13 Free Things You Never Knew You Could Do At Singapore Changi International Airport (SIN) – Snooze Lounge Changi

I got a tour of the Singapore-Changi International Airport by a member of the airport’s marketing team.  It’s always cool when you get off a flight, Fly Scoot and see your name on a piece of paper :-). Who knew there was a snooze lounge at Changi.

I was going to be there for 12 hours from 7p to 7a, so I wanted to know everything I could about the airport.  My Guide was ready and we started immediately.  The first place he took me was to see one of the five gardens in the airport.  I just had to take a picture of their national flower, the orchid as shown.  It was a wonderful tour and I realized that there are several things to see in the airport for free.  So I decided to share those with you here.  Please feel free to add your own items in a comment below as I’m sure I did not capture them all here:

1. Free Candy.  It’s the only country I’ve been where the Immigration Officers and the Information Counters have free candies.  They are also very friendly as well.  You can actually have a conversation with them.  In some countries the Officers are very serious and only speak minimally. I won’t name any so I won’t have issues when I visit those countries :-).

 

2. Surf the Internet.  Of course you want to tweet and Facebook your journey.  But internationally its so expensive or sometimes difficult to find a place with Internet.  Well, not at Changi, just head to the Information Counter, present your passport and in return they will give you a WiFi username and password that will last for 4 hours.  If you ask nicely, they’ll give you two :-).  Don’t forget to pick up a candy while you are there too :-).

 

3. Sleep in the Snooze Lounge. The airport realized that people come through there at all times and not everyone can afford a hotel or not everyone has a long layover.  So they created a special area called the Snooze Lounge Changi so airport patrons can take a snooze in between flights.  When I visited at about 8:30p at night, it was packed.  I had trouble finding a cot that was empty.  As soon as someone left another person showed up.  It is located in the new Terminal 3 upstairs.  There are many signs that lead to it, so you can’t get lost at all.

 

4. Watch Airplanes.  As you know I’m an airplane geek and the large windows at Changi allows me to live my geekyness each time I visit.  At night its not as easy, since its dark outside, but there are a few places you can go to see the planes.

 

 

5. Visit the Five Gardens.  I told you that my guide took me to one of the gardens (the Orchid Gardens) as the first place I saw once I got off my Scoot Boeing 777 flight from Sydney.  Well there are five such gardens in the airport.  That’s ridiculous as that’s perhaps more than some cities have entirely.They are: Cactus Garden (Terminal 1), Orchid Garden (Terminal 2), Fern Garden (Terminal 2), Sunflower Garden (Terminal 2) plus the Butterfly Gardens in Terminal 3.  In addition, there are the Koi Ponds in Terminals 2 & 3.

 

6. Use the Charging Stations.  I tell you, this airport has thought about the user experience.  As such they have charging stations for your electronic devices.  Just lock them in the units provided, take the keys with you while you visit the airport and return later to pick them up.

 

7. Lounge around and watch TV.  There are a number of quiet rest areas around the terminals. Just take a gander and plop down in an open couch.  They are specially prepared for your comfort.

 

 

8. Watch a movie. In Terminal 2 or Terminal 3, there is a cinema.  Yup, a full cinema that shows movies 24-hours a day.  When I visited, it was showing “Mission Possible 3.”  Cool huh?  PS: You can also take a nap here; watch your flight time though.

 

9. Children’s Play Area.  These are located in all three terminals.  Just watch the kids as they let off some steam that a long journey sometimes create.  In Terminals 1 and 2, there are Family Zones which include diaper changing areas, nursing rooms plus plays areas including TVs with cartoons.  Careful though, the kids may not want to leave :-).

 

 

10. Use the Internet kiosks.  If you don’t have a computer and/or don’t want to give your passport information to get free WiFi, you can just use one of the kiosks to access the Internet; the first 15 minutes is free.

 

11. Free Tour of Singapore.  So this one blew me away as they do take you on a tour of the city. How can you beat that? Really; The tour takes about two hours, but you need a transit time of at least five hours to make it work.  You can choose from the Heritage Tour which is available four times a day and includes a visit to the Colonial District or there the City Lights Tour which is in the evenings. The tours allow you to experience three of Singapore’s top tourist sites; Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer.  Just look for the Free Tour of Singapore booth in Terminals 2 & 3 to register.  Go here, for additional information.

 

12. Get a foot massage.  If you are a traveler you need one of these.  Especially in Changi as its so large. You can get a free 15 minutes massage at the Foot and Calf Massage stations around the terminal.

 

13. Play Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.  If you are a gamer or have kids in tow, head to the Entertainment Deck in Terminal 2 and get cracking at some hot game action.

 

So there you have it; 13 cool things you can do the next time you transit Singapore Changi.  If you’ve passed through Changi and used any of these facilities, please leave a comment below.