Singapore in 7 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
Seven days is more than most people need for Singapore, this is a genuinely compact city, but it buys you a slower pace and a proper rest day. Same spine as the 6-day itinerary , stretched out, every stop’s SGD cost attached. Want to cross a border instead of adding a seventh in-city day, see the Singapore + Beyond itineraries .
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 7 | Tiong Bahru, Fort Canning, departure | SGD 10-15 |
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 to wander; Cloud Forest and Flower Dome are ticketed, SGD 46 tourist adult combo, skippable since the free Supertree light show after dark carries most of the payoff. 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. Bus, monorail and beach tram on the island 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, plenty of the same brands you have at home along Orchard Road afterward. Day total: SGD 10-15.
Day 5: Mandai Wildlife Reserve
Pick one park. River Wonders alone is SGD 45 adult/SGD 33 child; 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, per mandai.com . The Mandai Khatib shuttle bus from Khatib MRT runs SGD 2.50 per trip, roughly SGD 5 return. Day total: SGD 45-118 per adult plus shuttle fare.
Day 6: Pulau Ubin and Katong
Bumboat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal to Pulau Ubin, SGD 4 per person each way, cash only, boats depart once 12 passengers are aboard, 6am-7pm. Bike rental at the jetty runs SGD 8-15 a day for a ride through a kampong-era island with no real development. Bumboat back, then Katong/Joo Chiat for Peranakan shophouses and a bowl of Katong laksa, SGD 6-9. Day total: SGD 15-25.
Day 7: Tiong Bahru, Fort Canning and departure
Morning: Tiong Bahru, an art-deco pre-war estate with indie bookshops and cafes, breakfast at a kopitiam, SGD 4-6 for kaya toast and kopi. Late morning: Fort Canning Park, free, a hilltop park with colonial-era ruins if you want one more outdoor stop, or repeat a free favourite from earlier in the week.
Afternoon: keep this loose. Save it for a last hawker meal, a rerun of the Spectra show, or just packing.
Departure: MRT to Changi Airport via Tanah Merah, about 35 minutes, SGD 1.50-2.20 by card; a metered taxi runs SGD 28-45 with its SGD 6 airport surcharge, Grab SGD 22-45 upfront. If your flight’s late, Jewel Changi is free to enter, no ticket or boarding pass required, and the HSBC Rain Vortex waterfall is free to watch.
Day total: SGD 10-15 plus airport transport.
How much does 7 days in Singapore cost on a budget?
Plan on SGD 125-295 total across the week for food, transit and tickets, before your hotel. Hawker centres beat sit-down restaurants on both value and quality here, not just by budget logic but by Michelin’s own Bib Gourmand list, so don’t ration them to lunch.
Is a full week too long for Singapore?
For most people, yes, this is a genuinely compact city and 2-3 days covers the postcard core. A week works if you want the slower pace: a real rest afternoon somewhere around day four, since the heat and humidity add up and nobody enjoys their last hawker meal while exhausted.
Once in town, any contactless bank card or phone wallet taps straight through the MRT gantry via SimplyGo , fares roughly SGD 1.28-2.57 a ride, transfers inside 45 minutes on the same card counting as one journey. Foreign-issued Visa and Mastercard (not Amex) carry a SGD 0.60 daily admin fee on top of the fare.
A full week is generous for this city. Use the slack for a real rest afternoon, and spend the savings from all those free sights on one more round of hawker food instead of a fine-dining dinner.