Singapore Travel Influencers Share Their Tips And Hacks On Travelling

It’s nearing the end of the year again! Being Singaporeans, we were born to travel abroad, especially when the little red dot is simply too small to explore.  We decided to ask some avid travel bloggers to share with us their experiences and tips to get exposed to more cultures and cities overseas!

• How exotic the country is
• Whether it can be done comfortably with our number of days allocated
• How expensive it will be. Our Budget is usually not more than 3k for either Europe or Africa

Best tips or hacks that help you save money when travelling?

• Mindset: Change their typical Singaporean “spoilt mindset”. The biggest cost of a vacation aside from the air tickets is usually accommodation. Singaporeans are generally self-entitled and tend to turn up their nose at anything less than a 4-star hotel though they can barely afford it.
• Stay in hostels: While we have progressed from hostel dorms, hostels do have private rooms way cheaper than hotels.
• Book at tour desk activities: Also, having a tour desk at the hostel helps secure cheaper day tours if necessary.
• Book in the country itself:  For local events, it beats booking online as you can haggle for a better price. Singaporeans, unfortunately, are afraid to step out of their comfort zone and prefer to be ripped off by booking everything in advance and online because they are afraid things won’t run smoothly if they don’t.

For under SG$1000, where would you best recommend this Year End Holiday?

• Any travel destinations I would recommend would be at least somewhat exotic.
• Under $1000, it would be tough to recommend anywhere out of Asia, which isn’t our specialty.
• If I had to recommend an amazing place Singaporeans could visit though, it would be Nepal. (I would recommend Bangladesh but it would be a waste of space as Singaporeans would never visit)

Fun Fact: Many people think Nepal is about climbing mountains and one has to be reasonably fit to visit, but that’s all a myth. I’ve visited Nepal twice. There are easy 3-day 2-night treks like the Poon Hill Trek offering an amazing experience.

In fact, I actually came across a couple of Singaporeans ladies in their 50s making their way along it. Air tickets can be gotten around SG$450-500 during promotions. Once there, even a typical spoilt Singaporean could get by comfortably on SG$500 over a week. 

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Bryan Lim

Bryan writes for his own blog The More I Travel and his mission is simple: “Wanderlust on a shoestring budget” Travelling more to find yourself!

How often do you travel annually?

I travel about 2-3 times a year, at least one of them will be to a moderately far destination (more than 10 hours flight).

• Plan early, this way you can save on flights!
• Make use of promotional codes such as for Airbnb and hotels.
• Book with the right credit cards to earn miles for your future free flight redemption or even cash back.

Editor’s note: One way also recommended by many peers is to use websites such as Shopback which gives you up to 11% cashback on travel deals)

For under SG$1000, where would you best recommend this Year End Holiday?

• For under $1000, try Australia if you can get a cheap flight in to escape the summer intense heat.
• Otherwise, consider a drop dead gorgeous beach getaway to Boracay, or Palawan in The Philippines.

Read also: Should I Buy Overseas Sim Card Or Data Locally When Travelling?

Jaclynn Seah

She writes for her own blog The Occasional Traveller and has a simple mission as a Singaporean girl who knows what it’s like to balance work and wanderlust.

How often do you travel annually?

When I had a full-time job, I travelled as much as I could with those days, so about 4-5 times on average a year.

How do you usually decide where your next destination will be?

Depends on where I can good/cheap flights to or places that just strike my fancy.

• Flights are one of the biggest costs, so keeping track of promos and planning your trips in advance are some of the best ways to save
• If you are savvy, loyalty programs are also great for repeat travellers!

For under SG$1000, where would you best recommend this Year End Holiday?

• Lots to see around South East Asia where you can travel for quite cheap.
• Maybe venture a little beyond the tried and tested Bali and Bangkok areas – Indonesia and Thailand both have a lot of other islands or cities that will see fewer tourists and are still very affordable.
• I also like Vietnam for the food and culture.