I’ve been to Singapore three times now, once stretching out to two entire months, and something hit me on every visit: you almost never see children here!!

After some research as to why is that (those things get me very curious! xD) I discovered that Singapore holds one of the lowest fertility rates anywhere on the planet (meaning, how many “children every woman gets”).

The resident rate dropped to 0.87 in 2025 (down from 0.97 the year before, per the Singapore Department of Statistics), which translates to well under one child per woman.

It makes a strange kind of sense once you live here for a while.

One of the main reasons locals don’t have many children, is probably that raising kids in Singapore is brutally expensive: international school fees, sky-high housing, nannies, enrichment classes…

And most of all, the vast majority of people here are deeply career-focused, working hours that would make a European faint ^^.

Despite the low number of local kids around (very hard to spot!), one thing about Singapore that genuinely surprised me is that it has many attractions also tailored for children (to attract tourism mainly!).

By simply wandering the island, I uncovered five incredible family-friendly excursions in Singapore to do with kids that are well worth your time if you’re traveling with little ones, and today we’re going through all of them.

Let’s dive right in! 🙂

To get the bigger picture, you might also want to chacke out our article when to go and what to see in Singapore too!

And if you’re in for a laugh, I also wrote a tragicomic story about smoking at Singapore airport that will surely get you a smile eheh 😉

1. Gardens by the Bay:

Far More Than Those Instagram Supertrees

Everyone photographs the Supertrees at night.

They glow, they tower, they’re outrageously photogenic, and honestly something incredibly surprising the first time you see them!

Said that, if you have kids you might be interested in visit them during the daytime, as there are sections of the Gardens by the Bay that barely ever make it onto Instagram!

The Children’s Garden is completely free to enter, and it’s designed for kids to actually do things rather than just stare at them.

Water play zones, suspension bridges that feel daring without being even slightly dangerous, treehouses tucked into the hedges… There’s even a maze built so children can get mildly lost (without ever truly panicking xD).

Note that it shuts on Mondays, so plan around that.

The Cloud Forest dome hides a 35-metre indoor waterfall (the mist hits your face like a tiny private monsoon, and I saw kids completely losing it!).

The Flower Dome is an interesting area too, which cycles through seasonal displays that shift every few months 🙂

In 2026, the park also expanded its Kingfisher Wetlands with a boardwalk built specifically for younger visitors: low observation decks, tactile wildlife panels and proper accessibility throughout 😀

Pro move: The whole outdoor area of Gardens by the Bay is free to wander. You only pay for the two domes. I would recommending spending 2–3 hours here, and it’s superb value! 😀

2. Sentosa Island:

Exaggerated concentration of FUN!

Sentosa gets endlessly dumped on as “too commercial,” and honestly, it might be (XD), yet it is nevertheless something both you and your little pests will definitely love!

To avoid crowds, visit on a weekdays! Time the theme park cleverly, and believe me it might turn out into one of the most rewarding family days anywhere in Asia!

I happened to walk there with a local friend and his two small children (a rarity in Singapore!), and they had a blast from the beginning to the end!

Universal Studios Singapore is the headline draw, and the crowds stay manageable if you turn up at park opening (usually 10 a.m.) on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

The newer “Minion Land” expansion devours hours for kids aged 4 to 10, while the “Battlestar Galactica coasters” can keep adrenaline-hungry teenagers happy too!

After the theme park, I would also recommend you to step outside to see Sentosa’s quieter treasures too:

• S.E.A. Aquarium: one of the largest on Earth. Its Open Ocean habitat silences even the most hyperactive kids; watching a school of trevally move as a single living organism is hypnotic.

• Palawan Beach: far calmer than Siloso, with shallow water and a rope bridge to a tiny islet that children adore exploring.

• Skyline Luge: gravity-powered kart racing down a hillside track, suitable from age 6 and up (little ones ride with a parent).

• Fort Siloso: completely free entry, with tunnels to crawl through, cannons to scramble over, and a genuinely engaging historical trail for school-age kids.

• You can also get the cable car from Mount Faber and enjoy panoramic views over the island!

Tips for Saving: Get PASSES! Multi-attraction passes bundling the aquarium, Luge, and zoo usually save 15–20% versus buying separately. Weekday tickets stay cheaper than weekends. Book online ahead of time, which saves both cash and a soul-crushing 20–40 minutes in the queue.

3. Night Safari:

Genuinely Unlike Anywhere Else on Earth

The Night Safari is a place that in Singapore hs earned its legendary reputation, and it’s the one entry on this list where I’ll say, without a single asterisk: just GO!!!

Located in the Mandai area in the north of the island, the Night Safari Is part of the Mandai Wildlife Reserve cluster. It’s roughly a 30–45 minute drive from the city centre!

Once at the park, you can board a tram that glides through darkened habitats, and spotting animals in near-total darkness.

It is an unusual experience (and when I first heard it, I knew I had to try it!), which delivers a thrill that ordinary daytime zoos simply cannot reproduce.

The first tram departs at 7:15 p.m.

I would recommend booking that exact slot if you can, because the longest waits pile up around 8:30 p.m. (and as with many museums and places in Singapore, queues can get pretty long!).

Quick VITAL tip: the park borders dense rainforest, so mosquito repellent is essential after sunset. The insects here are relentless, and they will find you 😉

So which animals can you spot?

