The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar (Singapore dollar), whose symbol is $. It is the only legal tender in the country and there wherever you find prices preceded by the symbol $ will always refer to the Singapore dollar. You find coins 5 ¢, 10 ¢, 20 ¢, 50 ¢ and $ 1 dollar bills $ 2, $ 5, $ 10, $ 50, $ 100, $ 500 and $ 1000.
When behind a price two plus signs appear, this means that the price we must add two taxes (you will find more information on taxes ). For example:
$ 21.88 ++
Attention , to avoid confusion, the Guide will use the symbol SINGAPORE SGD ahead of any value related to the currency of Singapore.
In the following link you can see the current exchange rate of the Singapore dollar against your currency:
Currency Converter by OANDA
ATMs
There are many ATMs , both at the airport and in the city, from which you can withdraw money directly into Singapore dollars. Check with your bank fees, limits extraction or even unlocking the card before traveling. Policies and rates vary from bank to bank.Exchange Offices
For those who want to change currency, there is little exchange (almost always operated by Indians) in almost all the oldest shopping centers in the city. They usually offer better exchange rates than banks. In The Arcade @ Raffles Place (which is at 11 Collyer Quay , in the financial center of Singapore), there are a dozen exchange houses next to each other. In the shopping center Lucky Plaza in Orchard region, there are also a number of exchange houses that offer good conversion rates. In the Mustafa Centre in Little India, there is also exchange house. In any of them you can get a reasonably good rate change.Credit cards
Credit cards are accepted in almost all shops and tourist attractions. VISA and Mastercard cards are well accepted. Diners are used with some ease. In hawkers or food courts is unusual payment is accepted with credit cards. So it is always convenient to carry Singapore dollars to pay for small purchases or metro tickets.
Cost of Living:
In the Asian context, and in general, Singapore is not a cheap destination. There are many other countries in the region where you pay less for housing and major tourist attractions. Prices are generally comparable to those in Europe, with large variations.
One of the peculiarities of Singapore is offering at the same time proposals for luxury tourism and for the most economical too. Whoever wants to eat in a restaurant with Michelin stars find prices do not differ much from award - winning restaurants in Europe or America. But who wants to enjoy the culinary diversity found in hawker centers and food courts (feeding places with local food) will discover that you can eat a main course for 5 Singapore dollars.
Roughly:
hospitality has similar prices to those in Europe and South America.
public transport is cheap.
Ethnic food is cheap.
food in fancy restaurants is expensive.
prices are quite varied tourist attractions. A good example is the giant Ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer. It is a modern attraction that has a high price in the context of Singapore but at the time of writing is a little more expensive than the climb to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, a bit cheaper than the rise to another waterwheel very similar , the London Eye and much cheaper than the ascent to Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro.
