Ideas for a day out together.
Check age guidance, facilities and opening times before visiting.
Ages are a guide from the venue or organiser where they give one. Typical spend per person, in Singapore dollars.
Free zapin and Malay dance by the bay, 13–15 Nov, with live musicians back for the first time since 2022. Shows at 7.30 and 9.15pm.
Matches teens: listed for ages 4–6, 7–12, teens. Not every activity there will suit this age.
The Botanic Gardens’ festive light-up, with decorated trees along Main Gate Road, from 5 December to 3 January.
Matches teens: listed for ages 0–3, 4–6, 7–12, teens. Not every activity there will suit this age.
A full orchestra, four choirs and Act 2 of The Nutcracker at the Esplanade on 11 and 12 December. Best for children five and up who can stay up late; no toddlers. Book early.
Matches teens: listed for ages 4–6, 7–12, teens. Not every activity there will suit this age.
Tan Twan Eng and Jemimah Wei among 300-plus voices across the Civic District, 13 to 22 November. Amitav Ghosh's keynote is sold out; Stephen Witt's was still on sale on 11 November. Pick three or four sessions.
Matches teens: listed for teens. Not every activity there will suit this age.
Free: giant macro photographs of more than 120 insect and spider species, plus live specimens, daily 10am–6pm to 31 March.
A free fungi exhibition with live glowing mycelium at the Botanic Gardens, daily 9am–6pm until 10 January.
Wild Rice's holiday panto returns after a decade: songs, wushu and magic at Funan, 12 November to 27 December. Book a weekend matinee early; at about 150 minutes, evenings are long for small children.
Four life-size Mogao cave replicas at the Asian Civilisations Museum until 7 March, plus a stamp rally that gets children round. The shortest route to Dunhuang runs through Empress Place.
Warhol, Lichtenstein and Kruger beside Ming Wong and FX Harsono: 200-plus works across the National Gallery from 11 December, with the Guggenheim. Start with the names you don't know.
Esplanade's Indian arts festival turns 25 with Sachin-Jigar's Singapore debut, two Aakash Odedra works and free shows in the public spaces, 20 to 29 November. Book one night; stroll the rest.
More than 2km of Serangoon Road lit overhead every evening from 3 October to 29 November. Free; the quiet option is a weeknight, or late November once the festival has passed.
Pick the Mandai park you actually want and do it properly. Trying to cover them all in one day leaves nobody with energy for the last one.
Pick one Sentosa: beach, heritage, sea life, waterpark or rides. Trying to do three in a day is how a family ends up silent on the way home.
Pick one anchor: Jurong Lake Gardens and Forest Ramble for an outdoor day, or Science Centre and KidsSTOP for a wet one. Not all four in an afternoon.
Ask them first: climbing, experimenting, animals or stories. Then book one anchor activity and leave the rest of the afternoon for snacks.
‘Good for kids’ covers everyone from toddlers to teenagers, which is the problem. Choose the session, route or activity for the children actually coming with you.
