(Part 2) We went glamping at the new Crocodile Lodge at Mandai Wildlife Reserve! Here's our wild family adventure

Our staycation adventure continues here in part two where we explore Rainforest Wild Adventure WEST with Crocodile Lodge glamper perks!

(This review continues from Part 1 where we stayed overnight at Glamping in the Wild - Crocodile Lodge and explored Rainforest Wild Adventure EAST.)

From Rainforest Wild Adventure EAST, we made our way to Mandai Wildlife Reserve’s West Zone, home of Rainforest Wild Adventure WEST. There are three ways to get there from the East Zone (and vice versa):

i) Drive and park at the West Zone's carpark.

ii) Take the free shuttle buses connecting East and West. The ride is only a few minutes, and with two services running, the wait is short. You can board at the East Zone bus terminal near the car park.

iii) Walk or cycle the 800 m path where it's about 20 minutes on foot or 10 minutes by bike.

Although we had our car, we chose the shuttle bus since our glamping perks included free parking at the East Zone. Also, we planned to return there for dinner later.

And we're off to the West zone of Mandai Wildlife Reserve! This is the beautiful sight that greets us when we arrive at the west zone, which houses both Bird Paradise and Rainforest Wild Adventure WEST.

Once we arrived at the latter, we checked the waiting times at the four Adventure activities and decided to make our our way to the nearest, and with a short waiting time of 10 minutes - The Cavern!

The Cavern is a huge human made cave system inspired by the ancient caves of Gunung Mulu National Park in Borneo.

We came here for Cavern Crawl, one of the Adventure activities included in our glamping package. Phones weren’t allowed, so no photos to share but the experience involved navigating a 60m cave with tunnels lined with stalactites and stalagmites. Some sections were dark, others required crouching or crawling through narrow spaces. I even bumped my head hard once (thank goodness we had helmets!). It felt like a realistic cave crawl simulation but with air‑con!

There’s no minimum age or height, though children under 1.15 m must be accompanied by an adult. Personally, I think this is something younger kids would enjoy. We saw a group of kids, probably around six or seven years old, who came out excitedly saying how fun it was.

And Cavern Crawl is just one part of The Cavern. We explored more later in the day, which I’ll share more below but for now, it's on to Canopy Jump!

Canopy Jump is a bit like bungee jumping, but tamer. You can leap from either a 13m or 20m platform, with a controlled descent similar to wall climbing. I sat this one out (I’d need someone to push me off the platform as I’d be too scared to jump!). But the three brave members of my family went for it and on the 20 m platform, no less.

Though there were only a few participants before my fam, it was also quite a bit of a wait because of the very thorough safety checks. My family has done something similar in Escape Penang, so they know what to expect. They said taking the first step out was the most daunting part but thereafter, the controlled descent wasn't too scary!

Note: Canopy Jump requires a minimum height of 1.35m and minimum weight of 20kg. Sports attire and sports shoes are required.

Next up was Rock Wall Climb at The Karsts! BTW karst is a type of landscape created by the erosion of limestone and the one here looks spectacular!

When we arrived at the rock wall climbing area, a group had just entered, so we had to wait for the next session. So even with fast passes from Crocodile Lodge, this was already the quickest admission since no one else was queuing 😆.

As both my girls are climbers, Rock Wall Climb was right up their alley. Hubs and I sat out and took photos instead. If you’re not climbing and just want to snap pictures, there’s a pathway with stairs near the entrance that gives a great view of the rock wall and The Karsts.

There are three walls here with the tallest at 16m. My girls didn't have any problems reaching the top of all three but it could be a bit harder for younger or less experienced climbers to reach the very top.

There's no age limit for this but you need to be at least 0.9m and be able to fit into the harness.

Definitely take time to appreciate the view at The Karsts and spot the Francois’ langurs here! We managed to get a photo of one of them at the top of the rock!

(There is one Adventure activities, AIA Vitality Bounce, which we didn't get to due to some miscommunications. I've since checked with Mandai Wildlife Reserve and understand this activity is included as one of the 9 Adventure+ activities at Rainforest Wild Adventure parks for Crocodile Lodge glampers. It wasn't a big deal as we've been to similar bouncing nets attractions like AirZone and the Walking Net at Jewel. But do give this a go as I think bouncing on a giant net in the great outdoors would be an interesting experience!😄)

We've finally covered all the Adventure activities at Rainforest Wild Adventure WEST and have saved trekking for the last in case the weather turns bad but as luck would have it, the weather stayed sunny the whole day!

