Singapore in 6 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
A sixth day is where an old-Singapore side trip fits: Pulau Ubin, a bumboat ride away, still has no real development and costs a fraction of the ferry day trips to Malaysia or Indonesia. Same spine as the 5-day itinerary , priced day by day. A full week available, the 7-day itinerary adds Tiong Bahru and a relaxed departure day.
Book these before you go
- Compare Chinatown and Bugis stays on Agoda .
- Check Gardens by the Bay conservatory tickets .
- Book Marina Bay Sands SkyPark tickets .
- Book Universal Studios Singapore tickets if kids are along for Day 3.
- Check Mandai Wildlife Reserve Destination Pass options before Day 5.
| Day | Focus | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Marina Bay | SGD 15-50 |
| Day 2 | Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Little India | SGD 15-20 |
| Day 3 | Sentosa | SGD 10-15 (or 100+) |
| Day 4 | Botanic Gardens and Orchard Road | SGD 10-40 |
| Day 5 | Mandai Wildlife Reserve | SGD 45-118 |
| Day 6 | Pulau Ubin and Katong | SGD 15-25 |
Day 1: Marina Bay
Merlion Park, free, then the bay promenade to Gardens by the Bay. Supertree Grove and the OCBC Skyway ground level are free; Cloud Forest and Flower Dome are ticketed, SGD 46 tourist adult combo, skippable since the free Supertree light show carries most of the payoff after dark. Lunch at a hawker stall near the Gardens, SGD 5-7. Afternoon at Marina Bay Sands SkyPark, SGD 32 off-peak/36 peak. Evening: Spectra, free, several nightly showtimes. Day total: SGD 15-20 without the SkyPark, SGD 50 with it.
Day 2: Chinatown, Little India, Kampong Glam
Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Sri Mariamman Temple, both free. Lunch at Chinatown Complex, over 700 stalls including Bib Gourmand-listed Liao Fan Hawker Chan, SGD 4-6. Kampong Glam’s Sultan Mosque is free from outside, Haji Lane’s boutiques worth an hour, no cost. Dinner in Little India at Tekka Centre, SGD 5-8. Day total: SGD 15-20.
Day 3: Sentosa
Walk the free Boardwalk from VivoCity, or take the Sentosa Express monorail for SGD 4. Once on the island, bus, monorail and beach tram are free. Palawan and Siloso beaches cost nothing; Universal Studios Singapore (SGD 83 off-peak/86 peak adult) and the S.E.A. Aquarium (rebranding as the Singapore Oceanarium, from around SGD 45 online) are skippable without kids. Day total: SGD 10-15 on the free beaches.
Day 4: Botanic Gardens and Orchard Road
Singapore Botanic Gardens , a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is free to enter; the National Orchid Garden inside it is ticketed, SGD 15 foreign adult, cheaper online. Orchard Road costs nothing to window-shop, an hour is plenty. Day total: SGD 10-15.
Day 5: Mandai Wildlife Reserve
Pick one park rather than the full pass. River Wonders alone is SGD 45 adult/SGD 33 child; Singapore Zoo SGD 49 adult/SGD 34 child; Night Safari SGD 58 adult/SGD 41 child, per mandai.com . The 2 Attractions Destination Pass (any 2 parks) is SGD 88 adult/SGD 60 child; the 6 Attractions Destination Pass, all 5 wildlife parks plus one indoor attraction, is SGD 118 adult/SGD 90 child. The Mandai Khatib shuttle bus from Khatib MRT runs SGD 2.50 per trip, so budget roughly SGD 5 return. Day total: SGD 45-118 per adult plus shuttle fare.
Day 6: Pulau Ubin and Katong
Morning: bumboat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal to Pulau Ubin, SGD 4 per person each way, cash only, boats depart once 12 passengers are aboard between roughly 6am and 7pm (fewer passengers or off-hours cost more per head). Rent a bike at the jetty for SGD 8-15 a day and ride the island’s dirt paths, there’s still no real development here, just kampong houses, mangroves and a granite quarry lake.
Afternoon: bumboat back, then MRT or bus to Katong/Joo Chiat for Peranakan shophouses and a bowl of Katong laksa, SGD 6-9.
Day total: SGD 15-25, cheapest full day of the trip.
How much does 6 days in Singapore cost on a budget?
Plan on SGD 115-280 total across the six days for food, transit and tickets, before your hotel. Day 6 is the standout value: an SGD 8 round-trip bumboat buys a genuinely different island for the price of a single hawker meal.
Is Pulau Ubin better than a ferry day trip to Malaysia or Indonesia?
On value alone, yes. Those crossings cost SGD 58-92 return before terminal fees, plus a passport and a different country’s immigration line, against an SGD 8 round-trip bumboat and an afternoon that feels like Singapore fifty years ago. If you want the border crossing anyway, the Singapore + Beyond itineraries build that in instead of this route.
Changi to the city: MRT via Tanah Merah, about 35 minutes, SGD 1.50-2.20 by card; Grab runs SGD 22-45 upfront. In town, tap any contactless bank card or phone wallet at the gantry via SimplyGo , fares roughly SGD 1.28-2.57 a ride. Foreign-issued Visa and Mastercard (not Amex) carry a SGD 0.60 daily admin fee on top of the fare.
Six days gives you a genuine rest day in the middle of the trip, use it, the heat catches up with everyone by day four.