We'll answer all your burning questions and more in our comphrehensive guide to cycling the Round Island Route!
So you've heard about the mighty Round The Island loop that everyone keeps talking about! How do you get started though?
I'm sure you have several questions, like:
Where are the main checkpoints? Are certain roads safe to ride on, or should I take the park connector when possible? Where is this mysterious Lamp Post 1?
Let us take you on a comprehensive guide along this 120km cycling route around Singapore so that you can plan for your first trip!
Before starting, it's important to check on a few things:
- Ensure your bicycle is serviced and in good riding condition
- Wear a helmet – it is mandatory on public roads in Singapore!
- Bring sunblock, plenty of water and some nutrition bars
- Bring tools, spare tubes and a pump - you'll need a frame or saddle bag to store them!
- Use bicycle lights when riding in the daytime to increase your visibility to others
On public roads:
- Keep to the left whenever possible, leaving a 1.5m space from the yellow lines
- Obey traffic rules at all times, including traffic lights, stop signs and pedestrian crossings
- Do not go onto expressways or tunnels
On park connectors and pavements:
- Give way to pedestrians
- Obey the speed limits (when applicable)
- Keep to cycling-specific lanes (when applicable)
We've added as many Google maps checkpoints in this article as possible to make it easy for our readers to navigate and identify.
To make it even easier, we've split the enter route into 4 parts and hyperlinked handy Google Maps directions that you can follow on your phone:
1. Decathlon Singapore Lab (Kallang) to Tuas Lamppost 1
2. Tuas Lamppost 1 to Woodlands Waterfront
3. Woodlands Waterfront to Changi Beach Park
4. Changi Beach Park to Decathlon Singapore Lab (Kallang)
Remember - if you are using your phone to navigate, always stop and dismount before checking or touching your phone.
To make it easier, we recommend installing a smartphone holder!
We started at Decathlon Singapore Lab at 230 Stadium Boulevard. It's situated alongside Geylang Park Connector and links up with Tanjong Rhu Promenade.
It is a picturesque ride along the Geylang River that connects to the Kallang Basin. You may catch rowers and canoeists practicing their drills against a backdrop of the city.
Continue along underneath the Benjamin Sheares bridge, and you will be greeted with a vista of the twin domes of the Gardens by the Bay across Marina Bay.
Turn right and ride across the Marina Barrage dam, a marvel of engineering that keeps seawater out and controls the water level of the Marina Reservoir – Singapore's 15th reservoir and the first reservoir in the city.
Turn right after Marina Barrage and ride on - the bay will now be on your right.
Foodies rejoice, as you will ride by the Satay by the Bay hawker centre that houses a myriad of food stalls representing Singapore's rich food heritage. Stop by for a quick rest here if you want!
The sleek glass facade of the twin biodomes - the Cloud Garden and Flower Dome - will soon approach on your left. Ride on and pass underneath Sheares Avenue, reaching the lotus-shaped Art Science museum.
Continuing on will bring you along the Marina Bay Sands shopping mall with an excellent view of the CBD on your right.
At the Red Dot Museum, turn right and ride on for around 500m until the junction of Marina Boulevard and Raffles Quay.
You'll now be continuing the majority of your journey on public roads. So strap on your helmet properly, turn on your lights, be aware of your surroundings and you'll be just fine!
Get onto Raffles Quay and ride southwards towards Shenton Way. You will pass by the famous Lau Pa Sat hawker center on your right.
Keep going until the traffic lights at end of the road and filter to the right turn lane to turn onto Keppel Road. Stay on Keppel Road and it eventually curves left to Telok Blangah Road*.
Soon you will pass by Vivo City and Harborfront on your left, with Seah Im food centre on your right. The Southern Ridges, a small range of hills including Mount Faber, is visible just beyond.
Keep going straight and you will transition to Pasir Panjang Road before merging with West Coast Highway, the gateway to the South West quadrant of Singapore.
We took the scenic option of riding along West Coast Park, a brief respite from the industrial truck-laden roads!
*Many experienced road cyclists prefer at this point to filter right and go onto the West Coast Highway viaduct, or elevated road.
However, for this article, we chose to keep closer to the ground as it is quite tricky to filter across multiple lanes in busy traffic to get onto the viaduct.
Continue along West Coast Highway until the junction with Jalan Buroh.
The ride takes on a rather industrial vibe from this point on - be prepared for the many interesting smells from the various factories in this area!
You will soon pass by Pandan Reservoir - the largest service reservoir in Singapore - on your right, though you may not be able to actually see it if you keep to the road.
We chose a small detour and rode along the gravel path that surrounds the reservoir instead, joining back with Jalan Buroh at the Penjuru Flyover.
Jalan Buroh soon gives way to Pioneer Road, followed by a left turn onto Tuas West Road.
Most of the vehicles in this area are large trucks and the roads are also a little rougher, so do watch out for potholes.
