Water activities in Singapore
The school hols are upon us once more, and families are seeking fun ways to pass the time without necessarily heading on a VTL trip. While our climate will never be able to see snowfall for a winter wonderland at Christmastime, you can at least keep cool this year-end with a range of water activities in Singapore.
Fill your EOY itinerary with this selection of splash-tastic outings, be it a lazy day of wading in a water playground or a day of aqua fitness for the entire fam. It’s the best way to stay cool, refresh yourself with some fresh air and vitamin D and recharge for the new year ahead.
Enjoying water activities in Singapore in a time of climate change
While water activities are best done in the sun, climate change is likely to increase the risks of both wetter and drier extreme weather. Long periods of hot and dry spells also cause water levels at our reservoirs to fall. Climate change undeniably poses a threat to our water supply, which we use for life, for work, and even for play.
Food for thought as we bring you these exciting water activities for the whole family.
1. Ola Beach Club – Ride jet ski-powered donut tubes & banana boats
Image credit: Sentosa
While Rumours Beach Club is synonymous with beachside hangs, Ola Beach Club is a better-kept secret which combines a bar, restaurant and water sports centre all in one spot. They’re a go-to when it comes to wet and wild activities, specialising in sports like single- and double-kayaking as well as stand-up paddleboarding.
Image credit: Ola Beach Club
That said, they also provide more unique and chill water activities including donut tube and banana boat rides. Available exclusively on weekends, each type of ride lasts for 15 minutes. You’ll be pulled along by a revved-up jetski, so choose between lying on your stomach grabbing onto the donut tube handles or riding an adorable giant inflatable banana.
Read our full Ola Beach Club review for more information.
Address: 46 Siloso Beach Walk, Singapore 099005
Opening hours:
Ola Beach Club: 10AM-10PM, Daily
Donut tube & banana boat rides: Sat & Sun 10AM-7PM (Closed Monday to Friday)
Telephone: 6250 6978
Admission: $25/pax for each type of ride
2. Coastal PlayGrove – Huge adventure zone at East Coast Park
The newest kid on the block having opened in March 2021, Coastal PlayGrove is an enormous playspace at East Coast Park, taking over the space where the Big Splash waterpark used to be. Spanning a space of 4.5 hectares, the play area is a mix of natural rivers surrounded by sand and greenery, and a modern multi-storey structure resembling a spaceship.
Older kids who love an adrenaline rush can zip down two mega tube slides measuring 7.3 and 11.9 metres, perched at the third and fourth storeys respectively. For a calmer session of play, there are also low-lying obstacle courses for smaller children, a nature garden with bamboo tunnels and teepee huts to stroll through, and a shaded sandpit for some respite from the sun.
Find out more in our full Coastal PlayGrove review.
Note: The water play area at Coastal PlayGrove is closed until further notice, but the rest of the playspace remains open. Stay tuned to the Nparks Coastal Playgrove webpage for more info.
Address: 902 East Coast Park Service Road, Singapore 449874
Opening hours: Tue – Sun 8AM-8PM (Closed on Mondays)
Admission: Free
3. Kayak Fishing Fever – Tours of up to 4 pax with equipment & guide
For those who want to cram more activity into a single family day out, Kayak Fishing Fever allows you to combine – you guessed it – kayaking and fishing. The best part is, it doesn’t matter if you’ve never climbed aboard a kayak and the only fishing you’ve done is in Animal Crossing, because a guide will be present the whole time to coach you through all aspects.
Image credit: @fever.sg
All equipment, from life vests to fishing rods, will be provided. The kayaks are steered through pedalling, so consider your cardio clocked as well. Choose between The Playground (2-4KM), Big Boat Small Boat (3-5KM) and Island Hopper (7-10KM) tours, catering to beginners all the way to seasoned kayakers who want to go the distance and score the biggest catch.
