Directions:
1. Walk to Newton Station.
2. Board the train towards Jurong East Station and alight at Ang Mo Kio Station. 5 stations later.
3. Take Exit C and walk to bus stop at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8
4. Board Bus 138 and alight at Singapore Zoological Gardens, 30 stops later.
5. Walk to Singapore Zoological Gardens.
Newton MRT Station is just 3 minutes walk away from Sheraton Towers, I brought my son’s EZ Link Card (child) but I was informed that it was expired already. My son is 7 years old so he needs to use the regular EZ Link Card. I purchased two EZ Link Card, SGD12 (SGD5 card cost and SGD7 value) + SGD10 load x 2 = SGD 44.
This is already my third visit in Singapore but I was a bit nervous because I haven’t ridden public buses during my previous visits. But I was glad that riding bus is not difficult, all you need to know is the bus stop, bus number and destination. We rode Bus 138 and the last stop is the Singapore Zoo.
At last, I was back in Singapore Zoo after 9 years, we went to the ticket counter first and the line was very long. I bought Park Hopper Plus Tickets SGD79 for adult and SGD59 for kid. The staff asked me, what date are we going to Night Safari? I have no idea that I need to reserve for Night Safari, my initial plan is we will go to Night Safari kung hindi pa kami pagod after River Safari or Singapore Zoo. Anyway, I need to give a date so I just chose Friday, our last night in SG.
The Park Hopper Plus Ticket allows you to visit River Safari, Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari and Singapore Zoo within one week. The only zoo that is not located in Madai Lake Road is the Jurong Bird Park.
We can visit Singapore Zoo or River Safari but we decided to start our tour in River Safari because we’re already late for the first show of Singapore Zoo. From the ticket counter, we just walked to River Safari Entrance.
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| The Rive is Calling... |
There are Guided River Trails and Animal Encounters but we just explored the park at our own pace and time. I’ve read before that the line in Amazon River Quest is always long so we passed by the different attractions and went straight to Amazon River Quest and River Safari Cruise.
We enjoyed the Amazon River Quest and we rode it three times. We took advantage the unlimited ride that was included in our Park Hopper Plus Ticket. If you want to ride this, the fee is SGD5 for adult and SGD3 for kid (one time ride only).
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| On our third ride, wala si Jaguar nakatago. Nadisappoint yung mga kasakay namin sa boat. |
Click here for video
The River Safari Cruise was a different experience too, the only downside of this is there is no assurance that you will see all the animals. But it was a good 15 minutes boat ride.
After our ride, we started exploring the different rivers.
There is a Touch Pool where you can feel the sea stars, horseshoe crab and sea cucumbers. Washing areas are everywhere so no need to worry.
The Amazon Flooded Forest is so relaxing, I can just sit there and watch the different species. I don’t need to dive in the ocean or sea because I can see the largest species such as manatee and arapaima. They are so HUGE! They were eating veggies that time.
Then we went to Giant Panda Forest, it was our first time to see Giant Panda, unfortunately, we only saw Kai Kai, nakatalikod pa. Jia Jia was hiding, we only saw her at CCTV. So my tip is, visit the Giant Panda Forest first thing in the morning. (we went back twice but same fate, she is hiding).
And because of that, I bought a souvenir picture and we ate Panda Pau at Mama Panda Kitchen. It was cute and yummy pau.
Our last stop is Squirrel Monkey Forest then we went home. We were done in less than 4 hours.
There are no shows here but we enjoyed the Amazon River Quest, River Safari Cruise, Amazon Flooded Forest and Giant Panda Forest. Among the four zoos, this is our favorite because of the ride. :)
You can also see the Polar Bear here but it is too far so you better visit Singapore Zoo. I will share our SG Zoo experience on my next post.
