Adventurous Activities in Singapore

By <a href="#author-bio">Stuart Bak</a>
By Stuart Bak
Published: July 18, 2024
Tourists crossing a pedestrian bridge in the Singapore jungle

There’s oodles of adventure to be had in Singapore, a huge playground where activities range from giant swings to futuristic indoor surfing to outdoor adventures amid the vast tracts of lush jungle and tropical rainforest that cover around half of the entire island. Read on for our pick of the most adventurous activities in Singapore, including:

  • The Singapore Flyer
  • SkyPark Observation Deck
  • Sentosa Island
  • Forest Adventure
  • Chestnut Nature Park
  • Southern Ridges hiking trail
  • Hawker centers for adventurous foodies

Adventurous Activities in Singapore for Thrill Seekers

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Adrenaline junkies on vacation in Singapore are in for a real treat. Heck, you only have to look at the forest of skyscrapers in the Downtown district to know that this is a city that takes its dizzying highs seriously. Head to the SkyPark on top of the soaring Marina Bay Sands hotel and you’ll soon see what we mean. At 56 floors up, this observation deck is one of Singapore’s highest and affords splendid views across the city and bay. Evenings are particularly special, with spectacular light shows taking place far below at both the Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands’ own Event Plaza.

Also in the Marina Bay area, the Singapore Flyer is one of the planet’s tallest observation wheels, soaring to a heart-pumping 541 feet. Steady your nerves by booking a ticket that includes a glass of champagne or go native with a classic Singapore Sling.

Best of Sentosa Island

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Sticking with the vertigo-inducing theme, hop on the cable car to Sentosa island for a thrill ride with a very gentle pace. The 15-minute journey across the bay carries passengers at around 200 feet above sea level. Essentially just a mode of traveling from A to B, it doubles as an adventurous Singapore attraction in its own right. Visitors with a passion for natural highs will be in clover once on Sentosa, where the SkyHelix spins heavenwards, reaching a dizzying 260 feet above sea level, with views from its vantage point on Imbiah Lookout that take in Singapore and the Southern Islands. This rotating ride lets you take in those glorious sunset vistas with a soda or slushie as your feet dangle underneath and you spend a full 10 minutes right at the top. Best of all, phones are permitted on the ride, so you’ll be able to fill your Insta feed with dozens of envy-inducing filter-free snaps.

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And, if you like your thrills a little more... high octane, you could always try the giant swing at Siloso Beach. What’s so thrilling about a giant swing, I hear you cry! Well, this one soars out above the palm-lined white sands at heights of up to 100 feet so, suffice to say, it is not for the faint of heart. There’s also bungee jumping here as well as a nearby luge track that winds through rainforest, down hillsides and around hairpin bends at hair-raising speeds. Splash down on the Double FlowRider at Wavehouse Sentosa’s Surf Cove, where beginners and pro surfers alike can wipeout in the huge artificial wavemaker.

Back to Nature

Singapore is one of the greenest cities on the planet, with almost 50% of its urban sprawl dedicated to green space. It stands to reason then that there are multiple outdoor adventures to be had here, whether in the city’s parks or beneath the jungle canopy that covers much of the rest of the island.

Forest Adventure is as good a place to get a taster as any, its treetop obstacle course and multiple ziplines making for a fun family day out. Wobble across rope bridges high in the canopy and zip your way across the waterways; there’s quite literally hours of fun to be had.

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Or take to the waters in a kayak. This guided tour lasts 4.5 hours and takes you along the northeast coast by Pulau Ubin, a traditional Singaporean village set among the ancient mangrove forests. Your guide will steer you out towards the island of Pulau Ketam, where native wildlife includes kingfishers and herons, and where you may even be lucky enough to spot the occasional otter frolicking playfully in the shallows.

Such lush countryside of course makes for world-class hiking and cycling opportunities. Saddle up, slap on the sunscreen and hit the Northern Eastern Riverine Loop, a 26km route that takes you through the parks, beaches, waterways and wetlands of Punggol. Or walk the stunning Southern Ridges Trail. This elevated walkway takes you through the treetops south of the city, where the canopy fairly teems with red-whiskered bulbuls, banded bay cuckoos, and other colorful native birdlife. Meanwhile, Chestnut Nature Park offers the best of both worlds, with 81 hectares of segregated hiking and biking trails that take in secluded streams and lakes and provide further opportunities to spot endangered bird species like the delicate orange-bellied flowerpecker.

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Adventures in Food

There’s much for adventurous foodies to enjoy in Singapore, with over 100 hawker centers serving cheap and delicious street food across the city. The meeting of Malaysian, Chinese and Indian cooking here, melded with that of other neighboring nations, has created a unique cuisine with something for everyone, though lovers of seafood and spice are particularly well catered for.

