What to do in Singapore?
 

We are a family with teenage children and will be spending 6 days in Singapore in April, please lots of advice on what to do and where to eat.

Cheers

the orchid section/garden in the botanical gardens is just beautiful

Hi

Check out the page http://www.the-inncrowd.com/. It is the page of a hostel but they have lots of great info about Singapore.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway
www.gardkarlsen.com

I rather liked the night zoo, and I would have thought that would appeal to teenagers (although that's rather a general classification). The zoo is open until very late at night, and houses nocturnal creatures, viewed either from footpaths, or from an electric vehicle. The areas for several types of monkey, deer, etc. are separated from the vehicles by ditches which are cleverly disguised by the landscaping, giving a sense that they might just come right up to you if they felt like it.

I wouldn't usually recommend such an artificial entertainment for those far from home, but at least the many of the creatures there are from the region, the whole thing is very well done, and six days does seem rather a lot of time to fill in little Singapore.

Peter N-H
http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Where to feed teenagers in SG depends on how advenurous they are.
If they are interested in trying some of the local food, you should visit one of the hawker centers. My preferred one is at Maxwell Rd in Chinatown. You can sample all sorts of Malay, Chinese and Indian specialties for very little money.
If they are dying for a fix of American type food (burgers, chicken wings, nachos etc.) head for Brewerkz, across from Clarke Quay. Get a table outside and enjoy the river views.
If they are old enough to drink, they will like the bar scene at Boat Quay.

For upscale dining with a river view, we love Indochine, located at the back of the Asian Civilizations Museum. Fantastic food. Mostly Vietnamese style, with some interesting variations.

If you want to try ome of the restaurants in Raffles, I recommend Doc Cheng's, for excellent Asian fusion cuisine, or the Tiffin Room, which has a very good Northern Indian buffet at lunch.
Esmirada on the corner of Orchard Rd and Orange Grove Rd has very good Mediterranean style food, and on Sat nights, they play wild Greek music and smash plates on the floor. Always a hit with kids.
If your kids like seafood, they will enjoy the local specialty of chili crabs at one of the East Coast restaurants. There are about 6 of them at UDMC Center. Wear very casual clothes and be prepared to get messy!

Teenagers will probably enjoy just strolling down Orchard Rd. on the weekend, checking out the scene. For shopping for teenagers, both the Hereen Building and Wisma Atria Center on Orchard Rd. have lots of trendy, funky clothing, accessories and music shops.

If they are interested in the many interesting cultures in SG, you should visit Little India, Chinatown and Arab St. All three have lots of itneresting shops and restaurants.

The suggestion of Night Safari is a good one. That's fun for kids and adults alike. Eat an early dinner elsewhere (the food there is not great) and plan to arrive around 7pm, when it gets dark. In addition to riding around on the tram, there are footpaths that access other areas.

The Botanical Garden IS extremely beautiful, but I'm not sure how much teenagers would enjoy it. It can be interesting early in the morning on the weekends, to see people doing tai chi.

One last thing they might enjoy is a reflexology session. Lots of places to do this, depending on where you will be staying and it runs about SG$25-30 for an hour. My 16 yr old loves it.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you for all your advice, tho am a bit worried do you really think 6 days is too long

Everyone has already given you plenty to think about, I will only add regarding how long to spend that Singapore although a beautiful city is still a 'city'..depends what you are looking for, but you are around 1hr 20 from beaches/islands such as Langkawi and Krabi/Phuket area of Thailand, also you are relativel close to East coast Malaysia islands, depends entirely what you want.
I think your teens will be surprised by Singapore, fashion and trends are vibrant, Bugis Street Junction also has good and interesting shops. There are some great clubs too.

Ditto re night safari - IMO adults enjoy it too as I did - very much! Great fusion cuisine restaurant IndoChine (one on the waterfront but has 3 branches in all so see which is near you). Check if anything is on at the Promenade opp the Fullerton - lots of fun cultural stuff. Re 6 days - second JamesA's suggestion - u could think of getting out to Malaysia (even doable by road) or Macau.

Our fellow posters have provide a lot of good info so far. I spent a week in Singapore in October and a week was about right to really see everything AND relax.

If your teens like to be entertained they may exhaust Singapore pretty quickly, on the other hand if they like roaming around and exploring there should be enough to do.

The Night Zoo does indeed make for an enjoyable evening. There's a lot of good info on line at the Singapore Tourism Boards website www.visitsingapore.com

Sentosa Island is just across the bridge, its sort of an theme parkish island with beaches and attractions. The Images of Singapore Museum covers a lot of history, there's golfing, water slides and swimming, an aquarium, nature walk, etc.

Other local islands like Pulau Ubin are less touristy and are a good option for biking, hiking around, etc.

If you find feel you've exhausted SIngapore you can always make a day trip into Malaysia to Malacca or Johor Bahru.

If your teens are into shopping and /or "hanging out at the mall" there are tons of stores in the Orchard Road area. The different ethnic neighborhoods give insight into other cultures.

In case you haven't considered it Singapore gets a lot of rain. Its typically warm, but downpours are common. Plan to have umbrellas handy and know that the showers do pass quickly and the sun comes out again.

