Destinations

A Few Days In Singapore With The Kids

We’re on our way to Australia. And it’s a long way with a 3 year old and 6 month baby…

So we decided to take an extended break at our stop over in Singapore. We have some friends we wanted to catch up with, but also do some exploring given that it had been nearly 10 years since either of us had been there (sans enfants).

It also gave us a bit of an opportunity to start to adjust to a very different time zone. We opted for an apartment centrally on Clarke Quay which meant we could hang out by the river and go for late meals and ice cream with the kids before trying to encourage a midnight bedtime that got progressively earlier.

The other good thing that helped adjust our body clocks was a blast of sunshine and water at Gardens by The Bay. Sam loved running through the ages of water and Henry practised his sitting whilst splashing his hands through water jets. It’s all free to access – and would thoroughly recommend as a good jolt to the system to try and rid some kid jet lag.

The next few days we spent exploring. Singapore is packed with places to see, but small enough that getting around is always pretty straightforward. Taxis are cheap (use the Comfort Delgro taxi app when traveling with kids) and the metro system is expansive and good value. We didn’t get around everywhere we wanted to, but here are some of the highlights we would definitely recommend:

  • Clarke Quay / Boat Quay: A water front of restaurants, bars, cafes and shops will take you out towards the famous Merlion (the lion statue thing that spouts out water). All pedestrianised and great for little feet to run around and spot boats.
  • Gardens By The Bay: Huge green area that goes on and on. Get dropped off at Satay by the Bay for the easiest access to the children’s garden which has water play and a fantastic playground.
  • ArtScience Museum: A real highlight for us. The Future World exhibition was sensational. One of the best museum experiences ever. 
  • Sentosa Cable Car: You can start at Harbour Front or Mount Faber to get across to Sentosa Island, but most people seem to recommend the latter for its views. We would agree!
  • Sentosa Island: It has a strange man-made, theme-park vibe to the whole place, but it’s a great place for kids. Little traffic. Lots of beaches. Free pink buses that around the island. We stopped off at Trapizza on Siloso Beach for lunch which had a little water play perfect for cooling off.
  • New Fullerton Hotel: Back on the mainland, the roof bar of this hotel has fantastic views across the marina. Not the cheapest but gave us a free kids juice with an order of a regular juice.
  • Marina Bay Light & Water Show: Sounds like the kind of thing which could be a bit average, but actually brilliant. Held our 3 year old’s attention who absolutely loved it.