Summer Activities with Teens

[malcontent]

Looking for some things to do this summer with my son who is almost 15.

I had the idea to play pool with him (he likes to play) but when we got to the pool hall they told me he has to be age 16 minimum!!??

He also likes go-carting, I checked into that and it’s over S$200 per hour per person! I told him to wait until it’s a special occasion or wait until we are in Malaysia where it’s priced more reasonably.

Another idea is to take him to a driving range and learn golf. That shouldn’t break the bank, at least not until we get onto an actual course.

When we were in Korea last week I happened across a shooting club — we both shot a Glock 17, he enjoyed it, but it seems the only way to do that here is to pay S$3k per person to join the gun club. Seems kinda crazy.

Seems like I’m striking out here. Anyone have any other ideas?

[sundaymorningstaple]

If you still can ride a bicycle, park connectors are a thing. I used to take my son, when I could get him out of his cave (bedroom PC dungeon) used to do long rides from Seletar Camp to Kranji Dam / Changi village or East Coast park. The Park connectors were only on the drawing boards back in those days so it was riding on the roads back then. Would have rather had the park connectors, to say the least. But we were still incident/accident free. Could never talk him into my half circuits of Singapore that I used to do on Sunday mornings.

[malcontent]

If you still can ride a bicycle, park connectors are a thing. I used to take my son, when I could get him out of his cave (bedroom PC dungeon) used to do long rides from Seletar Camp to Kranji Dam / Changi village or East Coast park. The Park connectors were only on the drawing boards back in those days so it was riding on the roads back then. Would have rather had the park connectors, to say the least. But we were still incident/accident free. Could never talk him into my half circuits of Singapore that I used to do on Sunday mornings.

That has actually been our go-to activity on weekends; from where we live, we have settled into 3 favorite routes:

1. Green corridor from Holland Rd to the end of Rifle Range Road (ideally with a stop at Carl’s Jr, King Albert Park for lunch on the way).

2. Alexandra Linear Park, down the river through all the underpasses to downtown, all the way to Marina Barrage.

3. Green Corridor from Queensway to Lower Delta and then down to Sentosa. This one is the most disjointed, PCN still needs some work.

Each one can be completed in about 3 hours, avoiding the worst of the midday heat.

The only route I could find nearby that we haven’t attempted yet is the one from Buona Vista down the canal west to Chinese Garden.

Every other route from this part of town doesn’t have great PCN connectors. We attempted one to MacRitchie Reservoir and it was too ‘pedestrian only’ through there. Botanic Gardens is the same way.

[MOCHS]

- VR escape room and other VR games. I went to VR World at Chinatown, pretty fun.
- Archery
- Paintball or laser tag
- Kayaking
- Bowling (does any teen do that anymore?)
- The Fragment Room (aka rage room) where you smash things safely. Have fun decimating a VCR player or printer.
- Axe throwing at Axe Factor
- Proper self defence class from Kapap Academy, not martial arts. They teach biomechanics on how to take down a person instead of using strength. I feel guys should learn it too. Only 10 lessons and can be completed in 5 weeks.
- Explore the Southern Islands or Pulau Ubin
- Walk the Coast to Coast trail starting from Jurong all the way to Punggol’s Coney Island. You can break up the route to 2-3 days.
- Walk the iLight display along Marina Bay (only until end of June, I think)
- Skyline Luge at Sentosa, it’s something like a go-cart but cheaper
- Bungee jump at Sentosa
- Van Gogh experience at Sentosa (until Aug if I’m not wrong)
- The new Bird Paradise
- Adventure Cove Waterpark or Wild Wild Wet
- If he’s the artsy hands-on creative type, there are leather crafting, wood crafting and metal jewellery crafting places.

You can find a lot of interesting activities on Klook too at slightly cheaper rates from the actual attractions’ website.

[taxico]

there are classes at PA (i’m not sure if the activities listed in the Healthy 365 app are the same or different)

also if you have an RC or CC nearby they may have day trips to various places like factories etc during the holidays.

i’m not sure if the coastal walk is still a thing but i find it somewhat interesting when i went. years ago.

horse riding. probably gallop at bt timah. or pony club at spc if you’ve got a membership. are you a member of any social or golf club?

and how about a day trip by rail to jb?

[x9200]

He also likes go-carting, I checked into that and it’s over S$200 per hour per person! I told him to wait until it’s a special occasion or wait until we are in Malaysia where it’s priced more reasonably.

This one is 10 min based:
https://thekartingarena.com/fun-karting-j/
Tried them a few years ago with my then 8-9yo son and it was pretty ok.

Other things we used to do pretty regularly was kayaking. There is a number of placed across the island operated by 2-3 providers. I can recommend all but one at McRichie (rude staff). Search for example for Passion Wave. They have more activities to offer. For sea-kayaking a "license" is usually needed. Getting it takes a day if I remember correctly. No license needed for any other inner waters locations including Marina Bay.

If you like walking the rail corridor is a good place to go. We walked it the whole way from Kranji to Keppel area. Not in one go of course but on a few occasions.

[abbby]

I think Luge is extremely fun for older kids. We never get tired of it, only during holidays it gets a little crowded. Maybe Duck tours and they bring you to explore the various places in Singapore.

[nelyanne]

- tennis / badminton / squash
- roller blading
- darts
- for shooting... SAFRA Yishun maybe? I think there was one more place somewhere in the far west but I can't remember the location...

[tiktok]

Agree that cycling is one of the best activities in Singapore (that doesn't cost a fortune). You can even cycle across the border to JB which is pretty fun.

