JANUARY 2025
It took me too long to generate this guide, because there is so much to do and see in Singapore! I left Singapore with 1000 pictures and really had to narrow down to make a helpful guide. Singapore is an amazing destination for families, couples and solo travelers. Even though our days with a toddler are shorter than without, we still managed to pack in a lot in our 5 days in Singapore. In this blogpost I will give all my recommendations and honest opions!
Kid friendly hotel Singapore
We booked a room at the Oasia Hotel Novena, which is conveniently located near the metro station Novena, which you can access with an underpass. I found that staying a little further away from Marina Bay Sands really improved the value for money for a room. Singapore’s public transport is so good that we were still able to go everywhere we wanted with a travel time of about 30 minutes.
Oasia Hotel Novena has a lovely pool, with a shallow part for kids. Next to the pool you will also find a small, but well equipped gym. The restaurant of the hotel actually is good and they serve an amazing breakfast offering local goodies as well as Western options. In november we paid € 160 per room, which included a free children’s bed. Hugo is nearing being four and was just able to fit in the bed, which meant he had a free stay. We paid about € 40 per day for breakfast, which was also free for Hugo. Overall, we were very happy with our choice of hotel and would highly recommend staying here!
How kid friendly is Singapore?
We found Singapore incredibly kid friendly. Public transport is free for kids until 7 years old, you just have to pick up a Child Concession Card at the SimplyGo Ticket Office. All the metro stations are accessible with a stroller and the elevators are very well indicated. All the tourist areas had well maintained sidewalks, so walking with a stroller is not a challenge. Singapore is very clean and you will find public toilets everywhere, especially in metro stations. For most activities in Singapore there is a children’s discount, but most activities are paid, also for kids. If you are looking for a quick meal, there are several hawkers through the city. A hawker is a low-cost food court selling street food meals. Because the hygiene in Singapore is really good, you can join in on street food, also with kids. I found the hawkers a very convenient way to have an affordable meal with kid friendly dishes such as naan, a smoothie or satay. Overall, I would highly recommend a visit to Singapore with kids!
Activities in Singapore
These are all the activities that we were able to do during our time in Singapore.
Gardens by the Bay
The absolute highlight of Singapore to me was Gardens by the Bay! If you are into plants/gardening it is a must visit. Even if you decide to enter none of the domes, it still is so much fun to walk around the Supertree Grove. The box offices of Gardens by the Bay sometimes offer deals and you can access some of the activities with a discount if you buy multiple tickets at once. I recommend to study the deals well to figure out what the cheapest option is for you. The Flower Dome is quite expensive to visit, so make sure to get a good deal on this. If you are short on time I would recommend to do the OCBC Skyway and the Cloud Forest.
Supertree Grove: This area is home to 12 of the 18 Supertrees of Gardens by the Bay. In the evening you can catch a free lightshow called Garden Rhapsody, where all the trees light up and music is played. Please check the official website of Gardens by the Bay as the times could change depending on the season. The light show changes themes monthly. When we visited Singapore they also had a show called Borealis, where the Northern Lights visit Supertree Grove. This show only occurs on some days, so it also is best to check out the website before visiting. Hugo found the Borealis very fascinating, but found the music of the Garden Rhapsody show too loud, so bring headphones for your kid!
OCBC Skyway: One of the ways to get close to the Supertrees is to buy a ticket for the OCBC Skyway. In this way you can be in between the trees. If you are more interested in looking down upon the trees I would advise to visit the Supertree Observatory. Both are pretty similar activities, but for photography I choose the OCBC Skyway. In November there was no queue at all when we arrived at 11AM in the morning and we could quickly take the elevator up. The OCBC Skyway is stroller friendly.
Cloud Forest: If you visit just one dome, make sure it is this one! The Cloud Forest features the highest indoor waterfall and it is stunning. We also loved the walkways which are high up in the dome and offer amazing views over Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands.
Flower Dome: The Flower Dome has exhibits that change seasonally, when we visited there was a quite kitsch exhibit called Carnival of Flowers which I didn’t love. The dome itself is impressive, but it gets very crowded and combined with an exhibit that we didn’t love, I found the entrance fee steep at about € 50 per person. When we visited there also was a fun Monet digital art show, which was cool, but overall I was a bit disappointed in the Flower Dome. Hugo absolutely loved all the colorful flowers!
Floral Fantasy: Though the Floral Fantasy also is very kitsch, I preferred it to the Flower Dome. The entrance with all the flowers hanging from the air is truly stunning and it is much more quiet. In Floral Fantasy you can also see a 3D movie flying over Singapore, which was a lot of fun, though only recommended for older kids. Hugo found the 3D movie very scary, but he did love all the special frogs that you can see in Floral Fantasy.
