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Hello adventure. I'm Tommy, your local Singaporean. And in this ultimate video guide, I'll be sharing with you the top 10 biggest mistakes that visitor makes when coming here and how to avoid them yourself to make sure that your Singapore trip goes smoothly without a hitch. Let's begin.
The first and the most expensive mistake is not taking the public transportation. I get it. In many big cities, the concept of a working public transportation is just not believable. But welcome to Singapore where we have functional and reliable public transportation. The bus and trains do get crowded at times, but the amount of money that you'll save is phenomenal. In comparison, if you take taxi everywhere, each trip would painfully cost you $10 to $20 and up to double of that during peak commuting hours. But if you stick to the buses and trains, you'll probably only spend $8 per day because each trip is only going to cost you $1 to $2, even less if you plan your itinerary properly because most of the attractions in Singapore are actually within walking distance.
That said, do not underestimate the amount of walking you'll be doing on your Singapore trip. Although most places are 10 to 20 minutes walk to each other, the distances will add up. For example, you can get from the Merion Park to the Marina Bay Sense within 20 minutes and another 20 minutes you'll be at the Gardens by the Bay. But if you look at your whole day itinerary, you might clock upwards of 10,000 steps per day. So if you want to cover many attractions with minimal walking, I will share with you my itinerary later. Either way, come prepared with a good comfortable walking shoes that will not give you a bad blister.
But beware, as much as I love the public transportation in Singapore, do not fall for the Singapore tourist pass. This is a transport pass that promises unlimited travel on the buses and trains for a fixed price. However, if you look at the price per day when you buy this, it's very unlikely that you'll spend this much if you just take the bus and trains normally. So, just use the normal transport card, your credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay to pay for your transportation in Singapore. I have another video that can help you master public transportation in Singapore within just 5 minutes. You can watch that later.
The next problem is expecting cheap luxury. If you're visiting this part of Asia, you might have the impression that you can stretch your dollar and live like a king. While that may be true for some parts of Thailand, Vietnam, or our neighbor Malaysia, luxury in Singapore will add a lot of zeros at the back of your budget. But the good news is Singapore can be affordable if you know where to look to get good value for your money. For example, now that you know that the public transport works well, you can choose cheaper hotels that are further out of the city without having to worry about accessibility. Just take a look at this train map. As long as your hotel is within walking distance to any of the station within this circle, accessibility will not be a big issue. If you're looking for reliable and good quality accommodations, I reviewed Singapore's best budget hotels in another video over here. You can watch that later. Just note that it will be about $100 per person per night for double occupancy with toilets attached to the room.
Next, the most common mistake visitors make in Singapore is eating at the wrong places. Singapore has lots of nice restaurants, but if you only go to the restaurants, not only you'll be paying a lot more for the food, you'll also be missing out on authentic local food. In Singapore, we have very high labor cost and the rent here is skyhigh, especially near the tourist destinations. As a result, eating at the restaurants would cost you about $10 to $20 per person. The fancier the restaurant, the more expensive it will be. Well, at least there's no tipping in Singapore. And on the bright side, you'll be very comfortable because most of these restaurants are indoor and air conditioned, which is a big deal in this hot tropical Singapore.
If you don't mind braving the elements and brushing shoulders with the crowd, come and eat at our communal food centers that we call the hawker centers. You will be handsomely rewarded with authentic local food experience. You'll see dozens of hawker stores selling all kinds of local food at an affordable price. In most hawkers, you can get a good meal within just $8 Singapore dollars. If you'd love to get on a food adventure at our hawker centers, I collected all of the hawker stalls that got featured in the Michelin Gourman into this Michelin Hawker Google Maps bookmark, including their recommended dishes that you can get at my digital shop. With this, you can easily whip out your bookmark at lunch or dinner time to find the nearest Michelin Hawker to have your meal there.
However, don't make the mistake of not carrying any cash in your Singapore trip. Although most modern shops in Singapore accept card payment, most stores only accept local QR or cash payments. But don't carry too much cash either. Just budget around $10 per person per meal so that you have the liberty to choose what you want to try from our many many options of local food.
