Separate shared costs from personal costs
Start with accommodation per room per night. Then add food and transport per person per day. Put attraction tickets, airport transfers and other one-off expenses in their own lines. This avoids accidentally charging every person for a room that the group shares.
For a couple staying four nights but spending five calendar days in the city, accommodation and daily spending use different multipliers. Keeping nights and days separate makes the estimate easier to check.
An example you can edit
For two people, imagine four nights at S$150 per room, five days of food at S$35 per person and five days of local transport at S$10 per person. Add S$160 for activities and S$80 in other trip costs. The subtotal is S$1,290. A 10% reserve brings it to S$1,419, or S$709.50 per person. These are illustrative inputs, not measured current market prices. Flights are excluded unless you add them.
Where to find the real inputs
Collect prices for your dates and compare like with like. Save the total at the final booking stage before payment rather than copying the cheapest search result.
- Hotel: check room occupancy, taxes, breakfast and cancellation terms.
- Food: use menus from places you would actually visit; include drinks.
- Transport: map your daily journeys and compare public transport with transfers.
- Activities: decide which paid sights matter and which days can be mostly walking.
- One-off costs: airport travel, luggage storage and island trips.
Keep some days simple
Cluster activities by neighbourhood. A day that combines a walk, a food centre and one museum can be more satisfying than repeatedly crossing the city for a list of unrelated attractions. Choose paid experiences deliberately and leave room to change plans.
Watch the currency
Use one currency throughout your budget. If you start with SGD, convert the final amount using a rate checked when you need it. The calculator does not offer live exchange rates; changing its currency label does not convert the numbers.
Use the result as a decision tool
If the total is too high, change one assumption at a time. Compare fewer hotel moves, another room category or one less paid activity. A budget should reveal what you value rather than force every day to meet the same arbitrary spending limit.