Night Safari, Singapore

Interesting concept, but slightly overrated. Definitely take the tram ride first before you decide if you want to continue walking through the park. Walking in the dark on dimly-lit paths was a cool experience, but I know many others will not share in that sentiment. Overall, the low lighting made it difficult to see many of the nocturnal animals at all. I think this is a great idea in theory, but perhaps not in execution. Don't plan a trip to this after a day at the zoo. There's a 90-minute gap between the closing of the zoo and the opening of the Night Safari where all you have to do is buy souvenirs and eat food from the food court. Despite the long trek to this location from the downtown area, I would still recommend doing this on a separate evening if at all.

I used to think the Night Safari was so much cooler, but the hype has died down for me. The main difference is that you get to walk through the zoo at night. The show is pretty lame, and the enjoyment of the tram ride is dependent on timing and your tour guide. The price is pretty steep for essentially a nighttime visit to the zoo. For first timers though, it's certainly worth a visit though.

This is a very cool concept, and I came into the safari with admittedly high expectations. I felt that the show was overrated as it mainly consisted of a trainer walking around for thirty seconds with the animal on their shoulder. It was hard to get a good look of the animals given the size of the auditorium, and I felt the time given to look at the animals was much to short. After finishing the show, we embarked on the tram. As it is a night safari, it is decently hard to see the animals. While there are some lights to try to make the viewing experience better for visitors, they are dim, which is to be expected given the time of day. We saw a lot of animals like tigers and giraffes, animals that are much more active during the day. Given that it's night time, a lot of these animals were either not moving, or sleeping. Overall, it was a cool experience, but I wouldn't do it again. If you only have a few days in the city, there are other things to do that is much better value for your time. At around 40 sgd, it's also not cheap.

IMPORTANT: If at all possible, delay watching the 'Creatures of the Night' show until at least 2130 (details below). We had a mixed time at our Night Safari experience. We started off with a surprisingly good rotisserie chicken and veggie lasagna dinner - surprising because it was one of the best meals I've ever had at a large tourist attraction (and it was also reasonably priced). After dinner, and while walking to the entrance (restaurants are located outside the main gate), we were fortunate to meet a zoo keeper holding a 'small' python for the kids to pat - they were enthralled. And then we entered the park! Having young kids, we wanted to do the 1930 show, but the auditorium was already full. Management could encourage restaurant patronage by giving some form of show priority for those eating at the onsite venues, or simply expand the booking system to allow visitors a show time selection. Plan B: Off to the tram tour. And it was huge - the departure interval between trams was way too long with so many people waiting to board. However, once we finally boarded, all of us enjoyed the actual tour and animal sights. Hopping off the tram, we went straight to the line for the 2030 show, and managed to secure a seat. Unfortunately sitting in the side section meant that we couldn't see the enclosure at the rear of the 'stage' completely, and subsequently missed parts of the show. Management, please cut back the trees so that all seats have complete views, or limit numbers. If you can manage to wait until a later show, you'll be able to get much better seats! Lastly, we did a quick walk through the zoo on a couple of trails, and again, this was enjoyable (especially when we bumped into some animals being fed). Would definitely visit again, but only once the kids (currently 3 and 4) are a bit older.

Bit hyped honestly. It's an unique experience but it's always jam-packed. Do the tram ride quickly before going for the creatures of the night show. Reach by 7pm to avoid rush. The lion and elephant exhibits are exceptional. Try to walk around to get the most out of the experience.