We went to Asia’s Largest Bird Park: Bird Paradise Singapore
We recently went to Bird Paradise with our friends + their toddler over the weekend and here’s our experience & tips to help you get the most out of your trip!
All 5 of us had a splendid time and I think we planned our way around the park quite nicely. I’ll be sharing my tips on getting around the park to make the most out of your ticket - best timings to enter, where to go for meal times, which shows to catch & more!
Map of Bird Paradise
I would highly encourage you to take a look at the map before entering because it can help to plan your way around to meet the show timings + lunch and/or dinner conveniently.
What we did
We did not utilise the shuttle at all and explored everywhere on foot. If you are bringing a stroller, the park is 100% stroller-friendly! I would also assume the same for those visiting with wheelchair.
We entered the park at 10am and went straight to the Winged Sanctuary. Our plan was to visit as many zones as possible in a clockwise direction until 12noon, and then we will make our way to the Sky Amphitheatre for the 12.30pm Wings of the World show.
We wanted to have a bit of a walk before taking advantage of being able to sit and rest while watching the shows, so we skipped the 10.30am Predators on Wings. We wanted enough time to get good seats as well, so we didn’t jump straight to the shows in the beginning.
Our walk around the park was extremely pleasant considering Singapore’s high density & being one of the top tourist attractions in Asia. We never had to rub shoulders with anyone, or say, “Sorry, excuse me” haha. This made our experience a lot more enjoyable!
I think it would have been torture if we had to battle the crowd + humidity. A lot of the zones were open air, so be prepared to fend yourself from the sun throughout the day.
Our tip would be to dress like you’re going for a long jog in Singapore’s weather. The best kind of attire would be athleisure, which we saw so many people (including ourselves) wearing.
Do bring your own bottles to stay hydrated under the sun as vending machines were not easy to find - at least I didn’t spot many, or any at all. I heard from my friends that there are water dispensers where the bathrooms are, which are plenty around the park and they are acceptably clean to use.
Shows at the park
There are only 2 shows at the park and their timings are pretty well spaced for you to catch them both easily while you are there.
No pre-booking is required and it is free seating. If you like to be front & center, you need to go about 30 minutes early. However, since the benches are built on a slant, you would have a good view of the show on the last couple of rows as well! One of the perks of sitting further behind is that you’ll be in close proximity to the space fans, which can really cool you down. These seats get taken up fast as the fans are the only motorised ventilation so be there early!
Both of the shows lasted no more than 30 minutes each, and it felt very short and sweet! I found the shows engaging and educational, so it’s definitely worth the watch. There aren’t any audience participation as compared to the other parks in the Mandai collection. My friends and I agreed that shows involving 4-legged creatures have more to showcase, but it was still captivating to look at birds we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
Lunch at Crimson Restaurant
Out of our entire Bird Paradise experience, our dining experience was the lowest point. As you can see from the park’s map, there are a lot of dining options at various price points. You can even leave the park for other dining options within the Mandai Collection and re-enter. But our group chose to eat at Crimson because we thought the ambience and food would be nicer than the other options. Plus, this restaurant came with a view so our expectations were pretty high!
This was almost everything we ordered, excluding 2 mains our friends ordered that I didn’t take a photo of - Lamb Shank Rendang & Meatless Sunrise Platter
I have to respectfully share that this restaurant’s food quality does not live up to its 4.6⭐️ Google Review. Our non-fussy/foodie friend rated her meatless sunrise platter as almost inedible. It was the worst dish on our table. The rest of us lucked out and had pretty okay dishes, but none that matched up to its price point of ~$32++ per pax for the mains.
If you’re visiting with a stroller,
We almost could not sit at the table by the view because we were told by the staff that strollers are not allowed at those tables. We would have to sit at a far corner if we wanted the stroller at our table. Otherwise, the stroller remains outside the restaurant.
Typically, this wouldn’t be an issue, but it was baby’s nap time, and we specifically chose the less popular (because it’s more expensive) dining option because we wanted to accommodate to nap time. In the end, our friend wore their child in a carrier while we had lunch.
