On our recent trip to the Middle East and Europe we had a stopover in Singapore which was all kinds of amazing. We always research the best ways to get around a new destination before we arrive and we found that in Singapore, the Singapore Tourist Pass was our best option for getting around the city with zero worries and for a really reasonable price.
What is the Singapore Tourist Pass?
The Singapore Tourist Pass is a card which offers tourists basically unlimited travel on Singapore’s buses, MRT & LRT trains.
How much does it cost?
We purchased a 2-day pass each and it’s important to note that on these passes you must use the days consecutively. The 2-day pass was $26 SGD each which included the $10 refundable rental deposit.
A 1-day pass costs $20 and a 3-day pass costs $30 (both inclusive of the $10 refundable deposit).
Purchasing & Returning the Pass
To purchase the pass and return it honestly could not have been more simple. Once we had cleared immigration and got our bags in Singapore, we headed downstairs to the MRT (mass rapid transport).
There was a well-labelled desk where we purchased the Singapore Tourist Pass from and this was the same place that we returned them for our refund the next day.
Using the MRT
The Singapore train system was so easy to use. It was up there as one of the easiest that we’ve ever used straightforward maps, regular services and SUPER clean trains. The trains were so regular that they were never too busy and they were also lovely and air-conditioned which is amazing because walking around Singapore is SWEATY.
There was also plenty of staff at all of the stations if you need any assistance.
Is the Singapore Tourist Pass worth it?
We’d read that the average fares for the MRT ranged from between S$0.83 to S$1.95 per journey. Whilst we walked A LOT, I still think we would have easily taken at least 10-15 trips (including our return trip to the airport).
We definitely got our monies worth and it was good being able to relax and not worry if we had enough money on our cards or having to constantly top them up.
The only way I think it would not be worth getting a pass was if you were only planning to stay in your hotel or just one part of Singapore. It also wouldn’t be worth it if you were in Singapore for longer than the three days which is the maximum you can get on this pass. You would be better to look into getting a regular train pass if that was the case.
We definitely found that the Singapore Tourist Pass was worth it for our 24 hour (over 2 days) stopover in Singapore. We’ll definitely visit Singapore on future stopovers and will always purchase the tourist pass.
You can find out more about the pass here: Singapore Tourist Pass.
For two 2-day passes we paid $26 SGD each which was approximately $55 Australian dollars. Once we had returned our cards, the final expenditure came to $34.50 Australian dollars in total for 2 days of unlimited transport.