DAY 6- Denpasar to Singapore, Marina Bay Sands, Rasapura Masters, SkyPark Observation Deck
The hotel staff was so caring as to put together some fruits, pastries and milk for the kids to have on the way to the airport. If you ever need anything, really don’t be afraid to ask them! The service at both Four Seasons was really some of the best I had ever experienced. They really do make things easier, especially when it can be challenging traveling with young kids.
Next up, Singapore.
Flight time from Bali to Singapore was about 2 hours and 40 minutes. Singapore is beautiful, clean, safe and had a “Crazy Rich Asians” vibe. It’s a great family vacation add on for a layover especially since they are so world famous for their activity filled airport.
Note: Most taxis in the queue at the Denpasar Airport were compact vehicles, so it was a bit harder to find one that would fit all our luggage and carseat/stroller, etc.
View from the Marina Bay Sands of Gardens by the Bay and the marina reservoir
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
We decided to stay at the Marina Bay Sands since we were limited in our time there. We wanted a convenient location and to be close to most of Singapore’s family friendly sights and attractions. Marina Bay Sands is conveniently located near the Gardens by the Bay (has a bridge access). We also wanted to be able to hang out at the world-famous rooftop infinity pool which is only available to hotel guests. We opted to stay in the Sands Premier Room with the City View with two queen beds. These rooms are tastefully renovated and located on higher floors (L19-L40). The room was 45 sq meters (roughly 484 sq feet), not too big for the price but was enough room for the four of us. The bathroom was beautiful, exactly how I would want my own bathroom to look like in my own home. It had a spacious deep-soaking bathtub, plenty of counter space, luxury bathroom amenities and the best bidet I have ever used. I was so amused every time I would open the door to the toilet and the seat cover would go up, it was so warm and inviting.
Rasapura Masters
It is a bit intimidating locating restaurants in the mall connected to the Marina Bay Sands. The mall is so large and there were three levels. We stumbled upon the food court or food hall, called Rasapura Masters and I was so happy to see so many delicious choices. The space is bright with signs and filled with lots of tourists and locals, casual dining at its finest. Every stall had pictures of the dishes or the food displayed so it made it easier for each of us to pick out what we wanted. Since the girls like eating different foods, it was convenient to be able to try out different places and not have to travel too far to get it. Anything from Singaporean, Chinese, Japanese or even Korean cuisine—everything looked so delicious, it was really hard to choose. There’s a lot of seating, but also a lot of people there, so you may need to catch a table as people are finishing up.
Dining at the Marina Bay Sands
If you want to eat at a restaurant, I do recommend downloading the app or calling the restaurants to make reservations. Since the Marina Bay Sands is such a popular attraction, there’s so many people from all over the world and restaurants do book up. A lot of the restaurants there we’ve either been to or can easily go back at home, there is a Din Tai Fung here which is a very family friendly restaurant. If you live somewhere that doesn’t have a Din Tai Fung, definitely try it—the Pork Xiao Long Baos are the best! Since the Marina Bay Sands is owned by Sands, pretty much all the restaurants that are at the Venetian in Las Vegas, NV, were also available here.
SkyPark Observation Deck
We wanted to check out the SkyPark Observation Deck since it was also complimentary admission for hotel guests of Marina Bay Sands. It was very similar to any other observation deck, nothing out of the ordinary, but nice to see. This was a cool family activity, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to check it out. I would say it’s nice to see the view of Singapore from there if you are not a Marina Bay Sands hotel guest, otherwise the view from the infinity pool was far more superb. The observation deck is in the open air rather than being enclosed in a building, great for the views and photos.
One of the views of Singapore from the SkyPark Observation Deck
Sunset views at the Marina Bay Sands rooftop pool
Marina Bay Sands Rooftop Pool
Upon entering the rooftop pool, key cards are required and scanned per person, including any children (kids have a special yellow card). They are pretty strict with this and allowing only hotel guests. The pool was so refreshing with the heat, such a perfect way to wind down and end the day with a breathtaking sunset view of the harbor and skyline.
