s tallest indoor waterfalls. A joint ticket to both costs 32SGD/£19. Visit gardensbythebay.com.sg.
And what’s worth paying for... Historical Singapore Bike Tour
Biking through the city is not as hot as walking it, but do this guided tour on the first day, because it will help you get your bearings.
Our guide took us to the Muslim quarter of Kampong Gelam, home of the golden dome of Sultan Mosque, through its narrow streets of hipster bars, restaurants and colourful walls of art, along the Singapore River, to Speaker’s Corner, and along Marina Bay, as well as the famous F1 track. Let’s Go Tours, 80SD/£47.
ArtScience Museum
Fringing Marina Bay, this familyfriendly museum shaped like a lotus flower features state-of-the-art interactive art installations with a picture wall of moving waterfalls you can touch to change the flow, animatic sea life where your own fishy drawing will appear via a sketch aquarium scanner and a corridor of changing shimmering lights, among other mesmerising sights.
Entrance costs 30SD/£17.60, visit marinabaysands.com/ museum.html.
National Museum of Singapore
You can easily spend a morning exploring Singapore’s past, with its melting pot of cultures, from its beginnings as a thriving port where Chinese porcelain and stoneware were traded, to the arrival of Sir Stanford Raffles, ‘founder’ of modern Singapore, in 1819 and colonial history, to its independence in 1965 and the global business interests it attracts today. Entrance 15SGD/£9, visit nhb.gov.sg/nationalmuseum.
Rooms at YOTEL Singapore start from 199 SGD/£116 room only. Join The YOTEL Club for free to get an extra 15% off. For more information, go to visitsingapore.com