The next biggest mistake is paying for a Singapore tour. Because instead of paying extra money to join a tour, you could have used this money to pay for your tickets, splurge on nicer food, or even spend an additional night in Singapore. I mean, why would you pay for someone to plan or run your trip when I already do it for you for free? Yes, that's right. If you want an easy and foolproof Singapore trip, just download my free Singapore planner. I've included the best Singapore itineraries in there so you can enjoy your DIY trip without the stress of planning. Just click the link in the description to download it for free or scan the QR code over here. If you found it helpful in planning your Singapore trip, please consider making your hotel and attraction bookings via my affiliate links which are attached in the planner itself. Thank you very much.
Okay, I also understand that sometimes you're on holiday. You don't really want to lift a finger. You just want to go out and have fun, right? Or you want a richer experience in exploring the city. Talk to the locals, hear more stories about how life is like here, or learn more about our history, like how we turn from the third world to first world in just 50 years. Joining a private tour with a private guide will be of good value. If you'd like to experience the city with the insights of a local and experience hidden gems, you can now join me on a private tour. I just launched this about last month.
Next biggest mistake is underestimating the weather. In Singapore, one moment it's sunny, the next moment is a thunderstorm. And if you visit in December or January, you might experience rain that last for days. However, the rain is actually the least of your problems. The heat plus the humidity are the real killer. We are consistently above 30°C and 80% humidity throughout most of the year. This means that when your body feels the heat and try to regulate temperature by sweating instead of just cooling down, you start seeing beads of sweat forming on your skin and by the end of the day, you'll be drenched. So to survive the Singapore weather, dress in light and breathable clothes and pack an umbrella on your outdoor activities. To keep up with the heat, bring your favorite hat and your water bottle to avoid unnecessarily paying for bottled water. Our tap water is free and is drinkable. Plus, download our weather app, the My EMV, to get your latest weather forecast. My ENV, my environment. I don't know. I don't know what they were trying to name this.
Next mistake is expecting to see natural attractions in Singapore. It's not that we don't have any nature in Singapore. It's just not our strong suit. Our tallest mountain, the Bukit Tima, which if you do a direct translation, it's Tima Hill. It's a 160 m dwarf. It's shorter than our typical apartment buildings. Anyway, with our weather, it's a lot more demanding to enjoy nature hiking casually. So, of course, compared with bigger countries who are blessed with beautiful sceneries, what we do have pales in comparison. However, we're actually quite good in creating man-made marbles. Want to see lush indoor gardens, big elegant indoor waterfall, entertaining shows? I've been to all these places myself and I loved all of them. So why not keep an open mind and try it out for yourself.
Next big mistake, thinking that you can cover Singapore within just one day. Although Singapore is a small city, we are actually very packed with lots of things to do. I mean, in the food department alone, we have so many varieties of local food that you need to try, it's impossible to try all of them in one day. H or is it? In Mandai alone, we have five different zoos covering all kinds of animals and biomes. Covering all of that will at least take 2 days. Down south in Sentosa, we have a whole island of fun activities. Covering the Universal Studios already take you one day. We still have the oceanarium and the whole stretch of beach to explore. And I haven't even mentioned the cultural and heritage spots around the city. The civic districts at the city hall, Chinatown, Little India, and our iconic tourist spots, the goddess by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sand.
If you want a good taste of Singapore, plan for at least 3 days. But for first- timers who want to get the best taste of Singapore, plan for at least 5 days. For repeat visitors, we have hidden gems all around the other neighborhoods like Kimbaru and Jian. But you see, if you're new to Singapore and I've been throwing all these names, it gets very confusing. No worries. Just download my free Singapore planner. Everything will make sense. All of my itineraries are optimized to see as many things as possible with minimal travel time. And congratulations, you are now the top 10% smartest tourist in Singapore. However, if you want to see the most of my city, watch this next video to get the best itinerary to visit. I'll see you there.