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Sailing the Duck Tours on the Marina Bay

Today, let’s check out the Duck tours with a ride through the uniquely Singapore tour around the Marina Bay. Interestingly, the ride and guided tour bring you along the Singapore civic district and a water boat ride all in one through a unique wheeled boat vehicle. It comprises of both land and water elements on the same vehicle. Let’s take a sail today as a walk-in guest.

Duck Tours Boarding area at Suntec City mall
Boarding area at Suntec City mall.

Notably, your tour starts getting to the Suntec City duck tours offices and departure point. It is a very accessible location, located on the ground floor just after the exit of the Esplanade MRT station. A friendly greeter welcomes you by your name in your pre-registration and hands you an information leaflet of the tour as a well a brochure of the various other tours the company provides. Notably, the company also operates the Hippo bus tours. It is synonymous to the big bus tours where you get unlimited hop and off along notable tourist landmark spots in Singapore, typically in the Central business and Chinatown districts.

Introducing the Duck Tours LARC-V vehicle

Moreover, your bus-and-boat for the day is the LARC-V vehicle. In a nutshell, you might had seen on occasion several large chunky 4-wheeled vehicles shaped like a boat roaming the Marina Bay area.

The Duck Tours LARC-5 amphibious military vehicle, now as a loyal duck excursion bus-boat
The LARC-5 amphibious military vehicle, now as a loyal duck excursion bus-boat.

Also, this vehicle is known as the LARC-V. It is an aluminium-hulled boat with military origins as an amphibious assault and transport vehicle. It is able to transverse both land and sea without any modification or preparations. The vehicles had been given a new life as excursion vehicles with a duck-themed paint job livery. Getting up the ride requires going up a flight of stairs and is not quite wheelchair accessible.

A duck tours view of the Formula 1 put building and Singapore Flyer from the water
A view of the Formula 1 put building and Singapore Flyer from the water.
Duck Tours Sights of the Flyer and MBS
Sights of the Flyer and MBS.

Your amphibious tour departs off from Suntec city mall towards the Singapore Flyer observation wheel and going past the Singapore Grand Prix (GP) pit building. Here, you can check glimpse of the Gardens by the bay in the distance as well as Marina Bay Sands building from the roads.

The Duck Tours vehicle entering the water
The vehicle entering the water!

Also, an area behind the Formula 1 pit building is where a coastal concrete sea ramp resides. Here is where your vehicle enters the water transitions into the boat portion of your tour.

Splashdown

Your tour guide speaks in English and uses an on-board speaker system as the vehicle engines and tire can be rather loud at times. He or she will introduce you to the various sights, facts and history of the landmarks as we pass them.

Sailing on the water
Sailing on the water!

Additionally, with every ride water entry, your guide will ask how adventurous, or rather forceful would the group would like the boat captain to enter the water. A faster entry is more forceful and offers a wetter but exciting experience.

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Our English guide
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Down the F1 track
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National gallery

Also, this splash down is also one of the highlights of the tours as its the unique element where the amphibious vehicle transitions from land to the sea and back.

On the water under the Sheares bridge towards the Marina bay
On the water under the Sheares bridge sailing towards the Marina bay/

A land and river boat ride

You start your river journey southbound towards the central business district area of the marina Bay reservoir.  In your journey upon hitting the water, you sail away from the Kallang basin towards the gardens by the bay. Also, the boat moves considerably slower on water than in land.

Duck Tours Cruising along the Marina Bay reservoir
Duck Tours Cruising along the Marina Bay reservoir.
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Kallang area
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MBS
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Fullerton

However, the views from the boat makes up for it. Also, it does provide a fresh perspective of the Marina bay from the reservoir. The boat is confined within the boundaries of the Marina Bay fresh water reservoir. Here, you can catch view of the Gardens by the bay conservatories and the Marina Barrage from afar from the reservoir itself.

Gardens by the bay conservatories
Gardens by the bay conservatories.
Not everyday you get a view under the Helix bridge
Not everyday you get a view under the Helix bridge!
Duck Tours sailing under Under Sheares bridge
Sailing under under the Sheares bridge.

Here, you sail past the Singapore flyer, under Benjamin Sheares and the Helix bridge before passing by the floating platform.

Duck tours Floating platform viewed from the reservoir
Floating platform viewed from the reservoir.

Also, the floating platform is an event space and is a spot where the National Day parade was held this year offering additional sights of the work behind the scenes. You sail towards the central business district towards Clifford pier before stopping in front of the Merlion.

Duck Tours on the Singapore Central Business District.
The Singapore Central Business District with Clifford pier in view.

It is currently Singapore’s largest Merlion statue since the Merlion at Sentosa was demolished. You circle back past Marina Bay Sands integrated resort and Casino in view, catching views of the Lotus shaped art science museum and the Apple store, before backtracking towards the Gardens by the bay.

Duck tours The Merlion, a Singapore icon by the Marina Bay
The Merlion, a Singapore icon by the Marina Bay.

Duck Tours Land tour

Furthermore, after exiting the water, the boat makes a journey past back to the F1 paddock past the Singapore flyer and along the Esplanade Boulevard. Also, here you can see notable landmarks such as the MBS building, Sheares bridge as well as the Esplanade theater.

Duck Tours back on the road
After the water element, Duck Tours back on the road!

You carry along Connaught Drive along the Padang in from to the National Gallery building before circling back past the world War 2 War memorial, around the Suntec fountain of wealth and back to the Suntec city mall duck tours office for unloading.

Duck Tours Circling the Fountain of wealth along the way back
Duck Tours Circling the Fountain of wealth along the way back.
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Padang grounds
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War memorial
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Back to Suntec City

In addition, the tour offers about a 50-50 split between the sea and land elements in terms of time allocations. Also, the vehicle is notably rough to ride on the road. This could be attributed to the hard off road tires allowing you to feel every bump on the road. Not quite the most comfortable ride.

Chugging along City hall and War Memorial area
Chugging along City hall and War Memorial area.

Wrapping up, a typical Duck tours adult ticket price cost $48 SGD. However, the operator was running a discount, I was able to book my duck tours trip at $34/adult. It is also redeemable using your Singapore Rediscover Vouchers (SRV). As far as I know, this is an on-going regular discount which offers very good value.

Also it is advisable to book direct your tickets with duck tours. I would recommend avoiding third party tour groups which typically mark up their duck tours itinerary to a conveniently SRV-priced $100/pax with a cheap dinner included. It is better to book directly with Duck tours company direct.

All in all, you are good for duck tours for its 90 minute journey, give and take you are prepared to spend about 2 hours for a Duck tour.

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