Click here for video
Read: 5 Days in Singapore
River Safari Admission Fee
Park Hopper Plus Tickets
SGD79 adult
SGD59 kid
Regular Tickets
SGD30 adult
SGD20 kid
Amazon River Cruise
SGD5 adult
SGD3 kid
Traveling is such a fun way for kids to learn and appreciate other places. Learn their culture, perhaps even a few words or their language, and appreciate their food. I find your son lucky to have a parent like you who lets him explore the world through traveling. Seems your Singapore tour was such a fun filled experience. I hope to read more of your travel stories.
ReplyDeleteTrue, traveling is the best way to learn new things. Our SG trip is not just fun but we learned a lot, just in time for his lessons in Science about animals. :)
DeleteLooks like so much fun those 5 days. I always like to go to zoos :) especially in different places in the world. I love the Antwerp zoo. In Belgium !!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that there is zoo in Belgium. :)
DeleteVery nice. That is one thing Singapore has heavily invested in. This kind of zoo is not cheap at all. The result is a truly world class facility where animals are cared for, and people can go see them, appreciate them, learn about them. I know zoos are not what animals rights wanted, but that is the price to pay for educating more people on the need to protect the animals. Very education trip. Your boy sure learned a lot that day and had fun, of that I am sure.
ReplyDeleteSingapore Zoo is the best zoo that I've seen so far, animals are well taken cared of and animals are not inside the cage. What nice about the zoos in SG, they really educate people to protect animals and take care the environment.
DeleteWow! How I wish I can visit Singapore soon too. My friends and I are planning an out of town soon and we're thinking if Singapore or Korea. I like the latter honestly but I just can't ditch the idea of going to SG. Hopefully, hopefully soon!
ReplyDeleteI also like South Korea, it is still on my bucket list. :)
DeleteLovely travel photos you took! I always wanted to visit a safari, like a real one! I didn't have much experience in zoos and the like during my childhood, so it still makes me feel excited to visit them in my mid-20s. I also want to see panda bears! The Panda paus look delicious, I bet they are! What are they stuffed with? It's really nice that you get to go on educational trips with the family.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, a real safari is a good experience too. Honestly, I just started visiting zoos when I had my son. :) You can choose Panda Pau with chocolate or mongo beans filling.
DeleteLooks like u enjoyed so much of ur time there. Weve been to sg zoo i think 6 years ago. I can see that nothing's change. We would love to be again with the kiddos. We wanted to try river safari! They'll love it for sure..
ReplyDeleteIf you are referring on the 3rd and 4th photos, yes, the entrance of SG Zoo and ticket counter are still the same but there are attractions that were added that I haven't seen 9 years ago. Visit River Safari, it is very different experience from Singapore Zoo.
DeleteThis is what I love about travelling: enjoying it! From looking at your photos, it seems that you had a blast while you were there! I've also travelled there with my family and we had such a great time. Those Panda Pau's just look so yummy!
ReplyDeleteYes, we had a blast especially my son who enjoyed riding Amazon River Quest. The Panda Pau is really yummy, I hope I can make it at home. :)
DeleteIt's a great escape from the skyscrapers in Singapore. Definitely better than bringing the kids in the mall. Hehe. And that's the advantage of finding the best hotel/place to stay in where attractions like the River safari is just stones away. I bet not only kids can enjoy here.
ReplyDeleteI wish our hotel is stones away from River Safari but it is 67 minutes away. :)
DeleteSingapore is such a great place. I love it there cause you can get a bit of everything and it's all pretty accessible. Even if it takes a long time to get there, it's not a horrible ride there. My kids love the Gardens by the Bay and all its great attractions. Never made it to the zoo, maybe next time.
ReplyDeleteYes, the travel may be long but everything went fine because the transport system in SG is very efficient. We haven't visited the GBTB, maybe next time too. :)
DeleteLove this travel post! Planning to visit Singapore soon and I'm making sure this is part of my itinerary. That Giant Panda Forest is superb! Always love pandas! Hihi!
ReplyDeleteYes, pandas are so cute. Don't forget to eat the panda pau. :)
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