You may already know, but Singapore is not a cheap place compared to the rest of South East Asia. Their dollar is practically neck to neck with the USD. But don’t let this discourage you because with a little help, you can enjoy Singapore without breaking the bank or in this case, without breaking anything. On a budget or not, we all love the word ‘free’ so below is a list of completely free activities to do while in Singapore (in no particular order).
1) Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore Botanic Gardens
When the weather is nice you’ll want to enjoy the outdoors so the Botanic Gardens is a great option with free entry. Open from 5am to midnight daily, the 73 hectare (183 acre) garden is the earliest and latest open public garden in the world. Being so grandiose in size it is easy to get lost so a map is needed. The ginger garden, which homes 250 species of ginger and the evolution garden, which details the evolution of plants on earth, are too interesting to be missed among many others. The main attraction of the park is the National Orchid Garden, but unfortunately, there is a small entrance fee.
2) Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel
It might be way out of your budget to stay at Raffles Hotel with rooms starting at around $600 SGD per night, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy it. Raffles Hotel is more than just a luxurious place to sleep, it is a landmark filled with history and beauty. It’s open for the public to marvel at, and even includes free entry to the Raffles Museum which explains the hotel’s history along with Singapore in general.
3) Singapore City Gallery
Central City Model
Anyone interested in architecture would be interested to visit the Singapore City Gallery. Here is where you can immerse yourself in Singapore’s architecture and urban planning throughout the years. They offer one of the largest architectural models in the world, which alone is a good enough reason to visit the free gallery.
4) Merlion Park
Merlion
Standing 8.6 meters high, the merlion is Singapore’s icon so avoiding this touristic spot is almost impossible. The lion with a fish’s body is located in the free Merlion Park, making it a popular hang-out spot for locals and visitors. As the statue stands spitting water, people are reminding of Singapore’s origins as a fishing village.
5) Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
Bukit Timah
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is the perfectly preserved forest of what Singapore used to be before skyscrapers and urbanism. This ASEAN Heritage site is free to enter, to hike, to animal watch (there are tons of monkeys), and to discover plenty of rare flora and fauna. Singapore does not offer much when it comes to trekking and nature so whatever is available, you must take advantage of, especially for that city break.
6) Water and Light Show at Marina Sands
Fountain of Lights
It may be only 13 minutes, but those minutes are completely electrifying. Thanks to the Marina Sands, each night at 8pm and 9:30pm (also 11pm on Friday and Saturday), there is a highly entertaining light and water show complete with colors and live music. It’s 100% free, but weather permitting so check their website for updated information.
7) Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Art Museum
Housed in a former colonial-style school, the Singapore Art Museum showcases the world’s grandest collection of Southeast Asian contemporary art. Need I say more? It is too good to be free all the time so try to visit on Fridays between 6pm and 9pm for free admission.
8) East Coast Park
East Coast Park
Quite possibly the most popular park in Singapore, East Coast Park offers the beach and loads of sporting activities from cycling to surfing to camping. Since most travelers head to Sentosa, this park is filled with locals to give a real outdoor Singaporean experience. Some activities may cost you, but it goes without saying that walking and sunbathing are free!
9) Lee Kong Chian Reference Library
National Library
If you love books, you will be in your glory at the 7 story Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. Open till 9pm every day, it is a great free place to pass time learning about Singapore and other subjects. To name a few, collections include; Arts, Business, Chinese, Malay, Singapore, Tamil, Southeast Asia, and Science and Technology.
10) Haw Par Villa
Haw Par Villa (Tiger Balm Theme Park)
Probably the strangest of all listed in this post, Haw Par Villa is a theme park themed on Chinese mythology. Founded by the Tiger Balm brothers, there are over 1,000 statues and 150 dioramas depicting Chinese legends and folklore. None of the statues are really considered beautiful since many can be quite disturbing while others are rotting away. The most famous display, Ten Courts of Hell, depicts the consequences of sin with goriness. Walking through this free park is simply reading an amazing tale.
Photos by edwin.11, David Blackwell, kewl, tolomea, pixculture, Simon Jones, fabcan, qinrongs, jblyberg and gruntzooki
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Article by Lauren
Lauren Vita Sgarlato quit her corporate New York lifestyle in 2009 to explore the world for a few months. Little did she know, a few months would turn into years. Having traveled around 30 countries or so, she decided to settle for love in Brazil, but she’s itching to return to Southeast Asia, especially for the food! Learn more about us
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