We recently came back from an 11 day trip to Singapore and Malaysia – travelling with our two kids aged 1 and 5. I wanted to share our experience as well as tips when travelling to Singapore with kids.
What to pack
If you’re travelling with your kids to Singapore – I definitely recommend packing the following:
- A stroller/pram for each child – my daughter who turned 5 on the trip doesn’t use stroller when we go out in Sydney but so many Mums warned me that the humidity in Singapore can be too much for kids and they can not handle walking in the heat. I am so grateful I took their advice because I bought a cheap second hand pram off Facebook Marketplace and the days when we went to the Zoo, Universal Studios and LegoLand – they were very much needed.
- Pack baby food pouches and snacks – if your kids love certain snacks and you have a toddler or a bub who still enjoys food pouches – then you need to buy enough for the whole trip and take it with you. When I went to the grocery store in Singapore, the price for a food pouch was double the price I would pay for in Australia and snacks were almost 3 times the price I would pay at my local supermarket.
- Pack ALL the nappies you will need – this comes down again to price. Even though it will take up a lot of room in your luggage on the way over, I found the price of nappies pretty expensive compared to what we pay so I am glad I took enough nappies to last me the whole trip.
Where to stay
Accommodation in general is very expensive in Singapore and I have found in my previous stays at hotels in Singapore to be very small. Travelling with two young kids and staying away from home for 10 nights, I knew from experience I needed an extra bedroom and the facilities you would find in your own home like a normal sized fridge, kitchen and washer and dryer.
Airbnb is illegal in Singapore so your next best bet are serviced apartments. After looking at a few available and the locations, I settled on Park Avenue located in Robertson Quay. We booked a 2 bedroom apartment and it was very spacious and much larger than the photos I saw when I made the booking. They also provided a cot for my 18 month old free of charge (I found most other serviced apartments or hotels would charge you per day for using their cot). The fridge and laundry definitely came in handy as the kids were dirtying their clothes daily and we bought fruit, snacks and milk for the kids – especially for breakfast.
The location was perfect as we had access to several cafes and restaurants within walking distance and several bus stops for when we used public transport.
The other bonus of staying at Park Avenue was that each apartment comes with its own Handy smartphone. The phone allows you to have access to the internet, unlimited local phone calls and unlimited international phone calls (to certain countries, but Australia was one of those countries). You also got access to discounted tickets and experiences. We were able to purchase discounted tickets to Singapore Zoo and the Singapore Cable Cars and there were plenty of other attractions you could purchase at a discount via the Handy smartphone. This feature alone plus the generously sized apartments and location – will definitely have us staying back at Park Avenue Robertson next time we travel to Singapore.
Getting around
The great thing about Singapore when you have kids is that the country is small which means travelling from place to place doesn’t take long. Surprisingly, even though most things in Singapore is expensive – transport is quite cheap compared to Australia. Taxi rides are very affordable and it was our most used mode of travelling. I would suggest downloading the app Grab in Singapore. It’s like Uber except that you can also call on normal taxi’s via the app.
The other form of transport we used was the bus. We didn’t pay more than $2 per adult and my daughter was only $0.65 and more often than not – the drivers didn’t charge her. If you are paying by cash, you will need the exact change as the bus drivers don’t issue out change. Alternatively they also sell a Singapore Tourist Pass that gives you unlimited travel. We didn’t purchase it as we only used the bus a couple of times – but it was very easy and a great experience.
Where to eat
Another surprising aspect of Singapore that can be really cheap is food. Depending on where you eat – you can find delicious, wholesome food for the whole family at a really affordable price. The hawker centres is where you will find the cheap and traditional Singaporean food. You will find a wide range of choices in the hawker centres but it’s mainly asian cuisine.
Dining at cafe’s and restaurants is similar pricing to eating out in Australia. Another place you will find affordable food options is within the shopping malls. There you will find a wider variety of cuisines, in case you have a fussy eater.
Now if you want some really cute and kid and friendly cafes to go to I highly recommend Platform 1094 and My Melody Cafe. Platform 1094 is a Harry Potter themed cafe with the decor and food being Harry Potter themed as well as costumes for the kids to dress up in!
My Melody Cafe is just cute! Based on the cartoon character – it’s mainly desserts and drinks they serve but the whole decor and desserts are all very adorable and if you have little girls, then they will love it.
