Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay in a wheelchair

The Gardens by the Bay is a must-see attraction when visiting Singapore. The Gardens by the Bay is entirely wheelchair accessible and a great place to visit for all ages and abilities.

Read on to find out about attractions, dining options, and accessibility at the gardens.

Gardens by the Bay

The gardens cover over 100 hectares – which, according to my dad’s measurement scale is about 100 Bunnings big. We visited the gardens on a 24-hour layover in Singapore. We spent 5 hours at the gardens and only saw about half of the attractions.

Gardens by the Bay has several attractions to explore: the Cloud Forest, Flower Dome, Floral Fantasy, Super Tree Observatory, OCBC Skyway, Garden Rhapsody light show, outdoor gardens, kids play areas, and dining areas.

Getting to and around the gardens

Gardens by the Bay is built on reclaimed land on the Bay, behind the Marina Bay Sands.

There are 2 fully accessible MRT stations nearby (check out my post on using public transport in Singapore). We took the Bayfront MRT (about a 10-minute walk from the main area of the gardens). There is also the Marina Bay MRT (about 15-minutes). There are also accessible bus routes from the city to the gardens.

Built in 2012, the gardens have modern, wide concrete and paved pathways throughout. I found it to be very smooth and comfortable for me in the wheelchair. Elevators are located throughout the attractions. For those who cannot walk long distances, there are shuttle buggies available and manual wheelchairs for hire.

All of the outdoor attractions, including Garden Rhapsody, are free. But you do need to pay for the indoor attractions. These are not particularly cheap –– we purchased the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest combo which was $46 SDG each for non-residents.

Unfortunately, there are no disability or companion discounts at Gardens by the Bay. You can purchase tickets online or via the app, or purchase on the day. We purchased on the day and although the gardens were busy, we only waited 5 minutes in the ticket queue.

We visited the gardens at around 3 PM through to 8 PM. This was probably the busiest time of day because most people visit in the evening to see the Garden Rhapsody light show. It also was extra crowded because it was school holidays. If, like me, you don’t love crowds of tourists, I recommend visiting early in the day and avoiding holidays/weekends.

Dining options

There are several food options to choose from in the Gardens by the Bay precinct. You’ll find everything from fast food (McDonald’s, Shake Shack), cafés (Starbucks), sushi, ice cream, seafood restaurants, to food halls.

We had a late lunch/early dinner at Satay by the Bay. Satay by the Bay is a mini-hawker centre. Here, you will find local cuisine, including chili crab, barbecue seafood, and stir-fry. This is located near the waterfront and was much quieter than the fast-food and restaurant options in the central precinct.

Since we were at Satay by the Bay, the obvious choice for us was Satay! These tender beef and chicken skewers with sweet and mildly spicy satay sauce were delicious. We had to go back to the vendor twice to get more satay sauce it was that good.

Outdoor gardens

There are several outdoor gardens to explore. We visited the Kingfisher lakes, Kingfisher wetlands, Bay East Garden, and few other gardens on the eastern side. The western side has a lot of other themed gardens that we just didn’t get time to explore.

Despite the busyness of some of the bigger attractions, the outdoor gardens we explored were quiet. There were also lots of places to sit under the trees to get some shade from the sun. We wandered past Lily ponds, mangroves, waterfalls cascading over small rock formations, and gardens full of palm trees, flame trees, and colourful shrubs and flowers.

There was a ton of wildlife. We saw kingfishers, egrets, koi fish, lizards, and turtles. Dad even spotted something they don’t advertise in the brochure… a tree snake that apparently slithered right past us. Given my mum’s snake phobia, dad didn’t tell us until later that night.

Flower Dome

The Flower Dome, as the name suggests, is a massive glass dome full of flowers. Bright sunlight streams through the glass ceiling. However, the dome is temperature controlled to a comfortable Mediterranean climate.

The dome is full of flower beds, arranged by geographical location. Each area features plants, trees, and flowers from across the world.

In the centre of the dome, there is usually a theme that changes every few months. When we visited, the theme was “the Rose Romance” mirroring an English rose garden. The central garden was full of roses of every colour scattered amongst English-themed props, including a castle and a red telephone box. The gardens and flowers themselves were pretty, but the props were a little too much.

Most of the gardens in the dome are at ground level, with gently sloping ramps throughout. There was one section that was upstairs, but there was a wheelchair platform stairlift available. I didn’t use this so not sure what the weight limits were or how it operated.

Throughout the garden, there were information signs providing details about the flowers and geographical regions. These were at the perfect height and angle for me to read from my wheelchair.

