Singapore: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Singapore feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 111 written places.
Four cultures in efficient harmony; rules are posted, enforced and genuinely followed.
✓ Considered polite
- Eat at hawker centres - Michelin-level food at street prices is the national treasure
- Return your tray - it is required and fined otherwise
- Queue precisely - order is the social contract
- Use public transport - it is spotless, cheap and comprehensive
✗ Better avoided
- Chew gum casually - import and sale are banned
- Eat or drink on trains and buses - fines are real
- Jaywalk - enforced
- Litter anywhere - famously enforced
Worth knowing
- Tipping is not expected - a service charge is included
- Cards and phone payments work everywhere; hawkers increasingly too
- Tap water is safe
- The heat is constant - plan indoor afternoons and hydrate
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.