Last Updated on May 24, 2022 by Tina
There are a lot of things to do in Singapore with kids, making it a great destination for the family. Also, it is very easy to move around even with kids as it is very organized, safe and they have very good public transport.
I don’t have a family yet, but I have already experienced traveling around Singapore with a kid. When my mom gifted my 8-year-old nephew with a trip to Singapore in 2019, he chose me (yes me, not his parents) to be his companion. My youngest brother joined us on the trip to help me look after my nephew. It is very challenging traveling with a kid. You need lots of patience and you need to be flexible because what you think would be fun might be boring for him. Also, kids hate long queues (who doesn’t) and sometimes these could not be avoided so you should have a backup plan in case the kid starts throwing tantrums.
Planning a trip with your family soon? Here is a list of things to do in Singapore (with lots of pictures) that kids will surely love (based on my observation).
Observe Nocturnal Animals along Night Safari’s Trails
If there is one thing you shouldn’t miss when you go to Singapore with a kid, it’s the Singapore Night Safari. Actually you shouldn’t miss it even if you’re not with a kid. This was my nephew’s favorite among all the places we visited. He loved this more than Universal Studios.
The Night Safari is the world’s first nocturnal wildlife park. The 35-hectare park is inhabited by close to 900 animals from approximately 100 species (of which almost 41 percent are threatened). (https://www.wrs.com.sg/en/about-us/about-night-safari.html)
The park opens at 7:15 PM and closes at 11:00 PM. There is a show called Creatures of the Night at the Amphitheater that lasts 25 minutes where you can learn more about the natural abilities of fascinating nocturnal animals. It is a very popular show and tends to draw quite the crowd so try to be seated 30 minutes in advance. The show runs at 7:15, 8:30 and 9:30 PM.
There is also a fire show called Thumbuakar Performance happening at the park entrance that runs at 6:45, 8:00, and 9:00 PM. The show is approximately 7 minutes.
To explore the park, there is a tram ride that takes you through the entire Night Safari. It is a 40-minute journey with English commentary, where you can see nocturnal animals in their recreated habitat. There is a special language tram available in Japanese or Mandarin Chinese.
There are also 4 walking trails that you can embark on to get closer to the animals. These are the Fishing Cat, Leopard, East Lodge, and Wallaby Trail.
Tips for Singapore Night Safari
- Book your ticket through Klook to avoid the long queue at the ticket booth of the park. Once at the park, proceed to Self-Print Ticketing Kiosk at Night Safari.
- Get there early. The park opens at 7:15 PM so be there before it opens. There is so much to see so it’s better if you have extra time to explore at your own pace.
- This is how we explored the park- we got there before 7:15 PM and after printing our tickets, we lined up for the Creatures of the Night show. After the show, we went out to have dinner while watching the fire show. We informed the person at the exit gate that we are just going out to have dinner. They stamped on our wrist so we could go back inside again. After dinner, we queued for the tram. The queue is very long, it took us around 20 to 30 minutes. After the tram tour, we did all the 4 walking trails. We finished everything close to 11:00 PM.
Experience Optical Illusion at the Trick Eye Museum
The Trick Eye Museum is a 3D art museum located in Sentosa. It has a huge array of hand-painted art exhibits that use a special art technique, making 2D art pop into 3D. There are no signs such as ‘Don’t Touch’ or ‘No Flash’ in this museum and visitors are encouraged to touch and take photos of all displayed works.
Below are some pictures in the museum with my nephew having a great time posing on the artworks. I thought he would get bored, but he had a great time.
Tip for Trick Eye Museum
- It would be more convenient and cheaper if you book your ticket through Klook. I got our admission ticket for Php 688 (SGD 19.31/ US$ 13.55) for 2 people. (They had a limited time offer of Buy 1 Get 1).
Spend a Day at Universal Studios Singapore
Another must-visit if you go to Singapore, Universal Studios Singapore is Southeast Asia’s first and only Universal Studios theme park. It features 24 rides, shows, and attractions based on blockbuster films and television series like Madagascar: A Crate Adventure, Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN vs. CYCLON™, TRANSFORMERS The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle, Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure™ and many more.
Allot one whole day for this attraction, and get there early to make the most of your visit. Note that some attractions and rides have very long queues which might annoy your kid. If you have an extra budget, I recommend that you purchase the Universal Express Unlimited in addition to the one-day ticket. The Express pass gives you unlimited priority access via the Universal Express Queue at each participating attraction.
Aside from the rides, you can also interact with some of your favorite movie characters at Universal Studios Singapore.
