Singapore Travel Plan – Follow our Experience [30 FAQ for Great Vacation ]

A well planned vacation is always a blessing. Keeping that in mind, we need to make sure we are not missing out on anything or we are not overdoing anything while packing bags for travel. Planning a perfect Singapore travel plan can be tough but don’t worry, we have you covered on all fronts.

To help you know more about what to do and what not to do while you plan your next vacation in Singapore, we have lined up some really important questions and answers here.

Singapore Travel plan
Singapore Travel plan

If you are travelling on your own and have lots of things on mind, then these answers to simple and frequently asked questions will make your travel more easy and comfortable.

Do not worry, we have covered you safely from all scenarios. We will give you backup solutions also in the article along with different good suggestions. 

We will also share some great suggestions to save money and enjoy more while in Singapore. No need to worry even if you have limited time in Singapore or a short vacation. We will tell you which are the best places to visit and which ones you can miss out on without FOMO (fear of missing out).

Without much delay now, let’s begin our FAQs.

 

frequently asked questions FAQs
frequently asked questions FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Should you buy a sim card in Singapore ?

You can buy a sim card in Singapore which will get activated within an hour but we didn’t find any need to buy it. We knew that we were going to be occupied with different activities during the day and night time we would find the internet in the hotel. Nowadays the internet is good everywhere. You can make video calls on the internet.

Also we didn’t find the need for GPS or mobile internet anywhere. We took a hard copy of everything we had booked online. Mobile Gmail was also having cache data so we didn’t need any internet to check the recent 50 mails.

A sim card in Singapore will cost you around 40$ to 50$ SGD for 7 days internet usage facility. The cost comes out to be 2400 to 3000 INR depending on the package you take. So now it is completely your decision if you want to spend money on sim card or not.

 

Where can you keep your luggage if your flight is late at night and you have done hotel checkout ?

The best way to keep your luggage safe is to deposit it in the hotel luggage room before checking out. They can keep it till your flight timing for you. The hotel where we checked in had this facility and we booked it keeping this in mind that we have flight at night and we will be checking out on that day itself. It saves your extra day’s cost of room.

So make sure to check it and add this in your Singapore travel plan.

 

Are People Helpful in Singapore ?

The Singapore crowd was very helpful and friendly. We asked our hotel receptionist about how safe the city is overall. She said, Singapore is the safest country and you don’t have to worry about late night crimes or anything. Crime rate is very very low here.

As long as you know the English language, you should be very comfortable talking to people here.

You will find many Indians as well in Singapore. So even Hindi speaking should be fine. There is a place/street in Singapore by the name “Little India” which is famous for Indian cuisine and Indian ambience.

 

How’s the crowd in Singapore ?

The whole ambience in Singapore is very silent and calm. Unlike us (Indians), people in Singapore talk very quietly and slowly. You won’t find that loud noises much in Singapore everywhere you go. Tourists don’t have the same nature everywhere, so you will not find that much silence also.

One thing you should be aware of is the personal space and privacy of all. People are very cautious about personal space here. 

Most of the crowd in Singapore is in shorts and t-shirts. You will hardly find anyone wearing heavy attire. The reason may be the weather there. Almost every other girl we saw was wearing shorts and every other boy was wearing ¾ pants.

 

What Not to do in Singapore ?

You should not intervene into someone’s privacy or any private matters. Don’t give advice unless some ask you for it. Don’t click pictures, record or film someone without permission. Don’t throw paper, plastic or any form of garbage on roads or streets. These are punishable offences and are taken seriously. Also the fine is very high for any offence you commit. 

Another important thing is “Do not eat anything in the metro”. We didn’t know about this rule and luckily no one pointed it out to us in the metro. When we came back to India, we found that it is a punishable law in Singapore.

Maintain some distance at all places. People do not like pushing around even in public places.

 

Which places are Worth Visiting in Singapore ?

Singapore travel plan for couples
Singapore travel plan for couples

Universal Studio **

Sea Aquarium **

SkylineLuge Ride and sky ride **

Madame Tussauds **

Gardens by the Bay – Flower Dome + Cloud forest **

Floral Fantasy **

Jurong Bird Park *

Zoo Singapore *

Out of these also, there are some places which are like must visit. You can check out those must visit places in the next few questions below if you are short on time or have a short vacation in Singapore. So now you can manage your Singapore travel plan according to your duration of stay in Singapore and have lots of fun without missing out much.

 

Which Places can we Skip in Singapore ?

