Singapore has a flavor of everything for every tourist. Though famous for concentrated streets (Little India, Bugis, Arab street, china Town, etc) which welcomes everyone from all corners of World, what stole our heart literally is, Singapore has developed itself as friendly nation for children, couple, family or friends alike. We took 5 days quick break for a family trip with hubby dear's parents. Though skeptical in beginning that it might be tiring effort for Elderly parents, it turned out that they made most of it with lot of happiness and smiles to carry back. As the golden rule dictates, with children or elders you cannot make long list of 'to do list'. The pace has be slower and one needs to be smart while selecting places to visit as per situation and health.
Key Tip: One has to be really picky and smart to make list of things to see and especially within the parks one has to select and check out what can be skipped and what is most important as per the choices. This may not require tireless planing and efforts but just quick visit to travel desk of your hotel and understanding in detail about the park in advance along with must do's and don'ts makes life much easier for all.
If not for food, I wouldn't have mind staying in Quayside area or Clarke Quay which personifies one of the true essence of Singaporean beauty!
Being Pro with Children or Elders: Singapore is amazing. Period. But the afternoon heat can kill you, literally! So most ideal suggestion is to plan your day as such that between 11 to 2 you are indoors within the place of your excursion.
Our 5 day Itinerary could have been more packed up if it would have been a couple trip but with parents, we gave lot of space for relaxation and ensuring that they don't get tired and enjoy wherever we go. Here is our Itinerar:
Day 1: (Merlion Park and Gardens by the Bay)
Time required : Merlion Park - Approx 1 hour (Photo stop point) and Gardens by the Bay - Approx 4 to 5 hours depending on your interest for flora (including night light show at 7.30 pm on OCBC skywalk)
Merlion Park: No visit to Singapore can be complete without posing with 'The Merlion Statue'. Its a very iconic and symbolic statue of Singapore. Uniquely designed as half Lion and Half Fish this statue is used as a mascot and national personification
of Singapore. It is situated near Fullerton Hotel in central business district with a clear view of another Iconic Singaporean building - Marina Bay Sands.
Tip: Its very enticing to keep clicking the photos around the statue Garden, but do not spend too much time around in Sun or you will be done for the day here itself. From here the gardens by the bay is just a kilo meter away but provided you walk on right path. We followed google map for sometime and got completely lost. Easiest way is to walk on the right side path and from end of road just take a left and keep walking till you find Gardens by the bay. (p.s right from facing the statue). If one has time and energy one can take River cruise right next to Merlion statue. Its a 1 hour tour.
Gardens by the Bay: If you have been to Eden Project in Cornwall, England you may not be too surprised with this place. Those domes were built on reclaimed land and so are gardens by the bay. Gardens by the Bay are beautifully built gardens focusing with 3 main attractions.
1) Flower Dome (as name suggests it consists of magnificent flowers and plants from the Mediterranean and semi-arid subtropical regions in this cooled conservatory),
2) Cloud Forest Dome (Its a tropical setup full of botanical wonders in
the Cloud Forest, it has spectacular waterfall and mountain cloaked in
vegetation) and lastly
3) OCBC Skywalk (Walk along the 22-metre high OCBC Skyway suspended from the iconic upertrees, and admire the most ravishing scenic views of Marina Bay and
Singapore’s Skyline.) At 7.30 PM and 8.30 PM the light show is conducted
However for me, it was a refresher of Decade old memory of how beautifully indoor environment is set as such that once in Dome you may actually get feel of tropical or rain forests. Its a must visit for nature enthusiasts.
Tip: If you have booked Gardens by the bay ticket from the Klook, ensure you collect tickets first from the Red Dot museum and then head towards the Gardens by the Bay ( they are quite far apart). In Garden by the bay food court near OCBC skywalk there is Indian Restaurant where you can find couple of veg options and for Jain food preference they had Idli & Dosa.
Another important tip is from OCBC skywalk you can pretty much see the Singapore skyline view so if you have no time to head towards the Marina Bay Sands skypark or any other skyline view point this is good time to enjoy the skyline views.
