With all the stress and tension we receive from work, school, family or finances, we just want to find a way to get out of all these once in a while. You just want to get out from all your troubles and find time to relax and unwind at some place that's peaceful and quiet. Let me introduce East Coast Park. East Coast Park is Singapore's most popular beach. It's peaceful, it's quiet and it's fun.
Getting to East Coast Park is actually quite difficult. Sure, it may be easy if you have a car or a personal transport of your own. What if you want to come here by public transport? You can take bus service 401 and alight along East Coast Park Service Road but that's only available on the weekends and public holidays. Otherwise, you can take a bus, alight at Marine Crescent, pass by a few blocks of HDB flats and use the underpass to get to the beach itself. Above is an example of an underpass to East Coast Park.
Here's how the beach looks like. There are several pathways for different people. One pathway's for cyclists and skaters, the other pathway is for walking people. Do be careful and be cautious when you try to walk because you may run into a cyclist. Always choose the right route. There are also several stone benches where you can sit down and eat or have a picnic here. Some of the seats also double up as BBQ pits so you can have barbecue parties with some friends or family. Do take note that if you want to have a barbecue party, visit an AXS station for the booking of BBQ pits.
Here's the shore. If you are going to play with the sand, please remove your shoes. Also, I suggest you come here in shorts and sandals so you won't have trouble getting your feet and legs wet. If you look above, you can see there's this huge rock which is slightly above the sea and sand level. These huge rocks enable you to have a better view of the sea. Although you have the climb up the rock yourself and you may have some trouble. Once you get up successfully, sit down, relax and enjoy the view. Going down the rocks will be another story.
If you find a stick or a tree branch, you can draw on the sand like what I just did. If you have buckets, use the sand and make yourself a sandcastle. Or if you want to, you can bury your friend in the sand.
Apart from playing with the sand and water, you can visit any of these rental facilities and rent bicycles, skates and all sorts of equipment. You can even bring your own if you have some. Bicycle rental here is quite affordable. The cheapest being S$8 for two hours of riding which is actually not that bad. There are even double bicycles and family bicycles equipped with shelters available for rental here. They're fun and they complete the beach experience.
While cycling along the beach, you can find beautiful sights and sounds all around the beach. Even the big drains look beautiful. Palm trees line the shore complementing the amazing beach environment and ambience. You can even set up tents here but you must do a booking at the Park Office or just visit any AXS stations. Setting up of tents must be done at the designated camp sites.
After cycling and hanging out along the beachfront, you may want to relax in an air-conditioned place since Singapore's weather is really hot. I suggest you to visit the Burger King outlet located beside the bicycle rental shop and get yourself the Frozen Coke to cool yourself down. Or get a Burger King meal if you're feeling hungry. Do note that this particular Burger King outlet charges more than other BK outlets. I noticed that the meals are already upsized by default meaning that you are forced to pay an additional 50 cents. Maybe because of the location that they charge higher than other outlets. Otherwise, if you don't mind, go ahead and get yourself an upsized meal before continuing your adventures.
Strangely, there's also this yellow tower located in the middle of the beach. You climb up the stairs and get a nice aerial view of the sea and the coastline.
This is how it will look like when you're walking along the sand. Seriously, if you want to get from one place to another along East Coast Park, I suggest you to cycle or skate all the way or walk along the wet sand to your destination. Walking on the sand is seriously a nice experience and it's something I don't get to do often. Though, you may feel slightly uncomfortable when you try to put your feet back into your shoes. Don't worry, there's a feet washing facility at the McDonald's outlet along Marine Cove.
Here's some more pictures of Marine Cove. It's a nice and quiet place with plenty of dining options like McDonald's, Komala's, The Coffee Bean and so much more. It's too bad that it's going to shut down in the middle of the year. Visit Marine Cove before it's too late. If you have to visit the toilet, I suggest you to visit the toilet at McDonald's Marine Cove instead of other toilets. One of the toilets charge 20 cents for a visit. Ridiculous. Anyway, there's plenty of free toilets if you know where to look.
Overall, East Coast Park is a beautiful beach park located in the eastern part of Singapore. There are plenty of things to do here such as cycling, skating, walking on the sand, having a picnic, kite flying and so much more. It's completely free and it's a must visit place. If you're feeling stressed or tensed, you can look forward to forgetting about all of that here at East Coast Park. There are no cars, no noisy people and no work. Just peace and quiet. It's best to come here on the weekends.
Getting Here
Bus services available: 401 (Bus stops along East Coast Park Service Road weekends only)
13, 16, 76, 196, 196e (Bus stop along Marine Crescent outside Blk 45)
Nearest MRT Station: Not available.
Website: East Coast Park Website
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