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Discover the best things to do at Changi Airport with kids with fun activities for families at Singapore airport with kids. These Singapore Airport kids attractions and activities will make your stopover feel like a mini-vacation. From gardens to slides, butterflies and fish, there is something to delight kids of all ages.
Travelling from one side of the world to another can mean lengthy stopovers and downtime at international airports between flight changes.
Changi Airport in Singapore is one we have spent a lot of time at in between our destinations, from short 2 hour breaks between flights to several hours of dragging time waiting for our connecting flights.
The challenge during stopovers is keeping kids entertained. Thankfully there are plenty of things to do at Changi Airport to keep the kids occupied. Even more with their expansion for terminal 4. This airport just keeps getting better!
So we wanted to put together our top tips for things to do at Changi Airport with kids, to help you make the most of your stopover!
Got a long delay? Book into an airport hotel for a sleep
TOP THINGS TO DO AT CHANGI AIRPORT WITH KIDS
Changi Airport has continued to grow over the decades due to being the central hub for so many international destinations, opening terminal 1 back in 1981.
The subsequent 2nd and 3rd terminals opened in 1991 and 2008, with Jewel Changi Airport expansion opening in 2019.
The airport is massive, with trains to transit you between the different terminals. Each terminal is also home to some pretty impressive attractions, as well as the usual necessities like food, amenities and shops.
Singapore’s Changi Airport is easily one of the best airports in the world!
So how do you keep the kids entertained?
1 – Ride The SkyTrain
The sights along the way are not overly exciting, with a small peek at greater Singapore… and a lot of airport!
However kids love trains, so having a ride between terminals to see what else they can discover at the other end can be a lot of fun.
The train trips are around 5 minutes between each terminal and come frequently. This means you can easily move between terminals to explore the rest of the fun Changi Airport attractions during your visit.
2 – Butterfly Garden
‘The Changi Airport Butterfly Garden is always one of our first places to visit when on a layover in Singapore. This was even before we had kids, but now it’s even better because they love it so much!
Check out our short video from our most recent Butterfly House visit:
The Butterfly Garden is home to an abundance of beautiful coloured plants and flowers to keep the wide range of butterflies happy.
There are educational resources within the Butterfly Garden, which will appeal to older kids and adults, but otherwise, just the excitement of possibly having a butterfly land on you is a special experience.
The Butterfly Garden is located in Terminal 3 of Changi Airport.
3 – Catch a Movie
Changi Airport is home to a free 24-hour cinema, showing new release blockbusters or older family-friendly flicks, suitable for the whole family.
If you want some downtime in between flights, catching a movie might be the perfect way to entertain the kids, while also keeping them quiet and still for a couple of hours.
This can be a challenge with younger kids, so maybe you will score a nap out of them instead if you can have them sit still long enough!
Fox Movies Premium Channel screens on the cinema located in Terminal 2, or a second cinema located in Terminal 3.
4 – Ride World’s Tallest Indoor The Slide
For the bigger kids (and adults) who want something to get the adrenaline pumping, Changi Airport is home to the world’s tallest indoor slide. It is the tallest slide in Singapore.
The slide is 12 metres high, or 4 storeys, and reaches speeds of up to 6 metres per second.
There is an age and height restriction on the slide for ages 7 and up, with a smaller slide also within the terminal for ages 5 and up.
For every $10 you spend at Changi Airport and show your receipt, you get a complimentary ticket for the slide. It is located in Terminal 3.
5 – Discover the Entertainment Deck
If gaming and technology are your kid’s style, there is plenty of things to do at Changi Airport Entertainment Deck.
From Xbox One and Playstation gaming consoles, the Xbox Kinect sports room for getting a little active and the MTV booth. There is plenty of fun for big kids and small, and even the teenagers. Best of all, it is completely free!
The Entertainment Deck is located in Terminal 2.
6 – The Enchanted Garden
Amaze the kids with the beauty that fills the Enchanted Garden, with motion sensors activated by sight and sound allowing the garden to come to life in an array of blooming fibre-optic and LED lighting effects.
Sure to impress even the youngest kids. It also makes for a pretty cool selfie spot, right!!
The Enchanted Garden is located in Terminal 2.
7 – Visit the Koi Pond
Take the kids to see the koi fish swimming in the pond. They can learn all about koi fish and if you time it right, they may even have the opportunity to feed the fish during the daily fish feeding sessions.
The Singapore Airport koi pond is located in Terminal 3.
8 – Playgrounds
There is an impressive set of playgrounds within Changi Airport, with features suitable for very young children, right up to older children.
This was popular with both our girls on their first and subsequent visits to the airport. You really can’t go wrong with a good playground!
There are play areas in each of the terminals for your convenience! They each have different features and play equipment.
9 – Family Zone
Designed to cater for families with young children and babies, the family zone has facilities such as nappy change areas but also has play equipment and cartoons to watch, to provide entertainment and a place to keep an eye on the kids without having to chase them through the entire airport.
The family zone is located in Terminal 2.
10 – Free Singapore City Tours
If you happen to have 6 hours or more between flights, take advantage of the free Singapore city tours available to travellers.
The free tours need to be booked and are only available when you have the minimum time available, to ensure there is plenty of time to get back before your flights depart.
The tours go for approximately 2.5 hours with a City Lights tour running twice per day and a Heritage tour running four times each day.
This is a great way to experience a new country on your way to your destination, and kids love new sights. There is a booking booth located in each terminal.
Related Reading: The Best Things To Do In Singapore
More Changi Kids & Family Attractions
Here are some other great ideas for what to do at Changi Airport during your stopover:
Terminal 1
- Cactus garden
- Kinetic Rain exhibit
- Peranakan Gallery
- Social Tree
- Water Lily Garden
Terminal 2
- Orchid Garden
- Sunflower Garden
Terminal 3
- Crystal Garden
Terminal 4
- Entertainment Corner
Jewel
Jewel Changi Airport brings the outdoors to the indoors with a mammoth indoor waterfall, hedge mazes, art installations, water features and so much more fun for the whole family.
- Hedge maze
- Indoor slides
- Canopy walk
- Mirror maze
- Rain vortex
- Forest Valley
And of course, there is plenty of shopping outlets and dining throughout the airport, in each terminal.
Or you may want to go on an art walk, as there is some incredible sculptures scattered throughout the airport, giving it an incredibly modern feel and something new to discover around every corner.
There are so many things to do at Changi Airport in Singapore, so you won’t be short of activities and attractions to fill your time.
As well as these top suggestions for entertaining the kids, there are lots of other features to check out, including lots of as outdoor garden areas to help you minimise the risk of jetlag.
Natural sunlight can be a big help!
And if you are lucky enough to be staying in Singapore, book your tickets for the official Singapore Airport shuffle to your hotel.
Do you know of any other things to do in Singapore Airport that we’ve missed? Tell us!
Make sure you check out our guide for flying with kids & the best family-friendly airports.
