Visiting Singapore Zoo – practical tips
Singapore Zoo is consistently rated one of the best zoos in the world, and is well worth a visit as part of a trip to Singapore. Before we travelled we’d read varying advice about whether it was doable as a single day activity, how long it would take and on how to get there. Read on below for an overview of our experience and how to make the most of your visit!
What is it?
‘Singapore Zoo’ is often used to refer to four different parks which make up the Mandai Wildlife Reserve. The four parks are located in close proximity (mostly walking distance, although the Bird Paradise is one stop on the bus) to each other, and tickets can be purchased to access one or multiple parks. They are:
Singapore Zoo – wide range of animals including elephants, orangutans, monkeys and big cats (among many!).
River Wonders – smaller park themed around river environments. Animals included pandas, fish, capybaras and manatees among others.
Night Safari – unique experience which is only open in the evenings/night, containing a wide range of animals including elephants, big cats and rhinos.
Bird Paradise – newest park, contains large aviaries and many types of birds.
We visited Singapore Zoo, River Wonders and the Night Safari in a single day.
Where is it and how to get there
The parks are located a bit outside of the centre of Singapore. We caught the MRT to Khatib station, then boarded the dedicated zoo shuttle bus which leaves from right outside the station. The shuttle cost an extra $2.50 each way on top of the MRT fare (use your EZ-Link card to pay), and was an easy way to get to the zoo. All up, travelling from the Orchard Rd area it took us about an hour to get to the zoo. The zoo’s website has extra information about travelling to the zoo.
Is it doable in a day?
We found visiting 3 parks to be doable in a day. It was a big day – we arrived around 10:30am and left at about 8:30pm, but that included time to sit down and relax. We spent a lot of time on our feet, so if you have small children or are looking for a slower pace you might want to prioritise what to see. The advantage of visiting in a single day meant we didn’t have to factor in travelling back out to the zoo for a second day as part of our trip.
We arrived at Singapore Zoo around 10:30, and spent about 4 hours in total in this park. This included a stop for lunch. After leaving Singapore Zoo, we walked next door to River Wonders. This was a much smaller park and we spent around 2-2.5 hours here, which include watching a keeper demonstration. We then headed out and got some dinner at the food court outside the Singapore Zoo entrance, and rested our legs for an hour, before heading to the Night Safari where we spent just over 2 hours (which included queueing for the bus trip around the park and walking through the walking trails).
The Bird Paradise is located a bus stop away from the other parks, which would add a little bit of time to your visit.
General tips
Time your visit! We visited midweek and outside of any holiday periods, which meant the parks were fairly quiet. We’d heard they can be a lot busier on weekends.
Wear comfortable shoes and clothes. You’ll be on your feet a lot and Singapore is typically hot and humid.
It rained a couple of times during the day we were there, so consider a coat or umbrella.
Take a water bottle, which you can refill for free throughout the parks.
We found the food options inside Singapore Zoo and also outside the front of the park to be good – they included local options as well as a KFC. Otherwise be prepared with snacks.
Singapore Zoo tips
We’d recommend starting any visit off at Singapore Zoo, as this is the largest of the parks. There are a variety of keeper talks and demonstrations that happen each day, so it’s worth checking timings of these in advance and planning your visit around any you want to do. A highlight for us was the elephant keeper talk. We also booked online in advance (paying around $5 each) to be able to feed the elephants at the end of this talk, which was really special. There are food options available inside the zoo and plenty of places to sit down. Given the zoo covers a relatively large area, we’d recommend planning your route around the exhibits. There was also a shuttle ‘train’ available if needed.
River Wonders tips
This is a much smaller park than the zoo, and basically comprises one large loop around various exhibits. It’s worth seeing. We enjoyed looking at the displays, going on a small river ride and attending a keeper presentation.
Night Safari tips
The Night Safari is a unique experience, as it allows you to view animals at night when they’re often more active. We arrived around 6:30 when the park opened and immediately joined the queue for the bus tour around the park. The queue looked long but moved fast. We did the bus tour as night fell, which in our opinion was a good time to do it – it meant while the animals were active it wasn’t completely dark so we could see more of what was going on.
Most people visiting the Night Safari tend to take the bus tour and then leave. However the park also has a network of walking trails which lets you get up close to many of the animals. These were probably the highlight for us – we were able to walk around and see so many different species up close, including seeing a rhino being fed. There also weren’t many other people doing the walk which added to the experience!