Far East Organization Children’s Garden: This is a free water playground for kids which Hugo absolutely loved. Make sure to bring an extra set of clothes!
Food: In Gardens by the Bay you will find several food options, but there are two which I found very kid friendly: Jurassic Nest Foodhall & Satay by the Bay. Satay by the Bay is an open Hawker style food court, which offered very affordable meal options. Jurassic Nest Foodhall is decorated with dinosaurs and even has a little dinosaurs show on the hour. You can eat at a Michelin awarded Hawker here.
teamLab Future World
You can find the Insta-famous teamLab Future World in the stunning ArtScience Museum. teamLab is a sort of digital art exhibit, which is a lot of fun for kids as well. The exhibit changes regularly, so there will probably be a different exhibit once I finish this blogpost. When we visited there were several interactive exhibits, where Hugo could color a fish or an airplane and his drawings would enter a projection. Tickets have timeslots and they do sell out, I ordered them about a month in advance. The museum isn’t very big and even though we joined all activities we spent about 1,5 hours here.
Little India
Kids love color and so do I. If you are a color lover, Little India is worth a visit. We visited two beautiful temples, at Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple we ran into a religious ritual, which was very interesting to witness. We walked down Serangoon road and bumped into Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple which has a beautiful tower. Next to this temple there is a little playground for kids. Unfortunately I missed Petain Road, where you can find colorful shophouses. Near the beginning of Serangoon road you can find the Former House of Tan Teng Niah, which is another color pop of Singapore. Yearly the Deepavali festival is held in Little India and we were able to catch the colorful light decorations in the beginning of November.
Marina Bay Sands
If you visit Singapore, you cannot miss out on the iconic Marina Bay Sands. The whole area is incredibly over the top, the cherry on the cake is the boat structure hotel, but all the other decorations and activities around the shopping center were great as well. We visited in November and all the Christmas decorations were out. In the Marina Bay Sands shopping center you will even find a canal with Venetian style boats. I also loved walking around Marina Bay Sands, enjoying the views over the water. At night you can visit the free Spectra fountain show, which I would highly recommend (with kids). In the Marina Bay Sands hotel you can take the elevator up to Spago Bar & Lounge, this is the bar next to the famous infinity pool. We explained we did not have dinner reservations but wanted to visit for drinks and they let us up. When we arrived at the top we were able to walk around freely in the terrace area and we ended up watching the Gardens by the Bay light show for free. So definitely use this strategy!
There are lots of expensive dining options around Marina Bay Sands, lots of top chefs own a restaurant over there. We visited the Hawker style food court in the basement of the shopping center and were very impressed. Meals cost about € 10 and were of great value!
Kampong Glam
Another interesting area in Singapore is Kampong Glam, the Islamic neighborhood. We visited on a weekend and it was incredibly crowded. After taking some pictures of the Sultan Mosque we quickly found a terrace and enjoyed some food and people watching. In Kampong Glam you will also find Haji Lane, which is filled with bars, street art and cool shops. Quite an interesting contrast with the more traditional Arab influences, definitely an interesting juxtaposition.
Sentosa Island
I unfortunately made a travel planning mistake and we didn’t end up revisiting Sentosa Island. I had been years ago and it is a cool place to visit with kids. At Sentosa you can go to the beach and do many activities, such as go to a waterpark, do the skyline luge or visit Madame Tussauds. Even though it has been some time since I visited, I didn’t want to skip it in this guide.
Other activities
We also did some activities which do not take up a half day, but were some quick visits instead:
Joo Chiat Peranakan Houses: These colorful houses showcase the Chinese heritage with Portuguese influences. Quite a busride out of the center, but worth it if you love photography and colorful houses!
Newton Food Centre: This is the Hawker center which was featured in Crazy Rich Asians. It was near our hotel, so of course we visited for dinner. Loved the atmosphere and food!
Selegie Arts Centre: Typical Instagram photospot, super cute building! The area where it is located is a bit dead during the day.
Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI): This used to be a Police station and now it is a colorful government building.
Clarke Quay: This used to be a shopping and nightlife hotspot, before Marina Bay Sands was what it is today. Years ago this was real highlight of our trip, but now the food felt too expensive for the lack of good vibes.
Night Safari: You can go on a night safari in Singapore Zoo. We did this original activity years ago and I wanted to include it in this guide.
Oculus: Singapore has a great airport and the showstopper is the Oculus waterfall. Make sure to factor in some time to enjoy this phenomenon!
