If you are in Singapore as a tourist, your visit can’t end before you visit at least one of the four Mandai Wildlife Reserve parks. Carrying my 10-month old baby, I decided to visit River Wonders as it is Asia’s first river based park. This post “River Wonders Singapore with a baby – Review” is a review about time spent there with an infant and what to look out for and look forward to.
How did I commute?
I stayed at Sengkang and the public transport route (multiple metros and buses) showed me 2.5 hours to reach River Wonders Park. Majority of the crowd (residents and tourists) prefer to commute via public transport. I preferred to take a cab to River Wonders for 22 SGD since I didn’t want to risk travelling with a baby for 2.5-3 hours just to reach the park. I chose convenience over cost.
How much to walk?
In Singapore overall, you must walk a lot to get anywhere within the city/country. When you want to visit places within Mandai Wildlife Reserve you must do extra walking to explore places.
What to carry for a baby/infant?
- Water
- Snacks
- Food
- Spare clothes
- Toys
- Stroller/baby carrier
- Diapers
- Wet tissues
- A stole (in case your baby wants to sleep, you can use this as a blanket as it is travel friendly)
- Pumped/formula milk
Note: There is ONLY ONE nursing room near the Panda area but again a lot of walking is needed. If your baby is hungry and he/she must be fed, then this is the only place.
Is the ticket price worth it?
It costs 42 SGD per ticket for a non-SG resident. I purchased my ticket in bulk via Klook which saved me a lot of money. As I have partnered with Klook, you can also purchase the tickets at a discounted price via my attraction pass link.
You can also purchase the ticket just for River Wonders at a discounted cost.
You can purchase a multi ticket which allow entry for Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders and Birds Paradise to save cost. All these attractions are present within the same premises of Mandai Wildlife Reserve.
Note: If you book your tickets via my link in Klook you will get some discount. I will also get a minimal percentage from Klook for your booking at no additional cost to you.
When to visit the River Wonders?
One thing I realized after visiting Singapore is that every place in Singapore is always crowded with tourists. I charted my plan to visit the places on weekdays to avoid the local crowd.
I visited post 1 pm as it takes only a max of 3 hours to explore the place. It is always better to take your child out after their nap as they will be fresh for the rest of the day. Mine used to take 3 naps when she was 10 months, but we managed to put her to sleep on our commute back home.
Another post for you to read: Singapore Flyer: Amazing View of the Lion City
River Wonders vs River Safari
Both are the same. River Safari was renamed to River Wonders and there is no free boat ride at River Wonders.
What to see in River Wonders?
A LOT OF FISHES! Yes! That’s what you will mainly get to see. Colorful fishes of different sizes from different continents. It was a great experience for my baby as it was the first time she saw such big fishes up close. We saw her enjoy.
Giant Panda Forest
The panda was a unique sight at River Wonders Park. There are 3 of them out of which one was born in Singapore. The pandas are leased from China for a certain number of years. My baby enjoyed seeing huge pandas in a king sized air conditioned area.
Show: Once Upon a River
These are live shows with animals in an area called Boat Plaza within the park. Booking for this show can be done online. The booking portal opens exactly 2 hours before the show. It was super crowded when we visited (even on a weekday), the podium was full and the folks who had already registered were also unable to enter as it completely works on first come first serve basis. We didn’t get a chance to witness the show as it was risky to sit at once place with a baby who was tired.
The show timing might keep changing. So you can click here for the details of the show.
Amazon River Quest
This is supposed to be one of the most exciting things to do at River Wonders at an additional cost of 5 SGD per rider.
Tickets for the river quest can either be purchased online or you can pay digitally near the river quest entry. This place is located in the boat plaza, very close to the podium where the show once upon a river happens.
If you have kids above 1.06m (106 cm) then they are allowed to ride. Even if their height is 0.5 cm lesser than 106 cm then they outrightly say a ‘NO’! My baby was only 76 cm so it was anyway a big NO for me if I wanted to carry my child along.
My husband and I did not get to do the Amazon River Quest as the waiting time was also 45 mins to get a boat.
Closing time of the river quest: 6 pm
Amazon Flooded Forest
My baby and I enjoyed the flooded forest as the animals were found to be in their natural habitat and we were just walking along as one among them.
Majestic Manatees
The river animals here were HUGE! It was fun to watch them so close where the glass wall is the only thing that separates you and them.
Final Review and Takeaway
In the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, I felt River Wonders was the best to do with a baby in hand though we didn’t get to watch the show nor were able to do the Amazon River Quest. The time taken to go around the place was only 2-3 hours which was perfect. The zoo could have taken us 6-7 hours which was out of the question with an infant to care for.
They had a nursing room after exiting from the Panda area which was much needed when you travel along with a baby.
I felt that my little one also enjoyed, and she saw many animals most of which she saw for the first time. I think it was much needed for her growth. What I felt as a disadvantage was 10-month-olds would like to crawl and not always be restricted for a long time in a stroller or a baby carrier. Mine was also not comfortable with that but we managed though it was difficult.
You can hire strollers and 2-seater trolley cars if you have kids who are willing to sit in them. The trolley cars suit kids who are more than 3 years old as they understand when you ask them to sit and have fun, while the parents can pull the trolley for them. Overall, it was a fun-filled experience to take your little one along to give them exposure to aquatic species.
You can check out more posts from Singapore.