Night Safari Singapore *

Cable Car Ride

Singapore River Wonders

Art Science Museum *

Marina Bay Sands Skypark Observation Deck *

Jewel @ Changi Airport

Singapore Duck Tour

Sky Helix

Merlion Statue *

LittleIndia *

 

We visited a night safari, and it was a waste of time and money. You won’t be able to see animals in the night time and the tram does not stop at many points so you miss everything.

Cable car ride was similar to the sky ride, so there is no sense of doing it again here.

Marina bay sands skypark observation deck is also a very poor choice if you are in Singapore. There is nothing to do here and the view is also not something very unique or wow factor. There is nothing on the deck to do. You will be taken to the top roof/deck and then you can click some photos with your family and then go back. Nothing is accessible to you like a rooftop swimming pool, cafe or bar. So we kind of found it a waste of money.

MUST READ  Discover Indian Beaches - 10 Best Beaches in India

Art Science Museum is for children and there is nothing that will be finding your attention. If you are a person who is into reading and understanding deep into science then maybe you can check out this place but otherwise for a general public it is more of a time pass.

There is nothing sci-fi or futuristic showcase of inventions. It is more of a lighting and screen work which is motion sensing based.

Jewel at Changi airport is free to access for all but we couldn’t see it due to odd timings of our flight. If you are arriving or have a departure in the daytime then you can visit it. But there is nothing extraordinary if you have visited the cloud forest in Singapore.

The Singapore Duck tour is nothing but a boat ride where the boat is in the shape of a duck. Since we had a 2 days cruise, we were already exhausted with any more boat rides and there was nothing unique in that activity so we decided to miss that.

Merlion Statue is just a piece of statue of a lion shaped animal with water coming out from the mouth. The statue is kind of famous because it is used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore. Otherwise there is nothing new to discover here. If you want to show-off that you are on vacation in singapore, you may want to capture a few pictures here. Otherwise, you can skip this place in your Singapore travel plan if you are on a short vacation.

Little India is a place where you can have the taste of indian food and indian market. People from around the world who want to eat and try Indian food can explore this more. But for Indians like us, this place has nothing new to offer.

Sky Helix and Singapore River Wonders are like not a must visit but if time permits and you have money in your pocket then you can surely take a tour. These are more or less similar to safari and sky rides. Just a variation of Sky Ride and Jungle Safari with some photogenic views from Top.

 

Singapore travel plan with cruise vacation
Singapore travel plan with cruise vacation

Foreign Currency Should you Carry ?

This is a very good question you must ask yourself before travelling on foreign land. Different countries have different levels of lifestyle and cost of livelihood varies from country to country. Cost of living in a country depends whether it’s a developing nation, developed nation or underdeveloped nation. 

Singapore has a high cost of living so you would need some good cash for daily average cost of living. Now depending on things you would have to pay cash for, you can decide the amount you want to carry.

We had our hotels, activities all pre booked online. We needed cash for food, city travel and commute only. Check the next answer to understand the exact value you should carry.

Having Money in your pocket brings a lot of confidence and it should definitely be part of your Singapore travel plan.

 

What is Accurate amount of Foreign Exchange ?

How to make the correct decision of carrying just the accurate amount of foreign exchange ?

We carried around 600 SGD for our 8 days trip to Singapore. Now to understand the detailed maths about the 600 SGD we calculated, you can check out our post on Singapore Vacation → ” Ultimate Singapore Vacation Guide

In short, we made a 100$ per day assumption of expenditure for food and travel. Based on that we calculated the cost of 500$ for 5 days in Singapore. For the remaining 3 days, we were on cruise where all meals were already booked. We kept an extra 100$ currency for the safer side.

Note :- 100$ per day expenditure was also on the higher side. Usually if you don’t go for a party style meal, then you can do it for 80$ per day maximum for 2 people and 3 meals in a day.

We did parties whenever we got a chance in Singapore and hence we were left with just 70$ SGD cash at the end of the 8 days trip.

 

Which are Best Currency Exchange options/Websites?

From where can we get the SGD exchange for INR? Which is the best option ?

There are many options for getting good foreign currency but finding the best conversion rate needs some work. You will have to search online which company is giving the best currency rate and it should be authentic as well.

Bookmyforex, EbixCash, ExtravelMoney and Thomas cook as well known currency exchangers. They even offer home delivery of the currency with the option of COD.

Forex cards are also good options if you do not want to carry hard cash. These firms and also banks provide forex cards for such use cases.

