Is Singapore a good destination with 2 small dc's?

[KezzaG]

We have friends living there who have invited us but I want to make sure it is suitably child friendly before I commit to a long flight.

Their apartment has a pool, and I know there is a zoo and waterpark, but would I just be better off in a villa in Europe? I want somewhere child friendly. Dcs will be 9 months and nearly 4 when we would go.

thanks

I found it kind of boring tbh (pre kids) - a day or two is enough to see the "sights" and it's a long way to go for a bit of sunshine. We ended up going to the zoo to pass the time - and as I said that was pre-kids!

Mmm thats what I was worried about, it doesnt seem like a fun destination to spend a hard earned 2 week holiday. I also doubt whether an apartment shared pool is going to be as exciting as a kids one with slides and stuff. And its such a long way!!!

Well, having been a couple of times pre-kids, I imagine that it would be child friendly but it is a staggeringly dull place unless you love shopping in large air-conditioned malls and eating out all the time. Actually, even the eating isn't spectacular but there are a hell of a lot of restaurants.

The zoo (and night safari) was fantastic, the Indian quarter is pretty vibrant and Sentosa Island might be fun for kids (full of water slides and other water related frolics) but there's little else. By the end of 2-3 days there each time we were going off our heads with boredom and were frantic to get out.

About the best thing I found about it was as a useful gateway to Indonesia, Malaysia etc. and a chance to catch up with friends living over there. Oops, the Hyatt Hotel also does and all you can eat/ drink Sunday buffet for about £30 with sushi, lobster and champagne (amongst many other things) which was a pretty bloody fantastic way to get hammered on a Sunday afternoon - probably not so great for the kids though!

It was perfect for our stopover for a few days from Australia, but I wouldn't go for more than that. The two zoos are fabulous, but it's very very hot and there are not many other activities. We enjoyed the pool because it gave us a much-needed chance to chill and read, but your little on is a bit younger. Ours were 5 and 3 when we went.

A friend who lived there said her kids used to moan 'not the zoo again' because it was the only kids activity available!

Your friends probably want you to visit because they are so bored!

I live in Singapore with young kids and I find it very child-friendly with quite a lot for kids.

I just had visitors here from the UK with kids aged 3 & 6. They stayed here for 10 days and we went to Thailand for 4 nights.

It really depends what you want out of a holiday, if you just want to lie by pool, then you can do that whether in Spain or at your friend's in Singapore.

The Zoo is excellent, there's also something called Wild Wild Wet (waterpark with slides), there're a couple of beaches, not the best in the region but still a beach and some beach bars down at Sentosa with sunbeds etc. There are some great parks and playgrounds, indoor jungle gym places.

Do your friends have young kids too? If they do, they might have a live-in helper which would mean you could have a couple of nights out with your friends (if you were happy to leave your kids to the helper to babysit). The restaurant / bar scene is good especially for those of us with young kids who don't get out often enough.

Let me know if you need more information

lol grapefruit, maybe they are!

that sounds more promising Rojak. I suppose I just want ds's to be happy then I am happy, so pool, beach, stuff for days out and not too hot I suppose. Friends dont have children so its hard to gauge from them. Sounds more promising from what you say. Oh dear mayber this means a long flight is beckoning!!

We moved to Singapore when our DSs were nearly 4 and 10 months. We had lots of visitors with children who loved the playground and the pool (ours had a waterslide). You could go to Thailand, Malaysia, Bintan or Bali for a few days with or without your friends if you want a few days on the beach.

The zoo, Night Safari and water park are all great. The cable car to Sentosa and the attractions there (aquarium, dolphin show) are fun, and there's a new big wheel that's just opened. There is soft play available and lots of air-conditioning. There is also a pretty good Science Centre and some excellent museums.

Food is great and western food for the kids widely available - even lots of Waitrose branded stuff in Cold Storage. I miss Indochine on Empress Quay.

It will be warm though - between 28 and 31 C and very humid. If you're used to Med sort of heat, then it's not as hot as the Med in August but it's a lot more humid.

We thought Singapore was a bit dull pre-kids, now we think it's fantastic It's a very easy, safe place to be with kids. We have now had three, admittedly short stays with our three (2/3 nights) and we have yet to make it to either the zoo or Sentosa because they love just wandering around, eating in the hawker centres etc., buying cheap tat at the stalls in little India etc. They are older though!

DD was 3 the first time we stayed at the Marina Mandarin hotel and she cried when we left because they had made so much of a fuss over her. I'm not sure if I'd do a straight two weeks but as others have said it's easy to go somewhere else for a few days. We flew with Jetstar from Singapore to Bangkok and back and got really cheap flights (I wouldn't particularly recommend Bangkok with young kids though).