I consider Singapore as “Asia for Beginners”, one of the easiest cities in Asia to visit. And, having lived there for a while, it’s also one of the easiest and cheapest to get to! That makes this post on how to get to Singapore without spending a lot of money very easy, read on for my travel tips.
Singapore is the hub of my favorite airline, Singapore Airlines. They are a five-star airline, offer some of the best cabins and service on the planet. They also are a member of StarAlliance, making it easy to get to Singapore in points, even in premium cabins. You can read my overview of the airline here to learn about their destinations around the world and my review of their KrisFlyer program here, to find out how to get there using miles! I have flown for 160,000 miles in ANA Business Class or Asiana Business Class from the US to South East Asia or in Singapore Airlines First Class for 144,000 miles between SE Asia and Europe!
Singapore is also a destination for most European and Asian carriers , giving you non-stop access from many major airports in that region. More recently, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have re-introduced non-stop service from the US, making it more convenient to reach from North America. Most major Asian Airlines and the big three US airlines offer one-stop service to the city state. There are frequent sales to Singapore from Europe and North America – I have seen fares under $700 in economy frequently from either region over the last year.
But in addition to the major, full-service carriers, Singapore also is home to Tiger Airways and Scoot, two low-cost subsidiaries of Singapore Airlines that offer bargain fares to many cities around Asia and Australia. Add to that frequent flights by other low-cost carriers, like Air Asia, Cebu Pacific and others, and you can fly around the region for fares of under $100!.
This gives you a great opportunity to take advantage of sales fares on any carrier to the region and low-cost carriers to get to Singapore! For example, you can take advantage of a sales fare of under $500 to Bangkok or Hong Kong – and add a low cost carrier ticket for under $100: You get to see two Asian destinations for under $600!
So, here is how you get the best deal to Singapore:
- Set up an alert for low fares between your home town and Singapore on airfarewatchdog.com – it monitors deals for you and will send you a notification of the best deals. It’s route-specific, so you only get what you want and are not flooded with useless alerts. You can turn it off, once you have booked your ticket
- Check for low fares to other Asian cities – Singapore is one of the more expensive cities in Asia and you might find better fares to other Asian cities. Check for bargain fares to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Taipei or Seoul. If the fares are more than $100 cheaper than booking to Singapore, you can use that to your advantage.
- Check low-cost carriers from your gateway city to Singapore. If you find a great fare to one of the cities above, check on Kayak for a low-cost carrier to take you from let’s say Bangkok to Singapore. All of those cities are worth visiting, so you can plan a short stop over there, before going on to Singapore, and you get to see two beautiful cities for less!
If all of that sounds like too much work, you can always follow me on Twitter or sign-up for my weekly newsletter (upper right corner) to keep you informed on current deals! Or, check out my Travel Made Easy Services and let me put an itinerary together for you! I’ll also help you find an award ticket, if there never seems to be availability when you need it! Enjoy your trip to Singapore, travel better and get there for less!