I am planning a 3 day trip to S’pore. I know it’s not a lot and the zoo alone will take a whole day (all 3 parks look great) and Sentosa should be a must see…but what do you think? Is there anything else that is like a must must see in Singapore?? We are going with the kids and for the kids this time so we’ll be avoiding the museums but would love to know of other fun stuff to see and do.
How are hotels there?? I am not looking for schmancy, but decent is a must. All other tips on fooding and shopping are welcome.
The local joke in Singapore is that Sentosa is an abbreviation for So Expensive Nothing TO See Actually. That was about 10 years ago when I lived there. It has been further developed since then, so hopefully it has improved. Just beware of tourist pricing. Bring drinks and food as everything is priced twice as much as in Singapore.
The major attraction in Singapore for me is the food. Love the mix of flavors from Malaysia, India, and Chinese cuisines. The worst part is probably the people, who are in my opinion as warm, welcoming and polite as a cold empty fridge door. Take the bus to Malaysia (which is only an hour away) and the people are probably the main attraction.
Singapore Bird Park - I recommend aviary with parakeets (you can feed them ) for small kids
and Birds of Prey show for older (there is nothing like 2m wingspan birds overflying the audience )
Science Center - 3 meter tall Tesla coil show and plenty of other stuff (including free small outdoor water park)
Yes, Bird Park and Science centre are also highly recommended.If you’re planning a day at the zoo though, make sure you stay for the night safari.
Please avoid the Esacpe theme park, if you ever come across it in a search, it’s, well ,not worth the effort, IMHO.
edit:-Found this for you, there’re some itinerary suggested for families with kids, hope it helps.
Thanks asianmom and others for your replies. I’ll skip the universal studios, it is at night and plus the kids aren’t into movies at all. I do plan to do the night safari, birdpark, zoo and ocean world.
Just went last month, and got the three-in-one ticket for Jurong Bird park, the zoo, and the night safari (same place as the zoo).
Those are all great for kids, and they all have shows that give kids a chance to sit and chill out. You can ride an elephant at the zoo. You can feed ostriches bananas, pelicans fish, and flamingoes bread at Jurong. The night safari was a little scary at first for my girls, but they settled down and spent a long time inches from leopards and a few feet from hyenas.
We didn’t take the train/bus/monorail at any of these places; you might do that to save energy as your kids are a bit younger.
The botanical gardens are a lovely place to chill and have a picnic. We joined in on a game of baseball and played with a bunch of dogs (two different activities).
I took the girls to the Raffles Hotel and we had some pastries :lick: and tea downstairs. The durian shaped Esplanade has free fun entertainment most nights at 7:00? The kids loved the crazy show we saw there.
At at Red House (2X) beside the Singapore River, Robertson Quay. Best shrimp (curried shrimp) I’ve had in my life.
Oh, and we did a lot of swimmin’ in the hotel pool.
no no no, Divea, Universal is a theme park , like Walt Disney World; I’ve been eyeing this one since day one when it opened in April , definitely worth a visit; we enjoyed our trip to the Universal Studio in Florida very very much, the kids even had breakfast with Spiderman and Thing One, Thing Two. Though this new branch in Singapore may not be as fun, I’m sure it can’t be too bad.
As for accomodation, what’s your budget and requirements? In S’pore, most hotels accomodate up to only 3 guests, the roll-away for kids usually comes free of charge but only one allowed.As for location, Orchard road or the Marina area would be a good choice for convenience of travel.
I went to Sentosa in 1981 and again (reluctantly) about 9 years ago. I don’t like the place, but we have friends that took their two kids your kids’ ages to Universal Studios and they liked it a lot. U.S. is better for little kids (under 8).
We stayed at a new hotel called Studio M. It just opened in March and had an upstairs and a downstairs with a nice pool. I don’t know if it’s the best with those steep stairs and your little guy. I think it was about NT$5000 a night, I didn’t pay for it.
Asianmom, appreciate your replies. Okay I’ll look up those areas. I am looking for >100 USD and it’ll be 3 nights. I have 2 kids under 5 and usually 2 twin beds work for us!! Let’s see…
The ones that I’d recommend off hand would be, Hyatt (on Scotts road), Four Seasons (also just a little walk from Orchard), Pan Pacific, Mandarin Oriental, Ritz Carlton( all three in the Marina area).
BTW, anything on Scotts would also be fine as it is just around the corner from Orchard.
[quote=“asianmom”]The ones that I’d recommend off hand would be, Hyatt (on Scotts road), Four Seasons (also just a little walk from Orchard), Pan Pacific, Mandarin Oriental, Ritz Carlton( all three in the Marina area).
BTW, anything on Scotts would also be fine as it is just around the corner from Orchard.[/quote]
mmmmmmm less than 100 USD???
There are some hostels in Little India and Chinatown if you don’t mind slummin’ it. Some don’t accept kids; some do. Expect to pay at least US$60 for the four of you in your own AC hostel room.
For four of you, the cheapest I can think of would be an air con room with four bunk beds (our kids liked 'em) in a hostel at the intersection of Syed Alwi Rd. and Jalan Besar. The beds are very clean and comfortable, but this is a hostel, so you share bathrooms (many and clean) and make your own breakfast (toast and coffee) in the morning.
[quote=“zender”]They are some hostels in Little India and Chinatown if you don’t mind slummin’ it. Some don’t accept kids; some do. Expect to pay at least US$60 even for the four of you in your own AC hostel room.
Singapore is expensive wrt accomodation. [/quote]
hmmm well I thought as much, and since w will be doing so much stuff outside I am trying to skimp on the hotel. Even 80-90 usd is ok, but I know it will be a tough call. Will talk to some friends tomorrow and see if we can get a good deal somewhere.
Now where did you stay?? Which area has best access to these places?? And you didn’t go to Sentosa??
Glad you had a good time.
