How many days a visitor can survive in Singapore with S$200?

Given that you don’t care about things like eating expensive dishes (chili crab, international buffet at a 5-star hotel), shopping for branded fashion at Orchard’s malls, and visiting places with costly entry tickets such as Universal Studio. All you want in your trip to Singapore is to breath in the local air, taste local street food, take in the stunning sights, feel the daily life and culture. If that is the case, your S$200 budget can help you survive in Singapore 4 to 5 days.

Let’s do a rough calculation of the likely cost.

SLEEP: Get yourself a bed at a backpacker hostel. Checkout those cheap hostels that have bed options ranging from S$12 to S$20. Let say you choose one at $20/bed/day. So you need to spend S$20 per day for your accommodation.

EAT: Most backpackers in Singapore provide guests with free breakfast. If your hostel offers you instant noodles or sandwiches at its pantry, eat the food before heading out and save cost. You just need to pay for lunches and dinners. Food courts (hawker centre as locals called them) are where to have your meal deliciously and cheap. A dish there costs from S$3 to S$5. You can eat all the must-tries like chicken rice, laksa, hokkien mee and fried kuay toew at those reasonable prices (Singapore standards). So your S$10 budget can buy you enough food for a day.

TRANSPORT: Riding MRT and bus to save cost. Buy an Ezlink card to pay transport fees. A ride on MRT and bus costs from S$0.78 to S$2.03 and S$0.79 to S$2.07 respectively when you pay via Ezlink card. So walk when you can walk, catch a bus or MRT train when you can’t, and a budget of S$10 would be enough for a day.

SEE AND DO: There are a lot of free things to see and do in Singapore. Watching the daily life of locals on streets, shopping mall and wet markets won’t cost you any penny. No one ask you to pay when you enjoy the city landscapes and parks. The amazing light show at Marina Bay Sand is also free. There are enough of free things for you to enjoy in your a-few-day trip to Singapore.

According to the above calculation, S$40 is enough for a day surviving in the expensive Singapore. Your S$200 enables you to enjoy a 5-day stay.

Does a budget traveler need to buy souvenirs? If the answer is ‘yes’, then just stay up 4 day and reserve your 1-day budget for souvenirs. Buy the 3 or 4 for $10 items when you are visiting Chinatown and Bugis street. Follow this link for more details.

It highly depends on how frugal can you really be but $200 can get you far if you really want it to. Singapore is expensive for tourists but if you talk to the locals and ask around, there are cheap dining places and clubs as well.

Here are some places that offer cheap and quality food:

• Pierogis ($8) at Dumpling Darlings
• Fried chicken biryani ($6.50) Kamal’s Restaurant
• Char siu noodle, ($7.50) At Wanton, Seng’s Noodle Place

You can find more here

All of these restaurants and dining places are located in Singapore and if you eat 3 times a day, $200 can get you through a week I guess. There are other expenses like places to stay and things you need other than food but I won’t get into those details right now.

From what I personally experienced, and from the info I found online, $200 can get you through 3-4 days in Singapore if you aren’t super frugal and saving every penny you can.