Keep at least 4 working days if you are dealing with any of these vendors. Sometimes they may take some time to provide the foreign currency exchange based on availability of the required amount.

We chose ExtravelMoney, as they were offering us better exchange rates and close by pick up of currency. Also the service was smooth for us.

 

What is the Backup you should have for Hard cash ?

Have multiple cards with you. VISA and Master cards are very common but not all are usable everywhere. It is better to check with your bank before using it in foreign country.

Amex cards are the safest option. The bank also provides a travel card (forex prepaid card) which is a good option.

 

Why Keep some Currency change (small currency) in your pocket ?

Keeping change is good because you do not want to end up in a dilemma where you don’t have small currency coins and you do not want to give away change. Also having change makes things easy when you are buying small small things from stores like water bottles or sandwiches. It is an important part of our Singapore travel plan.

 

Why Carry a Good Travel Pouch ?

Plan to carry a good travel pouch or travel wallet with you which you can easily wear on your waist and relax.

They are a great help for you. You will feel so relaxed and managed that you will love having it. It will help take away all types of worries like what if someone steals my wallet, what if i forget to carry my ID, what if my hotel is not secure enough. 

I purchased mine from decathlon and was happy after my first use. It is really rough and tough and has really good space to keep all necessary IDs, cash, and some important papers as well.

There are multiple pockets for you for arranging things in order. Like you can keep all the coins in the front pocket and all the passports in the back pocket. The belt of the bag was also made of good material and was easy to carry at all time.

 

Why Carry First Aid ?

Another Important part of our Singapore travel plan was carrying a small first aid kit. Having some important medicine with you is a very safe option to help yourself in times of medical need. Some of the common medicines which you must carry are :-

  1. Medicine for headache
  2. For body pain
  3. Some tablets for fever
  4. Sea sickness medicine
  5. Nausea and Antibiotics

 

Apart from these, you must also have some cotton, bandage and antiseptic cream.

You might need cotton buds for the ear as well while you travel by plane. Some people have ear pain during flight take-off and landing.

 

Keep the Passport with you at all times ?

Your passport is your identity and your way back home. You do not want to end up in trouble or more mess by losing it. So it is always safe to keep it with you all time in a safe place.

MUST READ  Thailand Places to Visit - 20 Best Islands to Visit in Thailand

Carry a hard copy of print outs of all the bookings with you before leaving.

Create a to do list and travel list for yourself, where you can mark what is left and what is done. This will help you remember everything and you won’t forget anything at home.

Create a whatsapp group and share all the important docs and papers and tickets on that group so that your partner and you both have access to them in case of any urgent requirement. These are the most important part of the Singapore travel plan and you must remember it.

 

travel plan or vacation plan
travel plan or vacation plan

 

Must Visit Tourist spots in Singapore

Sometimes we land up with limited stay in Singapore and want to have a good time and check out the best places to visit. With limited time or any possible constraint, these are some of the places you can surely rely on for fun and adventure. These are like the most visited, highly rated and best reviewed places in Singapore. You cannot afford to miss these activities or places.

Universal StudiosSingapore travel plan is incomplete without Universal Studio in the list. It is a complete 1 day activity place in Singapore. If you are a fan of adventure rides, Transformers, Egyptian pyramids, animated cartoons, roller coaster rides and dinosaurs, then you have to visit here. Do not forget to buy an express pass because the queues are quite long here.

Sea Aquarium – This will take 3 hours to visit completely. It is a unique experience for many people and it is one of the best places for all age group.

Gardens by the Bay – (Floral Fantasy + Flower Dome + Cloud forest ) – It is a complete package which will take your complete day to visit. But you have to visit this place if you are a fan of nature and gardens. The vast flower dome and cloud forest are jaw dropping sights and will take you to another world.

It is a place for the honeymooners for sure. They will surely enjoy this scenic spot. Lots of photographic backgrounds and amazing ambience for the love to blossom.

Madame Tussaud’s – This somewhat depends on the interest of the person. The wax statues were not so good but there were multiple varieties from all around the world. If you have some more time, do visit it. Else there is nothing to get upset in case you miss it. You can plan to visit the wax museum in many other countries as well like France, USA, Canada etc.

 

If you want to know more about out singapore experience and journey details you can check out the singapore vacation post we made for sharing our experience with all here :- ” Singapore Vacation Experience with Wife

 

Do not Carry Perishable Food or Goods with you ?