Day 2: Singapore Zoo
Singapore Zoo is pleasant one day experience. Though i personally found Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari and Jurong Bird park to be too much over rated. However, it is always a matter of personal choice. We personally visited only Singapore Zoo and found it to be quite limited. The shows were good but nothing extraordinary. Few wild animals like Leopard and Lions were seen in sorry state of environment. They were clearly dozing off and i guess must be under influence of some medication. There was only One Giraffe and hardly one leopard. 2 tiger and 2 lions in wild animals zone.
Previously we have visited Guangzhou Chimelong Safari and by all means it was bigger and better. Animals looked happier and there were huge natural habitat for them to roam around freely.
Key Tip for Park: When you enter the park, you will find most of people heading straight and follows crowd towards White tigers area but i would suggest take a detour and turn right and head towards the toy train. You can use toy train for multiple times and it has four stops which will ensure you get to see whole zoo without walking much. Also plan your day as such that you dont miss shows and feeding time of animals because that is when most action happens.
What we loved: Shows especially are must see. We loved the Sea lion show and Elephant Show.
Duration: It requires good 6 hours just in Zoo with Child or elders. Wheel chairs are available for free for elders and for children one can buy Pram cars for few $'s.
Food: You may find few vegetarian curry options in Restaurant in Zoo but definitely not jain food. So carry some food for yourself if prefer Jain diet. Fruits and juices are widely available.
Travel Tip: Its quite a lot of walk uphill downhill and Zoo is bit far away from city so its best to Grab here for sure.
Tickets: We booked the tickets by Klook for just Zoo. If you wish to see all the 4 parks its best to book through their website because there are lot of promotions for direct ticket.
Tip for 4 parks: If you want to do all 4 parks, many people combine Zoo with River Safari and in night night safari. And another half day spent in Jurong bird park. So depending on your interest you can take call. However, with elder and children they may get bored and tired with hectic schedule. And seeing so much of animals and birds in a day might be overwhelming.
Day 3: Sentosa Island Hop On Hop Off Tour
So for many its quite a confusion, what is Sentosa? Well Sentosa is a name of a separate island which is specifically called "Resort Island" and has many many entertainment and recreational facilities and zones. It has its own monorail which runs within the Sentosa island and has 4 stops (Vivocity, Resort city, Imbiah and Beach). Most activities happen on Stop 2 and 3. It may take as much as whole day to just see overview of entire Sentosa and as much as 4 days might also not be enough for there is too much to do. Each stop has different activities.
To name few:
1. Universal Studios
2. SEA Aquarium
3. Trick Eye Museum
4. Dolphin Island
5. Adventure Cove Park
6. Casinos
7. 3 Beautiful Beaches(Siloso, Palawan and Tanjong)
8. Show called Wings of Time (something similar to House of Dancing water)
9. Luge Ride
10. Bungy Jump
And many more activities for kids
There are also high end resorts for people who wish to stay within Sentosa and explore the Sentosa World by staying within. We opted to travel 2 days to Sentosa while staying in city.
Key Tip for Elders: We just went to Sentosa Island and enjoyed Monorail by hopping On and Off each station. Then we went to Trick Eye Museum which our parents found surprisingly entertaining. They were marveled with technology and how you can live part of different Worlds by just appearing in front of camera (do download their app and click photos with it..its different and fun). So would recommend this activity strongly. There is colorful Merlion Statue and also within this stop there is SEA aquarium and Universal studios so if you have leisure time today, just take all required photo stops today!
Then we headed for photo stop towards Imbiah, that is where the Biggest Merlion Statue is! Also taking Luge ride is fun on this stop but it had too much queue so we preferred skipping. There is one nice Lookout place within this area but again it was little climb up and with parents little tough to make them climb up hill but it has some gorgeous view so if you can, you must go up there! (P.S. check the visibility)
Thing to note: At Imbiah Stop there is 7Eleven so stock yourself up from here! 7Eleven is local shop where you find drinks and few ready to eat packets and other utilities for quite reasonable rate. We also enjoyed Jain sandwiches and Hot coffee from 7Eleven.