Address: 120 Tanjong Beach Walk, Singapore 098942
Opening hours: 7AM-6PM, Daily
Telephone: 8850 8501
Admission: $99/pax for a group of 4, $129/pax for a group of 3, $159/pax for a group of 2, $199/pax for an individual booking
4. Clusia Cove – Sandpit & boulder wading pool at Jurong Lake Gardens
Jurong Lake Gardens is one of the newer parks in Singapore, opening in 2019 to much fanfare due to its numerous concepts combining fun, nature and aesthetics. Clusia Cove is a section with a long wading pool, boulder trails and climbing structures, and a sandpit for sensory play.
The body of shallow water is great for little ones to have a dip in and cool off, especially after having a blast throughout the park’s other play spaces including the exhilarating 13-zone Forest Ramble playground.
As with the entirety of Jurong Lake Gardens, admission is free so all you’ll have to do is pack swimsuits and sunscreen, and swing by the West. Do take note that while the park is open to the public 24/7, the Clusia Cove play area can only be accessed 8AM-7PM, and is closed on Mondays except Public Holidays.
Read our full Jurong Lake Gardens review for more information.
Note: Clusia Cove is currently closed for maintenance until further notice. Stay tuned to the Nparks Jurong Lake Gardens webpage for updates.
Address: Yuan Ching Road, Singapore
Opening hours:
Jurong Lake Gardens: 24 hours, Daily
Clusia Cove: Tue – Sun 8AM-7PM (Closed on Mondays except Public Holidays)
Admission: Free
5. Splash @ Kidz Amaze at SAFRA Punggol – Indoor water playground
Image credit: Klook
For those who’d prefer 100% peace of mind instead of being at the mercy of the elements, Splash @ Kidz Amaze would be the ideal choice. Located at SAFRA Punggol, it’s Singapore’s very first fully indoor water playground. That means your little ones can enjoy the session of play as planned, even if there’s unexpected rain or gloomy weather.
The playground features cascading waterfalls, nautical themed designs and wide multi-lane slides, where the whole family can zip down in unison. The pool is also temperature regulated, so you and your kids can comfortably wade around and not get the shivers, even if the outside temperatures dip.
Address: 9 Sentul Crescent, Level 3, Singapore 828654
Opening hours: Mon – Fri 1PM-7PM | Sat & Sun 11AM-7PM
Telephone: 6585 8710
Admission: $20 per child aged 1-13, $2 per accompanying adult. Via Klook.
6. HydroDash – Floating water park at Sentosa with 4 difficulty levels
For the more athletic and thrill-seeking families, this is a way to live out your Ninja Warrior meets Wipeout fantasies -in a scenic beach setting, to boot.
The first floating aqua park in Singapore, HydroDash Sentosa is split into four different zones according to difficulty level, from a fun and easy kid-friendly zone to an all-out obstacle course with monkey bars and balancing beams.
Fret not if you’re not a major adrenaline junkie. While the floating set-up does have features like a 3-metre diving springboard and Tarzan swings which daredevils will love, the more chill and totally not wimpy members of the family can relax on tamer structures like the water trampoline and a bouncy slide.
Read our full HydroDash Sentosa review for more information.
Address: Palawan Beach, Singapore 098498
(Take the Sentosa Express to Beach Station and walk 9 mins or take the beach shuttle to Palawan Beach)
Opening hours: Mon – Fri 12PM-6PM | Sat, Sun, School Holidays & P.H. 10AM-7PM
Telephone: 9783 7549
Admission: $13/hour for kids below 7, $18/hour for ages 7 and up
7. Singapore Discovery Centre – Pedal boat through the scenic lake
Image credit: Singapore Discovery Centre
Besides housing exhibitions, Singapore Discovery Centre also has escape rooms, a 4D simulator ride, plus paintball and laser tag arenas. Add to that long list of activity options: pedal boating around the tranquil Discovery Lake. You’ll get to pedal freely along the entire body of water for 15 minutes, but do take note that there’s a height requirement of 1.2M.
If you’re the type who loves family days out that are jam-packed with activities, visiting the SDC is well worth the trip to the far West. After all, you’d get to tick off a bunch of highly varied experiences conveniently at one location. There are in-house shopping and dining options too, including an international cuisine restaurant and board game cafe.
