We love to use transit to get to our accommodations from an airport. Traffic to and from airports tends to be a nightmare almost anywhere in the world, which can make the transit expensive to do by car. Knowing that nothing in Singapore is cheap, we really wanted to save money where we could. Fortunately, Singapore’s MRT is easy to use thanks to its amazing way-finding, clean, safe and efficient.
To map to the station nearest your final destination, use Google Maps. We found this to be a reliable way to find our way around the city by MRT and bus.
Once we were out of the airport into the arrivals concourse, we took a long walk waaaaaaaaay to the other end of the terminal and found the “Train to City” signs. It probably isn’t really that far, but we’d been travelling for 20+ hours, so our bodies were stiff and our bags felt heavier than they were.
From here follow the MRT signs, which will take you down two escalators.
You can tap on to enter with a Visa or Mastercard (much to our surprise it doesn’t take Amex!), but each passenger has to use a different card. Also, you have to tap off with the same card you used to tap on, as the system charges passengers by distance. We had a little trouble with this – our TD issued Visa card didn’t work, but our CIBC and RBC Visa cards did. Fear not if you don’t have a card that works – there are ticket booths with helpful staff everywhere.
Two stops from the airport station you change (at Tanah Merah) for the Downtown Line. Don’t worry about missing the change. The cars have maps indicating your route, and there are repeated announcements (in English) reminding you of the need to change.
The transit system in Singapore is extensive. You can get anywhere you want in good time and at good prices. We made full use of the MRT and bus system during our entire say.
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