Singapore Zoo or Night Safari: Which Should You Choose?

Choose Singapore Zoo if you have a daytime slot in Singapore and want orangutans, giraffe feeding and a long walk; choose Night Safari, the park next door that calls itself the world's first nocturnal wildlife park, if you have an evening and want tapirs, lions and pangolins by tram and on foot. They are separate parks with separate tickets, but the zoo closes at 6pm just as Night Safari opens, so one 2 Attractions Destination Pass can cover both in a single day.

Which venue to choose

One operator, Mandai Wildlife Group, runs both, along with its neighbouring parks River Wonders, Bird Paradise and Rainforest Wild. Night Safari's 35 hectares of secondary rainforest border the zoo and Upper Seletar Reservoir, so location will not decide it for you. Timing will, and so will the animals you most want to see.

Singapore Zoo: orangutans and giraffes by day

The zoo's 28 hectares sit beside Upper Seletar Reservoir, inside Singapore's forested central catchment area, and more than 4,200 animals live here. Mandai sums up its approach like this:

As the world's best rainforest zoo, our 'open concept' lets you meet our free-ranging orangutans swinging through the trees or feed a giraffe from your palm.

Orangutans are the reason to come: the zoo's colony is the biggest kept anywhere in captivity, and Mandai's own zoo-and-Night-Safari itinerary sends you to the 11am Orangutan Keeper Talk. In Wild Africa you can book feeding sessions for giraffes, white rhinos and nyalas at S$8 per session, and the Fragile Forest is a walk-through biodome recreating a tropical rainforest, where two-toed sloths rest in the canopy among flying foxes and parrots. Into the Wild, which Mandai calls its newest animal presentation at the zoo, runs at 12pm and 2:30pm.

Featured location Singapore Zoo Singapore, Singapore The zoo is operated by Mandai Wildlife Group, which also runs Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise and Rainforest Wild. Together the five parks hold over 15,000 animals of 1,000 species.

Two changes affect what you will see. The African Penguin exhibit is closed for upgrading from 31 August to 30 November 2026. Further out, Mandai announced in July 2024 a new marine coastal habitat for the zoo's Californian sea lions and African penguins, due to be ready in 2027. For now, Mandai estimates its zoo highlights itinerary at 4 hours.

Night Safari: the forest after dark

Night Safari opened on 26 May 1994, and more than 900 nocturnal animals live along its four walking trails and tram route, from free-roaming Malayan tapirs to lions. Walk the Pangolin Trail for the animals of this region: the Sunda pangolin, Asian small-clawed otter, common palm civet, leopard cat and Sunda slow loris.

The tram shows you rare animals that the walking trails do not. Each ride takes approximately 30 minutes, depending on crowds, and English rides are complimentary and unlimited, so you can ride again at the end of the night. Mandai suggests 45 minutes to an hour to cover all the trails comfortably and estimates its Night Safari highlights itinerary at 3 hours. Fit in the Creatures of the Night presentation too, at 7:30pm, 8:30pm or 9:30pm, where the binturong and fennec fox now share the stage with new additions, the spotted hyaena and bearded pigs.

Featured location Night Safari Singapore, Singapore Mandai Wildlife Reserve operates five parks, this one alongside River Wonders, Bird Paradise, Rainforest Wild ASIA and the Singapore Zoo. Rather than reversing animals' cycles inside a nocturnal house, the whole open-air zoo simply runs from 7pm to midnight. It takes up 35 ha of secondary rainforest beside Upper Seletar Reservoir and the Singapore Zoo, cost S$63 million to build and was formally opened on 26 May 1994.

When doing both makes sense

The hours hand over neatly: the zoo's last entry is 5pm and it closes at 6pm, the hour Night Safari opens. If you want both, look at the 2 Attractions Destination Pass before buying two single tickets. It is valid for one day and covers any two of Singapore Zoo, River Wonders, Bird Paradise, Night Safari, Rainforest Wild Adventure and Exploria.

With Mandai estimating about 4 hours for the zoo and 3 for Night Safari, you do not need to be at the zoo gate at 8:30am. Arrive late morning and you still have time for the 2:30pm presentation and the 4pm Pack Walk before moving next door for the evening.

If a long day followed by a late night is too much, the same pass pairs the zoo with Bird Paradise instead. It spans 17 hectares, holds more than 3,500 birds of over 400 species in eight large walk-through aviaries, and is open 9am-6pm.

Tickets and saving money

These are Mandai's non-resident prices, checked September 2026.

• Singapore Zoo: S$49 for adults and S$34 for children.
• Night Safari: S$58 for adults and S$41 for children.
• 2 Attractions Destination Pass: S$88 for adults and S$60 for children aged 3-12, for any two parks on one day. Mandai says it saves up to 25% off single admission rates.

At both parks the tram is included in your ticket, and children under 3 go free when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult over 21. Buy a single Night Safari ticket and you still have to book a timeslot; since 1 July 2026 Destination Pass holders no longer do, which removes one booking from a two-park day. If you live in Singapore, sign up for WildPass, which is free and gives residents discounted admission.

Budget for extras at the zoo. A feeding session with giraffes, white rhinos or nyalas costs S$8, and the breakfast buffet at Ah Meng Restaurant, where you meet orangutans and macaws, starts at S$37 per person.

Best time to visit

Singapore has no distinct wet or dry season, though rainfall is higher from November to January, in the wet phase of the Northeast Monsoon. In the inter-monsoon periods, late March to May and October to November, thunderstorms, at times severe, come in the afternoon and early evening: the end of a zoo day and the start of a Night Safari visit. If the rain gets too heavy after dark, take the tram or shelter in a stall or gift shop near the Night Safari entrance.

Plan around Singapore's school holidays as well. In 2026 the June holiday runs from 30 May to 28 June and the year-end holiday from 21 November to 31 December.

At Night Safari, the time of evening matters more than the month. The gates open at 6pm, but the trails and tram only start at 7pm; last entry is 11:15pm and the last tram leaves at 11:20pm. Mandai recommends eating dinner before you go in, so arrive around 6pm, eat, and be at the tram when it starts.

If your trip falls between August and April, add a visit to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve for animals in the wild. It is Singapore's first ASEAN Heritage Park and an important site for migratory birds, and in those months you have a chance of shorebirds such as the whimbrel, common greenshank and Pacific golden plover.

Getting there

• Mandai Khatib Bus (M2): runs daily from 8:30am to midnight from Khatib MRT station (NS14), every 15 minutes, or every 20 minutes between 11pm and midnight. The fare is S$2.50 for adults and for children aged 7-12. The last bus leaves at midnight, so if you stay until Night Safari closes you are catching one of the final buses.
• Taxi: there are designated taxi stands at the Mandai Wildlife EAST car park (Car Park 2) and at Mandai Wildlife WEST (Bird Paradise).
• Car: parking costs S$3 for the first hour and S$2 for each hour after, capped at S$10 per entry, so a zoo-and-Night-Safari day in one car park costs no more than S$10.

With kids and accessibility

With young children, the zoo is the easier choice. KidzWorld offers up-close animal encounters and interactive play, and the 4pm Pack Walk is a good last stop before Night Safari opens. After dark, remind everyone to switch off the camera flash, which Night Safari says may blind, disturb or startle the animals.

If anyone in your group uses a wheelchair, Singapore Zoo has complimentary self-service wheelchairs for visitors with limited mobility, and some Night Safari trams have special slots for wheelchairs. For visitors with sensory sensitivities, Mandai's sensory maps mark enclosed spaces with free-ranging animals, quiet zones and places with strong sensory inputs, which helps you plan a route through a park you will mostly see in the dark.