Address: 510 Upper Jurong Road, Singapore 638365
Opening hours:
Singapore Discovery Centre: Mon – Thu 11AM-7.30PM | Fri – Sun 10AM-10PM
Pedal boating: Sat, Sun & P.H. 11AM-6PM (Closed Monday to Friday)
Telephone: 6792 6188
Admission: $5/boat for 2-seater, $10/boat for 4-seater
Singapore Discovery Centre website
8. Oasis Waterpark @ Nee Soon East – Free neighbourhood playground
Image credit: Playpoint
Mention water park and attractions like Wild Wild Wet and Adventure Cove come to mind, but what if we told you that there’s a hidden gem right within a Yishun neighbourhood that’s free to enter?
Oasis Waterpark @ Nee Soon East is not your average HDB playground, boasting 5,600 square metres of frolicking space – slightly bigger than one entire football field – and an impressive variety of water play set-ups – the highlight being a 3.5-metre tall mist curtain to give your child a rejuvenating spritz.
Northies are in luck because this water wonderland for kids can be found right at 307 Yishun Central. For families residing outside of the region, you can reach the playground in about 12 minutes on foot from Yishun MRT station.
Note: Oasis Waterpark @ Nee Soon East is currently closed until further notice. Stay tuned to the Nee Soon Town Council Facebook page for updates.
Address: 307 Yishun Central, behind Yishun North Neighbourhood Police Centre
Opening hours: 9AM-10PM, Daily (Water operation hours)
Admission: Free
9. Far East Organisation Children’s Garden – At Gardens By The Bay
Image credit: Gardens By The Bay
Gardens By The Bay is a great family destination; your kids get to learn about plants, and the picturesque surroundings make for stunning family photos. Because there’s just so much to see and explore, your kids are probably going to work up a sweat and get a tad cranky – which is where the Far East Organisation Children’s Garden will serve as the perfect respite.
On top of conventional spray and fountain structures, the playground is fitted with motion sensors which trigger special water effect sequences when kids journey from one spot to another.
If you prefer to keep your tiny one away from the rowdiness of bigger kids, there’s also a designated Toddler Play Zone for gentle play, featuring interactive and educational set-ups such as water tunnels and fish sculptures.
Note: The Far East Organisation Children’s Garden is currently closed until further notice. Stay tuned to the Gardens By The Bay Facebook page for updates.
Address: 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953
Opening hours: Tue – Sun 9AM-7PM (Closed on Mondays), last admission at 6PM
Admission: Free
Far East Organisation Children’s Garden website
Doing our part to save water in the face of climate change
While we still enjoy these water activities, climate change is slowly but surely trickling into our daily lives. We may sweat in the sweltering heat one minute, and be drenched by a sudden downpour the next.
Prolonged dry spells stress the water supply in our reservoirs, while heavy downpours can result in flash floods. Meanwhile, rising sea levels due to rapid ice melt across the globe also threaten our coastlines.
Singapore is a low-lying island surrounded by the sea, with a third of our land area less than 5 metres above the mean sea level. If we ignore climate change and the rising seas, our island country is set to be inundated and destroyed. The good news is, there is still time to do our part to combat climate change and Singapore is actively taking steps to mitigate its negative impact.
So the next time you’re partaking in activities from kayaking at local reservoirs to frolicking free at public water parks like the Marina Barrage Water Playground, be mindful of the role water plays in our everyday lives.
Spring into action and check out MakeEveryDropCount.pub.gov.sg for practical ways in which you can play your part. The more conscious we are of climate change’s effects on our natural resources, the bigger the impact we’ll be able to make in our water conservation efforts as a nation.
Find out how you can play a part in making every drop count
Other things to do with kids in Singapore:
- Activities for families with kids in Singapore
- Best indoor playgrounds in Singapore
- Free playgrounds in Singapore
- Smigy Playground at PLQ Mall
This post was brought to you by PUB.
Cover image adapted from: Sentosa, Playpoint, @fever.sg