Our advice? Bodyswerve the ubiquitous burger and pizza joints and get straight to the heart of the action in the bustling hawker centers, where the aroma of sizzling satay and pungent fish head curry alone are enough to make a grown man weep.

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Spicy, sticky, peanuty satay is easy to track down here (just follow your nose!). It’s a national favorite and you’ll find purveyors of this heaven-sent treat in its many forms (chicken, pork, beef, fish) in any Singapore hawker center worth its salt. Try local favorite satay bee hoon, in which the spicy hot sauce is liberally smothered over a bed of rice vermicelli, often with prawns or pork. Sweet-and-savory-sauce-drenched chili crab – effectively the national dish – is another absolute must-try.

Feeling bold? Up the ante with some of the nation’s more out-there delicacies. We’re talking turtle soup, live octopus, pufferfish, fried pigs’ fallopian tubes in piquant kung pao sauce and – for the truly adventurous – century egg, a highly, shall we say... aromatic dish of egg preserved in salt, lime and clay. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

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Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Freelance travel writer

Stu caught the travel bug at an early age, thanks to childhood road trips to the south of France squeezed into the back of a Ford Cortina with two brothers and a Sony Walkman. Now a freelance writer living on the Norfolk coast, Stu has produced content for travel giants including Frommer’s, British Airways, Expedia, Mr & Mrs Smith, and now Go City. His most memorable travel experiences include drinking kava with the locals in Fiji and pranging a taxi driver’s car in the Honduran capital.

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Things to do in Geylang Singapore

Singapore’s Geylang neighborhood is certainly something of a head scratcher. Although descriptions often begin with its status as the country’s legally-recognized red-light district, it is also one of the country’s most culturally diverse areas. Exploring its historic shopfronts is just one of the many things to do in Geylang Singapore, alongside delving into a food scene that includes everything from frog leg porridge to Ramadan treats. Lying to the east of the Kallang River as it flows towards the river cruises of Marina Bay, east-west running Geylang Road remains at the heart of all that goes on in the neighborhood. Providing a sense of old Singapore, before soaring skyscrapers took hold, it’s a street busy with Singaporeans, Malays, Chinese and western expatriates by day and night. Meanwhile unnamed lorongs (lanes) span off to north and south with the promise of all manner of delights. Wondering why Geylang is so popular and on the lips of so many? Here’s our pick of the very best things to do in Geylang Singapore! Check out Geylang’s architectural curiosities There’s probably no better place to start your discovery of Geylang than Geylang Road. Stroll along even the shortest section of its three-kilometer length and you’ll very quickly get a feel of what this neighborhood is all about. And while the low-rise properties which line this major arterial road are sure to have you reaching for your camera, Geylang’s real treasures are to be found on its surrounding streets. There’s nothing quite like picking one at random and seeing what you’ll discover – maybe the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace or Haig Road Hawker Center. But if you’re looking for a little guidance, the colorfully-painted conserved shopfronts on both sides of Joo Chiat Road rival the Peranakan (Malay-Chinese) Houses of adjoining Koon Seng Road when it comes to the wow factor. For the chance to head inside one of these preserved homes, make an appointment to visit The Intan, a house museum dedicated to recording Peranakan culture for prosperity. The work of one man, its collection is as encyclopedic in scope as it is colorful. Discover Geylang’s artistic side If a visit to The Istan gets you in the mood for more of Geylang’s artistic side, the Eurasian Heritage Gallery is just a couple of blocks south. Created to tell the story of Singapore’s Eurasian community, it succeeds in bringing its history to life in three excellently curated galleries refurbished in 2019. Detailing a heritage which takes in Britain, Portugal, Goa and Macau, the sections on how the community survived the Japanese occupation of the island in World War Two is particularly poignant. More uplifting stories include those of swimmer Joseph Schooling, the first Singaporean to win an Olympic gold medal. Just beyond the official bounds of Geylang, on the banks of the Geylang River, you’ll also find the Goodman Arts Centre. Hosting a wide range of exhibitions and workshops, the center sits within a lush three-hectare site. It also includes a café serving up Australasian dishes with looks perfect for social media and flavors not far behind. Fill your stomach with Geylang’s specialty dishes For a more authentic look at Geylang’s culinary magic, the choices are almost endless. Geylang Serai Market is one of the largest wet markets in Singapore, meaning you can find just about anything you might ever point towards a wok. After you’ve breathed in the rich aroma of nutmeg, cinnamon and lemongrass (serai in Malay), enter the attached bazaar for fabrics, homewares and other dry goods. Carrying a buzz at any time of year, the market outdoes itself each Ramadan, when stalls lit up with decorations and open long into the night help adherents break their fast. 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Things to do in Clarke Quay

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