aragno

I have family who has been travelling in SE Asia and coming to visit me here in Singapore. They can purchase duty free alcohol in either Bangkok or Singapore Duty Free at the Budget Terminal on arrival. I am needing the following and yes, it fits within allowances for 2 persons:

Veuve Cliquot Champagne (2 bottles)
Amarula or Baileys (2 bottles)
Hoegaarden Beer (2 litres)

Will these items (if available) be cheaper in one place versus the other? Any experience or advice is most welcomed!

Thanks in advance.

tentseller

Many of the major Asian airport Duty Free is operated by DFA so the price will be similiar. Many time you will find that street price with discount better than Duty Free shops especially with wine and beer.

dsquared37

In BKK the cost of booze is cheaper than on the street, often by 25%. I've never priced smokes. Contrast this with PNH/REP where duty free prices of booze and cigarettes (and the new Cuban cigar humidor) are typically 200% of in town prices.

I realize this doesn't help the OP but it's just been my observation.

dsgtc0408

I'm sticking my neck way out here. I want to make clear that I haven't been through BKK in a long time, also making an assumption about DFS (Duty Free Shops) here in Singapore, and that my recollection is accurate.

My general, anecdotal, unproven impression is that SIN duty free is cheaper than BKK duty free. It seemed this way to me in a comparison of cigarette prices in both airport's airside duty free stores a few years back. So the presumption here is a) this relationship also holds for booze, and b) that what I recall from a number of years ago still holds today.

Given your location, one thing you can do (assuming you are not going through SIN anytime soon and thus can check the DFS pricing airside) is to go to DFS Galleria on Scotts Road (across from the Hyatt) and try and get prices for the items you want. I do believe that the prices at the Galleria location for duty free is the same as for their outlets at the airport (but ask the staff to confirm). Give the Singapore prices to your family and ask them to check the S$/THB exchange at BKK to figure out which is cheaper.

jpatokal

I believe that this is indeed true for booze as well -- SIN duty free prices are among the best in the world.

Note that neither SIN nor BKK have a great selection of beer as the 1L allowance is so miserly, so you may be out of luck with Hoegaarden; the on-arrival shops usually only stock APB brews (Tiger, Heineken, Guinness). But Baileys and Veuve Cliquot should certainly be available.

dsquared37

Not sure when OP's family is traveling but I'll be in both airports in question in early/mid March.

Shoudl I have some time to wander I'll do a bit of comparison window shopping.

Travel Shopper

I think you will struggle to find the beer, regardless of price. Airline comparison prices can be found here.. http://www.dutyfreeonarrival.com/en/search/airline The difference for items such as Baileys and the Champagne will be negligible between BKK and SIN, so duty free on arrival at SIN is almost certainly the easiest and most practical option as moving 4 bottles and the beer from BKK is a hassle you can do without.

aragno

You all were correct. SIN was best option and most convenient. Hoegaarden was available in SIN as usual in the standard 3 pack. Thanks again for the advice!