Singapore on a Budget: From Capsule Pod to Marina Bay

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Singapore has a reputation as one of the most expensive cities you can visit, and it isn’t wrong. I visited in January 2026, as part of my nine countries in two months trip. I only had a couple of days there, and I wanted to see whether you can do it on a budget. Short answer: you can, if you’re happy to sleep small and eat where the locals eat. Here’s how my first time in Singapore went, from a fairly rough capsule pod to the top of Marina Bay.

Arriving at Changi

The first thing that hits you is the airport. Changi is absolutely spotless, and there’s greenery everywhere. It’s also huge. I arrived at one terminal and moved through to Terminal 2, and it was just as big as the first.

From there I took the MRT, Singapore’s metro, into town. It’s the obvious budget way in, and it dropped me fairly close to where I was staying. One thing I didn’t expect at the station: little blood-pressure monitors you can use for free.

If you’re still searching for flights, I compare fares on Aviasales, and I explain my whole method in How I Find Cheap Flights. Get your data sorted before you land, too. Airalo has eSIMs for Singapore, so maps work as soon as you’re through the airport.

Where I stayed: a capsule pod

To keep the cost down, I booked a capsule pod hotel for two nights, at about £20 a night. I’ll be honest: it was a bit rough around the edges, to say the least. The pod itself was okay, but the place didn’t look that clean and the showers were shared. Still, it was only two nights, and it was close to the water.

That’s the trade-off in Singapore. It’s more expensive than many of the other places I’ve been, so when you’re on a budget, the room is where you save. If you’re thinking about a pod, read recent reviews carefully for cleanliness. My general approach to finding somewhere is in Where I Stay.

Getting around and the free sights

A lot of the best of Singapore costs nothing at all to look at:

• The green skyscrapers. Right from the start, I saw hotels with greenery growing all the way up them, and little rocking chairs dotted about to sit in.
• Chinatown, for food and a wander.
• Speakers’ Corner, where the heat absolutely cooked me.
• The river, with its statues of river merchants and its bridges. I walked past the Fullerton Hotel feeling a bit envious.
• Marina Bay waterfront and the views of the Merlion, then Marina Bay after dark with the light projections.
• The Supertrees at blue hour, when the light show starts.

For more on how I get around in a new city, see my getting-around guide.

Eating cheaply: walk away from the water

My best food tip from Singapore: go somewhere slightly isolated or just off the beaten track, and you’ll get better and cheaper food. On my second morning I went back to a spot I’d found the day before, a few streets from the main tourist area. You can eat right beside the water, but I reckoned it was probably twice the price there. I had breakfast and a watermelon drink, and it was really nice and very reasonable.

Chinatown fed me well too. Expect the waterfront and the malls to cost a lot more.

What cost me money

A couple of things to be aware of, from my trip:

• The gym I didn’t use. I looked into a gym session, saw it was S$49 and walked away. Too expensive for me, and a good example of how prices add up here.
• The hard sell. In a mall, I got collared at a perfume and face-cream counter and quoted S$250 (about £125, by my reckoning at the time) for an eye cream. I didn’t buy it. Walk on.

Marina Bay Sands, from the outside in

You can’t come to Singapore and not look at Marina Bay Sands: the boat sitting on top of three towers. I went up to the SkyPark for the view from the top, and it’s spectacular, the whole skyline in one go. I also had a look round the Flyer area.

Then I got a glimpse of how the other half lives. I met a traveller from New York, and a couple of hours later he invited me up to see his room. It was not a cubicle. He told me it was about US$800 a night, a long way from my capsule pod across the bay. It’s a fun reminder that you can see the same skyline on a tiny budget.

If you’d rather go up with a ticket or join a tour, you can compare Singapore attractions on Klook.

Leaving: don’t miss the Jewel

Leave a bit of time at the airport. Near Terminal 2 is the Jewel, an indoor garden dome that’s free to go into and about five minutes’ walk away, all signposted. In the food area, you hand your tray to a robot that comes round to collect it.

Security was the easiest I’ve seen. It’s automated and every check-in desk was open. For me, there were no queues on the way in or out, and it took me less than five minutes to get through. From there I flew on to Jakarta.

My quick budget checklist for Singapore

1. Sleep small. A capsule pod for a night or two frees up money for the things you actually came to see. Check recent reviews first.
2. Take the MRT from Changi instead of a taxi.
3. Eat a few streets back from the water. It’s the same city view on the walk, and the food is cheaper.
4. Do the free stuff. The waterfront, the Merlion, the light projections, the Supertrees and the Jewel cost nothing.
5. Say no to the hard sell in the malls.
6. Get to the airport early enough to enjoy it. On my trip, Changi was the one place in Singapore where things were quicker than I expected.

Would I do Singapore on a budget again?

Yes. A capsule pod, the MRT, food away from the waterfront and a lot of free walking give you the best of Singapore for far less than you’d think. Travel light as well: Carry-On Only explains why. And if Singapore is a stop on a longer route, Turn the Layover into a Second Country shows how I turn connections into extra stops.

Prices were correct at the time of writing and can change. Prices I mention are what I paid, saw or was quoted on that trip in January 2026.