I am a sucker for a zoo and with Singapore repeatedly being referenced as one of the best in the world I knew there was no way I could make my way over there without a visit.

The zoo isn’t located centrally but there are a number of ways to get to it. We were working on a budget so we felt the way that worked the best for us was to get the MRT to the Ang Mo Kio station where we could then jump on the 138 bus which took us directly to the zoo. It wasn’t the quickest journey but it was easy and affordable.

We ended up spending about 7 hours at the zoo, from 9am to around 4pm. There was so much to see and do. Sometimes you visit a zoo and feel the animals don’t have enough space, or that the space provided to them just isn’t appropriate for their needs but Singapore Zoo had a really nice naturalistic feel to it.

The zoo has chosen to house their animals in open environments, choosing to restrict movement through things like moats, rather than cages and it just seems to provide a better environment for both animal and visitor.

Despite visiting in a prime time the zoo wasn’t crowded, I never felt I had to fight someone for a space to see something and we were able to take our time leisurely strolling around.

Our next stop was the River Safari, located right next door, and the first of it’s kind in Asia. We got the basic ticket, which doesn’t include an additional boat ride, and we spent only about an hour at the Safari in total.

During our visit, from approximately 4pm-5pm the place was pretty empty, hence why we were able to get around it so quickly. The exhibits focus mostly on freshwater environments and the basic ticket still includes a boat ride on the river.

Whilst we didn’t see anything in the way of wildlife on the river it was still an enjoyable little excursion to take. For those interested the river safari is where you’ll find the Pandas, which were taking a rather adorable nap when we were there.

After a brief dinner stop (there are a number of restaurants located around the zoo complex) we went onto our THIRD zoo experience of the day, the night safari, at 7.15pm.

The world’s first nocturnal zoo, I was particularly excited about this one. I had read many online reviews about how busy it was and how the queues were ridiculous. When you enter the zoo you have the option to go around the zoo by foot or by tram, we chose by foot and we didn’t see another person our entire time there!

We had so much fun, the pathways were very dark and it felt very eerie at times. The animal enclosures are lit in a way that is meant to resemble moonlight as not to disturb nocturnal animals, and we found we were really able to see a lot of activity from animals that we’re so used to seeing napping in a corner.

Once again the zoo utilised natural barriers to make you feel more integrated with the animals and provide an experience that I really felt was unrivalled to what I’ve had before.

We left around 9.30pm, after over 12 hours of zoo! Our feet were aching, I was dying for a shower but I didn’t regret it one bit. I had done some research beforehand on if it was possible to do all 3 zoos’ in one day and the general consensus was “No!” but personally I didn’t feel that our enjoyment was hindered by having such a long day and at no point did I feel rushed to see things. I understand if you had children with you it would be too intense but as two adults I would recommend it!