Many countries do not allow entry of open food items or any food item.

Carry lots of energy bars with you. They are the safest option in case you are hungry anywhere.

Checklist of what to carry and what to wear is really important. When you are travelling for adventure, you always prefer to travel light and equipped with necessary things.

The only way to make that possible is by having a good checklist.

-> You need to make sure you are taking clothes which you can wear multiple times also.

-> Do not carry any extra pair of clothes thinking of any possible situation that might not even happen. This will unnecessarily increase the weight of your luggage.

-> You have all the itinerary fixed, so you know what you are going to do on that day, prepare your bag accordingly. Choosing the right type of clothes, foot wear and other things.

Example :– when we knew we were going for universal studio in Singapore, we decided to carry a small backpack which can have a water bottle, our shades, my camera, and some ladies stuff. We decided on clothes as something which will be easy to go on with rides and summer time.

 

Singapore travel plan and itienary
Singapore travel plan and itinerary

 

Do Not Carry Multiple Footwear ?

They take the maximum space in luggage. We chose to carry just 1 extra footwear along with shoes that we had on.

Most hotels give you slippers and towels. So no need to pack a towel as well. But for backup, we kept a small workout towel that hardly took any space to fit in.

Footwear is a real issue in the case of female/women. They have to decide on dresses accordingly and matching it with proper footwear can be troublesome if you are looking for lighter luggage while travelling. Again, the choice needs to be made between fashion and easy travel. We suggest you forget fashion and enjoy your travel moments with lighter luggage and easy carry on.

 

Now which bag to carry for Luggage ?

Light travel is always best when you are travelling for adventure and fun. If you are looking for a leisure vacation then maybe you would want to have more options with clothes and other accessories.

Depending on how your travel would be, and where all are you going to visit, the choice of luggage can be really important.

For Singapore travel plan we decided to go with 2 small wheel bags and 1 small back bag (the one which girls carry)

Earlier we thought of using our trekking bag which had a huge capacity instead of 1 wheel bag. But later when we found that wheel bags will be easy to roll and we are not going on any hiking or trekking, we changed our mind.

A small backpack like the one girls carry, is really good for such trips. You can use them for carrying basic and necessary items like water, energy bars, camera, selfie stick, purse or wallet, tissue papers, wet wipes etc.

 

Any Backup Plans ?

Best singapore travel plan
Best singapore travel plan

No Travel plans are complete without the back up plan and so we had our back plan for the Singapore travel plan also.

It is always best to have a backup plan or “Plan B” in case you are stuck with “Plan A”. Also having a backup plan is a safer option in case you miss something in plan A.

Download the cab app that runs in that country to save time and avoid problems. Cab booking again would need internet, so make sure you do the booking from the hotel itself. Another option is to connect with wifi networks available on metro stations all over Singapore.

Carry a good map of Singapore with you at all times. Most hotels have a map which can help you find your way at any point. And don’t worry Singapore is a really well developed island, you won’t get lost that easily. We got a map from our very first hotel and it was a really helpful medium to find the right route to reach the destination.

 

Should you be Carrying a power bank ? 

Not required really. I never had the need for a power bank, maybe because I was not carrying any DSLR camera or GoPro. Neither was I using an Iphone where power drains out very fast.

Carry a good phone which can last for a day without charge. I was having a 5000 mAh power battery in my phone which was good enough to last 2 days easily. And i am saying it because you won’t be using your phone for the network as there is no sim, no internet as there is no data pack and no GPS. Mostly used for pictures and videos only.

Even if you had purchased a sim in Singapore and were using it for all the above purposes then also it will easily last throughout the day (24 hours). But again it is your choice to carry a power bank or not. 

MUST READ  Ultimate Singapore Vacation Guide [ Best 8 Days Vacation to Singapore in just under 1 lakh ]

The reason we suggest not carrying power banks is, they are heavy and they are restricted in some airports also.

 

Should you opt for a Singapore cruise ?

It depends on your budget and interests. If you have not done cruise and this would be your first time on cruise then definitely you should take cruise in Singapore. But if you are very hard on budget constraints then cruise sailing may not be able to enter in your budget. For couples (2 people) the 2 days and 3 nights cruise cost around 60000 INR minimum. The maximum value depends on how late you do the booking, which type of rooms you choose and how you make the payment.

If you are interested to know more about our cruise experience then you can visit this post and learn more. We have shared in depth details of what all adventure activities are there on the cruise we took, what food they offer, how the staff was and everything from starting till end.