And Lastly we headed to the Beach stop where the "Wings of Time" show was going to begin at 7.30 PM. There are two same shows one at 7.30 pm and other at 8.30 pm. We could thankfully reach there by 5 PM and we came to know that there is a bus which is again hop on hop off bus which takes you around all 3 beaches and area within the beach station. So entire ride of all the points in bus takes about 45 minutes. Its pleasant to even just sit and have a look at all the points from bus itself.
Key Tip: I wanted to experience the thrill of walking on suspension bridge which leads to southernmost point of ASIA. So we got down ar southernmost point stop and parents could relax on beautiful beach chairs available for free there while we went to cross suspension bridge which took us to the Southernmost point of Asia :) It was quite a scenic beauty! and must to see.
Tip for wings of time: For Wings of Time show its an open theater on the beach. So its best to carry umbrellas if its drizzling. And try to catch the most higher seats in middle of the all seats. That is from where you will get perfect view! The seats are on first come first serve basis, so best to reach 30 mins atleast in advance to catch hold of good view.
Biggest takeaway for Sentosa: While you can book all this from klook, but if you buy with agent they make package of different activities and gives you the best possible price atleast 15% more discounted rates than window prices, Like, we bought Trick Eye and Wings of Time tickets from agents and with litttle more bargain could fetch 20% discount!
Also, to travel in monorail within Sentosa you may have to purchase SGD 4 ticket per headfor unlimited rides or even 1 ride. But if you plan to come by Cab like we did from Little India we had to pay 16 SGD for 4 of us for a grab ride and once you are in, you dont have to buy these mono rail tickets separately. You can travel as much as you want to and fro for free . So if you are with family its best to catch grab and get in sentosa.
Day 4: Universal Studios
We were all apprehensive about selecting Universal Studios with parents. Knowing that we are not going to be sitting in most of the rides, it was a tough call. But thanks to friends suggestion, we went ahead with Universal studios and yes it turned out to be positive surprise for parents enjoyed there a lot! Right from the beginning those streets gave very positive vibes! It will consume your whole day. Park timings vary from season to season. Also on weekends and PH might be open till late. So its best to check their website beforehand.
Key Tip: Once you will be done with all the shows and rides, you will have ample time so its best to skip lines for taking pictures with Minion and all the streets which are enticing at the beginning. ALSO ITS BEST TO ENTER PARK AS SOON AS IT OPENS. You will get the Show timings, Parade timings seprate sheet at the entrance. Best to take picture of it and keep handy.
Buying tickets: Universal studios tickets were available with best discounts from the travel agents. But, if you have senior citizens (Age above 60) you can buy 50% discounted tickets from Klook. Even agents give more discounts for senior citizens but klook had best deal.
What Not to miss in Universal Studios Singapore:
1) Battlestar Galactica: Human vs Cylon (purely for much thrill lovers)
2) Transformers: The Ride (Good for elders as well, it gives 3D glasses and is crazy drive. Not a great option for people with motion sickness. But our parents thoroughly enjoyed this one! Its best to head here around mid afternoon when the lines are not beyond 10 mins. In mornings it can get so busy that you may have to wait for 120 to 150 mins. Its quite a famous ride!
3) Revenge of the Mummy: A 3D adventure that we skipped for we reached here around evening when waiting time was 90 mins. Its best to go here 1st in the morning.
4) Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure: Its fun filled guaranteed ride which will drench you. there is dry facility post the ride which is available for SG$5. Or just wear dry clothes. Keeping bag in locker is compulsory for this ride. And is often very crowded.
5) Waterworld: Its a marvelous theatrical show which is there only twice in a day. So manage your time as such that you attend one for sure. It has good adventure an thrill on the motion to watch.
6) Shrek 4-D Adventur: Its a 4D show which takes you along princess Fiona and Shrek's honeymonn adventure. Its a fun thing to do for all ages. Must see! There are couple non moving seats available as well so pregnant ladies or people with back issues can opt for this non moving chairs.