The transportation systems are great and the city is very safe so depending on the ages of your teens you may feel comfortable giving them some time for independent exploring

Food seems to be safe everywhere. I ate at street stands regularly and had no issues, however I NEVER drink anything but canned beverages or bottled water. Chilli crab is indeed a treat - a very messy "full immersion meal", but tasty and fun.

You should also check out any entertainment going on, theatre and concerts, I just 'missed' a chance to see Duran Duran ( showing my age here! ) and sissapointed I didn't realise it was on a few days after my visit. To emophasise again that you really can let the teens 'do their own thing' without any worry, tell them not to spend any money on clothes before going, let them go mad in the malls! They will be pleasantly surprised!

Not wanting to 'saturate you' with things but if you are planning future trips to Asia and have interest in the culture/art etc of Asia the Book Store at the Wheelock Centre ( Orchard/Scotts ) has a huge selection of books on Asia.

Just had a look for myself on Visitsingapore.com so checked April, from 15th the Singapore International Film Festivals and from 2nd-18th the Singapore Fashion Festival ( pack your best shopping shoes!)

Some suggestions for Singapore:

1. The Pualu Ubun suggestion above, is a good one. Pualu Ubun is an island in the narrow waterway between Singapore and Malaysia, and most of it is a national park. You can rent bikes and explore the little bit of wild jungle and wildlife left in Singapore. There are some good seafood restaurant here as well. The website for national parks in Singapore is http://www.nparks.gov.sg, this site is full of ideas for visits to other parks as well.

2. There are other parts of Singapore which you can go to which will make you feel like you have gotten away from the city. There is a windsurfing area in Singapore's East Coast area with a nice beach where you can rent lasers and windsurfers and have lunch or dinner. Pasta Fresca Seasports Centre, 1212 East Coast Parkway, Singapore. Tel 65-4495118 . You can also rent bikes or rollerblades and ride along the East Coast park, take a look at the National Parks website. There are some very good seafood restaurants in this area. You can rent sailboats in the marina near Changi airport.

3. You can waterski or wakeboard in the Ponggol Point area of Singapore, about a 20 minute cab ride, you can also get there by public bus in just over an hour or so. The skiing is on Selator island, in the waterway between Malaysia and Singapore. You will definitely feel like you have left the city behind. Take a look at http://www.williamwatersports.com.sg/. There are some great seafood restaurants here as well.

Closer into the city there is man-made area where you can also waterski and where international competitions are held. Take a look at http://www.extreme.com.sg/

4. The Jurong Bird Park is interesting. It has a huge aviary and also wildlife shows. Take a look at http://www.birdpark.com/servlet/index. The nearby Alligator Farm would probably be a hit with kids, as they wrestle with alligators.

5. You can watch cricket most weekends afternoons on the Padang in downtown Singapore. The Cricket Club and the Singapore Sports club anchor both ends, and there are several fields in between. The clubs are private, but you can sit at the fields edges and watch the play.

6. The Singapore Sevens Rugby Tournament is April 3 and 4. A great time even if you don't know a lot about the sport, as the game moves very fast with only 7 players a side. You should be able to buy tickets on the day, but take a look at http://www.irbsevens.com/tournaments...pore/Singapore for information, or check with your hotel.

7. The Polo Club has polo matches, usually at least one Sunday a month. 80 Mount Pleasant Road Tel: 65-6256-4530, or 252-1987. This club is also private, but the rules are generally ignored on match days and you can just walk in.

8. The Singapore Science Centre has all kinds of kid-friendly exhibits and an omni theatre. Take a look at http://www.science.edu.sg

9. There is a day bus trip to Malaysia to visit parts of Johor Bahru, a rubber plantation and a fishing village, with a stop for lunch at the fishing village. You might run a search here, or ask at your hotel. You see part of the Royal Palace in Johur and some markets as well as the fishing village out on stilts over the water. A little touristy, but fun.

10. A good overnight trip would be Malacca/Meleka, which has a lot of old Portuguese colonial buildings and an old Chinese town as well. You can take a bus or drive yourself by renting a car either in Singapore or just over the causeway in Johor Bahru. The drive takes about 3 hours, and there are places to stop to buy china along the way. Haven't been in a few years, but there is a Renaissance hotel there which was nice. You could easily book this over the net or ask your hotel in Singapore to arrange. You might want to search for other more traditional Malay/Chinese hotels, people on this site may have suggestions or run a search here.

11. Some people like to go to Bintan island for a day or overnight, I don't think the beaches are anything spectacular, but it?s a personal thing. Your hotel could give you information, or run a search on the internet.

12. I am not a fan of Sentosa Island, hot, crowded and ersatz Disneyland not done nearly as well as Disney does it. However, kids may have a different view than me, and the cable car over the island is actually fun. They do have what is supposed to be a great aquarium.

As others have noted, Singapore is extremely safe, so I would encourage you to let your children do some exploring on their own. Also, April is pretty hot and humid in Singapore (a relative term as it is always hot and humid), so do plan at least one day/afternoon hanging out by your hotel pool.