It's a long, straight ride to get to Lamp Post 1, and we sure were relieved when we got there!
The infamous lamppost is now covered in layers upon layers of stickers from various cycling clubs.
Do note that this is officially the only lamp post in Singapore which you are allowed to "vandalise" in the spirit of "brightening up life in Singapore" - a rare but welcome exception in our otherwise strict city!
Simply retrace your steps at Lamp Post 1 until your reach the traffic light junction between Pioneer Road and Jalan Buroh, where you will turn left to continue along Pioneer Road followed by Pioneer Road North.
Continue under the PIE Nanyang flyover, and you will be greeted by the National Technological University (NTU) roundabout and take the third exit onto Nanyang Crescent.
It's a cooling ride under the canopy on NTU campus grounds as you hit another roundabout and take the third exit into Nanyang Avenue.
Ride uphill and cruise back down to the traffic junction where you will turn left onto Jalan Bahar. You will pass by the Civil Defence Academy on your left with Choa Chu Kang Christian Cemetery on your right.
You will then transition onto Lim Chu Kang Road which is just over 6km in length and passes by Tengah Airbase on your right.
At around the 5.7km mark, turn right onto Neo Tiew Road, a winding and undulating road that takes you by various farms, the Kranji Marshes and the famous Bollywood Veggies vegetarian cafe.
Continue along to Kranji Way and ride over Kranji Dam - to your left you will glimpse the distant cityscape of Johor Bahru, Malaysia, whilst Kranji Reservoir lies to your right.
Go onto Kranji Loop, and turn right at the junction with Kranji Road. Continue until the junction with Woodlands Road and turn left, followed by another left at the junction with Woodlands Avenue 3.
At the junction with Woodlands Crossing, go straight onto Woodlands Centre Road. Immediately after the Old Woodlands Checkpoint, just uphill, you will see a spiral ramp on your left.
Dismount and push your bike up this ramp and continue riding along the park connector northwards.
Get onto Admiralty Road West and take care along this steep downhill descent until you reach Woodlands Promenade lookout point. You will be able to see the Causeway and Johor Bahru city just beyond.
Continue along Admiralty Road West for around 8.5km when it transitions to Admiralty Road East, and terminates at the junction with Sembawang Road.
Turn right, followed by a left turn at the junction with Canberra Street.
There is a Park Connector that you can ride on - it turns left at the junction with Canberra Way which then connects to Yishun Avenue 8.
Keep riding along Yishun Avenue 8 and it transitions to Yishun Avenue 1 which is on top of Yishun Dam. This is a great spot for some stunning photos!
At the junction with Seletar North Link, turn left and you will be traversing the twin islands of Punggol Barat and Punggol Timor ("Punggol West" and "Punggol East" in Malay).
You've now reached Punggol, a relatively young enclave of new families with a decidedly sporty and active vibe! After crossing Punggol Tidal Gate, keep an eye out for the entrance to Punggol Park Connector on your left.
It's a relatively pleasant ride along the PCN - we won't go too much into detail here as we've covered it in another article here - just make your way to Pasir Ris Farmway 3, either via Coney Island or Punggol Promenade. If you want more details on cycling around Punggol, check out this article we wrote!
From Pasir Ris Farmway 3, go into Lorong Halus PCN which connects you to Pasir Ris Beach Park. Ride eastwards and exit the park at Pasir Ris Close. At the junction, turn left onto Pasir Ris Drive 3 - you'll be glad to know there is a wide PCN along this road.
Turn left onto a small PCN after the bus stop (Opposite Pasir Ris Primary School) - it's a shortcut to Loyang Drive, followed by Loyang Way and finally Loyang Avenue. Continue along Loyang Avenue and you will reach Changi Beach Park.
From Changi Beach Park, it's a fairly straightforward route and you'll only be cycling on PCNs from this point on.
We took the opportunity to check out the newly opened Changi Bay PCN that links Changi Coast Track to the Tanah Merah Coast Road cycling lane, or if you prefer, the PCN.
This is the time to dig deep as it will be a roughly 10km stretch of road (or pavement) that will test your mental fortitude! If you're lucky, there will be a westward tailwind to push you along.
At around 9km, do watch out for the left entrance to the Coastal Park Connector that links you to Changi Coast Walk which terminates at entrance of the National Service Resort and Country Club.
You will then go onto East Coast Park which meanders on for another 10km along the southeast coast of Singapore. We covered it in greater detail in this article.
Keep going until after the Fort Road carpark, where you will eventually pass by the Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant and Public Space.
There are some interesting displays here with information about Singapore's efforts towards its water independence.
Continue until you reach the junction between Marina East Park Connector and Tanjong Rhu Promenade.
At this point, you would have completed the loop! We continued back up Tanjong Rhu Promenade and headed back to Decathlon Singapore Lab.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Stay safe, and enjoy taking in the scenic views of Singapore when you take on the round island cycling route.
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