Woodlands and Sembawang sit at the top of the island, and this morning crosses the far north from west to east. You start on a jetty that points at Johor, eat in an 11-storey block that holds flats, a medical centre and a hawker centre, soak your feet in Singapore's only natural hot spring and finish on a beach with a jetty of its own. We'd be on the first jetty by 7am, before the sun has any height.
Pick a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday if you can. The hot spring is busiest on weekday evenings and all day at weekends, and its foot-bath pool is shut for cleaning every Monday and Thursday from 11am to 2pm. Nothing on this route needs a ticket, but a jetty is open to the sky, so carry water and a hat.
Where to start
Woodlands North MRT (TE1), Exit 2
When to go
Morning, start by 7am
Stop by stop
We'd do these in order, and each linked stop has its price and directions.
7:00 AM
The jetty at Woodlands Waterfront
Woodlands North MRT is the station NParks lists for Woodlands Waterfront, and Exit 2 is the closer exit, with the park under a kilometre away. Walk the 400-metre jetty, the northernmost point of mainland Singapore, and look across the strait to Johor. Long-tailed macaques live here, so don't feed them. Give it an hour.
8:30 AM
Eat at Kampung Admiralty
Ride one stop to Woodlands, change to the North-South Line and get off at Admiralty, where the plaza of Kampung Admiralty links to the station. This 11-storey block holds flats for the elderly, a medical centre, a childcare centre and a 900-seat hawker centre, a hall of small cooked-food stalls, on the second storey. Each stall keeps its own hours, so choose by the queue.
10:15 AM
Warm feet at Sembawang Hot Spring
Ride two stops from Admiralty to Canberra MRT, then cover the last stretch, just over a kilometre, on foot or by short taxi ride to Sembawang Hot Spring. Sit on the edge of the cascading pool, where hot water cools as it steps down four tiers, and bring a pail. The foot-bath pool shuts every Monday and Thursday from 11am to 2pm, so this timing beats it.
12:00 PM
The old jetty at Sembawang Park
A taxi saves the transfers; by train, go back through Canberra to Sembawang MRT and take bus 882 to the Sembawang Pk stop. Sembawang Park holds the north's only natural beach open to the public and a 30-metre jetty the British started in the early 1940s. NParks closes parts of the jetty for repairs at times, so keep to the open section.
Save for another day
- Admiralty Park and its 26 slides, which suit a morning with children
- Yishun Pond Park beside Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, a short visit of its own
- The Sungei Simpang kayak trip, which takes the whole morning from Sembawang Park
Before you go
Book ahead where you need to, and turn up for the rest.
Woodlands Waterfront ParkWoodlands · FreeGoKampung AdmiraltyAdmiralty · FreeGo
Sembawang Hot Spring ParkSembawang · FreeGo
Sembawang ParkSembawang · FreeGoSungei Simpang Kayak TrailSembawang · About S$105Tickets Woodlands to Sembawang questions
Can I do Woodlands to Sembawang by MRT and bus?
Yes, mostly by train. The North-South Line connects Woodlands, Admiralty, Sembawang and Canberra, and bus 882 runs from Sembawang MRT to the park between 5.20am and 11.45pm. The one gap is the 1.2km between Canberra MRT and the hot spring, which you can walk or cover with a short taxi ride.
Is Kampung Admiralty worth a stop on this route?
Yes, for a meal and for the building itself. HDB completed it in 2017 as housing for the elderly with a medical centre, a childcare centre and shops, and it won World Building of the Year at the 2018 World Architecture Festival. Eat in the hawker centre on the second storey, then look down at the plaza before you go.
Can I kayak the Sungei Simpang mangroves on this route?
Yes, but as a swap for the first three stops rather than an addition. Kayak Asia's Sungei Simpang trip leaves from Sembawang Park at 7.15am and returns about 11.45am, tides allowing. Book it first, then keep the hot spring for another weekday.
Should I save Sembawang Park for sunset instead?
If you can, yes: the walk out along the jetty is the main event, and the light is kinder in the evening. NParks keeps the park open 24 hours, and bus 882 runs until 11.45pm, so it works as a short trip of its own. Our hot spring and jetty day is built that way.
Does the Woodlands to Sembawang route work on a Monday?
Yes, if you reach the hot spring before 11am. The park stays open from 7am to 7pm, but its cascading foot-bath pool shuts every Monday and Thursday from 11am to 2pm. The two jetties are open 24 hours, and each hawker stall keeps its own days, so check before you commit to one.
Stories from along the way
Longer reads on the places you'll pass through.