POST LINK HERE –> “Best Cruise Vacation in Singapore

If you are making a Singapore travel plan on your own, we suggest go for the cruise experience.

 

plan your vacation with us
plan your vacation with us

Planning International Trip under 1 lakh ?

Check out these amazing places where you can travel in just under 1 lakh :-> International Trips under 1 Lakh

 

Fill the Forms Carefully Everywhere.

If you do not want your Singapore travel plan to fail at any point, make sure you fill all the forms carefully. My wife made a mistake while filling the SG arrival form while deboarding from a cruise in Singapore. Because of that small silly mistake she was taken by immigration department officer and had to deal with the other formalities of proving the identity. Luckily the officer was good and she didn’t face much problem apart from standing in a queue with many more such people who made some mistake and waited for her turn.

By the time she was in the office, I was unaware and was asked to wait downstairs without any knowledge of where she was and how she was.

It was difficult to be in such a situation and remain calm. Like me there were many more people who were waiting for their family members for hours.

After almost 1 hour I was able to see her and she was fine and then she explained everything to me.

So the moral of the story is, fill the forms and other formal things very carefully to avoid such situations.

 

Don’t be Aggressive and Avoid conflicts in foreign countries.

Take this as a very important point for all your foreign visits. Nothing good can come out of anger and conflicts. Stay Calm always.

 

Get used to the toilet paper ?

Yes Like in India, Singapore does not use water in the English toilet. They don’t even have that facility. So you need to clean up with toilet paper and flush it. Yes do not throw the used in dustbin, instead you need to flush it. We were pretty upset with that, because Indians are more comfortable with water than paper in washroom. We checked with the cleaning staff and they said its fine to flush the toilet paper. It won’t block the toilet.

 

Credit and debit cards, should you carry and which one?

Credit cards are the best options. They have many other great offers as well. Most importantly, with credit cards you are not stuck in payment anywhere even if you don’t have sufficient funds in your account at the particular time.

Many credit cards offer free lounge access also at airports which is really great if you have time and you reached the airport before time.

 

Singapore traffic situation ?

The streets of Singapore are well developed. We saw that traffic regulations are followed very strictly on roads and off roads. Pedestrians are given priority on roads.

You won’t face traffic in Singapore. So you don’t have to keep a margin of time to reach any place.

Remember to get the metro working hours. We had a flight late in the night. So we rushed to the metro before 11 pm. Any later than that we might have missed our last metro and then would have to find another way to reach the airport.

Cars travel faster on roads as there are no speed breakers like we have in India. So be careful while crossing. Do not cross without traffic lights. Traffic rules are good and if you follow them properly on the road, you will be good and happy.

 

Should I carry a DSLR or GoPRO camera ?

There is nothing to shoot in terms of action so GoPro is not the recommendation to carry around in Singapore. But you can definitely carry a good DSLR camera if you are a passionate photographer or interested in taking really good and clear photos. There are a couple of really good locations where you would not want to miss out on good photos like the floral fantasy, cloud forest, universal studios, Singapore cruise.

Nowadays even mobile cameras are really good and offer a variety of options for photography. So even a good mobile camera would suffice.

 

Singapore travel plan and vacation guide
Singapore travel plan and vacation guide

Which watch should I wear ?

I usually prefer a comfortable and waterproof wrist watch while travelling. Now how to select a good one. I would suggest a g-shock watch for travelling here. The g-shock watches have the option of setting time as per the country you are visiting and also many other good switches like light switch and alarm. The watch is made with tough material which is also comfortable to wear as well as water proof.

You can skip the big dial watches in g-shock like the mud master which also have a temp sensor and compass.

I am a big Fan of watches so I keep trying new options in all the brands. You can also go for a solar powered watch which is also very good. Another category of watches is automatic watches which run on charge created with movements of the hand. 

I know it is not such an important part of the Singapore travel plan, but for the males category, it is an important aspect of travelling and fashion.

 

Conclusion

There are 2 types of planning that happens for any vacation. First type is very easy and you just let the travel agent make the plans for you and enjoy the vacation as per the itinerary shared (chances are you will miss much of the places). Second where you make the plans, feel the thrill of going on your own, managing everything and planning itinerary, saving more money and enjoying much more. This Singapore travel plan will help in both the planning types.

So if you have any more doubts or questions, feel free to post a comment below and we will surely answer you back. All the best for the great journey you are going to embark on.

Have a safe journey.

Admin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.