Singapore Travel Tips for Indians: Money, SIM, Food and Etiquette

Singapore is an easy country to visit and an easy one to get wrong in small, expensive ways. A five hour flight, English everywhere, trains that run to the minute: the big things are simple. It is the detail that catches Indian families out. Chargers that fit no socket in the country, a transport pass you never break even on, a vape in your bag that is illegal the moment you land. These singapore travel tips cover the rest.

Money: the dollar, and where to change it

The singapore currency is the Singapore dollar (S$). Roughly, S$1 is Rs 63 to Rs 68, so a S$5 plate of chicken rice is about Rs 340. Check the rate the day you fly, and carry less cash than instinct says: S$100 to S$150 covers four nights.

• Skip the Changi counters, which run 2 to 4 percent off the market. Change S$50 there for the train, no more.
• Licensed money changers charge no commission. Try The Arcade at Raffles Place, the shops around Mustafa Centre in Little India, or People's Park Complex in Chinatown. Compare two boards before you hand over anything.
• Rupees are accepted but weak. Buying SGD in India, or carrying US dollars, works out better. TCS under LRS can apply on large forex buys at home, so confirm the current slab with your bank.

Cards, contactless and the UPI question

Singapore is close to cashless. Cards work at hotels, malls, taxis, Grab and most hawker stalls, which show an SGQR sticker or a NETS terminal. A contactless Visa or Mastercard doubles as your MRT and bus ticket, so you can tap straight through the gates.

• Do not plan around UPI. The UPI to PayNow link handles bank transfers between accounts, not tourists paying merchants, and RuPay acceptance is negligible.
• A normal Indian card adds roughly 3 to 3.5 percent plus GST per swipe, so carry a zero markup forex card. ATMs add S$5 to S$7 per withdrawal.
• GST is 9 percent and reclaimable at the eTRS kiosks at Changi on purchases of S$100 or more, with the receipts and your passport.

Getting a singapore sim card that beats roaming

Singtel, StarHub and M1 all cover the island, MRT tunnels and Sentosa included, so choose on price.

• A tourist singapore sim card with 7 to 30 days of data costs roughly S$12 to S$30, about Rs 800 to Rs 2,000, well under Indian roaming packs.
• Buy at the Singtel or StarHub counters in Changi arrivals, or any 7-Eleven. Registration is mandatory, so carry your passport.
• An eSIM is smoother if your phone takes one, and you can activate it before you fly.
• Free Wireless@SGx covers Changi, malls and MRT stations for the gaps.

Plugs and voltage

Singapore runs 230V at 50Hz, so no converter is needed. The socket is type G, the chunky British three pin square, and Indian round pin chargers fit none of them. Of all the singapore tips for indians here, this is the one people message us about at 11pm from the hotel lobby. Pack a universal adapter and a small extension board so one adapter powers the whole family. Hotels lend adapters and run out in holiday weeks.

Indian and vegetarian food

Ananda Bhavan, Komala Vilas, Murugan Idli Shop and Saravana Bhavan sit a short walk from each other around Serangoon Road in Little India, and Tekka Centre does South Indian food at hawker prices, S$8 to S$15 a meal, roughly Rs 550 to Rs 1,000. Jain preparations are usually possible if you ask while ordering.

Where it goes wrong: local dishes that read vegetarian often are not. Char kway teow is fried with lard, laksa and rojak carry shrimp paste, and vegetable noodles from a mixed stall share a wok with the prawns. Stick to dedicated vegetarian stalls, including the Chinese Buddhist ones, which skip onion and garlic too.

Tipping: genuinely do not

Restaurants and hotels already add 10 percent service charge plus 9 percent GST, the plus plus printed beside menu prices. That is the tip. Hawker centres have no tipping at all. Round up a Grab fare, give a bellhop S$2, stop there.

What most guides get wrong

Almost every Singapore list pushes the Singapore Tourist Pass. Do the arithmetic: the one day version is about S$22 including a S$10 refundable deposit, so roughly S$12 of travel, while an MRT ride is S$1 to S$2.50 and a busy day is four or five rides. You break even only on a train heavy day. Tap in with the contactless card you already carry.

Skip the Singapore Flyer too, about S$40 for a view the Marina Bay promenade gives you free. For height, the Pinnacle@Duxton skybridge on the 50th floor costs around S$6.

Etiquette, dress and the rules that get enforced

• No eating or drinking on the MRT, water included, with fines up to about S$500. No durian either.
• Smoking only inside the marked yellow boxes. Vapes and e-cigarettes are illegal here, possession included, and carrying one through Changi is a customs offence. This is the rule Indian travellers break most often.
• Cigarettes carry no duty free allowance at all, so the carton in your suitcase is exactly what customs looks for.
• Cover shoulders and knees at Sri Mariamman Temple and Sultan Mosque, which lends robes. Rooftop bars at Marina Bay Sands turn men away in shorts and slippers.
• Queue properly and keep phone calls quiet on the train.

Safety and health

Singapore is about as safe as travel gets, solo women included. The real risks are dull: heat and humidity at 26C to 33C all year, short heavy thunderstorms (a poncho beats an umbrella), and dengue, so use repellent after sunset. Tap water is drinkable islandwide, so refill rather than buy. Care is excellent and expensive, so travel insurance is not optional here. Dial 999 for police, 995 for ambulance.

What people forget to pack

• A type G British style adapter and a small extension board
• A light jacket, because indoor air conditioning sits near 20C
• Proper walking shoes, since 12,000 steps a day is normal
• Sunscreen and mosquito repellent, both pricier there than in India
• Printed visa approval, the SG Arrival Card acknowledgement and a folder for GST receipts

Know before you go

• Singapore is 2 hours 30 minutes ahead of IST.
• Indian passport holders need a visa before boarding, filed through an authorised agent. Confirm fees and documents on the official ICA portal.
• The SG Arrival Card is free, separate from the visa, and filed on the ICA site within three days of arrival. Sites that charge for it are scams.
• Flights are 4 to 4.5 hours from Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, 5.5 to 6 from Delhi and Mumbai.

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