Is Singapore Tourist Pass Worth it? (costs and alternatives)
A lot of visitors to Singapore are tempted to buy the Singapore Tourist Pass. There are booths with advertisements for it waiting for you as you step off the plane at Changi. However I feel that it is not worth it for most people, so I put this guide together to show you why it is not worth it, and tell you when it is.
The Singapore Tourist Pass is generally not worth it for most visitors based on the cost of a typical daily public transport spend by credit card when compared to the daily cost of the Tourist Pass. Based on my recommended 24 hour itinerary, the Singapore Tourist Pass would only offer a small saving of up to 54 cents assuming you were able to refund the deposit.
The Singapore Tourist Pass might be worth it in the following situations:
- You know you will use a lot of public transport over 3 consecutive days (at least 6-8 journeys per day)
- You’re travelling as a family and small savings of 50 cents to 1 dollar per person per day adds up
- In 2025 when the fares will likely increase again yet the Singapore Tourist Pass will likely remain the same
- You plan to take advantage of the discounts, such as S$7.50 off wildlife park entry or an S$4 discount on admission to the MBS observation deck
Alternatives to the Singapore Tourist Pass include:
- Credit or debit card (S$1.09 to S$2.37 per journey plus 60 cents per day)
- Prepaid EZ Link card (S$1.09 to S$2.37 per journey plus a S$5 card fee)
In this guide I’ve included
- Singapore Tourist Pass costs
- How much the Singapore Tourist Pass can save you (example journeys)
- Why it is difficult to save with the Singapore Tourist Pass (my journey)
- When the Singapore Tourist Pass is worth it
- Alternatives to the Singapore Tourist Pass
I compare the Singapore Tourist Pass with credit cards in this guide as they are generally cheaper than the prepaid EZ Link card for most tourists. If you’re interested in finding out more about the different payment methods, check out my full guide here: reachingsingapore.com/transport-payment-methods
Singapore Tourist Pass costs
The table below shows how much you pay per day for unlimited public transport when using the Singapore Tourist Pass.
| Pass Type | Total Cost | Daily Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Day Pass | S$12 | S$12 |
| 2-Day Pass | S$19 | S$9.50 |
| 3-Day Pass | S$24 | S$8 |
| SG Tourist Pass (3 days) | S$29 | S$9.67 |
Costs above are calculated after getting your deposit back (which isn’t always easy according to the Google reviews); the deposit is S$10. The difference between the Day Pass and the SG Tourist Pass is that the SG Tourist Pass does not require a deposit.
To get your deposit back you must visit a SimplyGo office within 6 days of when you first purchased it. The deposit can be collected from any MRT station during its office hours (note the Changi Airport MRT station office hours are 8am to 9pm daily, even though the train service is roughly 6am to midnight).
For the above passes there is no additional value, apart from the unlimited public transport. There is a Singapore Tourist Pass Plus that costs S$48 and includes a few additional perks such as a concierge service; I haven’t calculated a value for these, but you can check out more detail on their website here.
Sentosa Express is not included in the unlimited rides, as are some other services include: RWS8, express buses, and other premium buses. If you want to use these, you can add a cash balance to your card at any MRT station.
How much the Singapore Tourist Pass can save you (example journeys)
The Singapore Tourist Pass can save you between a few cents and a couple of dollars per day when using a significant amount of public transport and paying by foreign credit card (Visa or Mastercard).
I put together 3 examples of 1-day travel in Singapore to show how much the Tourist Pass can save you just over S$4 on three days of travel (“normal cost” is calculated using a foreign credit card):
| Itinerary | Normal Cost | STP Savings |
| Day 1: Bird Paradise, Hawker Centre, National Museum | S$9.52 | S$1.52 |
| Day 2: Botanic Gardens, Haw Par Villa, Gardens by the Bay | S$9.38 | S$1.38 |
| Day 3: Zoo, National Gallery, Airport (one-way) | S$9.44 | S$1.44 |
| Total | S$28.34 | S$4.34 |
Fares are based on a starting point of an Orchard hotel; savings are based on the 3-day pass (i.e. 3 consecutive days of travel). You would have to return the pass to get your deposit back to realise these savings. The 60 cent foreign credit card fee is included as I’ve prepared this comparison for tourists.
Each day in my example above covers roughly 6-7 journeys by public transport (including interchanging between train or bus to get to each location). This is a jam-packed itinerary and may be too much for most people to handle given the heat and humidity of Singapore. I do not think saving S$4.34 over using a credit card is worth the hassle.
