Singapore 5 days itinerary
This Singapore 5 days itinerary is the perfect itinerary for spending 5 days in Singapore with kids while keeping everyone engaged and still travel and enjoy at your own pace. Cheap fares coupled with short flying time make it an ideal option for a long weekend. Dubai also makes for a fantastic long weekend destination, with a lot of flight options. To know more, check out this post on 5 days itinerary for Dubai.
Best time to visit:
Sep – Oct and Feb – Apr are the best windows to visit from both the weather as well as tourist standpoints. Nov – Jan sees higher humidity and precipitation while the summer months are hot making the outdoor destinations like Sentosa, uncomfortable with the kids. So I have based this Singapore 5 days itinerary as per Sep-Oct and Feb-Apr to make sure that you make the most Singapore be it tourist attractions in Singapore or the shopping.
Day 1: Jurong Bird Park and Night Safari
Land in the morning. Fresh, rest and breakfast till noon.
There are many tourist attractions in Singapore and day 1 in this Singapore 5 days itinerary will be decidated to animals and birds.
Leave for Jurong Bird park post lunch or plan for a Dining-Show in the park itself. The park opens till 6pm and the 2 shows (at the time of writing this post) are at 3pm and 4pm. There is also a wet play area for children so carry swimwear and swimming diapers as appropriate as kids are not allowed in this area without the swimwear. Taking the time for shows and wet play area into account, 4-5 hours is sufficient in this bird park. You can plan to leave the park at 6.
For an excuisite dining experience, you can opt for Lunch with parrots (its a dining option cum show).
While there are many dining options in the park itself, they all close by 6pm too. Its therefore advisable to either pick something up from here to be eaten later or to have an early dinner if you don’t want to find a place outside.
Head to the Night Safari from here. The first admission is at 7:15pm and with the kids its a preferable timeslot especially given an early morning flight. The buggy tour is about 45minutes and apart from this there are shows which are around 10mins each. by 8:30/9:00pm you should be able to wrap up your day.
In this travel guide to Singapore, I have recommended covering Jurong Bird Park and Night safari on day 1 or the first day of your arrival because its not a very tiring activity unlike the others which are lots of moving around or high energy activities.
Day 2: Shopping at Orchard Road and China town or Singapore Zoo
In case everyone is still tired from the flight, bird park and safari, you can take some rest on Day 2. Once everyone is energized back, make your way to Orchard Road for some retail therapy. Personally, i picked up lots more stuff from china town than the usual shopping places. Some very creative and interesting things for home as well as souveniers.
In case everyone is rested enough, you could even look at Singapore Zoo instead of shopping. Additionally, if neither is of interest, you can either make your trip 4 days long or just relax in your hotel on this day. This travel guide to Singapore takes this buffer day into account as things may not always go as planned with the kids and its best to have an extra day at hand.
Singapore Zoo – There are a lot of shows that happen in the zoo along with feeding and petting areas. The itinerary of the shows everyday is provided along with the tickets to the zoo and its worthwhile to check and plan the travel within the zoo accordingly. The whole area is stroller friendly and there is a fair bit of walking involved.
Day 3: Universal Studios
Of all the tourist attractions in Singapore, you may have the most fun here with young kids, even more so than Sentosa in some cases. There are some rides which have age and height restrictions for kids, so you may have to take turns in going on them. Better to go on a weekday to avoid the rush.
Day 4: Sentosa Islands
5 days in Singapore is not enough if you plan to stay one night in Sentosa. This travel guide to Singapore assumes a day trip to Sentosa. For us one day was enough and thoroughly enjoyable with kids in tow. Like with most other places, there is a nice big water play area – The Palawan Pirate Ship, with colourful and bright slides, suitable for both toddlers and young kids. Make sure to carry the swimwear and swimming diapers.
Within Sentosa there is no dirth of shows to see and things to do. Some of the most notable ones are Lake of dreams, Mega adventure park (not suitable with small kids), Crane dance, Dolphin Island, Fort Silosso skywalk, Skyline Luge, Wings of time night show, and Adventure cove waterpark.
Although Universal is co-located with Sentosa, its best to dedicate one day to each to be able to enjoy it completely.
If you’re looking for beach holidays, you might like my posts on Bali and Seychelles.
Day 5: Gardens by the bay
Gardens by the bay is a must do in 5 days in Singapore. It is one place which looks beautiful in the morning and amazing at night. You will be visiting cloud forest and flowers dome, supertree grove amongst other features. In the evening, take a walk or drive towards the Helix Bridge – world’s first curved bridge which looks stunning at night. This bridge connects marina bay and marina centre. In case the kids are interested you can go to see the Suntec City Fountain of Wealth which is the largest fountain show in the world. The last of the laser show is at 9pm. You can check the timings online when you visit.
If you have the time and the inclination, you can also visit the observation deck on Marina Bay Sands Skypark (one of the largest platform of its kind in the world).The platform is 57 floors above the city, and is home to an observation deck, picturesque gardens, several restaurants, and a 150meter infinity-edge swimming pool (which is accessible only to the people staying in Marina Bay Sands hotel).
Flight out the next morning