Day 7- Merlion Park, Gardens by the Bay, Lau Pa Sat
Merlion Park
We woke up early to go to Merlion Park which overlooks the Marina Bay Sands and a view of the city skyline. The iconic statue is of a mythical creature with a body of a fish and head of a lion with water spurting from its mouth. It is free to visit, any time of day and a great place for family photos in Singapore. Although it is usually suggested to come visit this attraction in the evening to view more of the city lights, we opted to go earlier since it was further and we could stay close to the hotel. We initially thought we would walk there from the hotel, but the hotel staff advised that it would be better to take a taxi. In mid May, it was really hot in Singapore, so humid. It would have been torturous to walk there in the heat. I do suggest bringing electronic fans for the little ones and lots of fluids.
Gardens by the Bay
After Merlion Park, we took a taxi to Gardens by the Bay and arrived there around 9am when they opened. We bought tickets there at the ticketing office and decided to just buy tickets to the Cloud Forest. The Gardens by the Bay is as family friendly of an attraction as it can get.
Note: Gardens by the Bay offers some free areas, but most attractions require separate admission fees like the Cloud Forest, Flower Dome, Floral Fantasy, OCBC Skyway, Supertree Observatory.
At the time, Cloud Forest was featuring Avatar: The Experience (Adults: $27 and Children 3-12 years old: $23) . Since we knew the kids would get tired, we figured we would just pick one of the exhibits to explore. There’s just so much to see at Gardens by the Bay. The Cloud Forest was a good choice since it was indoors and very unique with its 35m tall indoor waterfall and mountain clad with plants from around the world. The girls enjoyed walking around and checking out the immersive Avatar experience.
I wish we had more time to explore the other attractions, I would have wanted to walk around more. There was a Far East Organization Children’s Garden which was free. Whitney was really excited for this but they are closed Mondays and Wednesdays. If you do come for this, come prepared with swimwear and towels for the kids. It’s designed more for kids under 12 years old and has areas catered to certain age groups. For those 1 to 5, there’s a Toddler Play Zone and those 6 to 12, there’s Rainforest Tree Houses and Water Play. If you have more time, definitely maybe split your Gardens by the Bay visit into two days.
After the Cloud Forest exhibit, we checked out the store for souvenirs and walked back to Marina Bay Sands to hang out at the rooftop pool again. The far left of the rooftop has a section of the pool for kids. It’s the perfect depth for toddlers to walk around in the pool and has a glass wall to protect any kids from climbing over. The girls loved it.
Lau Pa Sat
After the pool, we decided to check out a hawker centre. Hawker centers are quite popular in Singapore for a cleaner alternative to street food set up with stalls that sell different types of foods at affordable prices. We took a taxi to Lau Pa Sat, which is located in the Central Business District. In the evening, the street next to Lau Pa Sat is closed and becomes Satay Street, great to explore and experience and very family friendly.
Lau Pa Sat food hall, pretty empty on a weekday afternoon with many delicious options and cuisines.
The sight is a familiar one to many in Asian countries. The bright lights from vendor stalls, aroma from the meat skewers grilling and hungry patrons fill the many benches on the street. With the variety of food found at Lau Pa Sat, no one would go hungry, even picky eaters. A hawker centre like Lau Pa Sat is definitely highly recommended if you’re looking for the best of Singaporean cuisine, it’s very popular amongst the locals and visitors. We did have a tough time finding a taxi on the street to take us back to our hotel afterwards.
Tip: I do recommend downloading the Grab app (similar to Uber/Lyft) if you have internet/phone service on your cellular. We didn’t, so we stuck to taxi’s, but the best way we found to get a taxi was to go to any nearby hotel and have them call one for us (I believe some hotels only do so for their own hotel guests only, but we didn’t really encounter any issues with that).
Final Thoughts on Singapore
Singapore is a great destination for foodies and perfect for longer layovers. It’s a lot more city life but not as walkable in terms of being walkable to places we wanted to go to. I would suggest to stay somewhere close to the landmarks and places you want to visit to maximize your time.
Our highlights were the Marina Bay Sands rooftop pool and Gardens by the Bay, a blend of city and green landscapes. Both were perfect family friendly destinations!
I’m glad we didn’t allot too much time in Singapore. I felt that 2-3 nights is the perfect amount of time there. Although a bit rushed, it was enough time to see the sights we wanted to explore and foods we wanted to eat. Traveling in Singapore was noticeably pricier but there were plenty of places like the hawker centers with delicious affordable foods. This multicultural country is so noticeably clean and beautiful that it definitely deserves a visit!