Roughly by region:

• Big cats and predators — Malayan tigers, Asiatic lions, leopards, and the smaller, jumpier fishing cats and civets that are far more active at night than by day.

• Asian giants — Asian elephants, Malayan tapirs (kids love the panda-like black-and-white pattern), greater one-horned rhinos, and water buffalo.

• African stretch — giraffes, striped hyenas, and bongo antelope along the tram route.

• Himalayan/foothills zone — Himalayan tahr clambering on rocks, plus markhor and mouflon.

• Walking-trail oddities — flying squirrels gliding overhead, slow lorises, pangolins, fruit bats, and a free-roaming wallaby trail

The fun part, is that the whole visit feels like an adventure. Animals are not in plain sight, you need to spot them! And sometimes they are asleep too!! The atmosphere is a mix between fun and spooky, and that is definitely part of the experience that children seem to love too!

(Yes, there were few shouting as owls and bats flied around, making it fun for adults too! xD)

4. Hawker Centres:

The Most Democratic Meal You’ll Ever Eat

Singapore’s hawker centres might just be the most quietly democratic institution on Earth.

Millionaires eat elbow-to-elbow with construction workers and students, and children are welcomed absolutely everywhere!

For those who don’t know, Hawker centres are Singapore’s open-air food courts: large, semi-covered complexes packed with dozens of individual stalls, each run by a “hawker” who typically cooks one dish (or a tight handful) extremely well!

You order from whichever stall you fancy, carry your food to shared communal tables, and eat surrounded by a crowd doing exactly the same thing 🙂

The catch for families lies in picking the right one, because they vary enormously:

The Chinatown Complex for example, is colossal and authentic, though it can feel overwhelming for first-timers wrangling toddlers^^.

Tiong Bahru Market runs smaller and far calmer, with superb chwee kueh (a soft, custardy steamed rice cake topped with preserved radish) and strong local coffee (a “gentle” first hawker experience for young eaters xD).

Makansutra Gluttons Bay sits right on the Marina Bay waterfront, compact enough that kids can safely run around nearby once they’ve wolfed down dinner.

The Old Airport Road Food Centre is also a local favourite tucked away from the tourist clusters, with aisles wide enough to roll a stroller through without apologising every few seconds 🙂

Quick tips to visit the Hawkers:

Most stalls happily prepare dishes with less chilli, or none at all, the moment you ask.

Chicken rice, roti prata, and char kway teow (flat noodles wok-fried with soy, egg, and a smoky char) are few reliably safe bets for fussy eaters 😉

Fresh sugarcane juice and lime barley water cost under SGD 2 and tend to be a big hit with kids.

Full main meals run SGD 3–6 per person, which feels almost absurd next to restaurant prices.

Honest take: Bringing your children to the hawkers is a travel around the culinary traditions of the world. The clatter, the smells, the unfussy chaos of it all teaches them how food works out in the wider world. Worth every bit of the sensory overload! 😉

5. Free Outdoor Adventures

(And Why the Best Stuff Costs Nothing)

Here’s the detail nobody seems to emphasise about Singapore: an astonishing amount of the finest stuff is completely free.

The Botanic Gardens form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden inside absorbs kids for hours on end!

The Southern Ridges is a 10-kilometre elevated walking and cycling trail stitching together five parks, with zero entry fee and superb canopy views.

Marina Barrage is a reservoir park where families can cycle, picnic, and fly kites; late afternoon there is especially lovely.

Quick note on where to base yourselves: staying near an MRT station slashes daily commute stress, and families on a moderate budget often find better value and more space in areas like Bugis, Tiong Bahru, or Jurong East (handy for the zoo).

 

This detailed guide on Where to Stay in Singapore breaks down the best districts by budget and convenience.

A few practical things to pack into your brain before you go:

• Singapore’s MRT is spotless, air-conditioned, and remarkably punctual.

• Children under 0.9 metres ride free, and a stored-value EZ-Link card smooths payments across trains, buses, and some taxis!

• One sneaky warning, though. Singapore’s air conditioning is genuinely arctic, so carry a light layer for every child 😉

• The gap between the humid outdoors and a damn frigid MRT carriage can stretch to 15°C or more, and kids prone to sniffles might feel it way harder than adults!

• Pack a compact umbrella per person too, not only for the rain (which arrives suddenly and torrentially most afternoons) but as a sun shield.

The UV index regularly spikes to “extreme” between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., walking around Singapore can get scorching HOT and children’s skin burns faster than most parents expect eheh 🙂

Conclusion

And here we are at the end of the article 🙂

In this post we’ve gone through 5 activities you can do with children in Singapore: Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa Island, the Night Safari, the hawker centres, and the free outdoor spots and sights around the city!

Overall, despite the appearance, Singapore is an easy and comfortable place to travel with kids, with clean transport, safe streets, and plenty to keep them busy for a few days! 🙂

Before I go, I’d love to ask you:

• Have you ever been to Singapore with your kids?
• Which of these activities do you think they’d enjoy the most?
• Any tip you’d add for other families?

Let us know in the comments below! 😀

And here are a few other articles you might enjoy:

• When to Go to Singapore and What to See
• Hellish Layover: A Tragicomic Story About Smoking at Singapore Airport
• 5 Wonderful Family Day-Trips from Houston

Thank you for reading, and see you in the next article! 🙂