Farms in Singapore
If you long for something more than the dreary Singaporean cityscape, you’ll enjoy taking in the fresh air at Singapore’s underrated countryside. It’s a little-known fact that Singapore has numerous farms scattered around the island. If sunshine, cute animals and nature sound like your cup of tea, spend your weekend at these farms in Singapore.
Table of Contents
1. Hay Dairies
SG’s one & only goat farm since 1988
Hay Dairies is Singapore’s only surviving goat farm from its colonial days and now provides lovers of goat milk with their local dose. With over 800 goats on the farm, the dairy produces milk that’s sold all over the island. You can catch a live milking session conducted by the workers when you swing by the farm from 9am to 11.30am.
The farm used to rear pigs back in the day, but the AVA offered them an alternative to raise goats during the reformation period in early Singapore. Visitors to the dairy can watch these adorable creatures up close and even hand-feed them with bags of alfalfa hay ($5). Before you go, don’t forget to combat Singapore’s heat with a goat milk popsicle ($3.80).
BTW: Visiting Hay Dairies is free for small groups. If you’re going to the farm with a group of 10 and more, you’d be required to make a booking with the Hay Dairies management.
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2. Edible Garden City
Learn how to grow your own veggies for a legit farm-to-table experience
No, you don’t have to travel to the far reaches of Singapore to reach Edible Garden City; in fact, you might’ve taken a stroll in one of their many pockets of greenery around Singapore. They’re an urban farming social enterprise whose whole ethos revolves around the“Grow Your Own Food Movement”, and it’s exactly what it sounds like.
The urban rooftop farm at Funan.
Some of the gardens that they’ve set up to tend to greens include those found in buildings such as Raffles City, CapitaSpring, OUE Downtown, and Funan. But if you’d like to cultivate a green thumb of your own, head on over to their Queenstown farm, where they conduct frequent Grow Your Own Food courses, which are conveniently SkillsFuture Credit-claimable.
Image adapted from: EDIBLE GARDEN CITY via Facebook
For instance, their Beginner Gardener’s Guide to Starting a Productive Edible Garden ($195.11/pax) programme is a good stepping stone into starting your own farm-to-table journey. Meanwhile, those who sit in for their Designing Your Home Garden ($196.20/pax) programme will learn how to create a beautiful green space within their living quarters.
3. Pulau Ubin kelong tour
Go on a boat tour to visit a floating fish farm
Image credit: Get Your Guide
For an experience that is truly off the grid, look no further than Get Your Guide’s Guided Boat Tour and Kelong Fish Farm Visit (from $286/pax). On the 3-hour-long tour, you’ll set off from the North-Eastern bank of Singapore to not only explore the mangroves surrounding the area, but also to get a closer look at the kelongs near Pulau Ubin.
Image credit: Get Your Guide
These are traditional, floating fishing farms that have been built near the island since the early 1900s and are surprisingly still in operation today. In between learning more about the sea channels and fishermen’s lingo, you’ll get to see how these kelongs operate, and even visit one to have a meal aboard a restaurant bobbing above the waters.
Book a Guided Boat Tour and Kelong Fish Farm Visit.
4. Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm
Witness crocodiles hatching & feed them yourself
Image adapted from: Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm via Facebook, @gustimania via Instagram
Yes, there’s actually a farm that rears crocodiles in Singapore. Although you can’t quite get up close and personal with them a la the late Steve Irwin, the Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm’s definitely worth a visit, as they’re the only farm on the Little Red Dot that dabbles in all things crocodile.
Image adapted from: Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm via Facebook
You can sign up for a guided 1-hour tour for $22/pax, where you’ll get to bear witness to a literal feeding frenzy during the reptiles’ mealtime and even catch the birth of live hatchlings in their incubation tanks if you’re lucky enough. You can also taste-test crocodile meat in the form of herbal soup and bring back some for yourself should you fancy its firm and lean texture.
5. Bollywood Farms
Iconic heritage farm that hosts a myriad of educational agricultural activities
Image credit: Bollywood Farms via Facebook
Previously known as Bollywood Veggies, one of the best things about Bollywood Farms is the passionate people who run it. Ivy Singh and her husband Lim Ho Seng run the farm as a passion project to inspire sustainable farming in Singapore. All the produce is organically grown, so health nuts should love it here.
