Singapore in 14 hours with kids
 

We have an upcoming long layover in Singapore soon. We will arrive in the late afternoon and depart the next morning. We are traveling with our three children: ages 10, 13, 18. Making the assumption that we want to get at least a moderate amount of sleep, what are the highlights we've got to see? We've never visited Singapore before.

In checking the forums I saw that the Night Safari, Singapore Flyer, and Black Pepper Crab for dinner are all highly recommended. What else or instead?

Also, I'm having a hard time finding suggestions for a nice, central, reasonably priced hotel for a family. It would be great to get a family suite, but two rooms would also been fine. Our budget is 300 SD max for the hotel for the night. Suggestions please...?

Thanks!

I think the flyer is closed, after an electrical fire stranded people for hours in the gondolas. It may not be reopened by the time you get there.

For hotels, try the Rendezvous, Furama City Center or Grand Plaza Parkroyal. Another poster here frequently recommends the International House (YMCA) although I've never stayed there.

That's good to know about the flyer. We'll definitely double check before we head off to it. Thanks for your recommendations!

With immigration, sleep, and the need to get to the airport early the next morning, I think jthe night zoo and dinner will be about all you can do.

The night zoo is a ways out of town, so I would have dinner as soon as you arrive then head to the zoo. Check the hours carefully...not all parts of the zoo stay open the whole evening.

I stayed at the 0rchard street YMCA; by myself for three days, then with 6 other women for three nights a couple of weeks later.

The rooms are basic, but clean and the AC and TVs worked well. They have triple rooms too.

I love the night safari. If you're not too picky you can have dinner there. Not exactly gourmet, but there are several venues that are lots of fun. For example, one overlooks the giraffes. We would usually take the train to the farthest point then walk back along the trails. It's Singapore so it's perfectly safe, but an extraordinary experience -- dark, jungly and quite close to the animals.

Has anyone stayed at the new hotel at the airport -- the Crown Plaza? It gets good reviews and couldn't be more convenient. I'm not familar with the types of rooms, but my guess is that it would close to your budget, maybe a little more, but you'd save on transportation.

We have done the night safari twice (first just adults and second with our kids). We LOVED it! The walk through bat cage and huge flying squirrels will have you kids in total awe!

For hotels...I like to use www.hoteltravel.com. I seem to get great rates there. I believe we got rates for the Mandarin Oriental for $150 a night.

One word of advice...look at the menu carefully when you order the crab. The price most of the time is per pound...not per crab. We made that mistake (as blurry eyed travelers) and enjoyed a $55 crab. It was good...but probably not $55 good. :)