More About Mandai Wildlife Reserve
More About Mandai Wildlife Reserve
Only the biggest and most popular wildlife attraction in Singapore, the Mandai Wildlife Reserve occupies hundreds of acres of prime rainforest and wetland north of the metropolis. There are several incredible attractions here. Animal lovers will thrill to the Night Safari’s crepuscular critters and the 4,000+ fascinating beasts that call Singapore Zoo home. Meanwhile feather fanatics and river enthusiasts can get their fix at the excellent Bird Paradise and River Wonders, respectively. Before we get onto the best ways to save, here’s a brief summary of each attraction…
Singapore Zoo
Mandai Wildlife Reserve’s flagship attraction is widely regarded as one of the world’s best zoos, thanks to its open-plan design, ravishing rainforest habitats and stellar conservation credentials. Multiple zones house around 4,200 animals and 300 species across 69 acres. Critters you can expect to encounter here include lions, elephants, giraffes, tamarins, parrots and flying foxes.
Night Safari
Night Safari
Somewhat larger than the zoo at nearly 90 acres, the Night Safari has four epic trails dedicated to nocturnal animals. The residents here tend to spend much of the day snoozing, and are generally at their most active around dusk. Wander the trails (or take the tram tour) to ogle Nile hippos, spotted hyenas and rare pangolins, and to experience the unforgettable sound of Tasmanian devils at feeding time. Once heard, never forgotten.
Check out our guide to the Night Safari’s themed trails here.
River Wonders
River Wonders
Here’s where you can meet some of the weird and wonderful creatures that live in and around the world’s rivers. We’re talking the Amazon, Mekong, Ganges, Yangtze and more. Spot wildlife including leopards and giant anteaters on the Amazon boat ride, get up close to giant pandas (and their cute lil red panda pals) in the forest and encounter aquatic animals including manatees, Indian gharials, red-bellied piranhas and giant river otters.
Bird Paradise
Bird Paradise
Forty-two acres of aviary and wetland, Bird Paradise hosts a colorful rainbow of our feathered friends, from big flightless beasts like the fearsome southern cassowary to brightly plumed parrots and punky rockhopper penguins. Swoop into daily presentations for the opportunity to see some of the park’s most impressive predators in action, among them cinereous vultures, harris hawks and bald eagles. Awesome.
Promotions and Discounts for Mandai Wildlife Reserves
Promotions and Discounts for Mandai Wildlife Reserves
Tickets for standard entry to the individual parks will cost you from around S$31 for children aged 3-12, and from S$43 for adults. But there are plenty of ways to get more bang for your buck. Discounted ticket bundles are available should you plan to visit multiple parks. Mandai Wildlife Reserve also frequently runs ad-hoc limited time promotions such as 50% off for holders of major credit cards or kids-go-free with a paying adult, so it’s worth planning ahead and checking back on their website regularly for the latest offers and deals.
There are three ways of making savings on admission to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve that are available year round. These are:
- The ParkHopper Plus
- Annual membership
- The Singapore Pass from Go City
We break down each of these terrific money-saving hacks below…
The ParkHopper Plus
The ParkHopper Plus
This one is a great way to save money if you were planning to visit multiple parks anyway. Here’s how it works: you pay a one-off fee that’s roughly the equivalent of buying individual admission to two parks. But that ticket bags you entry to four! The price paid includes tram rides in Singapore Zoo, Bird Paradise and the Night Safari, and the Amazon River Quest boat ride at River Wonders. Child tickets also include a ride on the Singapore Zoo carousel. The premise is simple, really: the more parks you visit, the more you will save. Tickets cover one-time entry to each park and are valid for seven days.
Annual Membership
Annual Membership
If you’re planning multiple visits to Mandai’s Wildlife Reserve across the year, membership can be an effective way of saving cash, as well as supporting the reserve's worthwhile conservation projects. There are two tiers of membership: Friends of Wildlife and Friends of Wildlife Plus. Prices start at a little over S$200 for the basic package, which gets you unlimited access to all the zoos for 12 months (excepting a handful of blackout dates), plus invitations to member events and a 20% discount on shopping, dining and more inside the reserve. The ‘plus’ membership costs a little more and includes some additional swag like a birthday gift, a parking pass, free rides on the Amazon River Quest at Night Safari, and zero blackout dates.
The Singapore Pass
The Singapore Pass
Go City’s Singapore pass is a doozy. Not only does it include access to Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Bird Paradise and the Night Safari, it also has a selection of some 40 more Singapore attractions, tours and activities to pick and choose from. We’re talking Singapore big hitters like the Gardens by the Bay, Universal Studios, rides on the Sentosa cable car, and a Singapore sling at the iconic Raffles hotel.
Get the Explorer pass if you have a firm idea of how many Singapore attractions you plan to visit. Passes can be loaded with up to seven attractions and, as ever, the more you visit the more you’ll save. You also get a leisurely 60 days to tick them off, starting from when you activate the pass at your first attraction.
Alternatively, the All-Inclusive pass is valid for a selected number of days (up to seven), meaning e.g. you can buy a 7-day pass and spend your week ticking off as many Singapore attractions as you can humanly fit in. Click the buttons below to find out more about the various options and to bag your Singapore pass!
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.