Simply follow the signs to embark on a self-guided tour and learn some interesting facts about your favourite foods and how they are grown, and even how to save the planet by choosing the right food. After the tour, stop by the farm’s Poison Ivy Bistro to try out some dishes made with ingredients from the area.
Image credit: Bollywood Farms
The farm has a couple of educational activities that you can sign up for to learn more about agricultural practices in sunny Singapore.
These include a Padi Planting session where folks can try their hand at cultivating rice saplings, and Little Green Fingers, where young aspiring farmers and gardeners will have a go at potting their very own plant to bring home. Do give the farm a ring ahead of your visit if you’d like to schedule an activity.
6. Gallop Stable
Go on pony & horse rides in Pasir Ris & Sembawang
Image credit: Gallop Stable at Gallop.sg via Facebook
Horse lovers, you’ll be able to live out your equestrian dreams at Gallop Stable. Located in Pasir Ris and Sembawang, their stables house retired racehorses that have been rehabilitated and reschooled for leisure riding, as well as ponies and other rescue horses.
Image adapted from: Muzhaffa Kamal & Jazzreel Goh via Google Maps
Of course, you’ll be able to ride them as well; kids 3-years-old and up can go on pony rides for $15, while adults can saddle up for a horse ride for $20. These activities will be fully supervised by trained staff, so even horseback riding beginners can have a blast safely. Afterwards, go for a stable visit ($5), where you’ll get to feed horses with bags of carrots ($2/bag).
Image credit: Gallop Stable at Gallop.sg via Facebook
Gallop Stable’s grounds are also pretty idyllic; they can arrange for horsey photoshoots with their majestic mares, and many have chosen to have their wedding pictures taken right here, in the company of a trusty steed or 2.
7. Qian Hu Fish Farm
Huge ornamental fish farm with long kang fishing & fish spa
Another countryside getaway that you most probably visited when you were a kid is Qian Hu Fish Farm. Founded by 2 brothers in the 1980s, this massive ornamental fish farm is still going strong, attracting both aquarists and families looking for a fun outing over the weekends.
Image credit: @xavimarti via Instagram
From affordable aquatic pets like goldfish and guppies to majestic arowanas that cost upwards of a few thousand bucks, the farm has it all. Fish lovers can also grab supplies for their tanks right here, such as filters, air pumps, lights, and fish food just to name a few.
Image credit: @qianhusingapore via Instagram
Qian Hu Fish Farm also sees a fair amount of families visiting whenever school’s out. That’s because they’re well-known for their longkang fishing (from $7/pax) activity, where kids can get a taste of the kampong days by catching fish out of shallow canals. They’ll even receive a complimentary plastic tank to store and bring home their catch.
Image credit: Qian Hu
After a hard day of fishing, rest your soles at the on-site fish spa. Rates start from $10/adult and $5/child for a 30-minute session, where schools of Garra Rufa fish will nibble away at the dead skin cells on your feet to leave them naturally exfoliated.
8. Smith Marine
Halal floating restaurant that’s only accessible via a short ferry ride
Image credit: Smith Marine
For an offbeat dining experience, look no further than Smith Marine; it’s a halal-certified restaurant that’s floating above ebbing waves in between Pulau Ubin and mainland Singapore. It’s also quite the intimate date spot, as you can only access it via a short, 10-minute boat ride from the Changi Point Ferry Terminal.
Image adapted from: Smith Marine – First Floating Restaurant in Singapore via Facebook
Originally a fish farm, Smith Marine underwent renovations in 2014 to modernise its facilities, and at the same time became Singapore’s first floating restaurant. When it comes to the food, prices here are a little steep; their set menus start at $580 for a 7-course meal that feeds 5; expect to feast on seafood staples such as steamed fish, chilli crab, deep-fried lobster, and lala bee hoon.
2-way ferry transport to and from the restaurant is provided with each booking, and do give them a call or drop them a message on WhatsApp beforehand for reservations.
Plan a day out in the sun at these farms in Singapore
There you have it, our list of countryside sites to explore. So pack a bag, some mosquito repellent, a banjo, your green thumb, and a nice little picnic basket and head down for some country-style fun.
For more outdoorsy things to do in SG:
- Hello from the Wild: Horse experience at Singapore Zoo
- New & upcoming parks opening in Singapore
- Upcoming marathons & runs in Singapore
Cover image adapted from: EDIBLE GARDEN CITY via Facebook, Gallop Stable