Twin Hut

Getty Images/Flickr Open

Pulau Ubin

Pulau Ubin


A 10-minute bumboat ride (motorised sampan) from Changi Point Ferry Terminal lands you on the shores of Pulau Ubin. Singaporeans like to wax nostalgic about Ubin’s kampung (village) atmosphere and it has thus far resisted the lure of cashed-up developers. It remains a rural, unkempt expanse of jungle. Tin-roofed buildings bake in the sun, chickens squawk and panting dogs slump in the dust. The best way to get around is by bike (per day S$6 to S$25).

Trundle off on your bike and see where the road takes you. For those keen on scraping their knees, there’s Ketam Mountain Bike Park, with over a dozen trails of varying difficulty. You can also take a trip to the Chek Jawa Wetlands in the island’s east. A 1km coastal boardwalk takes you out to sea and loops back through the mangrove swamp and the 20m-high Jejawi Tower offers stunning views of the area. There are several places to eat near the ferry terminal – or if nothing takes your fancy head back to the mainland and the flavour-packed Changi Village Hawker Centre.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Pulau Ubin attractions

1. Wei Tuo Fa Gong Temple

0.28 MILES

Sitting on a small hillock overlooking a pond filled with carp and turtles, this 80-year-old temple decorated with thousands of prayer flags, contains a…

2. Pulau Ubin Village

0.55 MILES

Although not really a tourist sight, Pulau Ubin's only village of note is a ramshackle time capsule of Singapore's past and an interesting place to wander…

3. German Girl Shrine

1.06 MILES

Housed in a wooden hut beside an Assam tree, this shrine is one of the island's quirkier sights. Legend has it that the young daughter of a German coffee…

4. House No. 1

1.71 MILES

This black and white Tudor-style house was built in the 1930s as a retreat for the Chief Surveyor of Singapore and has supposedly the country's only…

5. Chek Jawa Wetlands

1.75 MILES

If you only have time for one part of Pulau Ubin, make it this part. Skirting the island's southeast, Chek Jawa Wetlands features a 1km coastal boardwalk…

6. Jejawi Tower

1.75 MILES

Located in the Chek Jawa Wetlands, this 20m-high viewing tower has a fantastic view of the surrounding jungle and ocean. Keep an eye out for the abundant…

7. Changi Village

2.16 MILES

The low-slung buildings are modern, but Changi Village maintains its village atmosphere; the lively hawker centre next to the bus terminus is the focal…

8. Pasir Ris Park

2.23 MILES

Stretching a couple of kilometres along the northeast coast, a short walk from Pasir Ris MRT station, this peaceful, 70-hectare waterside park has no…