Cloud forest

The Cloud Forest was very impressive!

Entering the 58-metre high glass dome, we were faced with a 35-metre high man-made mountain covered in fernery. In front of us, there was a roaring waterfall cascading down the side of the mountain. Instantly, we felt the cooler temperature (23°C). The cloud Forest runs “misting hours” every 2^nd hour. As I didn’t want to get wet, we went for a non-misting hour but still got a little spray from the waterfall if we went too close.

Looking up, there were suspended walkways sloping up high into the sky towards the top of the mountain. As well as viewing platforms from within the mountain.

At ground level, there were gardens full of fernery, orchids, and lush vegetation. The concrete paths are wide and smooth. However, they might have been a little bit slippery by the looks of the condensation coming off the waterfall.

Next, we rode a large elevator up through the centre of the mountain. There are a couple of levels with different experiences. The crystal mountain had some cool stalactites and fossils inside a cave in the mountain. Here, you could peek out from behind the waterfall.

We exited out onto the suspended walkway known as the treetop walk. This walkway gently slopes around the mountain. Here, we got close to the outside of the mountain to view the plants embedded in the side of the mountain, before the walkway wound outwards towards the edge of the dome.

At the very top of the mountain, we entered the Lost World and the Cloud Walk. Due to the height of the walkway, there are some warnings at this level for people with blood pressure and other medical conditions. This suspended walkway makes you feel like you’re up in the clouds. Here we got amazing views through the glass panels out to Marina Bay. We also had a great view down on the treetop walk and ground-level gardens.

The waterfall, the gardens, the clouds, all sounds peaceful… Right? Sorry, I forgot to mention an important detail… DINOSAURS. Yes, you read that correctly.

When we visited, there was a Jurassic World promotion happening. Throughout the forest were life-sized animatronic dinosaurs roaring and squawking everywhere. The Jurassic Park theme song was also playing through speakers at various points in the garden and on the mountain.

While it was hilarious watching kids’ approaching T Rex looking terrified while trying to be brave, jetlagged me was hoping for something a little bit more tranquil in the cloud forest.

Supertree Grove

At sunset, we headed back outside towards the Super Tree Grove. From the main ticketing area and domes, there is an elevator down to the lower-level gardens where the Super Trees are located.

There are 12 Super Trees that are covered in over 150,000 plants! These trees range from 25-50m in height. They are not just there to look pretty. Some of the trees collect rainwater for irrigating the gardens and others form part of air circulation systems that regulate temperature in the indoor domes.

For a great view of the Super Tree Grove, you can pay a little extra to go up the OCBC Skyway and Super Tree Observatory. We didn’t worry about doing this, but I would say that the view of the gardens and the Bay would have been spectacular from up there.

In the evenings, the Super Tree Grove puts on “Garden Rhapsody”. This is a 10-15 minute light and music show, where the Super Trees light up in sync with the music soundtrack. The theme changes every month. When we visited, the theme was “Retro”. Our light show therefore had soundtrack of Earth Wind and Fire, Abba, the Bee Gees, to name a few.

We got to the Grove 30 minutes prior to the show. This turned out to be a good idea as even though the Grove is massive, it was very crowded. It also was a good opportunity to have a mini nap as the jetlag started to hit.

There are concrete pathways throughout the Grove which most people sat on. We found a garden bed and rock edging to sit at. The good thing is that no matter where you sit, or how crowded the Grove is, the Super Trees can be seen from anywhere.

After the light show, I recommend sitting back for 10-15 minutes to let the crowd disperse. There was also a bit of a line up to the elevator. Frustratingly, there were many people without disabilities or prams pushing ahead to take the elevator instead of the nearby steps.

Overall impressions

Gardens by the Bay has the perfect location right in the middle of Singapore. It is easy to get to and to get around. With its universal design, it was great for me in the wheelchair to not having to concentrate on paths or thinking about accessibility, I could just enjoy the experience.

There is something for almost everyone, with beautiful gardens, mind-boggling architecture, great food, activities for kids, and some mild adrenaline (if you don’t like heights).

Want more?

Check out the Accessible Singapore website for more helpful information.

Want to find out more about Singapore? Check out my other related posts:

How to see Singapore in a wheelchair

Getting around Singapore in a wheelchair

How to find accessible accommodation in Singapore

Disclaimer

All opinions expressed in this blog are my own and all reviews are non-solicited. I understand that every disability is different, and what works for me may not work for everyone – it’s important to do your own research on any destination or accommodation to make sure that it meets your accessibility requirements.