After a whirlwind 2.5-week trip visiting family and friends in the UK, we decided to stop over in Singapore on our way home. Our goal was to break up the long journey, ease the jetlag, and, most importantly, relax after a busy holiday. We stayed at the Village Hotel Sentosa, a perfect choice for families, thanks to its kid-friendly amenities, including four swimming pools and its prime location on Sentosa Island.

Although we only had three nights and two full days, we made the most of our limited time. Upon arriving at the hotel on Thursday evening, we quickly unpacked and headed straight to the Pamukkale Pool. While we hoped to catch the Wings of Time laser show from the pool, we only caught a few glimpses. Still, cooling off in the pool was the perfect way to start our stay in Singapore. After a quick dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants, Native Kitchen, we headed to bed, ready to adjust to the new timezone.

The next morning, after enjoying a delicious buffet breakfast, we spent a lazy morning hopping between the hotel’s four swimming pools. Eventually, we made our way to Imbiah Station and took the free Sentosa Express monorail to Beach Station. After a brief walk to Palawan Beach, we decided it was too hot to continue walking to the southernmost point of mainland Asia, so we opted for an airconditioned lunch at Shake Shack instead. From there, we took a scenic cable car ride to Siloso Point Station and then on to Vivocity Station on the mainland. It was the perfect way to see Sentosa Island from above.

We didn’t have time on this trip, but the cable car goes over the top of Mega Adventure, which we’ve added to our list for next time. For those of you feeling adventurous, it includes MegaZip (flying above the jungle canopy at 60kph), MegaClimb (3-story high ropes course), MegaJump (aka bungee jump) and MegaBounce (a kid-friendly, gravity-defying trampoline experience)! We’ve also added Adventure Cove Waterpark, and possibly Splash Tribe, Singapore’s premier family-oriented beach club.

That evening, we caught a taxi to Singapore Night Safari. In an attempt to be spontaneous after meticulously planning our time in the UK, we only booked tickets the night before, which meant the earliest timeslot we could book was 8:15 pm. If you have young kids, I strongly recommend booking in advance to get the first timeslot at 7:15 pm. Their website mentions that “dining & retail outlets open at 5:30pm,” so I naively assumed we could arrive early and grab a bite before entering the main zoo. However, their food court is located inside the zoo, so we had to wait until they let us in around 8pm. Luckily, we were just in time to catch the Twilight Performance, where my son loved watching the performers twirl fire sticks. The tram ride through the safari was a huge hit, despite queueing for 50 minutes. We enjoyed spotting lots of nocturnal animals including elephants, lions, and flamingos. While we ended up rushing through the walking trails due to the late hour, the Night Safari was a memorable experience for the whole family.

After a late start the next day, we celebrated the kickoff of the Paris Olympics with lunch at Le Faubourg. Then it was back to the hotel’s pools for a final dip before catching the MRT to Marina Bay Sands. The Sampan Rides (a gondola ride through the shopping centre) looked great, but we didn’t have time, so have earmarked it for next time. We headed straight to Bayside Drinks & Eats to watch the Singapore Birthday Preview celebrations. Although Singapore’s National Day is on August 9th, we were lucky enough to catch one of their preview nights (they have quite a few, starting mid- June). The festivities included the Red Lions parachute team, the RSAF Flypast, an impressive defense display, and a stunning fireworks show. It really was the perfect way to end our Singapore stopover, and 3-week holiday.

Unfortunately, our flight home to Sydney was at 7.15am the next morning, but we all had an amazing time in Singapore and have vowed to return soon.