Where to shop
I really enjoy shopping in Singapore as you often get access to brands that don’t reach Australia. But as you all know, shopping with kids is a very different experience to shopping on your own. We went to three shopping malls and I’ll rate them from best shopping experience and most kid-friendliest:
1. VivoCity
VivoCity was by far the best shopping centre we went to and as a result, we went twice after our not so great experience at the other shopping malls. VivoCity has all the stores you would want to shop from like Victoria’s Secret, Zara and Sephora plus other stores that don’t reach Australia like Marks & Spencer. There is also plenty of food outlets to choose from. For the kids – they have the biggest outdoor play area I have ever seen at a shopping centre and also fabulous baby changing facilities.
2. Suntec City
Suntec City is the largest shopping mall in Singapore, which is also quite annoying when you are trying to get to one area from another. I wasn’t really a fan of this shopping centre as there was a lot of stores I never heard of and I think it’s a shopping mall aimed at the locals. One upside from our time there is that we found an awesome playcentre called Cool de Sac where Mia spent hours playing in. In summary, not so great for shopping but there’s things to keep the kids entertained there.
3. Paragon/ION Orchard
Along Orchard Rd, there is a bunch of shopping centres and these two would be the most well known ones. It is NOT kid friendly in the least. It was really busy and small, making it hard to get around with the pram. It was a pain trying to find lifts to get from one level to another. Most of the stores were high-end, so unless you have a couple of thousand dollars to spend, then you a merely window shopping and lusting. But the worst aspect was that there is nothing to entertain the kids in any of the centres. Of course that resulted in very restless and bored kids and of course our time there was very minimal.
Where to go
The focus of this trip was to take the kids to places that they would enjoy. I personally have visited Singapore several times and have done the typical touristy spots so you will find that we refrained from doing those and instead focused on what Singapore had to offer for kids:
1. Legoland – Malaysia
Legoland Malaysia is only an hour or two away from Singapore and ABSOLUTELY worth going to. I would recommend doing the theme park and water park over two days and staying at the very kid-friendly Legoland Hotel while you are there. It’s an experience the kids will never forget!
I find that this theme park caters much more to the younger kids than say Universal and hence why I am so glad we went because Mia went on all the rides (except one) and was able to meet the height minimum requirements. Unlike Universal where there was quite a few rides she couldn’t get on because she was too small.
2. Universal Studios Singapore
Aim to visit Universal Studios on a Friday or Saturday. The park stays open until 10pm (versus 6pm on the other days). You will need the extra time to be able to do all the rides. You will also be able to enjoy the Hollywood Dreams Light Up Parade at 7.30pm and the fireworks at 10pm.
Something special that you can do is have breakfast with your favourite Sesame Street characters. This includes a Sesame Street breakfast buffet, appearances from Elmo, Bert and Ernie, Grover and Abby, as well as games for the kids. The Sesame Street breakfast is only available on Saturdays.
3. Trick Eye Museum
The Trick Eye Museum is an immersive, one of a kind experience that is really hard to explain until you have been there. The museum is beautifully presented with various themes and scenes in every room. The kids are able to ride a swan, climb a tree like a panda or ride a horse and carriage.
Overlaying most scenes and photo opportunities is an element of AR (Artificial Reality). You will download an app at the museum and then use that app to see a tiger lying next to you and moving about while you are relaxing on the beach, you will see a volcano explode and the lava running through the city while you stand there and you can also take part in a horse race as the horses begin to move.
The museum is very interactive and fun and the kids will love the AR elements within each of the rooms.
4. Singapore Zoo
Going to Wildlife Reserves Singapore Zoo is a must and would have to be in my top 3 best zoos in the world. The zoo is very open unlike other zoos I have been to which means you can see the animals closer and more so in their natural habitat. You will also see many animals just walking around the zoo like monkeys and iguanas.
One of the experiences I highly recommend for the kids is feeding the animals. The kids can get up close to a giraffe, rhinoceros and elephant as they feed food right into their mouths! Just make sure you have the exact money (SGD5) as they don’t give change.
