The Gardens By The Bay are one of the most iconic landmarks of Singapore, a city-state located on an island at the southern tip of mainland Malaysia. Set just behind the Marina Bay Sands on reclaimed land, the supertrees and other impressive natural wonders are a must-do for any visitor to Singapore.
We spent a week in Singapore in mid-February as our choice for this year's annual "three-day bender", the name we have given to the three days of 13, 14 and 15 February. The 13 is my birthday, of course the 14 is Valentine's and the 15 is my partner's birthday, so we basically just celebrate for three days in a row and then move on for the year; it's fun!
On top of that, this year I turned the big 3-0 and wanted an extra special place to ring in the start of my fourth decade. And in case that all wasn't enough, I have spent every birthday in a new country for the last decade (Singapore marks the tenth!) and that's a tradition I hope to keep up forever.
→ Check out my blog post about turning 30!
We're currently driving our van (Susy) around "the lap" of Australia and so traveled from Brisbane to Singapore for this one-week adventure.
I've written a complete guide on absolutely everything we did in Singapore including where to stay, where to eat, how to get there, how to get around and all my recommendations for the best things to see and do.
COMING SOON → My complete guide on how to spend a week in Singapore!
This blog post focuses on our time spent exploring the Gardens By The Bay and all the best photo spots to visit on your next trip to Singapore:
Every single spot (and more) that I mention in all my blog posts about Singapore can be found in my Singapore | Ultimate Map!
This is a digital map which opens straight in your Google Maps featuring more than 40 of my favourite restaurants, shops, photo spots, museums and more in Singapore.
Each pin includes exact locations, images, detailed information and a link to my relevant blog post to read more.
COMING SOON → Buy the Singapore | Ultimate Map!
For information on how to get to Singapore, check out my complete guide (coming soon!). Below I have outlined the specific information for reaching the Gardens By The Bay:
By car: If you have your own car, you can easily drive to Gardens By The Bay. There are two parking lots at the Gardens: at Bayfront Plaza and at Marina Barrage.
→ Check out the current opening hours and parking prices.
By Grab: Grab is essentially Asia's form of Uber and connects you with a local driver via the Grab App. It's a very popular and convenient way of getting around the city. I really recommend paying a few dollars extra for the "premium" cars, they're so much nicer than the basic cars and worth the few extra bucks. Grab cars usually drop off and pick up near the gift shop.
By metro: The Gardens By The Bay are serviced by two metro stations (Gardens By The Bay and Bayfront) and was our preferred method of reaching the Gardens. You can simply tap on and off the metro in Singapore with your credit card making it super easy to access.
By bus: Bus 400 stops at various points along Marina Bay Sands and Gardens By The Bay.
→ Check out the route for bus 400.
On foot: You can also easily walk to Gardens By The Bay. It is located just behind Marina Bay Sands and can be entered from multiple different points; use Google Maps to plan your walking route.
Gardens By The Bay metro station
Planning a visit to Gardens By The Bay can be overwhelming - it's spread over more than 250 acres and there is truly a lot to see! We visited on two separate occasions during our week in Singapore and honestly could have spent even more time there.
Visiting the Gardens themselves are free. You can wander around all the different parts of the outdoor spaces at leisure.
Then, there are a few extra attractions which come with a ticket price. You can book in advance for all the attractions but we didn't. Even on a really busy day (public holiday for Chinese New Year), we were able to simply walk up to the ticket desk and purchase tickets; it's really well organized.
Here are the extra paid attractions you can visit inside the Gardens By The Bay:
- Cloud Forest - we did this and LOVED it. A six-level greenhouse of exotic plants with a Jurassic Park theme.
- Flower Dome - the world's largest glass greenhouse with Mediterranean flowers.
- Floral Fantasy - garden landscapes and hanging flower bouquets.
- OCBC Skyway - walk 22 metres above the ground through the Supertree Grove. Can also be done at night during the free lightshows.
- Supertree Observatory - viewing deck at the top of the tallest supertree in the Grove.
These are my favourite places to visit and photograph in Gardens By The Bay, both free and paid:
Water Lily Pond
When you first arrive in Gardens By The Bay, near the gift shop and Starbucks, you can find the Water Lily Pond, a great place to start your visit. Not only is the lily pond itself so beautiful all covered in lilypads, but it also has such a great view. From a perfectly positioned rock at the edge of the pond, you can see the Supertree Grove and Marina Bay Sands in the background.
Cost: free!
Exact location on Google Maps: here!
Supertree Grove
The Supertree Grove is the most famous part of Gardens By The Bay, featuring the iconic and much-photographed supertrees. The tallest is equivalent to the height of a 16-storey building! Altogether, the supertrees are home to more than 162,900 plants across over 200 species. Many of them (there are 16 in total) have solar panels to create solar energy. So on top of being beautiful they are also designed to work in harmony with nature.
You can wander through the Supertree Grove for free but the best photo spot in my opinion is from the second level overlooking the grove.
Cost: free!
Exact location on Google Maps: here!
Garden Rhapsody Light Show
Every night in the Supertree Grove at 7:45pm and 8:45pm there is a free light show. The best spot for this is right in between the trees so you can look up and enjoy the lights. You can also walk on the OCBC Skywalk during the shows.
There is always a different theme for the light show complete with an audio soundtrack; we watched the "Journey Through Asia" show on my 30th birthday and it truly was wonderful. We loved it!
→ Check out what music is currently playing at Garden Rhapsody.
Cost: free!
Exact location on Google Maps: here!
Cloud Forest
This was the only paid attraction we did at Gardens By The Bay. I think if we had had more time and the weather had been better, we would have also liked to do the OCBC Skywalk.
The Cloud Forest is an incredible six-level greenhouse full of exotic plants with a Jurassic Park theme. You enter on the ground floor which is where the most famous photos are taken before queuing up to ride the lift to the top floor. It can get really busy but it's really well-organized. You then go down floor by floor to see all the different parts of the venue, traveling between floors by escalator (or elevator for disabled visitors).
When we visited, there was a Jurassic Park theme including lifesize dinosaurs throughout complete with sound effects. It's a really photogenic part of the gardens to explore with lots of different photo stops, walking paths and viewpoints.
We did not purchase tickets in advance and simply walked up to the counter on the day and got tickets. We went on a pretty busy day (public holiday for Chinese New Year) and it was busy but not sold out.
Two things to note if you wish to buy tickets online in advance: you have to choose a specific time slot to enter and you cannot buy tickets just for the Cloud Forest; online tickets are bundled with the Flower Dome and therefore more expensive. Single-entry to Cloud Forest can only be bought on site.
Cost: check the latest prices here!
Exact location on Google Maps: here!
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