There are a total of 7 forest treks at this park, ranging from 70m-280m. They are not very long and quite manageable even for younger kids. We had already gone on some of them in between the activites, so we were left with four treks to complete at the end of the day.

I can't really remember which of the pics I took were from which trek but here are some we took along the way.

Though it was a hot day, we still enjoyed the treks and the sights. The treks did remind me a bit of trekking in New Zealand, which we enjoyed so much during our last December holiday. Pity the weather was not New Zealand weather though 😅

I did find the treks at the WEST a lot closer to nature compared to the ones in the EAST as the latter are mostly elevated sheltered walkways. Despite the heat, it still felt good to be among such beautiful nature.

We finally finished everything by around 5pm and that was when we made our way back to The Cavern to exit the park. This was a really good time to visit The Cavern as its sheltered and air conditioned in there, so it felt like the best way to relax at the end of a hot and sweaty day. BTW this is actually how big The Cavern is, so there's definitely more to see inside!

Inside, there's stalagmites, stalactites, flowstones, mineral deposits, cave formations and cave-dwelling inhabitants like snakes and scorpions (real ones!) in enclosures all in air-con comfort.

Didn't really take a lot of pics in there as the lighting is rather dim😅

After exploring the caves, we were ready to call it a day and took the shuttle bus back to the East zone for dinner. We settled at the new Food Republic food court. The food we ordered were ho-hum (except for the Nyonya desserts that were really good) but it's definitely worth a visit for their beautiful, nostalgic decor!

And with that, we've come to end of our staycation and glamping adventure at Crocodile Lodge! Here are some questions you might have:

1) How much is Glamping in the Wild - Crocodile Lodge?

At the time of writing, the 2D1N glamping experience costs S$550 for 2 persons, S$750 for 3, and S$950 for 4. Minimum age of participation is 3 years old & above. The glamping package includes:

i) Access to all 9 in-park Adventure+ activities & 4 Fast Pass each

ii) Dinner, breakfast and light supper

iii) A guided tour

iv) Free parking at Mandai Wildlife EAST carpark

See Mandai Wildlife Reserve's website for full itinerary and bookings!

2) Do you think Glamping in the Wild - Crocodile Lodge is worthwhile?

I hesitate to say if it's worthwhile because 'worthwhile' is subjective for everyone. Some might think glamping has no toilet in the tent, so not worthwhile but others might put more value to perks like entry to the parks over two days, and fast passes. So I prefer to show our experience and let readers decide if this is what they are happy to pay for.

But we can break it down a little. For a family with two kids like mine would cost $950 for a 2D1N stay. One-day admission ticket to Rainforest Wild Adventure that will give us access to both parks would cost us S$170 (2 standard adult, 2 student/child tickets). So essentially we will be forking out $780 for:

i) Accommodation

ii) Fast passes

iii) One late afternoon access to parks (on the first day)

iv) Half hour guided tour

v) Meals

vi) And of course the entire glamping experience!

3) Which to go for - Crocodile Lodge or Reservoir Retreat (formerly Colugo Camp)?

We really enjoyed both glamping experience and I think both are distinctively different. The itinerary for Reservoir Retreat has changed since we last visited when it was Colugo Camp (River Wonders is no longer in the itinerary, the Singapore Zoo visit is now on day 2 and breakfast is "in the wild" in the zoo). Do see the Reservoir Retreat itinerary for most up-to-date info!

Just by looking at the updated itinerary, personally I feel that Crocodile Lodge is more suited for those with older kids (maybe 9 or 10 years and older) as its more focused on the Rainforest Wild Adventure parks where the Adventure activities are more suited for older kids. Younger ones might not be able to participate in some of the activities due to the height and weight requirements or some might not dare to attempt the 'scarier' activities. The playgrounds (there are 3 at the EAST park) and seeing the animals there are suited for younger children but I feel a bit wasted if you go but can't try out the acitivities? 😅

Playground at Rainforest Wild Adventure East

Reservoir Retreat includes visits to the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari and they are all great for younger kids. The itinerary also seems less packed in comparision, which may be less hectic for younger kids. For us, Crocodile Lodge's itinerary feels more packed and took up our entire second day as we wanted to cover everything in both the Rainforest Wild Adventure parks during our visit. But to make it less hectic, you can always visit just one park or skip some activities.