Another great area for the kids is the Rainforest Kidzworld. There is an awesome water park (make sure you pack swimmers and a towel) because they will have so much fun playing there. There is also rides and a petting zoo within the area as well as a KFC if your kids get hungry (which is handy because the food outlets are all the way at the start of the park). The water park shuts down at 5.30pm so make sure you plan your day in the zoo with enough time for your kids to enjoy this area.
Singapore Zoo is a LARGE park and hilly in some areas. Along with the humidity – it can get very tiring walking around. It’s worthwhile getting a tram pass (more for you than the kids) to take you around the zoo. Your legs will thank you later for it!
5. S.E.A. Aquarium
What a stunning aquarium! And you will be in awe when you come face to face with the ceiling to floor aquarium as you stand there mesmerised watching all of the sea creatures swimming by. It was a very relaxing experience and both kids were transfixed at watching these beautiful animals swim by.
We came across so many sea animals that we have never encountered before and there was plenty of interactive and educational stations throughout the aquarium where the kids can learn about sounds, ocean and species as they walk through the S.E.A. Aquarium.
6. The Maritime Experiential Museum
The Maritime Experiential Museum is located right behind the S.E.A. Aquarium and if you pay SGD5 more than the entry price of the Aquarium on its own, then you will be able to visit both attractions.
The Maritime Experiential Museum is great for both adults and kids because we as adults were able to learn more about the Singaporean history and the importance of the seas in its development.
There is several installations for the kids to have fun like trying to tie a knot that is used on boats, virtually dressing up as an explorer and getting to experience what it would be really like to live through a typhoon in the Typhoon Theatre attraction. I wouldn’t recommend it if your kids are easily scared as it does involve loud thunder and flashing – but it’s a great attraction if your kids like those kinds of things.
7. Cable Cars Singapore
This is a beautiful way to see the city either during the day or night. I always think Singapore looks gorgeous at night so we took the kids on the cable car in the evening.
They both were in awe from being so high up and it was great that we were able to get on the cable cars with the pram, which made the experience so much easier.
You will be able to go over Sentosa Island and also go to Mt Faber. If you are tossing up between the Singapore Flyer and the Cable Cars, then plenty of Mums have told me that kids find the Singapore Flyer really boring because of how slow it goes and you get a much better view of the whole city on the Singapore Cable Cars.
8. KidZania
If you go to Singapore you HAVE to go to KidZania. Purely because it’s something your kids would have never experienced before (unless you have been to one somewhere else) and it will blow your mind seeing what they have built for the kids to experience.
KidZania is a mini-world built for kids. There is a hospital, fire and police station, a soup kitchen, a bank and many other stores and facilities you would have in a normal city. In KidZania, kids will do everyday jobs and earn kidZos – KidZania’s official currency. . With each job or activity the kids do – no parents are allowed in. Parents are only allowed to take part in selected role-play activities such as being a Cabin Passenger at the Aviation Academy, a Cash Officer at the Vault or a Customer at the Convenience Store. Just keep look out for the ‘Parents welcome’ sign on the census boards outside the establishments. The overall objective of Kidzania is for the kids to experience and figure it out on their own (with the help of the lovely KidZania staff who will talk them through the job or activity they need to do).
For example, Mia worked at the hospital as a Baby Expert in the nursery and a Surgeon doing CT scans. She worked in the fire station and put out a fire in one of the buildings. She also worked as a store assistant in 7-Eleven packing stock away. For each of these jobs she would earn KidZania money. Mia could then spend her money on experiences like making candy, making soup or making ice cream. There is also a KidZania Department Store where they can buy items with the money they have earned.
KidZania is definitely one that the kids will remember forever. My daughter hasn’t stopped talking about riding on a fire truck, going to the bank to take money or running around the city looking for the next job that she wanted to do. I highly recommend heading to KidZania for an amazing experience that your kids will never forget.
Would we go to Singapore again with the kids?
Absolutely! For so many reasons. It’s only an 8 hour flight from Sydney. There is so much to do to keep the kids entertained. The weather all year round is warm. It’s a country that is easy to get around. The first language is English, so you don’t struggle with any language barriers and Singaporeans are SO lovely and hospitable and were absolutely wonderful with the kids.
I would like to thank the Singapore Tourism Board for working with us on our trip. Thank you to Merlin Entertainment, Resorts World Sentosa, Trick Eye, Wildlife Reserves and KidZania who all hosted us at their venues.