Also for sailing/windsurfing/paddle boarding there's https://www.constantwind.com

[malcontent]

Wake boarding is another activity that sprung to my mind — I’ve tried it, once, an outfit at Raffles Marina in Tuas took us out. We all had many failed attempts. Only one time did I manage to stay up for around 10 seconds, the others in our group had similar results. It takes some time and wears you out quick - so going in a group and taking turns is advisable.

[Lisafuller]

Looking for some things to do this summer with my son who is almost 15.

I had the idea to play pool with him (he likes to play) but when we got to the pool hall they told me he has to be age 16 minimum!!??

He also likes go-carting, I checked into that and it’s over S$200 per hour per person! I told him to wait until it’s a special occasion or wait until we are in Malaysia where it’s priced more reasonably.

Another idea is to take him to a driving range and learn golf. That shouldn’t break the bank, at least not until we get onto an actual course.

When we were in Korea last week I happened across a shooting club — we both shot a Glock 17, he enjoyed it, but it seems the only way to do that here is to pay S$3k per person to join the gun club. Seems kinda crazy.

Seems like I’m striking out here. Anyone have any other ideas?

Not sure why the age limit is a thing for pool. My daughter loves to play, and had a pretty natural flair for it. She would play non stop everytime we were back in the US as we have a table there, but wasn't allowed to play once back due to the age issue. Now she has no problem as she's nearly 20, but would have been nice for this not to have been an issue all those years.

[Lisafuller]

If you still can ride a bicycle, park connectors are a thing. I used to take my son, when I could get him out of his cave (bedroom PC dungeon) used to do long rides from Seletar Camp to Kranji Dam / Changi village or East Coast park. The Park connectors were only on the drawing boards back in those days so it was riding on the roads back then. Would have rather had the park connectors, to say the least. But we were still incident/accident free. Could never talk him into my half circuits of Singapore that I used to do on Sunday mornings.

That has actually been our go-to activity on weekends; from where we live, we have settled into 3 favorite routes:

1. Green corridor from Holland Rd to the end of Rifle Range Road (ideally with a stop at Carl’s Jr, King Albert Park for lunch on the way).

2. Alexandra Linear Park, down the river through all the underpasses to downtown, all the way to Marina Barrage.

3. Green Corridor from Queensway to Lower Delta and then down to Sentosa. This one is the most disjointed, PCN still needs some work.

Each one can be completed in about 3 hours, avoiding the worst of the midday heat.

The only route I could find nearby that we haven’t attempted yet is the one from Buona Vista down the canal west to Chinese Garden.

Every other route from this part of town doesn’t have great PCN connectors. We attempted one to MacRitchie Reservoir and it was too ‘pedestrian only’ through there. Botanic Gardens is the same way.

My favorite route is Rail mall to Holland and back. I walk, but have wanted to get a bike for a while. Held off as we were moving, but with recent developments it might be nice to invest in one to de stress. Any reccs?

[Lisafuller]

- VR escape room and other VR games. I went to VR World at Chinatown, pretty fun.
- Archery
- Paintball or laser tag
- Kayaking
- Bowling (does any teen do that anymore?)
- The Fragment Room (aka rage room) where you smash things safely. Have fun decimating a VCR player or printer.
- Axe throwing at Axe Factor
- Proper self defence class from Kapap Academy, not martial arts. They teach biomechanics on how to take down a person instead of using strength. I feel guys should learn it too. Only 10 lessons and can be completed in 5 weeks.
- Explore the Southern Islands or Pulau Ubin
- Walk the Coast to Coast trail starting from Jurong all the way to Punggol’s Coney Island. You can break up the route to 2-3 days.
- Walk the iLight display along Marina Bay (only until end of June, I think)
- Skyline Luge at Sentosa, it’s something like a go-cart but cheaper
- Bungee jump at Sentosa
- Van Gogh experience at Sentosa (until Aug if I’m not wrong)
- The new Bird Paradise
- Adventure Cove Waterpark or Wild Wild Wet
- If he’s the artsy hands-on creative type, there are leather crafting, wood crafting and metal jewellery crafting places.

You can find a lot of interesting activities on Klook too at slightly cheaper rates from the actual attractions’ website.

Wouldn't recommend the Van Gogh experience actually. Very underwhelming. Even the VR portion wasn't too realistic.

[Lisafuller]

He also likes go-carting, I checked into that and it’s over S$200 per hour per person! I told him to wait until it’s a special occasion or wait until we are in Malaysia where it’s priced more reasonably.

This one is 10 min based:
https://thekartingarena.com/fun-karting-j/
Tried them a few years ago with my then 8-9yo son and it was pretty ok.

Other things we used to do pretty regularly was kayaking. There is a number of placed across the island operated by 2-3 providers. I can recommend all but one at McRichie (rude staff). Search for example for Passion Wave. They have more activities to offer. For sea-kayaking a "license" is usually needed. Getting it takes a day if I remember correctly. No license needed for any other inner waters locations including Marina Bay.

If you like walking the rail corridor is a good place to go. We walked it the whole way from Kranji to Keppel area. Not in one go of course but on a few occasions.

Another fun alternative to kayaking is water biking. Tried it over a year ago, it's a pedal bike that floats on water. At Pasir Ris beach so it's a little out of the way, but it's easy to make a day of it.

[Lisafuller]

I think Luge is extremely fun for older kids. We never get tired of it, only during holidays it gets a little crowded. Maybe Duck tours and they bring you to explore the various places in Singapore.

I do a duck tour every time I have friends/relatives visit SG. Very fun, assuming the weather cooperates. Luge is awesome! Haven't been since my daughter was in sec 1, but loved it then.