What this is
Singapore Travel Guide By A Local is an independent, ACRA-registered Singapore advisory. It publishes free guides to visiting, moving to and caring for family in Singapore, and sells written trip-planning, relocation and eldercare advisory work. It takes no commission from any hotel, restaurant, tour operator, agent or venue — which is the whole reason the recommendations can be honest about what to skip.
Everything on the site is written by one Singaporean, born and raised here, whose working life has spanned a government agency, an MNC regional headquarters and SME operations. There is no team of writers and no syndicated content.
What we can talk about
- Hawker culture and food — how centres actually work, what the NEA hygiene grades mean, why the queue is the only reliable signal, and what UNESCO listing did and did not change.
- Relocating to Singapore — Employment Pass thresholds and what they mean in practice, the deposit stack, school waitlists, and the gap between the EP floor and the Dependant's Pass floor that catches families out.
- Eldercare across time zones — what adult children abroad can and cannot arrange from a distance, and where the Singapore system helps and where it does not.
- Seasonality and crowds — the festival calendar as locals experience it, and which weeks are genuinely worth travelling for.
- AI travel planning — we test AI-generated Singapore itineraries against the ground and publish what they get wrong. That piece tends to interest technology desks as much as travel desks.
Media enquiries
Email contactstgbyalocal@gmail.com with your outlet, your deadline and what you need. Fact-checks and short quotes are answered free and quickly. There is no PR agency in between.
For attribution, please use S. Huang, Singapore Travel Guide By A Local, and link to singaporetravelguidebyalocal.com where your style guide allows it.
Reference material, free to cite
- The Honest Singapore Index — a verdict on every major attraction, including the ones we say to skip.
- The Arrival Cost Index — what landing in Singapore actually costs in the first month, itemised.
- Singapore Right Now — what is on, what is closed and when the crowds come, re-edited monthly.
- The events calendar — including the gazetted 2027 public holidays.
- The guide library — free, and written this year rather than scraped from last.
Usage
Quoting a sentence or two with attribution and a link is welcome and needs no permission. Republishing a guide in full is not. Images on the site are our own photographs of Singapore unless credited otherwise; ask before using one and it is usually a yes.
Frequently asked questions
Who writes the guides?
One person: a Singaporean born and raised here, writing under the name S. Huang. There is no editorial team, no contributor network and no syndicated content. That is a deliberate limit on how much the site can publish, and the reason each guide can carry a real opinion.
Is the site commission-free?
Yes. No hotel, restaurant, tour operator, agent or venue pays to be recommended, and there are no affiliate links in the guides. Revenue comes from the written advisory services and digital guides sold openly in the shop.
Can I interview the author?
Yes, by email or a scheduled call. Email the request with your outlet and deadline. The business operates remotely and email-first, so written questions usually get a faster and more detailed answer than a call.
Can I use your figures?
Yes, with attribution and a link. Everything numeric on the site carries the date it was verified and the source it came from — public-holiday dates from the Ministry of Manpower, fare changes from LTA, hygiene grades from NEA. Please check the verification date before publishing, because Singapore changes quickly.