Changing money for Singapore and Bali

[Rocket1k78]

Heading to Singapore and Bali soon and need some local currency. Ive read some say change here and some say change there so im hoping some experienced travelers to those places can help me out. Theres a bunch of us so we'll need quite a bit. Bali has us pretty worried because from all the videos we've watched the currency exchange is one of the biggest scams there.

If you have some good tips please share too. Thanks in advance

[tha_bandit]

From my experiences, it's always better to exchange once you get there (and def not at the airport).

[taemo]

For convenience sake, I prefer having most of my needed cash before a trip (I budget around 50CAD$/day for pocket cash)
You can call Calforex ahead of time to make sure they have the currencies that you need.

For the small amount of money I need to exchange, I wouldn't have any problem getting it exchanged at the airport too though.


If you are heading SG first, then get your SG$ here. Get your Indonesian Rupiah in SG as exchange rate should be better than here.

Also if you are staying at upscale hotels, they might offer you decent exchange rates as well.

[Rocket1k78]

Yeah normally i dont need a ton of cash on holidays but with the street food vendors and the markets were going to need way more than normal. We'll be slumming it at the shangri la in sg and the westin in bali #beyondnotsosubltebrag lol

[taemo]

Yeah normally i dont need a ton of cash on holidays but with the street food vendors and the markets were going to need way more than normal. We'll be slumming it at the shangri la in sg and the westin in bali #beyondnotsosubltebrag lol

food price in SG is very similar to Canada. Bali should be a lot cheaper.
I would exchange most of your money to SG$ then exchange them to Rupiah while in Asia.

[rx7boi]

food price in SG is very similar to Canada.

Respectfully disagree. SG is one of the most expensive places to live. Unless you're planning to eat every single meal at a hawker center or McD's, I wouldn't use the word similar for pricing. Even then, some hawker locations are like twice as much due to popularity.

Our dollar is pretty much on par, but on average everything in SG is way more expensive.

Also, damn #baller, hope you enjoy staying at the Shangri La.

[taemo]

Respectfully disagree. SG is one of the most expensive places to live. Unless you're planning to eat every single meal at a hawker center or McD's, I wouldn't use the word similar for pricing. Even then, some hawker locations are like twice as much due to popularity.

Our dollar is pretty much on par, but on average everything in SG is way more expensive.

Also, damn #baller, hope you enjoy staying at the Shangri La.

guess you might be right, we didn't go for fine dining as we mostly went to hawkers and light meal while there.. other than us having to order food while staying at MBS as I got food sick from Thailand and spent a whole day in the hotel room.

looking at the price from these SG restaurant, it looks to be expensive
http://etnaitalianrestaurant.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Etna-Menu-Final-28Jul16.pdf

damn at the price of steak in there :eek:
https://www.bistecca.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Dinner-April-2019.pdf

[Rocket1k78]

Like any city, all can be done cheap but i have to agree with rx7boi that singapore is an expensive place, bali isnt really that much cheaper either.

[Disoblige]

The question is why the fuck would you eat at a place like that in Singapore? You deserve to pay those prices if you do lol.

[rx7boi]

We stayed in the Marine Parade area last November and there were good choices along East Coast Road, nothing amazing. We hit up a place called Sin Hoi Sai Eating House which was great. It was expensive for Asian cuisine (nearly $50 bucks for a medium chicken and pork dish, some rice and cokes) compared to hitting up a restaurant in Chinatown here.

Unfortunately we didn't feel like dropping $90 for chili crab but at least we made up for it with some amazing crab curry at Somboon Seafood when we hit up Bangkok.

[ourdon]

Pick up enough Singapore dollars and Rupiahs to get you into town and last a day or two at the respective airports. That gives you time to wander about and find which cambio offers the best rates.

The atm machines at Ngurah Rai and Changi might not give you the absolute best rate available but they are right there and DO give you a much better rate than your bank in Canada.

Wanna try something expensive??? Try spending New Years Eve drinking at the long bar at Raffles.:)

[Rocket1k78]

Respectfully disagree. SG is one of the most expensive places to live. Unless you're planning to eat every single meal at a hawker center or McD's, I wouldn't use the word similar for pricing. Even then, some hawker locations are like twice as much due to popularity.

Our dollar is pretty much on par, but on average everything in SG is way more expensive.

Also, damn #baller, hope you enjoy staying at the Shangri La.

You are 100% correct! I knew it was going to be an expensive city but $6 can of cokes/bottles at restaurants is fucking nuts. My starbucks bill here is $9 for me and my wife and there it was $16, a grande latte is almost $9 FFS. We tried to go to the chinatown hawker center but it was too intense for my fam, no air con coupled with pretty sketchy cooking and eating areas was a no go for my wife. I did have the best buffet ever though at the shangri la, 4 different types of crab, lobster and a bunch of other seafood all for the low price of $90 a person:nut: We loved SG though and will be back

[RX_EVOLV]

Singapore is so expensive. I remember going to a rooftop bar with a friend and I just went for the cheapest alcoholic beverage on the menu, which was a pint of Stella for $28 CAD equivalent. Not including tips.

[Buster]

You are 100% correct! I knew it was going to be an expensive city but $6 can of cokes/bottles at restaurants is fucking nuts. My starbucks bill here is $9 for me and my wife and there it was $16, a grande latte is almost $9 FFS. We tried to go to the chinatown hawker center but it was too intense for my fam, no air con coupled with pretty sketchy cooking and eating areas was a no go for my wife. I did have the best buffet ever though at the shangri la, 4 different types of crab, lobster and a bunch of other seafood all for the low price of $90 a person:nut: We loved SG though and will be back

fake.

Singapore is clearly in the northern hemisphere, not the southern

[Rocket1k78]

Singapore is so expensive. I remember going to a rooftop bar with a friend and I just went for the cheapest alcoholic beverage on the menu, which was a pint of Stella for $28 CAD equivalent. Not including tips.

My wife paid $22 for a drink on top of the MBS lol

[997TT]

I just got back from Bali. Calforex only had $200 equivalent for rupiah so I brought cash and changed it there. Just go to an authorized money changer and it’s safe. If u want to change here like a poster said call ahead first

[Rocket1k78]

I just got back from Bali. Calforex only had $200 equivalent for rupiah so I brought cash and changed it there. Just go to an authorized money changer and it’s safe. If u want to change here like a poster said call ahead first

I called around the day before i left and chinook had enough to give me $3k worth, it took her forever to hand count it because the highest note in bali currency is $100k which is equal to about $9 canadian lol I knew there were going to be a ton of money changing places there but theyre literally everywhere

[bcylau]

I was living in Bali for 2 months. The best way to get money was from a Japanese based bank ATM (usually located in a circle K) , aussies, europeans and other digital nomads go that route. They will charge you about 35000rupiah for access but it is much easier and cheaper than any other method I have found.

Also when using money changers, watch for standard money changing scams in Bali, and hidden fees when changing. Make sure you get a receipt that matches the rate. Don't change in airport, except for taxi money. The FX spread is about 20%. Do get sim card at airport tho. Otherwise lots of mobile stands and kiosk around town. Anyways, always bargain in Bali, the tourist premium is usuallly 200%, so start with 30% of the price.

Singapore is more modern and financially advanced than Canada, so anywhere is fine for exchange. But HSBC bank will offer the best access.