Tips for Universal Studios Singapore
- Book your ticket through Klook. It is more convenient and you will save time because you can go directly to the entrance gate. Also, the ticket is cheaper in Klook. It costs SGD 81 (Php 2885 / US$ 57) from the Resorts World Website while in Klook it costs Php 2745 (SGD 77 / US$ 54) per person.
- Check the schedule of the shows and make sure you don’t miss them.
- TRANSFORMERS The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle is highly recommended.
- I also wanna share (not sure if this would be of any help) that my nephew cried at the Lights, Camera, Action show in New York because he got scared at the special effects near the end of the show.
Experience a Digital World at ArtScience Museum’s Future World
The ArtScience Museum is an experiential museum devoted to the exploration of art, science, and the connections between them. Its permanent exhibition, Future World, is a kid-friendly gallery with 16 different digital installations. It features a collection of art installations and interactive projects that are suitable for both children and adults. It is also considered as one of the most Instagrammable spots in Singapore by social media influencers.
We didn’t get to visit this during the trip with my nephew, but I visited it last January. And I am quite sure that my nephew would love it because of its interactive displays. My favorites were Sketch Aquarium and Sketch Town. What you do is you color the drawing, scan it then observe the drawing come to life.
Tip for ArtScience Museum
- Book your ticket through Klook. It is cheaper and faster, no need to go through the lines.
Watch the Garden Rhapsody Light and Sound Show From the OCBC Skyway
Garden Rhapsody is a signature light and sound show of the Gardens by the Bay. There are two shows daily, at 7:45 PM and 8:45 PM. The light show lasts about 13 minutes. You can watch it under the Supertrees at the Supertree Grove. You can lie down under the trees or sit on the ground. There are no tickets required to watch the light show under the trees.
Another place to watch it is from the OCBC Skyway, a 128-meter long aerial walkway 22 meters off the ground. You will be closer to the dancing lights, and you have a stunning view of the Singapore skyline and the futuristic forest of Gardens by the Bay. But you need to buy a ticket to take an elevator up the Supertree to the Skywalk. Each visitor is given 15 minutes at the OCBC Skyway.
We watched the light show twice. The first was under the Supertrees. We went there an hour early to secure a good spot because the place gets crowded. The show hasn’t even started yet when my nephew started throwing tantrums. He said the place is too boring and he kept on telling us that we should leave already. Because he was already in a bad mood, when the light show started, it didn’t impress him at all. He continued throwing tantrums but we just ignored him coz the show was so nice, we had to finish it.
The second time that we watched the show, we watched it from the OCBC Skyway. Because we bought tickets from Klook, we had the ticket in advance and didn’t have to go through the long queue at the ticket counter. It was a peak hour so time slots are being issued to manage attraction queues at the Skyway and to give visitors a pleasant experience. It was a good thing that we got there early so we managed to get the 7:45 PM time slot. Because getting on an elevator up to the Skywalk and the view at the top is just cool, my nephew behaved. He enjoyed the show and our time at the skyway.
Tips for watching the Garden Rhapsody Light and Sound Show From the OCBC Skyway
- As mentioned earlier, it would be better if you purchase your ticket in advance. We purchased our ticket online from Klook and redeemed the physical ticket at Red Dot Museum. It is a combo package for the Flower Dome, the Cloud Forest, and the OCBC Skyway and costs SGD 32 (Php 1141 / US$ 22.45). I didn’t include the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest on this list because my nephew got bored. Good thing he brought his Captain America toy.
- Be at the Supertree Grove at least one hour before the light show to secure a spot at the queue for the 7:45 PM time slot.
Explore the Different Slides at Admiralty Park Playground
The Admiralty Park Playground located in Woodlands is a free playground that features 26 slides. It has the most number of slides in any park in Singapore. It has five different types of slides- the open side slides, straight roller slides, curved roller slides, closed-in tube tunnel slides, and huge wide metal slides.
My nephew almost didn’t get the chance to play there because it was raining hard when we got to the park. Good thing the rain stopped after maybe 15-20 minutes of waiting.
Check Out Some of the Outdoor Playgrounds
Kids love playgrounds and Singapore has plenty of them. My brother and I wanted to check out the former house of Tan Teng Niah in Little India, and it’s not something that excites kids. Good thing there was a playground near the Little India MRT station. We let him play there for a while after checking out the house because he was already starting to throw tantrums.
I hope you liked this list. If you have questions or need help with the planning, feel free to get in touch with me. I know I kept recommending Klook, but this post wasn’t sponsored by them. I just really like the convenience of booking through them, and it’s really cheaper if you book through them. Our trip was actually sponsored by my Mom, so thanks Mom!
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