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5 Ways To Spend A Layover At The World’s Best Airport

5 Ways To Spend A Layover At The World’s Best Airport

It’s not often we’ll step off the plane and be genuinely excited to be facing a long layover at the airport. But gone are the days of finding a quiet corner to take a nap in or setting up base in the closest Starbucks, because Singapore’s Changi Airport is full of things to do, see, taste and make your layover more than bearable.

Given Changi Airport is officially the world’s best, we created this ultimate guide to making the most of a long layover there. You can thank us later.

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#1 Unwind In Five Gardens

Flying alongside hundreds of other excited-yet-exhausted travellers can be stressful. The powers that be at Changi get that, so they went and created five gardens for you to escape to. The gardens are split between Changi’s three main terminals and are home to a variety of different flora.

In Terminal 1, a cactus garden and bar occupy the rooftop, while Terminal 2 boasts both a rooftop sunflower garden and an orchid garden. But the piece de resistance is Terminal 3’s butterfly garden, where the glorious sight of a thousand different types of butterflies and the distant sound of a waterfall are just as good as they sound.


#2 Score A Free City Tour

Singapore
Image: Hannah Sellers

The last thing you want to do when faced with long layover is to spend it cooped up inside. Fortunately, Changi offers a two-and-a-half-hour city tour that covers the must-see sights in Singapore before delivering you back to the airport in time to board your next flight.

All you have to do is register with your passport and boarding pass at the Free Singapore Tours booths in Terminals 2 and 3 and wait until the next tour is available.

The tour is designed to give you the perfect intro to Singapore’s diverse blend of culture, cuisine, arts, people and architecture, and includes a stop at the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel.


#3 Ride The World’s Largest Indoor Airport Slide

Changi Airport just so happens to be home to the world’s tallest indoor airport slide. Aptly named The Slide, it’s located in Terminal 3 and measures 12m (or about four stories) tall. Your journey around (and around and around) the slide can see you reach speeds of up to 6m per second.

To access the slide, all you have to do is spend $10 in one transaction at the airport. Challenge accepted, Changi.


#4 Relax At The Kinetic Rain Sculpture

Located inside the departure hall in Terminal 1, Changi’s kinetic rain sculpture is something you’ve gotta see if you happen to be passing through. Comprised of over a thousand bronze droplets that transform into 16 different patterns and shapes, the sculpture is a point of pride for the airport.

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It was commissioned to take the place of fountains once found in its location and, boy, are we glad the airport decided to go with such an oddly-relaxing replacement.


#5 Get A Pedicure From A Fish

Just because you’re in the terminal doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself. In addition to the abundance of free massage chairs in every terminal, you can also try a fish massage at Changi.

A fish massage involves dunking your feet into a pool of water and trying not to die of laughter as a school of doctor fish (otherwise known as Garra rufa fish) nibble at your feet. Weird? For sure. Worth a try? Definitely.

Try it for yourself at the Airport Wellness Oasis in Terminal 1.

(All images courtesy of Changi Airport Group)

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