A Scenic Cycle Around Alexandra, Labrador and Sentosa

(1 review)

Singapore audio tour: A Scenic Cycle Around Alexandra, Labrador and Sentosa

This is a 10.2mi cycling tour

It takes an average of 120 mins to complete.

Singapore

$7.99

Access all 62 locations offline with the VoiceMap app

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About the Tour

The area just west of Singapore’s Central Business District is full of surprises. On this cycling tour, you’ll visit well-known spots, as well as some of the area’s out-of-the-way gems. Our tour starts on the Alexandra Canal, after which you’ll peddle by the contemporary art exhibits at Gillman Barracks. You’ll then take a relaxing ride through the mangroves on Berlayer Creek Boardwalk, towards Keppel Bay with its incredible vistas, and onto the palm tree-dotted beaches of Sentosa.

Along the way, you'll hear about:

The island's first brewery
A tragic hospital massacre
The gruesome WWII events that unfolded in the valley behind Hort Park
The barracks near the sea
A beacon to the past and other navigational aids
Wildlife in the mangroves
The histories of Sentosa Island and VivoCity

This ride includes plenty of history, little-known curiosities, and the opportunity for you to sample some excellent ice cream – take your time and enjoy the journey!

Please note that this route has a combination of bike-lanes and sidewalks. Please ride safely and share the sidewalks respectfully.

If you need to rent a bike, the closest rental shop is Bicycle Hut, an easy 3.5km cycle from the starting point: https://bicyclehut.com.sg/

Tour Producer

Robin McAdoo & Heidi Sarna

1 tour

When Robin moved to Singapore several years ago, cycling was a way to explore their new home without a car and a great way to interact with the local culture. At first, trying to navigate the PCNs (Park Connector Network) was frustrating because it was easier to ride on the roads and not deal with abrupt endings with no clear direction to continue. But that wasn’t an option when trying to encourage two teenage daughters to ride along. Robin needed to find safe and interesting routes to bring her family if they were going to get out on bicycles together. Thus, the work began, mapping out routes with incentives along the way to encourage the family to join her.

Heidi moved to Singapore from New York City with her husband and twin sons back in 2006. An innately curious person, she began exploring from the get-go, signing up for heritage tours and walking and bike riding around Singapore’s back roads and side streets, a curious bird looking to peel the onion. She knew there had to be more to Singapore than shopping malls and high-rise towers, and indeed, there certainly is.

As part of a series of “Secret” books published by Jonglez Publishing, Heidi's new book "Secret Singapore" features 125 little-known, hidden or forgotten places and things in Singapore. Often with Robin along for the ride, leading the way with her uncanny ability to map routes and get the two of them where they needed to go. Robin’s mapping genius and Heidi’s secret-gathering, combined with their love of cycling, was a great idea waiting to happen.

And so Bike-a-Local & Secret Pedals was born.

Preview Location

Location 1

Start - Alexandra Canal

Welcome to the Alexandra, Labrador and Sentosa ride. This cycling route will take you along the charming Alexandra Canal with a bike path beside it, then down sidewalks and picking up bike paths again. In Singapore, we call these bike paths PCN’s, which stands for Park Connec... Welcome to the Alexandra, Labrador and Sentosa ride. This cycling route will take you along the charming Alexandra Canal with a bike path beside it, then down sidewalks and picking up bike paths again. In Singapore, we call these bike paths PCN’s, which stands for Park Connector Network. When you see the letters PCN. marked on the pavement you’ll know you’re in a ‘bike-friendly’ zone. From here forward, I’ll call the bike paths PCNs. After exploring Sentosa island, we'll end our tour at VivoCity, one of Singapore's largest malls.

You'll explore Singapore's pedestrian world because these sidewalks and paths are shared by everyone on foot or self-propelled wheels so be cautious and respectful by using your bell to alert people of your presence. Ready to go? Fill up your water bottle, apply your sunblock, check the air in your tires, put on your helmet and let’s go!

You should be at the intersection of Prince Charles Crescent and the Alexandra Canal.

Before we get going, I'll briefly explain how VoiceMap works.

It uses your location to play audio automatically at the right moment. This means you can put your phone away. There may be occasional periods of silence in between talking and this is normal. There's an onscreen map if you feel lost and if you go way off track, VoiceMap will let you know.  

So, let's get going.

With the canal on your right, start cycling along it on the PCN, away from downtown.

By the way, I’m Robin McAdoo, an avid cyclist and co-founder of Bike-A-Local Singapore, a cool new start-up that offers self-guided bicycle routes all over Singapore designed to get curious people out and about on their bikes, discovering new things on this remarkable little island. Some of the rides Bike-A-Local offers, including this one, were inspired in part by my partner Heidi Sarna’s new book, “Secret Singapore,” a collection of hidden and forgotten places, stories and surprising nuggets around Singapore.

While you ride, let me give you a little backstory about Singapore’s canals. Singapore was attractive to early settlers, and newer ones too, in part because of its easy access to water — it’s an island after all. Rivers and streams fanned out across the islands and fed mangrove swamps and marshes. Heavy tropical monsoon rains added stormwater to soggy humid low-lying Singapore so over the decades, especially post-independence from the 1960s onward, concrete drainage canals were built to control and stave-off flooding. Many of these canals have been decked over with roadways and hidden from view, though some remain, like parts of the Alexandra Canal here, which is a “channelized” tributary of the approximately 3-kilometer-long Singapore River which officially starts just a short distance back toward downtown near Great World City. Over the course of almost 10 years, gardens and decks were built along the canal to create a comfortable corridor for folks to exercise.

Keep cycling. You'll hear from me when you reach the intersection at Tanglin Road. Read More

View locations and route

How VoiceMap Works

Focus on your surroundings, not the screen

The VoiceMap app uses GPS to play audio automatically, at the right time and place, so you can focus on your surroundings, not the screen.

Follow a route with turn-by-turn-directions

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a fixed starting point. That lets us give turn-by-turn directions and use context to tell a better story.

Resume playback to go at your own pace

If you'd like to stop for a drink or go into a museum, end your tour then use the Resume feature to pick up exactly where you left off.

Listen as many times as you like

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Major Landmarks

Alexandra Canal
Berlayer Creek Boardwalk
Keppel Bay
Gillman Barracks
Labrador Park
VivoCity
Sentosa Island

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Alexandra Canal, Singapore, Singapore
Total distance

16km
Final location
Sentosa Gateway, Singapore
Distance back to start location

3km

Directions to Starting Point

Meet at the intersection of Prince Charles Crescent and Alexandra Canal. There is plenty of room to be dropped off by a taxi or find parking if you choose not to cycle there.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Gillman Barracks, Labrador Park, VivoCity, the beach at Sentosa

Best time of day

In Singapore, the best time to exercise outdoors is in the morning or evening. I have found that this ride is best done in the morning, before it gets too hot.

Precautions

Remember to wear your helmet and carry a mask in case you need to stop. Always keep to the left when riding and be considerate of pedestrians sharing these spaces.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

Google Play Store

Questions and Reviews

5 / 5

1 Ratings

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