Gardens by the Bay is a huge garden park in Marina Bay, Singapore. It is a man-made garden filled with incredible plants, flowers and trees from all over the world. For any photo-lover, Gardens by the Bay is a must try experience with friends and family. There are simply too many fantastic locations to get incredible photos. However, some of the best locations are behind paid exhibitions, such as the Cloud Forest, Flower Dome and Floral Fantasy. I’ve already written about my experience to both the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome and now I’m going to include Floral Fantasy to this article.
You can purchase your tickets to access the exhibits in advance from various vendors. My choice is usually Klook, but Pelago and other vendors offer some good competitive rates. If you are lucky, you can purchase an all in one experience ticket which usually gives you access to all the exhibits at Gardens by the Bay and more for around S$40. Otherwise it is about A$80 for an adult ticket to all the exhibits: Cloud Forest, Flower Dome and Floral Fantasy. This ticket doesn’t give you access to the golf car.
I recommend visiting the Cloud Forest first. It the by far the most interesting and it’s best to do it when you are starting out given there are some long distances to traverse in this garden. As you walk in, you are greeted to an incredible waterfall. This waterfall stretches the length of the huge spire in the middle of this artificial “Cloud Forest”. If you look up from the base of the waterfall, you can spot the clouds forming along the spire’s peak.
As you climb the spire, you are introduced to several different plant and flower garden beds and worthwhile vistas. If you missed your chance at the entrance (due to other tourists in the way), you can grab a photo with the waterfall at different heights as they provide various photo points the higher you go.
For people with young kids, my main annoyance was that elevators were not working or broken on my visit. It made traversing the Cloud Forest difficult with a pram.
I also noticed this time visiting that there was a lot of stuff under construction for the upcoming Avatar exhibit.
Before exiting, be sure to see the under spire garden with plenty of animal-like plant and flower arrangements.
| Highlights | Waterfall and man-made clouds in the Cloud Forest, colourful flowers in the Flower Dome and interesting array of decorations in the Floral Fantasy |
| Cost | A$80 for a combo ticket: https://www.klook.com/en-AU/activity/127-gardens-by-the-bay-singapore/ |
| Location | 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953 |
| Website | https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/ |
Given it’s proximity, after finishing with the Cloud Forest you can walk across to the Flower Dome. There are less places to visit in the Flower Dome, but it is filled with much more vibrant, colourful flowers. There are a variety of different backgrounds and scenery to wander around. You can pretty much make one round, around the perimeter of the garden to get a sense of the whole place. Unlike the Cloud Forest, most of the things to see in the Flower Dome are on one level so it doesn’t quite feel like a labyrinth. But at least it feels just as large as the Cloud Forest thanks to its a high dome. I don’t normally spend much time in the Flower Dome, but it’s worth checking out for the photo opportunities and the chance to see a wonderfully curated displays of flowers.
The Floral Fantasy is close to the entrance to Gardens by the Bay if you are visiting and walking from the Harbourfront Station. I made Floral Fantasy the last stop on our way back to Marina Bay Sands. Floral Fantasy is an exhibits that only takes 15 minutes as it is not grand like the others. What makes this exhibit interesting is just the amount of out of this world immersion. It’s like traveling to a fantasy paradise from one spot to the next. Some of the spots are just so magical and fairy-tale like. I found myself spending minutes just adoring at some of the incredible vistas on display.
Most of the displays are elegant to the extreme. Colourful, yet so organised and perfect.
In terms of access, you can walk to Gardens by the Bay using the underground walkway from Harbourfront Station from Marina Bay Sands to the entrance to Gardens by the Bay. At the entrance, you can pay S$5 to travel on the golf car to the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome or just walk 15 minutes to the venue. Walking allows you to enjoy the various displays on the way.
The whole experience is worth visiting for any first timer to Singapore because it provides that whole other dimension to Singapore.
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