Early morning/Late evening attractions in Singapore

Assume you’re in Singapore on work- Monday to Friday. You don’t have a weekend to spare. Either because you want to go back to your family or your company doesn’t like you staying a day more than necessary, you’re taking Friday night flight back home. Because most of the attractions open by 9/10 AM and close by 5/6PM, they can’t be visited unless you get a weekend or you take off.  So what can you explore in Singapore during week days, out of office hours? Assuming you can get up early and visit some places before going to office (say 6 to 10AM) and you’ve some time to go around after office  hours before hitting bed (6PM to 10PM), I am listing a set of attractions in Singapore that can be explored early morning or late evening.

Early morning explorations in Singapore

1. Gardens by the bay – Opens at 5.00 AM (except tree top, cloud forest and flower domes which open only by 9 AM and close by 9PM) and closes only at 2 AM. You can’t go up the supertrees that early but you can explore rest of the Gardens by the bay. May be come back in evening again- check last part of the post.

2. Fort canning centre used to be HQ of British Army in Singapore, now houses a dance theatre. Located near Clarkey Quay/North Bridge road, Fort canning centre is a vast garden worth exploring along with your early morning walk/jog. Very close to raffles and other business districts. 

3. Merlion- Open 24 by 7, stop by whenever you’re free. Take good look at Fullerton Hotel

4. Labrador Nature Reserve: Located off Alexandra road, Labrador nature reserve is a nice forest to explore. I have a detailed post on Labrador Nature Reserve here. It is an open for all campus with no entry fees. Large trees, artefacts from world war times and a park that has waterfront on a side makes this Labrador Nature reserve a good place to visit. It is not pegged as one of the tourist attractions, so crowd will be very minimal here. You can enjoy some quality time with nature.

5. St Andrew's Cathedral at city hall: Right above City Hall MRT station, this church is one of the oldest in Singapore. Take a walk around, click some good pictures and meditate for a while.

6. Mustafa centre- open 24 by seven… Go there early morning- crowd will be less compared to evening and you can shop at convenience. There’re lots of Indian restaurants nearby, so your breakfast is also taken care of. It will be cheaper to buy here than at Changi airport- read my comparison

7. Kinetic Rain at Changi airport- In most probability, your flight will be in/out of T2 or T3 at Changi. So you are likely to miss T1 attractions. Take MRT to Changi airport. In T1, you can spend some time viewing the Kinetic rain. It is located before immigration area, so you don’t really need a ticket to watch Kinetic rain. Details here

Late evening attractions in Singapore

1. River cruise from Clarke Quay: There’re different kind of cruises to suite your taste and budget. Dinner cruise, bar cruise, basic no frills cruise etc. There’re several boarding and alighting point all along the route. You can pick the one that suits your needs (for example if you’re already at Merlion you can board at Fullerton Square and go back to say Clarke Quay, from where you can take an MRT to your hotel

2. Reverse Bungee jump at Clarkey Quay: Used to cost SGD 40 in 2012. Not sure of current rate. Open till late night. You will be made to sit in a capsule and will be shot into the air at full force. Then enjoy some up n down swings before coming down. Go with a friend or go without any objects- nothing is allowed on you while you take the ride (no wallets, phones, bags etc are allowed inside).

3. Singapore flyer – Opens till late night. Last ride is at about 10PM. Book your slot for an evening ride, which lasts 30 minutes. Get great view of the city. Read detailed post here.

4. Marina Bay Sands Laser show: Happens at specific internals in the night- check my detailed post here with photos and timings. You just have to be in a spot which has clear view of Marina Bay Sands and you can enjoy the laser show for free. 

5. Marina Bay sands Skypark Observation deck: Observation deck is open till 11PM. You can go there in the evening, buy ticket (SGD 23) and go to top. Spectacular night view of the city, Singapore flyer and Gardens by the Bay can be had from here. Take MRT to Bayfront station from where MBS tower 3 (at the basement of which ticket counter for sky park is located) is walkable

6. Casino at Marina Bay Sands basement: If you’re game for gambling, try your luck at MBS Basement. Do carry your passport. But be advised that Casinos are well designed to ensure that house wins majority of the time. Customers winning more than what they spend is very rare scenario. Don’t bet all you have, spend only a small amount which you’re comfortable to lose in worst case.

7. Have a Spin in a Ferrari: Read detailed post here. For Rs 15000, you can take a Ferrari or Lambo for a spin for 15 minutes. Open till 9/10PM. Note that you will be driving on normal roads amidst other cars, so you can’t push the cars to their speed limits, but still experience the luxury car in those precious minutes. More pics and details in this post

8. Night Safari: One of the most popular activities for tourists in Singapore- every hotel will have information on this. Free shuttle also might be available from some hotels. Just have a word with your hotel front desk and plan your visit. Usually you may have to leave by 6PM. (Update: After visiting the night safari, I feel this is most over-hyped and poorly managed attraction in Singapore- Read more here So caution advised)

9. Alive Museum: Alive museum in Suntec Mall is open till 10 PM. Takes about 1.5 hours to explore various creative 3D  imagery against which you can pose and get interesting pictures clicked. Full details and pictures here. SGD 25 per person is the entry fee, last entry by 9.00PM. Be sure to watch the fountain of wealth in-front of Suntec city and also check out the Ferrari ride here.

10. Personal shopping at Tang Mall. Unlike other malls, Tang Mall inside Suntec mall has a unique provision where you can have an entire room for yourself and your companions, to try out all the new stuff you’re looking to buy.

11. Cloud Forest and Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay: You need to buy tickets by 8 PM and enter before 8.30 PM as these close by 9PM. Details on Cloud Forest Dome here

12. National Gallery Singapore- is open till 7 PM on most days and 10 PM on Friday, Saturday and eve of National holidays. Entry to the building is free, you need to buy ticket if you wish to enter the galleries. Read more here

Above list is based on my personal observation and experience during last 3 visits. There could be few more. Did I miss anything? Are there some other attractions worth visiting that can be checked out before 9AM or after 6PM? Do share your thoughts.

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