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Views and Avenues: Your 10 Best Bets for a Scenic Bus Cruise

Posted on | 25 Feb 2022

Hero Image of Road

Been going stir-crazy indoors? Try a bus ride to somewhere new; feast your eyes and rhapsodise.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy some good old-fashioned gazing out the window! Discover new vistas or revisit forgotten ones – Singapore’s landscape transforms so rapidly you will want to ogle new sights or catch old scenes before they disappear.

Let your commute transport your imagination too, with these rewarding journeys.

Get ready to roam, starting with our 10 favourite, specially curated bus routes:

1. Bus route 30 – the one with a psychedelic light show
Image of underground tunnel on the MCE

A different kind of view! Let the tunnel lights of the Marina Coastal Expressway mesmerise you as you ride to a depth of 20 metres under the sea, before emerging to the magnificent city skyline. Our commuters’ best tip: snag that front row seat on the top deck for the best experience.

[Duration: 130 mins]

2. Bus route 36 – the one that lets you pretend you went on holiday

The showstopping bougainvilleas along the East Coast Expressway seem to wave hello as you whoosh on by from Changi Airport. Enjoy glimpses of the shoreline through the parkland before your ride brings you right into the heart of the tourist belt, to enjoy the lights and sights of Orchard Road. 

[Duration: 145 mins]

3. Bus route 97 – the one that makes you want to sing Majulah Singapura
Image of CBD skyscrapers

The domes of Gardens by the Bay, the Marina Bay Sands, the Fountain of Wealth at Suntec City, the Singapore Flyer, The Float, the Esplanade “durians”, the financial skyscrapers on Shenton Way, Keppel Shipyard, Science Park and Jurong Town Hall… icons of Singapore’s progress make this as much a ride through history as through town.

[Duration: 85 mins]

4. Bus route 103 – the one that spirits you away to that anime

Image of Yishun Dam waters

Yes, we are talking about Yishun Dam, across which the double-decker glides, an expanse of water on either side. It might be straight out of the train scene in Spirited Away, but you’ll find more exciting modes of transport at the Seletar Aerospace Park further along. Waterways and runways, what’s not to love?

[Duration: 55 mins]

5. Bus route 143 – the family favourites one
Image of green bus service 143 on Orchard Road

See Mum perk up along Orchard Road, and get Grandpa reminiscing as you traverse Chinatown. If the kids have been good, HarbourFront leading to Sentosa is on the way, and if not, the recently refurbished Haw Par Villa Hell’s Museum is just down the road.

[Duration: 90 mins]

6. Bus route 200 – the one you make believe is Initial D

Retrace Singapore’s most dangerous racing circuit, the Gap Hill Climb (circa 1927-1973), along South Buona Vista Road – you probably know it by its more notorious name of “99-bends”. Okay, so it’s actually seven and the bus doesn’t go faster than the legal 40km/h, but you see how the lethal twists lend to the legend.

[Duration: 60 mins]

7. Bus route 857 – the one for lapping up lights and the arty life
Image of lights decoration at Little India

No better way to catch the festive vibes from Thaipusam or Deepavali than to catch a ride right through Little India, especially at night when the colourful lights and décor are in full splendour. The route leads on towards the arts enclave at Bencoolen and Bras Basah, home to the equally spectacular Singapore Night Festival.

[Duration: 120 mins]

8. Bus route 858 – the one with longest bus and longest circuit
Image of taxiing bridge at Changi Airport

If you’re lucky, you just might be able to catch a bendy-bus on this loop that is Singapore’s lengthiest bus route! Savour an uninterrupted trip down the entire stretch of the Tampines Expressway – in fact, you’ll travel four expressways in one trip: the SLE, TPE, PIE and ECP – en route to Changi Airport, where you can indulge in plane-watching without leaving your seat.

[Duration: 163 mins]

9. Bus route 975 – the got-goats-got-ghosts-got-guns one

…and long ago got gambier, too. The Lim Chu Kang plantations of a century ago are now home to farms, cemeteries and army camps. The heritage road still evokes the memory of a simpler life; indulge your thoughts of yesteryear as the bus wends its way right to the rustic Kranji coast.

[Duration: 100 mins]

10. Bus route 980 – the one that makes your parents nostalgic

This route meanders through familiar locales right through the middle of Singapore from South to North. The passage also takes in the long, lush avenue of venerable rain trees that make Upper Thomson Road one of the most romantic stretches around.

[Duration: 80 mins]


Inspired to ride?

Get your fix soon, at a bus stop near you. Download the MyTransport.SG App to view all available bus routes and services in Singapore!

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