The 7-hour flight on Emirates to Singapore was actually really easy, the kids were super excited but luckily for the rest of the passengers weren’t too noisy and they managed to keep themselves entertained.

Upon arriving in Singapore, our hotel cars were waiting for us to take us to our hotel The Sofitel Sentosa. Sentosa is an island resort off Singapore’s southern coast, connected to the city by road, cable car, pedestrian boardwalk and monorail. It is home to many 5 star luxury hotels and the world famous theme park Universal Studios.

The Sofitel Sentosa is not like your typical Sofitel hotels, it’s a large property spread over beautiful grounds all on a low level, with wide open corridors providing that tropical feel and breeze, which I really love. You can hear the sounds of frogs and crickets in the vegetation, which always makes me feel like I’m on holiday. It’s a family friendly resort and the rooms are of a great size. We booked a very spacious 2 bedroom Luxury Family Room.

To get around Sentosa there are shuttle busses or buggies from the hotel and with Universal Studios only being 10 minutes away it really is the easiest place to stay.

So, not only was this my kids first time to Singapore it was also their first time at a theme park! This could go really well or horribly wrong!

Universal Studios theme park has 7 themed zones Hollywood, New York, Sci-fi City, Ancient Egypt, The Lost World (Jurassic Park), Far Far Away (Shrek) and Madagascar. From movie-themed rollercoasters to meeting some of your favorite characters like Shrek and Fiona and the cast of Sesame Street, the theme park caters to literally every age group.

If there is one thing that will make a huge difference to your experience, it is buying the Universal Studios Singapore Express tickets. There is nothing more miserable than standing for ages in a queue with kids, especially in the uniquely Singapore heat and humidity. These Universal Studios Singapore skip the line tickets are available as an Express pass (allows you to skip the queue once on each ride) and an Express Unlimited pass (allows you to skip the line as many times as you like). You can either buy in advance online or upgrade when you get to the park.

The kids actually enjoyed a lot of the rides with my eldest dare devil wanting to go on everything but sadly there is a height restriction and on some rides even weight. If a child is under 122cm an adult must accompany them. 

For the younger fearless these rides are great fun:

•   Madagascar: A Crate Adventure (80cm)

•   Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase (92cm)

•   Canopy Flyer (92cm)

•   King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round (no height restriction)

•   Dino-Soarin (no hand-held infants)

•   Enchanted Airways (92cm)

•   Shrek 4D Adventure (no height restriction)

For the babies of the group we managed to watch one of the morning performances of Sesame Street. And then later on in the day when we walked down the actual Sesame Street the kids got to meet Grover – when he jumped out of a bin – the kids weren’t frightened more like ecstatic and gave him a massive hug, plus they got to  take  their picture with Elmo and Big Bird.

As a family we all thoroughly enjoyed the Waterworld show– all the action kept the kids mesmerized and the fireworks and explosions kept them on the edge of their seats.

At Universal there are so many places to eat but we enjoyed Mel’s Drive-in, an American style diner serving hot dogs, burgers, dinosaur nuggets and more. Do however keep lots of snacks on you, water, wet wipes, sun lotion and a cap. It does get hot and humid.

Post our trip to Universal, I did find the below online, which I thought I would share with you….

If you are visiting Universal Studios with small kids, we recommend following this tried and tested route:

•   Head straight for Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase in New York as soon as you enter the park, as this queue builds up fast.

•   Next, double back to Madagascar, where you can ride Madagascar: A Crate Adventure and King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round, which are next door to each other.

•   Next up, head towards Far Far Away, where you can ride the Enchanted Airways and Puss in Boots on your way to Shrek 4D Adventure.

•   If your kids are too small to ride Puss in Boots (100cm), then head straight to The Lost World (aka Jurassic Park) to ride the Dino-Soarin and the Canopy Flyer.

You should also try to fit in the Sesame Street Performance in the morning – check the Universal Studios Singapore showtimes on arrival.

After an action filled Universal day, the kids went to bed sufficiently exhausted and that’s when the adults decided to go out and play. It was our time to switch off and enjoy the Singapore nightlife.

We actually managed to enjoy a great dinner every night, a few of our favorites were:

Burnt Ends – A modern and cool dining Australian BBQ experience located in the historic and trendy Chinatown area

Spargo by Wolfgang Puck – Marina Bay Sands – check out their famous infinity pool which offers awe inspiring views of the city

You cannot visit Singapore with kids and not make a day trip to the Singapore Zoo. Honestly this has to be the best zoo I have ever been to in the world. Set in a rain forest environment the animals roam free with monkeys swinging from tree to tree above your heads. Animals here live in spacious and landscaped environments, simulating their natural habitats. And for when you’re too hot walking around the zoo, there is a kids splash and play to cool down and have some fun – don’t worry if you forget swimwear they have a fully equipped shop.

Gardens by the Bay is a nature park spanning 101 hectors and has so many attractions such as the Cloud Forest, Flower Dome, OCBC Skyway, Supertree Grove, Heritage Gardens, Sun Pavilion, Children’s garden and Bay East Garden. The Cloud Forest is super impressive with several levels offering amazing views and is home to the large glass greenhouse in the world. It’s the perfect photo spot hence why its always busy.  Every evening you can enjoy a spectacular light show in the Supertree Grove are which is free admission.

Singapore Cable Car is a great experience from above which runs between Sentosa Island and Singapore Harbour Point.

When it comes to shopping, we left the guys in daddy day care with 9 kids and went off shopping down Orchard Road - the 2.2km boulevard where you can find everything one desires and more.

Being only 7 hours away from Dubai, Singapore is certainly well worth a visit, and 100 percent the kids will love it.

From Singapore we went to Boracay in the Philippines, to find out more read our blog post here:

http://www.uniquefamilytravels.com/2018/09/11/the-untouched-beauty-of-boracay/