7) Light, Camera, Action: Being Fan of Steven Spielberg movies, Jimit wanted to see this very much! It was rather best time when we went around 4 PM... we could directly enter in whereas in afternoon there was 90 mins waiting here. This is short 15 mins show by Steven Spielberg who shows how empty stage is pictured. the theme is empty soundstage is transformed by a hurricane about to hit New York City.
8) Minion Parade: This parade happens twice in a day, and is only opportunity to click pictures with giant dancing minions. Key tip or quick picture with Minions is to stand on corner where minions may end their dance (3 lines one facing towards the entrance and 2 at start of each street). This will ensure you quick photo with minions in less than 5 mins!
Whilst this are all must see and feel, there were couple of other small family rides that parents enjoyed sitting in and relive their childhood memories:
1) Canopy flyer
2) Enchanted Airways
3) Spagheti space chase
4) Madagascar crate adventure (we made a mistake to begin with this ride and had to queue up for 2 hours, so its best to start from other end like Egypt to start with when most of people will still be stuck here)
5) Treasure hunters : Its just fun ride, may be good with children. Though parents were enchanted little and we could directly go in without queuing so no regrets)
Lastly, For vegetarian food options even Jain food options (Jain chole, Palak paneer and rice) within Universal studios is a possibility! There is Oasis Spice Cafe just opposite the Mummy ride where you can find these options.
KEY TAKEAWAY FOR USS: There is concept of single riders for famous rides where in you may not get a seat with family but you can enjoy the quick entry to the ride.
Also, there are express tickets available which has obviously least lines. But i would recommend that if you are going with elders or children you may not aim to check in all the places, parades and shows so you may not want to put extra money for express tickets.
Also if you time it well as such that you reach where other crowd is not following then you may anyway be able to enjoy most of the rides without too much queuing up. USS is not that big as compared to Osaka or US so be rest assured you may be able to see most of it in a day!
AND for all those who say USS is too taxing for Elders or small children, do not listen to them! Its fun for all gae groups equally. Our parents thoroughly enjoyed every minute spent there, off course they were tired but they had gala time and amazing memories to look upon at!
Day 5: Changi Airport
Well, its no secret that Singapore's Changi Airport is World class and World apart airport with much to see, do and enjoy. So we had purposely kept half day for excursion on airport.
Its too big and too much to walk. So with elders its a huge tiresome task for them. But it truly is a jewel you dont want to miss. To begin with latest build Jewel part of changi airport which has the biggest indoor waterfall surrounded by rich vegetation all around is surely treat for eyes. You can ponder over it from all 3 floors at each stage or just catch one corner and click your best self and take exit ;) it may take around 20 to 25 mins slow walk to reach here after you check in your bags (from T2 terminal) Jewel is located somewhere between t2 and t3 terminal.
But beware do not head for immigration after check in because Jewel is reachable only before immigration.
We could also head to Sunflower Garden, The orchids garden and Enchanted garden which are pretty close by from each other on Terminal 3. However all this are accessible post immigration. We saw lot of massage chairs and movie theatre to private pods to enjoy at the airport.
Key takeaway: If you happen to transit in Singapore for more than 7 hours do check and pre book for their free Singapore city tour of 3 hours approx. Its FREE! but need pre-registration and they have limited timings so check all information before hand.
Also if you are transiting and traveling through some of their partner airlines like Singapore airlines or silk-air or air new Zealand you are entitled for SGD 20 coupon which can be used for any food, beverages or shopping to be done at their retail outlets.
More information on:
http://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-guide/transit/changi-transit-privileges.html
As i come towards the Summarizing part of our entire trip, i reminisce all the beautiful memories we built together as family there and how much we loved each and every bit of it! Its a beautiful small little country but has immense positive vibe and most importantly their rapid growth and development is totally noteworthy! Singapore impressed us in best way possible! And we are happy that Hubby Dear's parents loved, enjoyed and carried with them lot of good memories!
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