Singapore had been near the top of the Nadam Travels wish list for a long time, but its reputation for being extremely expensive is certainly not without merit.
Since arriving in Southeast Asia, we’d been keeping a close eye on flight prices in the hope of squeezing in a visit without completely destroying our budget.
Being based in Kuala Lumpur for five weeks gave us the perfect opportunity to watch for a last-minute bargain. Then, on a random Monday in July, we booked an AirAsia flight departing at 7am on the Wednesday.
The flights from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore cost £60 in total. We travelled with just two backpacks for our two-night stay, and our accommodation came to £102, including breakfast.
So, from the outset, we were comfortably on track to keep the whole trip under £500.
Then We Missed Our Flight…
However, as with all well-laid travel plans, we managed to throw quite a significant spanner into the works.
Despite being checked in by 5am, passing through security and sitting at the actual departure gate, we somehow missed our flight.
Even now, we have absolutely no idea how it happened. We will probably go to our graves none the wiser about that one.
Our £60 bargain flights suddenly became considerably less of a bargain when we had to pay another £150 to rebook and rush from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2.
We also had to be taken back through immigration so that we could officially re-enter Malaysia before checking in for the new flight. If you have never had to be “un-immigrated” at an airport, I sincerely hope you never have to discover what a stressful pain it is.
It also caused problems when we tried to check in for the replacement flights, because the system still thought we were airside for the original journey.
So, for the rest of this blog, we’ll be using two totals:
The sensible-person total, without the extra flights.
And our actual total, including the completely avoidable £150 mistake.
Arriving at Changi Airport
After a short flight with Batik Air, we touched down in Singapore and immediately discovered the gloriously plush carpets of Changi Airport.
From the terminal, we took the free transfer across to Jewel, the airport’s huge shopping and entertainment complex. Calling it an airport shopping centre doesn’t really do it justice. It feels more like a five-star hotel crossed with a futuristic indoor rainforest.
We grabbed a quick lunch at the basement food court, choosing noodles and chicken curry, before spending around two hours exploring.
We admired the enormous indoor waterfall, built Lego and wandered through the indoor forest. It was absolutely incredible and easily an attraction in its own right.
We couldn’t resist paying to try the indoor slides, which cost £22 for all of us. The ticket also included a few additional attractions, including the glass bridge overlooking the main complex.
Not essential for a budget visit, admittedly, but definitely fun.
Our First Family Hostel Experience
After spending around three hours at Jewel, we hopped on the MRT and travelled into central Singapore.
Our accommodation was a hostel in Little India. This was our first experience of staying in a hostel as a family, but it was realistically the only way we could afford to visit Singapore on this occasion.
We booked a private room with its own bathroom and six comfortable beds for £51 per night, which felt like an absolute steal for Singapore.
Honestly, the experience was so much better than we expected.
We didn’t encounter rowdy guests, unhygienic facilities or any of the other things we had worried about beforehand. The only real downside was the road noise, but there wasn’t much the hostel could do about that.
For an affordable family base in Singapore, we would 100% stay there again.
A Cheap Evening in Singapore
The hostel was directly opposite an MRT station, which meant we could reach the Marina Bay area in around ten minutes.
We used contactless payments to tap on and off the trains, which made travelling incredibly easy, although it also made it slightly harder to keep track of exactly how much we were spending as we went.
Once we arrived, we had a cheap dinner at a hawker centre, which cost around £17 for all three of us.
We then walked towards the waterfront to see the Merlion, found a free playground and continued around to Gardens by the Bay for the evening light show.
The show was completely free and genuinely spectacular.
Singapore may be expensive, but some of its best attractions don’t cost anything at all.
A Full Day at the Botanic Gardens
The next morning started with toast, cereal and coffee at the hostel before we jumped back onto the MRT and travelled to the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
This was where Singapore really shone for us.
The Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden was clean, modern, beautifully maintained and completely free. There was even security at the entrance to ensure that adults could only enter when accompanied by children.
Inside, there were playgrounds, educational areas, lakes, water play, birds, plants and wildlife everywhere.
We spent around five hours there and would probably have stayed even longer if the heat hadn’t become so intense.
We bought cold drinks and lunch while we were there, which became one of our bigger splurges at £42. It was more than we’d planned to spend, but by that point we were hot, hungry and in no mood to begin an extensive search for cheaper food.
Sometimes the budget has to take one for the team.
Little India and Gardens by the Bay
Afterwards, we returned to the hostel for a much-needed nap before heading out for dinner at one of the hawker centres in Little India.
Dinner came to just £13 for all three of us, which helped balance out our expensive lunch.
We then returned to Gardens by the Bay to explore the areas we hadn’t managed to see on our first evening.
We also went looking for Singapore’s famous otters, although they clearly hadn’t received the memo that we were visiting.
Naturally, we stayed to watch the light show for a second time. It was free, after all, and just as impressive as the night before.
Was Singapore Worth It?
Our final night’s sleep was interrupted by England playing Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, meaning we were thoroughly exhausted zombies on the journey back to Malaysia.
Still, Singapore was worth every penny — and even the lack of sleep.
We loved how clean, safe and easy it felt to explore. The public transport was fantastic, there were plenty of affordable places to eat and so many of the best family attractions were completely free.
We would return in a heartbeat.
Next time, however, we will not be taking our eyes off the departure board at the gate.
Our Final Singapore Budget
Total without the replacement flights: £412
Actual total, including the extra flights: £562
So, can a family visit Singapore for under £500?
Absolutely.
Just don’t miss your flight.
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