Let’s talk about the view & dining experience -
The view was great, and my photo does not do it justice! It was quite a nice view and we almost perpetually had parrots & other birds by our table the entire time. I think it’s a great idea to have a restaurant that offered something like this in the park. It was the dining standard that did not match up to the vibes. We’re nitpicking to some extent, but here’s our verdict:
We saw 2 glass bottles of water, tagged at $9 each on our table. We were free to open them for consumption, and be charged $9++. I thought this was funny because upscale restaurants definitely do not dangle premium water with price tags on the table. It gave budget airline vibes. It was more worth it to order drinks at $12++ and that was what we did.
For >$30++ per main, one would expect bread or complementary appetizers on the table to start but there were none of that. The table was also not arranged in the way other restaurants in Singapore would at the same price point - table cloth, plates & cutleries laid out. We were given utensils & napkins in a basket.
The restaurant served both Asian & Western food. The Western food did not taste Western at all, and I think they do Asian food better.
The restaurant has a kids menu, and is equipped with high chairs - telling us that they welcome kids. However, the staff did not make us feel that they were welcoming to kids. Our experience with the stroller incident + observing another table not far from ours with a loud child - the restaurant manager kept telling the parents to quiet their daughter. The restaurant had about 5 tables occupied out of 20-25, it was pretty empty. We thought it was quite ridiculous to tell a child to be dead silent because a child is going to be a child, and as adults, we should be understanding, especially when the restaurant is not full.
If you absolutely do not need to eat somewhere upscale at this park, I’ll say go for the other options which we did not get to try. But just outside Bird Paradise, there are easily 5 - 10 F&B options most of us are familiar with - Starbucks, Birds of Paradise, A&W, etc. There are also other options within Bird Paradise!
Post-lunch
We almost did not have time for the 2.30pm show after our lunch but still made it shy of a few minutes! Right after the show, we went ahead to get refreshments at Starbucks.
One thing to note is that it is quite a far walk from the Amphitheatre to the park’s exit. However, the path was well built and complete with shelter, so it was not uncomfortable for us at all. The Starbucks was not packed at about 3.30pm either so we took advantage of the A/C with our drinks for a bit.
We then went ahead to finish all the zones before heading to the kids play area.
Egg Splash
This is the kids’ play area in the park! It was filled with kids and lots of benches for the adults to supervise over them. Changing rooms are also in the same area + a fast food dining option!
Hopefully when you visit it is on a bright and sunny day, because your kid(s) will not be allowed to play if there is a lightning risk alert. We were lucky to only wait for about 20 minutes before the alert went away and our friends’ toddler had a splashing good time.
Other details that make Bird Paradise family-friendly
Between each zone, there is an air-conditioned room filled with seats and extra educational content relevant to the adjacent zones. Some of them have activities, making it a perfect rest stop and hideaway from the weather when needed.
We felt that the park was incredibly well-designed and it took into account all ages of the family. For us, it was so good to get a hit of coolness for a few minutes before venturing to the next zone again.
Ticket purchase
We managed to score 1-for-1 tickets for 4 of us with my Trust+ account. The promotion is only valid for up to 4 tickets, and it’s free for children under 2 years old.
We later learnt that the SAF gave out free admission for 4 tickets as well, so if you know someone in the civil service, you might be able to visit one of the parks for free!
Conclusion
We had such a great time overall, even our dining experience didn’t change the wonderful time spent at the park for us! I feel grateful that Singapore built such a thoughtful attraction for us to visit, and that it is home to so many incredible species of birds that I would never be able to see in real life otherwise.
The highlight of my experience:
I left out A LOT because I know some of you reading this might be planning to go on your own. There’s lots to discover, sometimes even more than just birds! I felt the most alive watching the penguins, and it’s by far, the most comfortable zone as well since it is fully air-conditioned unlike the rest haha. I have a new found love for penguins! I hope you’ll be able to experience the same when you do go:)
Would I go again?
I’m definitely keen to take my family! Hopefully we’ll be able to take advantage of some of the ticket purchase perks the next time as well. We’re looking forward to experiencing Rainforest Wild Asia soon~
