Singapore – Malaysia: Budget and Itinerary

During long weekends, Filipinos find themselves wandering about in different places.  Some go out of town, some out of the country.  Singapore is one of those countries well loved by Filipino travelers because it is just less than 4 hours away from the Philippines.  And this beautiful country is where our family found ourselves during the ASEAN long holiday.

When it was declared that the second week of November 2017 will be a holiday for Metro Manila students and workers due to ASEAN, we didn’t have any plans of traveling.  It was too short a notice to book flights with only 2 weeks and thus, we know it will be very expensive.  However, the hubby had a sudden business trip in Singapore – and even though it was expensive, Neo and I booked flights to Singapore. #pikitmatangbooking

Since we only have very limited time to prepare, our itinerary was not as properly planned as that of Japan, and our budget was not properly prepared too 😛  Nonetheless, that didn’t make our Singapore-Malaysia 4 day trip any less of fun and memorable.

Now, let me share to you our 4 days detailed Singapore-Malaysia itinerary.  This is a relaxed one compared to our Japan itinerary so if you have kids, this is a nice itinerary to follow.

Day 1

6AM – Flight to Singapore from Manila

10AM – Arrival at Changi Airport, Singapore; Singapore Immigration and luggage claim; buy EZ Link card for adults and apply for Child Concession for Neo (kids 7 years old and below travel for free in trains and buses)

12PM – Lunch

1PM – Check in at ZenRooms Evergreen Residences (located at Geylang).

2PM – Rest at the hostel.

3PM – Singapore Walking River Tour (Singapore Walking Tour takes you to Raffles, Fullerton, Esplanade, Merlion Park, Helix Bridge, Marina Bay Sands, and Gardens by The Bay

5PM – Early dinner at Satay by the Bay

7PM – Ended the day early as we were too tired due to the early flight

Day 2

930AM – Travel by bus to Legoland, Malaysia

1030AM – Arrival at Singapore and Malaysia Immigration

1130AM – Arrival at Mall of Medini

12PM – Lunch at Mall of Medini

1PM – Legoland Malaysia

7PM – Back to Singapore by bus

9PM – Arrival at Malaysia and Singapore Immigration

11PM – End of the day

Day 3

9AM – Travel to Resorts World Sentosa

10AM – Universal Studios Singapore

5PM – Merlion Park at Resorts World Sentosa

8PM – Watch Marina Bay Sands show

9PM – Shopping at Mustafa, Little India

Day 4

10AM – Check out at ZenRooms Evergreen (leave luggage)

11AM – Orchard Road

1PM – Chinatown

3PM – Bugis Junction

5PM – pick up luggage from ZenRooms;  Go to Changi Airport for Departure

The above itinerary is very laid back.  Now, we go to the budget.  Please do take note that all costs are in Philippine Peso.  Also, all cost are broken down on a per person basis.  Exchange rate used were 1 Singapore Dollar = 37.84 Philippine Peso, and 1 Malaysian Ringgit = 12.66 Philippine Peso.  These are the exchange rate we had during our travel dates.

Airfare:  Airfare took a large chunk in our budget.  This is because we booked 2 weeks before our flight.  To save on airfare (which I assume you already know) book in advance during promo fares.  We flew to and from Singapore via Scoot, formerly Tiger Airways.  Scoot is Singapore Airlines’ budget carrier.  And because they share the same company, Scoot, like Singapore Airlines, arrives and departs at Changi Airport’s Terminal 2 – one of the best airport terminals in the world.   Airfare cost back and forth for one person:  Php 8,204.28

Accommodation:  We were planning to book Airbnb in our Singapore-Malaysia trip since we had a very nice experience with it during our Japan travel.  However, Airbnb in Singapore cost too high – must be because we were booking last minute.  So we decided to look for a budget hostel we can stay it.  We found ZenRooms Evergreen Residences, located at Geylang.  The place is small but it is clean, with own bathroom, and semi-complete amenities.  Accommodation cost for 4 days for one person: Php 3,469.03.

Transportation:  Singapore, like Japan, has expensive but very efficient transportation.  Tourist passes are offered in Singapore however, we found it unpractical so we used the EZ Link.  Singapore’s EZ Link is the same as that of HongKong’s Octopus card.  We mainly used Singapore’s MRT to travel as taxis can be very expensive.  We only rode the bus when we went to Legoland, Malaysia.  Kids Neo’s age are free to travel by train and bus in Singapore.  Transportation cost for one person for 4 days: Php 857.94.

Food: The cost of food in Singapore can vary depending on where you will eat.  Some restaurants can be very expensive; others can be affordable.  Hawkers are popular area to eat but not all foods they serve are affordable.  We were lucky that most train and bus stations we go to have restaurants that offer inexpensive food.  Food cost for one person for 4 days: Php 1,512.29.

Passes/Entrance Fees:  We only went to two theme parks (Universal Studios Singapore and Legoland Malaysia) and visited attractions that are free of charge (Merlion Park, Gardens by the Bay, etc.) so we didn’t spent much on passes and entrance fees.  We got a promo for our Universal Studios Singapore entrance fee that cost SGD 68 that includes SGD 5 voucher for meal and another SGD 5 voucher for merchandise.  We also availed a promo for Legoland Malaysia wherein we bought two adults tickets and got a free child ticket.  Passes/Entrance Fee cost for one adult: Php 5,092.47

Miscellaneous:  Since Singapore is a tropical country, like our very own, we didn’t allot budget for clothing (unlike in Japan).  The only miscellaneous item we had in the travel tax which was paid in the airport before we traveled.  Miscellaneous cost for one adult: Php 1,620.

Overall, we spent Php 22,376.01 per person for 4 days in Singapore with a side trip at Malaysia.  Pasalubong expenses are excluded.