This is a blog version of a video guide I published on YouTube:
Hello Adventurers!
In this post I’ll be sharing the BEST Night Safari itinerary. If you dont want to waste time queueing and want to see everything, this route is perfect for you.
Don’t miss out on the 5% off when you use code DASHINGHEIGHTS when booking on KLOOK!
Let’s begin!
The Problem
The big problem with night safari is that we only have a few hours in the night and it gets very dark once the sun sets. It’s also super crowded- even on weekday nights If you run out of time you might miss out seeing some of the animals… which is going to be very sad.
There are essentially 3 main things you can do in Night Safari
- The Walking Trails
- Creatures of the Night Animal Show
- and The Tram Ride
The Itinerary
So let’s start with our itinerary!
Head to the night safari entrance gantry at 6:30 PM. They officially open at 7, but sometimes the gates open earlier so we won’t say no to extra time.
The Walking Trail
FIRST, we are taking the walking trail that consistis of 4 trails. In total, it’s a 1-1.5 hour long point to point walking route along many animal exhibits.
The first time i was on the walking trail, I was SUPER SAD. My animal show was gonna start in 30 minutes, but i decided to start walking the trail. Just as I was enjoying my walk, I had to turn back to catch my show because the trail only allows entry and exit at the start and the end.
You cant just hop on 1 trail now, go do something else, and continue on later. So FULLY enjoy the walk, you’ll need to commit the next hour.
Preferably also clear your bladder because there are only toilets at the start and the halfway mark of the trail.
OR MAYBE…. you can just answer nature’s call between the trees, it’ll be dark so no one can see you… Just kidding I don’t recommend that, but I won’t judge.
Fishing Cat Trail
We’ll start from the Fishing Cat Trail and go clockwise.
By the way, we are starting with the walk first because we want to make the best use of the remaining sunlight to make spotting the animals a lot easier.
Just compare this:
Here are the stars of the fishing cat trail:
Further in, you’ll find the explorer outpost, which is an animal presentation area. Sometimes there will be keeper talks here where they’ll show off their animal. However, their schedule is not fixed so if they’re not there, just skip past it.
Leopard Trail
After crossing some roads, we reach the leopard trail which is ABIT confusing to walk. But dont worry, we’ll keep it simple by keeping left and cover the big loop first.
The special attractions here are the enclosures of the flying fox and civet. They are very worth while to visit because you’re GUARANTEED to see the animals there.
At this point, it’ll be a lot darker than when you first started. The areas within the enclosures are better lit, And with the keeper around, the animals tend to be more active and visible. That’s why you’ll definitely be able to see animals easily
After the second enclosure, find the lion’s lookout. Take a GOOOD look at the lions because this will be important later.
Here is the mid point where you can find the toilets after this, there won’t be any more toilets until the exit.
My favorite part of this trail or maybe my favorite of the whole Night Safari is the Indian Rhino:
Just look at this majestic BEAST he’s got such a badass armor on. You can join the rhino feeding session but I think it’s cool enough to just watch
East Lodge Trail
Now we are entering the East lodge trail. Right on your left after you cross the road, theres a huge sloth bear. However it’s really dark and the bear is black so you might have trouble finding him.
The coolest animal here is spotted hyena because the whole family are so visible and active. Making it more fun to watch. It also feels like they can just hop over and eat you up.
Also, Remember about the lions just now?
This is where i learnt there are actually 2 types of lions in the world. I’ve always thought that lions come from Africa. These are the ones we are seeing now. The lions we saw earlier are the Asiatic Lions from India.
There are also white tigers here, BUT it’s so dark and the viewing window is so small. I didnt really enjoy watching them here.
If you like ACTIVE animals you’re gonna love the next trail.
The Tasmanian Devil Trail
At first The name might be a little scary, but dont worry, there are no devils here, only angels!
This trail is named after these rat like animal that gets their name from the DEVILISH sound they make.
In fact they are kinda cute.
This trail also has a unique CAVE displaying many cave dwelling animals. Check out this glowing scorpion:
Finishing the walking trail should take us 1 to 1.5 hours after which we’ll find ourself almost where we first started the walking trail.
The Animal Show
Now we are just in time for the 8.30 pm show at the amphitheatre: The Creatures of the Night.
BUT WAIT!! For us to watch the show, We need to secure our seats because slots are LIMITED. Booking opens 2 hours before the start of the show. So at 6.30pm before we even reach the zoo, we need to be in THIS website and book our seats for the show.
Dont be like me, I thought I could just walk in. I got turned away and actually missed the slot I wanted.
Here I’ll show you some snippets of the show, so you’ll know what you’re getting into:
Personally, I recommend watching for these 3 reasons:
- It was fantastic to see so many of the nocturnal animals in 1 sitting. After walking the whole trails and squinting in the dark to spot the animals, having the keeper just show you the animal is very nice
- The animal tricks are also very cool. I feel that the keepers have a great working relationship with their animals. When the animals refuse to do a trick they are not FORCED to do it. It adds another layer of amazement to me to witness that the animals are doing the tricks out of their partnership with the keepers rather than out of fear of punishment.
- Some animals you see in the show cannot be found anywhere else in the park. So you have to come watch if you want to see everything!
- Just like the foxtrot
- Serval
- Eurasian eagle owl
- White racoon
Helpful?
By the way, if you find this guide helpful so far, please leave a like so that it can reach more people, Thank you very much!!
The Tram Ride
Next we’re gonna catch the rest of the animals in the night safari on the tram. You might have passed by a BIG crowd queueing for the tram when you walk by. The queue is crazy LONG earlier in the evening
Thats why we’re only getting onto the tram after we finish the trail AND the animal show because by now, the queue should look more like this:
This will save us at least 30 mins or 1 hour of queueing.
The best part is, Instead of standing in line, we were walking the trails watching night animals under the light of the setting sun.
When getting on the tram, aim for the FRONT car and sit on the RIGHT side. These are the best seats because being at the front lets you anticipate the incoming animals, and based on the route, the most interesting animals will be on the right side of the road.
However do note that the front most car is prioritised for handicapped guests there are luggage space where you can keep your baby strollers in the tram.
Now, here are some of the snippets of the BEST view on the tram that made me wanna take the tram again
The good parts
- Some of the animals such as the Elephants, Malayan Tapir, and the eers can only be seen on the tram route. As a city boy, It was such a fantastic feeling to drive by a herd of grazing deers.
- The tram is manually driven, and will actually stop at designated spots to give people more time to watch and adore the animals. This is a game changer because if the tram just drives by, the experience will feel super rushed.
Thanks to my tram driver, who was excellent and very watchful, we were able to spot the Malayan Tapir. He carefully navigated the tram to let the tapir roam near us, allowing everyone to see it up close.
I had just one problem with the tram ride.
There’s an audio guide playing through the speakers, but the tram engine is quite loud, and other passengers often talk over it. I wish there was an alternative visual guide we could refer to, like a webpage for each tram stop that I can access on the go.
Mandai, hit me up if you want to work on this together!
Overall think the tram ride is worth going, especially if you follow my itinerary and AVOID the horrendously long queue
Don’t Visit…
After all that, I dont think you should visit the Night Safari
Without ALSO dropping by the Bird Paradise or the Singapore Zoo in the day!!!
I’ll see you there 🙂
Useful Links
- Get 5% Off when you buy tickets to the Night Safari using code DASHINGHEIGHTSKLOOK
- Or you can buy directly at Mandai
- Night Safari Official Map
- Animal Show Booking
Dashing Heights 