Exploring Singapore with a Car - Volume 1
We’re not going to the US next month as planned so we decided to rent a car in Singapore and explore this little island instead! We’ve had the car for one week now and we’ve already discovered new places. This past weekend we hiked around Coney Island and did our second visit to the Singapore Zoo!
But first, the car rental. If you are in Singapore and wanting to try out a car, get in touch with Annie Goh (+65 9639 4650 or anniegoh@sectioncarrental.com) at Prime Car Rental. Singapore isn’t exactly known for customer service. Annie, by any standards of customer service, is amazing. I sent her an email with my info, what I was looking for, budget, etc. and she called within a few hours. She was very thorough, very helpful and made the whole process a breeze.
The car rental is inclusive of insurance, 24-hour roadside assistance and even a discount at Shell gas stations. Cars range from S$1,100-6,400/month depending on how fancy you want to get. We opted for a cute, orange Kia for S$1200/month and have been so happy with our decision. We have already used the car to “pop” to Dempsey Hill, Jewel and a few other places and it makes it all so easy!
Now for our big adventures of the weekend…
Coney Island
Nick learned about Coney Island while researching things to do with dogs in Singapore. He loves bringing Holly everywhere we go but she isn’t allowed just anywhere and it can be tough to take her around in taxis. Having a car means we can easily start to explore the places he has read about without the hassle of messaging Grab drivers right after booking, drivers cancelling rides and all that fun.
Coney Island is located just off of Pasir Ris and Punggol in the east of Singapore. It is a long skinny island with views of the Punggol Promenade Nature Walk on one side and Palau Ubin on the other. There are two ways to get onto the island - a west entrance in Punggol and an east entrance in Pasir Ris. We attempted the west entrance first but it was blocked by construction. We had to back track onto the highway and head back down to the east entrance to actually walk onto the island.
A few fun facts about Coney Island:
In the 1930's and 1940's it was owned by the Aw brothers, of Tiger Balm fame. Their 600 square meter bungalow still stands on the island today.
It has grown significantly in size over the years. Originally, it was just 13 hectares and now spans over 100 hectares!
After years of land reclamation and a plan to connect the southern side to Pasir Ris, Coney Island Park opened in October 2015.
There is no electricity or piped water on the island. The toilets use rain water and solar-powered pumps and much of the infrastructure (boardwalk and benches) is made from uprooted trees!
We parked our car along the dead end road near the east entrance, wandered up the path and found ourselves on the Serangoon Reservoir Dam, which acts a a bridge onto the island. There is a big gate with the words “Coney Island” on the front to let you know you’re in the right place. We entered and noticed that the few other people we saw were all heading straight. There was another, smaller path to the left so we walked off that way. Instantly, we felt so far away from the hustle and bustle of Singapore.
Our only plan was to wander aimlessly and work our way back to the entrance by 4:30 so we would head home for dinner. We followed one little path to another, wandered through the tall trees, splashed in puddles and found ourselves on a tiny beach. It was such a perfect afternoon and I highly recommend it to families with energetic children and/or dogs!
Singapore Zoo
One benefit to everything going on in the world is that there are some really good deals out there. One of those was a 6 -month extension on Friends of Wildlife annual passes. At the end of June, Nick and I paid for the 12-month pass (Charlie is free under 3) but it will last us until the end of 2021 - 18 months of wildlife fun! This pass includes unlimited entry to the Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, River Safari and the Night Safari.
The pass costs S$145/adult and they have family pass options if you have children over 3. It pays for itself in 3 visits (that’s 1 visit to 3 of the 4 parks) so we know we will get our money’s worth! We had actually debated this pass back in March when we went on Charlie’s first birthday. I can’t remember why we decided not to but I think it worked out for the best. You do always have the option to upgrade a one-time visit pass to an annual pass by visiting the membership desk by the entrance.
The zoo is accessible by taxi and it costs about S$20-25 each way from where we live in East Coast. The only real hassle with a taxi is that you have a carseat to deal with. Thankfully, you are able to leave your carseat with an attendant just inside the zoo entrance free of charge.
I also just learned that there is a shuttle bus from Bedok Point for $3! This isn’t too far from us and something we’ll do once it is back up and running and we no longer have our car.
Driving up to the zoo was a breeze and made the whole day so enjoyable. The annual pass allowed us to pay $30 for a year of parking. At $10/visit, this will be worth it quickly.
Charlie was in heaven! I thought he loved it back in March when he was 12 months old but, wow, the amazement in his eyes and his excitement at almost 17 months old made my mama heart so happy. He was running around, up and down ramps, pointing, making the animals noises. All the things. It made me so excited to keep going back. In fact, we’re headed back this week!
All in all, it was a great first weekend exploring our home with a car. I’ll keep sharing as we explore!