However, if you have already been to the Zoo and Night Safari many times and have to yet visit Rainforest Wild Adventure, I would say go for Crocodile Lodge! The Rainforest Wild Adventure parks are really lots of fun!

Generally the accomodation and their facilities are not too different at both glamping sites, just that Crocodile Lodge has a African rainforest theme and a view of the enclosures, while the immediate surroundings of Reservoir Retreat feel more urban but it has a stunning view of Seletar Reservoir.

Reservoir Retreat (formerly Colugo Camp)

If you haven't been to both, you can definitely make plans to visit both as the experiences offered are unique and different! 😄

Tips for glamping at Crocodile Lodge and visiting the Rainforest Wild Adventure parks:

1) If you're only visiting Rainforest Wild Adventure, standard tickets for Singapore residents are S$50 for adults, and $35 for students and children 3-12 years old. Regular tickets include up to 9 Adventure+ activities (worth $10 each if you buy them individually)​. Peak tickets include up to 5 Adventure+ activities. Peak period refers to Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. At the time of writing, there are various promotions like multipark passes and discounts with certain bank cards. Do see Mandai Wildlife Reserve's website for the most up-to-date promos!

2) The parks open 9am-6pm but Adventure activities open from 930am-530pm, with the last admission at 5pm. Budget time for queuing/safety briefings at the activities and check waiting times before heading to the activity (At one point, we saw the queue at Ravine Swing was two hours😅). It's probably best to go on weekdays which will definitely help reduce wait time at the Adventure activities. When we were there on weekdays during the June hols, the queues weren't too long either (except for Ravine Swing).

3) If you plan to explore both parks, budget an entire day and try to arrive early when the park opens as it tends to be less crowded earlier in the day. Do note that we only managed to cover most of the activities namely because we had slightly more than a day to do so and we had a fast pass for use at Ravine Swing (all thanks to glamping perks!). Plus, we were there on weekdays. It might be a bit tight to cover everything at both parks if you're planning to visit during the weekends. Also tickets for the parks are valid only on the selected visit date. This is also reason why I think the glamping perks, which allows for entry to both parks over two days do make a difference!

4) Best to wear covered toe shoes that are good for walking. Some of the activites like Canopy Jump and Primate Climb also only allow closed toe shoes or sports shoes.

5) Try to go for the outdoor attractions and activities that could be suspended in times of lightning alerts first, especially if the weather doesn't look promising. For instance, at Rainforest Wild Adventure EAST, you can go for Split Rock Summit last as it operates during light rain and lightning alert due to its overhead covering. You can also explore the EAST park more and see the animals after you have gone for the activities as walkways at the park are sheltered. At Rainforest Wild Adventure WEST, you can keep Cavern Crawl and exploring The Cavern till the end of the day as they are sheltered.

Alright, that's all folks! This must be the longest review I have ever written for an attraction or staycation, but only because there really was so much fun stuff to share with everyone! 😊

We really enjoyed the glamping experience at Crocodile Lodge and were super impressed by Rainforest Wild Adventure! We highly recommend Glamping in the Wild - Crocodile Lodge at Mandai Wildlife Reserve for a unique staycation here in Singapore! Thank you, Mandai Wildlife Reserve, for having us!

Crocodile Lodge is located within Rainforest Wild Adventure East at 80 Mandai Lake Road, Singapore 729826.

If you missed part one where I shared more about our stay at Crocodile Lodge and Rainforest Wild Adventure EAST, do head over to part one of our review!

For videos, please visit my Instagram page and look for Crocodile Lodge in my IG highlights!

Disclaimer: The review was made possible by Mandai Wildlife Reserve via a media invite. As always, all opinions are ours.

©Vivian Teo. All content and photos are copyrighted to Vivian Teo unless otherwise specified.