Singapore Zoo: Must Visit & Surprisingly Awesome

Put the Zoo on your list of MUST VISITS. It is one of the best experiences in Singapore and a top Zoo globally.

It was a wonderful experience and recommend fully.

If you are here researching more about it, then keep reading as it took me a few days to understand the details such as – how many parks, how to get there using public transport, are there extra experiences, and what are opening times.

Comment if this is helpful or what other information you need!

Context

Mandai operates the Zoo that is comprised of four distinct parks. At the time of our visit in July 2024, there was massive construction to expand either the parks or lodging. Originally the bird park was purchased by Mandai and has since expanded. The Night Safari celebrated 30 years in 2024.

Transportation was simple. A 45 minute ride from central Singapore on a train line then a one way bus. A Mandai operated bus will arrive at the train station. Follow signs or animal footprints at station. First bus arrives at 8:30am. Pay driver to board around $3 per adult.

The Bus takes 10 minutes to arrive at Zoo. The first stop is the Bird Park. Second stop is the hub for the last three parks. There are other bus tours here. There is a pre-entry food court. Many people were eating food from home since there is not really variety. The main restaurant was KFC (and was expensive).

We purchased a special offering online for 4 park tickets at 50% so the entry came to $25 per person.

I was surprised at how expensive merchandise was but it seems this offsets the ticket prices. Each park has one main store at the entrance/exit. These stores do have park specific offerings.

The best food was Ah Meng Restaurant in the Zoo and the Chinese restaurant Mama Panda Kitchen after the Panda exhibit in River Wonders.

The weather will be hot and humid. Fortunately, each park has water refill stations. Be safe and stay hydrated! Remember, the animals also feel the heat so will be most active in the early morning and evening.

The larger animals like elephants, rhino, and lions are from Asia – making it interesting compared to the more common African types.

Experiences

Day 1

Singapore Zoo

Large park that can be accomplished in half a day or full day if you see all the shows and kid plays in the play area (for 5-10 year olds).

We walked the entire park and saw a sea lion show over half a day and felt happy with the result. Our 2 year old loved the breakfast interaction and high visibility of the exhibits. He napped at noon which is why we only spent half a day.

Recommend: pay for the breakfast. It was kind of expensive but provides great interaction. The buffet style was delicious and had variety including western, Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian. They bring out various animals to take pictures with and/or hold. We saw Orangutangs, Penguins, Owl, Maccaws, and tortoise. The restaurant Ah Meng is named after the first Orangutang in the park who was a symbol of the Zoo but sadly passed a while ago.

There is a tram (new and clean) that conveniently drives you around to different stops reducing walking. However, the stops are in between animal exhibits so sometimes it overshoots what you want to see.

Compared to United States zoos, the animal distance is close. I have never seen African wild dogs this close or able to literally touch a wallaby.

Bird Park

We took the bus from the second bus stop (Hub) and went to the first stop for the Bird Park. The stop is very large and new. You do not have to pay to leave the Zoo.

There is construction encircling the area indicating expansion of a park or lodging.

From the stop there is a 5-10 minute walk along a covered walkway past some retail and food shops.

The entrance to the park is open and you can see a large building that houses the penguin exhibit and restaurant. We didn’t eat there but looks like an amazing experience. There is a side area at the top!

The park is elliptical and can be walked either way. There are about 10 different, large exhibits that contain specific geographic species. Park Map here. Each exhibit is separate from each other with air conditioned entrances. The actual exhibits are exposed to the weather and sun. Bring an umbrella and sun screen!

There is great diversity in each exhibit. You really can spend a full day here. The last exhibit has a waterfall and an auditorium with large screenings. For kids, there is a large splash pad (wish we knew about earlier!)

Day 2

River Wonders

This is the smallest of the walkable parks but is because a portion is only navigable by the boat ride. It opens later in the day and due to our 2 year olds nap schedule decided to arrive around 2-3pm.

You repeat the same process to get here and get odd at the second stop (Hub).

We followed a trail next to large aquariums teeming with different species. The sections were split based on geographic region.

The most impressive and popular exhibit is for Pandas. Being it my first time ever see Pandas, I was blown away. The exhibit is large and contains two areas of Great Pandas and one area for Red Pandas (they can walk on the tree branch over the walk way!).

The red panda was about 10-20 feet away while both pandas were active and eating.

At the same time, it started to pour. We used this time to eat at the restaurant. The food was delicious but the order line can become extremely long.

We were disappointed to find out that the rain stops the boat ride which is the only way to see the Tapir and Jaguar. We were able to get a refund for the boat ride and use for retail or food purchase.

We walked the entire park in 2-3 hours. There are no shows so that seems pretty average.

You could easily do the Zoo and River Wonders in same day.

Night Safari

We walked 5 minutes from River Wonders and the Night Safari right at opening. There was a large line but because employees were telling people to pull out tickets (paper or phone) and people were figuring that out. Walk past those people to the line.

There attractions include various shows, ad-his experiences, a walking trail, and tram. The walking trail and tram both open at 7:30pm so you will have to pick one or the other.

We decided to first walk the trail. For the 30th anniversary there was an app-based scavenger hunt with a reward of pins.

Make sure to see the Rhino feeding area. It is the farthest point because it used to be a tram stop. You can pay extra to feed the Rhino (and get picture taken) or stand next to the people and watch. Still get an up close experience not feeding.

The Tasmanian devil exhibit is large and surprisingly had a dead wallaby laid on the ground. Fortunately for my wife, the little devils were playing in their large inside area.

It took us 1 hour to walk the entire trail just in time to catch the end of the fire show at 8:30pm.

After that we waited in line for the Tram. Although the line was long it moved fast. It is a well oiled operation. The only reason for a wait is they are taking pictures to try and sell later on.

The tram is the main attraction because you get to see animals the trail doesn’t have access to including the sloth bear, hyenas, Asian lion, and Asian elephants.

I was surprised at how long the tram ride is and how many animals you see, close up.