Why it is difficult to save with the Singapore Tourist Pass (my journey)
I spent a full day travelling around Singapore visiting tourist attractions as part of my research to make the ultimate 24 hour itinerary for visitors (check out the video on YouTube here). The list of public transport rides I took is in the table below:
| Start | End | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Dhoby Ghaut | Raffles Place | S$1.09 |
| Shenton Way | Napier | S$1.40 |
| Bird Paradise Bus Stop | Maxwell | S$2.18 |
| Maxwell | Gardens by the Bay | S$1.09 |
| Raffles Place | Dhoby Ghaut | S$1.09 |
| Dhoby Ghaut | Farer Park | S$1.09 |
I was trying to see as many sights as possible in Singapore, as if I were a visitor trying to squeeze every last minute out of a day in tropical Singapore. And I struggled to make enough MRT or bus rides that would make the Singapore Tourist Pass worthwhile.
Even if you somehow manage to take 6-8 public transport journeys a day, saving money is still contingent on returning the pass at the airport to get a saving. If you run out of time to return the pass, you will not have saved any money.
When the Singapore Tourist Pass is worth it
I generally find there are 3 scenarios where the Singapore Tourist Pass is worth it:
- You know you will use a lot of public transport over 2-3 consecutive days (at least 6-8 journeys per day)
- You’re travelling as a family and small savings of 50 cents to 2 dollars per person per day adds up
- In 2025 when the fares will likely increase again yet the Singapore Tourist Pass will likely remain the same
If you know you will travel a lot over 3 days with public transport, the Singapore Tourist Pass would be worth it. If I wasn’t filming for Youtube, I would probably have taken an MRT and bus ride to get from the Botanic Gardens to the Bird Paradise. This means it is possible to exceed $8 in public transport fees, especially if paying using a foreign credit card. It may also be possible to do this with the 2-Day Pass (S$9.50 per day).
On a realistic itinerary, the only way I could see this working, is if you planned at least 1 long journey each day combined with some shorter journeys. The long journeys that I could see visitors making here include to/from Mandai Wildlife area and to/from Changi airport.
If you are travelling as a family, the Singapore Tourist Pass might be worth it. In my example above, I calculated roughly S$4 of savings over 3 days of travel. This probably isn’t worth the hassle for 1 person, but if you’re in a family of 4 or more, the savings can add up. Particularly as children probably do not have a credit card to pay for transport.
The Singapore Tourist Pass might be worth it in 2025. I’ve been watching the MRT and bus fares increase over the last few years, and the Singapore Tourist Pass has stayed the same price. If the fares jump significantly again in 2025 while the Tourist Pass remains the same, I’d say it would be worth it.
Discounts and Perks
Included with the Singapore Tourist Pass are some discounts and perks. If you planned on visiting these attractions anyway, it will likely make the Singapore Tourist Pass worth it for you.
Some of the highlighted discounts include:
| Activity | Discount |
|---|---|
| Hell’s Museum | 10% off ticket price |
| Marina Bay Sands Observation Deck | S$4 off admission |
| Singapore Cable Car | 25% off round trip ticket |
| Wildlife Parks | S$7.50 off when bought with a full-priced adult |
Alternatives to the Singapore Tourist Pass
Out of all the ways to pay for public transport (I wrote a full guide here), the two best alternatives to the Singapore Tourist Pass are credit card (or debit card), or the prepaid EZ Link card.
Foreign credit cards can be used to pay for public transport in Singapore. The fares cost roughly S$1.09 to S$2.37 depending on distance travelled. There is an additional charge of 60 cents per day for using a non-Singaporean card (regardless of how many journeys you make). Only Visa and Mastercard are supported, as are debit cards using these networks.
A prepaid EZ Link card can also be used to pay for public transport in Singapore. This is Singapore’s traditional train/bus ticket with fares costing the same as by credit card (S$1.09 to S$2.37). A new EZ Link card typically costs S$10 and comes with S$5 credit, meaning the card itself costs S$5 (this is non-refundable). The best place to buy an EZ Link card is at an MRT station, including the Changi Airport MRT station (vending machines or counter).
Technically the Singapore Tourist Pass is a special type of EZ Link card that comes pre-loaded with one, two, or three days of unlimited travel. The unlimited travel cannot be applied to a regular EZ Link card.
To learn more about payment methods for public transport in Singapore, check out my guide here: reachingsingapore.com/transport-payment-methods
References
To ensure accuracy of the data in this article, I used the following resources:
- Singapore Tourist Pass official website here
- LTA fare calculator (here) and fare table (here). All calculation is done based on 2024 rates.
For further reading on catching public transport in Singapore, check out:
- How to use buses in Singapore: reachingsingapore.com/singapore-catch-bus-guide
- How to use trains (MRT) in Singapore: reachingsingapore.com/singapore-catch-train-guide
- How to use taxis in Singapore: reachingsingapore.com/singapore-catch-taxi-guide
Interested in how the Singapore Tourist Pass compares to the EZ Link card specifically? Check out my complete guide to the differences between the two here: reachingsingapore.com/stp-ezlink-difference
