Say what you will about the Vietnam War, at least one good thing came of it: the amphibious American-made DUKW trucks that used to troll Vietnamese waterways have been repurposed into some kick-ass tour vehicles, like the “Splashing DUCK“ utilized today on Singapore's DUCKtours.
DUCKtours offers the only tour of Singapore that lets you see the city-state's historical district from the road… then takes to the water for a totally different perspective.
Splashing Through Singapore's Civic District
The DUCKtours are an ideal way to see the Civic District, an area built around a historic river-based trade. The Civic District's most scenic areas stand very close to the river - a fact that the DUCKtours use to their full advantage.
The tour takes off from Suntec City Mall, then circulates around Singapore's Civic District, running past the Padang, the City Hall building, the War Memorial, and the Victoria Theatre. The trip is accompanied by commentary from the tour guides (“ducktainers“) who offer their wacky take on the city's sights.
The tour then drives straight into the Singapore River (watch the tour's Captain and “ducktainers“ play up the suspense of the inevitable splashdown). From the river and the adjoining Marina Bay, passengers get a great view of the city's skyline.
The whole trip takes about an hour to complete, with lots of sightseeing and picture-taking opportunities all throughout.
A special Night Tour of the Civic District is also available, but interested travelers are requested to call ahead to check for its availability.
Reserving your DUCKtour
Interested tourists can sign up for the DUCKtours at their Suntec City Mall kiosk, at the Suntec Galleria between Suntec Convention Tower and Tower 5. To get there via the MRT, get down at the City Hall MRT Station and walk through the CityLink shopping mall to emerge at Suntec on the other end.
DUCKtours depart every hour, with the first tour leaving 10am and the last at 6pm. Management suggests you call ahead to reserve, as the vehicle seats only 31 people, and the whole day's tour may be filled up by mid-morning.
Luckily, you can reserve a seat a week ahead at the earliest, so call +65 6338 6877 to reserve your spot. When reserving over the phone, be ready to provide name, contact number, number of seats to be reserved, and credit card details.
Once you've paid up (cash and credit card are welcome at the counter), you'll get your boarding pass, which should be collected at least 30 minutes before departure.
Passengers for DUCKtours should expect to pay the following:
- $22.77 (SGD33.00) - Adults over 12 years old
- $11.73 (SGD17.00) - Children between 3 and 12 years of age
- $1.38 (SGD2.00) - Toddlers under 3 years of age
More details are available at the DUCKtours official website, along with a route map (PDF, 2MB) for your reference.
