10 Absolutely Free attractions to visit in Singapore

Singapore travel itineraries are often packed with city’s most popular attractions. But most of them are paid entries and shoot up your budget. What if you are on tight budget and prefer free to explore attractions over paid ones?

I have listed 10 Singapore attractions which are worth visiting and is Totally Free to enjoy. Most of these are not promoted well, either because operators and agencies do not see money in it, or because Singapore already has lots of paid entry attractions which can easily fill up a one week itinerary. Some of these free to visit spots can  be visited early morning/late evening without affecting the main agenda while rest can be explored if your package/visit has few free days. Better still, you can plan your own itinerary and plan the entire trip yourself- refer my earlier post- 5D Optimized itinerary for Singapore.

Let us read about those 10 attractions in Singapore that can be visited without having spend money on entry.

1. Labrador Nature Reserve: Located off Alexandra road, Labrador Nature Reserve has historic importance as British battle stations were based here. Labrador Nature reserve campus is green with lots of tall trees, waterfront and world war artifacts (A tunnel also exists but is closed)

Labrador Nature Park, Singapore can be reached by MRT (1.5 kms away from Labrador park station). Check my earlier post on Labrador Nature Reserve for full details.

2. Fort Canning Centre: 
Fort canning centre is a nice campus close to Clarkey Quay and is walkable from City Hall MRT. Fort Canning was HQ of British army when they were occupying Singapore. Centre of the park has the giant HQ building which is now a dance theatre. Fort Canning campus gives elevated view of the city and is located in heart of city. Great place for early morning walk.

Read my 2012 post on Fort Canning Centre

3. Marina Bay Sands Laser Show: 
Every evening at pre-defined timings, the laser show of Marina Bay Sands is an eye catching event. You just need to be in a spot that gives clear view of Marina Bay Sands to enjoy the show. Full details in this 2015 post.

4. National Gallery Singapore
This is one of the newest attractions in Singapore, showcasing two of its most historic and iconic buildings- Former Supreme Court Building and City hall. The campus is free to explore, tickets required only to visit art galleries. (For Singapore nationals even that is free)

Check my post on National Gallery for more pictures and details

5 Botanical Garden: 
Another large garden in Singapore with free entry. Botanical garden campus houses many attractions and activities. Half a day can be spent here in leisure. Must visit for nature lovers.

Check some pictures here and here

6. Sentosa Island
While many attractions in Sentosa- such as Universal Studios, Madam Tussauds, Tiger tower, iFly Singapore, Underwater world etc are ticketed, the Sentosa campus is free to explore. You can either walk or even avail free trains/shuttles that operate there to get from one point to another. Free attractions in Sentosa includes many beaches, a point claimed as southern most point in continental Asia and many more

7 East Coast Beach near airport
East Coast is the beach front in Singapore where residents go to set up barbecue dinner (permission required, limited slots), take a swim in the ocean or in general relax. Last year on our way to airport we stopped here for sometime. You can head there for regular beach crowd and experience.

Update: Ankur Sharma has stated that water sports here is not for tourists and is permitted only for registered clubs.

8  Postal museum (Singapore Philatelic Museum)
This one is near Fort Canning Centre, walkable from City Hall MRT. Free only for Singapore Nationals, others need to pay 6 SGD fee. If you are into stamp collection and or interested in postal history, this place is worth a quick stop.

9 Light and sound show at Gardens by the bay
Every evening at 7.45 PM, an eye catching light and sound show is performed in the supertree area of Gardens by the Bay. Entry to Gardens by the bay is totally free (except like flower dome, cloud forest or going up the supertrees). Do not miss this. More pictures and details in this post

10 Kinetic Rain at Changi Airport, T1
Changi has several attractions inside transit area, which you can explore while you wait for your flight. But the Kinetic Rain which is in public area in T1 is a must visit.

If you are flying in and out of T2, you will miss Kinetic Rain. Hundreds of gold coloured droplets moving in unison to create different shapes is a wonderful experience. Either while entering or leaving Singapore, go to Changi Airport's T1, enjoy the Kinetic Rain and then proceed to your terminal gate. Read my detailed post here.

I've not included Merlion park as it will be covered in most of tourist itineraries

Read all other Singapore posts under this tag.