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about visiting our shores
Why visit a shore?
Why should I visit with an experienced and trained guide?
When is the best time to visit a shore?
How do I find out when low tides are?
Which shores are accessible to the public?
Is it safe to visit the shores?
What should I prepare for a visit to the shores?
Can I bring young children to visit the shores?
Can I bring old people to visit the shores?
I want to bring my class of 40 students to visit the shores.
Why are places limited on a public walk?
How can I join a guided tour of the shores?
Why visit our shores?
The intertidal area is fascinating because you can see many interesting plants and animals that are not found elsewhere. It is easy to explore the shores without special equipment, unlike diving. And sometimes, you can see similar or even a greater variety of animals on the shores than you would diving.
Why is it best to visit a shore with an experienced and trained guide?
See more! Guides are familiar with the terrain and seasons of the shores. They can show you more during the short window of low tide. They can also tell you more about what you see so you can learn more.
Be safe: The shores are not dangerous if you know what you are doing, but for the unfamiliar there are potential hazards. With a guide, even young children can interact safely with the shores.
Minimise your impact: Every inch of the shores are alive with small animals and growing plants. A guide will help you see more and yet minimise the impact of your visit.
Have a great time! Guides are eager to ensure you have an enjoyable visit. Whether you are just there to see what's so special about the shores, or if you need more details for a project or have a special area of interest. Do tell your guide, who will gladly try to help you.
When is the best time to visit our shores?
Singapore waters tend to be murky and cloudy because of the high sedimentation. Thus, if you go at high tide, you can't see much. However, just because you can't see something, doesn't mean there is nothing there.
The rich shorelife is easily seen at low tide. The lower the tide, the larger the expanse of shore exposed and a wider variety of shorelife can be seen.
It's best to visit with the outgoing tide. The water is clearer as the tide falls. And in areas where a calm shallow lagoon forms at low tide, behind a sand bar or coral reef crest. The water tends to get murky as the tide turns and comes in.
Singapore has two low tides and two high tides a day. The height of the tide is not the same every day. High and low tides do not happen at the same time every day, and the highest and lowest tide level change every day.
Tides suitable for a visit to the shore do not necessarily occur on a weekend. Suitable tides usually fall before sunrise and after sunset. There are few suitable tides during daylight hours.
Here's more about the tides: what causes them, and about Singapore's tides.
How do I find out when low tides are?
The highest and lowest tide for the day are published in the newspapers. They are also indicated in the Chinese calendar, which is a lunar calendar. However, tide changes occur at different times for different locations in Singapore and heights also differ. The most accurate way is to buy the Singapore Tide Tables which give hour-by-hour tidal predications for various locations in Singapore for the entire year. For a hassle-free visit to our shores, join one of the guided walks of our shores.
Which shores are accessible to the public?
Here are fact sheets on the shores accessible to the public, with details of how to get there, what to see and do, guided walks offered and contacts to groups who can provide guided walks, photos and more links.
Is it safe to visit the shores?
All animals need to defend themselves from predators or they will be eaten up and soon become extinct. Some of these animal defences can cause humans irritation, pain or even worse injuries and death.
As with any nature walk, it is important to respect the wildlife: do not touch anything and leave animals alone.
Watch where you step: the stonefish has spines that can peirce thick shoe soles and a venom that is very painful.
Some shores may have portions that are particularly soft. In such places, it is not unusual to sink up to the knees or deeper.
At the same time, our visit to the shores also affect the safety of the shores. Our shores are fragile. Many small sea creatures live in the sand and mud. These are killed when we step on them, no matter how gently we walk. These small sea creatures form the base of the entire food chain on our shores. Seagrass have delicate roots and take a long time to recover when trampled on. Corals are slow growing and a careless footstep can destroys years of growth.
It is also important to be well prepared so as to avoid discomfort and injuries due to inappropriate footwear etc.
Here's more about preparing for a visit to the shores.
For a safe visit to our shores, join a guided walk of our shores instead of going alone.
What should I prepare for a visit to the shores?
Here are some suggestions.
Can I bring young children to the shore?
Can I bring old people to the shore?
Everyone enjoys the shores! The young and young-at-heart. Our older folks are particularly exciting to have on the shore as they have lots of stories to tell about their childhood on natural shores.
But even the home can be a dangerous place for kids. Similarly, the shores are safe if you know what you are doing and you are familiar with the terrain. See more about "Is it safe to visit the shores?"
Ideally, if your party includes very young children or very old people, it is best to go on a guided walk. During such a walk, experienced guides will ensure an enjoyable and safe visit, and proper safety and emergency procedures would be on standby to deal with any unfortunate incidents.
I want to bring my class of 40 to visit the shore
It's great to introduce students to our shores. However, such a large group may be difficult to manage on an unfamiliar shore. And unsupervised exploration can harm both the students and the habitat and its inhabitants. Ideally, you should arrange for experienced guides to help you manage your visit to the shore.
Why places limited during a guided walk?
Time and tide waits for no man. There is usually a limited window of about 2-3 hours during which the tides are suitable for an enjoyable visit.
If too many visitors are brought on a tour visitors might be rushed through the route. Also, a large number of people tend to trample the shores, so that the groups behind tend to have a poorer experience.
How can I join a guided walk on our shores?
Here are fact sheets on the shores accessible to the public, with details of how to get there, what to see and do, guided walks offered and contacts to groups who can provide guided walks, photos and more links.