The Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum

I’m not one for Turtles, other than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, hehe! if I were I kid I would visit this place everyday. There is something so cool about seeing turtles of all shapes and sizes roam free with the amazing opportunity to feed them directly.
Admission is $ 5 for adults and $ 3 for children. As some of my fellow Unilocalers have already noted, I would highly recommend paying an extra $ 2 for turtle food, which during my visit was cabbage. Once you get your food and enter the sanctuary, you are off to the races!
Pick and pull apart your cabbage and you can do one of many things: (i) throw pieces of cabbage into the turtle pond and watch hundreds of turtles converge, (ii) hand feed one of the many large tortoises that roam within separate enclosures, (iii) feed medium sized tortoises/​turtles that climb one on top of another trying to get your attention for food.
The only downside is that this location is a bit of a walk from the nearest MRT station, 15 minutes or so. I would just take a taxi and enter from the other side of the park.
In all, there is nothing like this place anywhere in the world. A must visit for locals and tourists alike!

I was here with my daughter, she loves this place. The day wasn’t really good, rain was pretty strong. But as I promised her we took a walk and saw a lot of turtles. The lady was very nice she provided an umbrella to us for free and also after the tour she gave us a napkin to clean up.
We bought 2 packs of food for turtles I’d say it was too much :)
Overall the place is beautiful and interesting.

I went to this museum with a friend who was visiting Singapore, and I was pleasantly surprised! It’s a bit of a walk to get there from the Chinese Garden MRT, even though the website says it only takes 5 minutes. But perhaps I felt that way because it was hot and we took a leisurely stroll and a roundabout way to get there. There’ll be a lot of signs to point you in the right direction, so don’t you worry if you think you’ll get lost in the sprawling Chinese and Japanese gardens.
Since it’s been a while, I can’t remember how much the admission fee was. Although they have exhibits that feature their collection of turtle trinkets, the main attractions are the live turtles and tortoises, of course! I highly recommend paying the extra $ 2 to feed them. It’s so much fun! You get a handful of spinach, green beans, and other veggies, and it’s super cute to see these über slow turtles approaching you as they keep their eye on the prize!
They keep some turtles in tanks, while others roam free around the premises. There’s also a lake where you can feed the fish, too. Definitely a great place to take the kids!

I initially was slightly unimpressed and didn’t think this place merited anything more than a 3-​star review. It probably was caused by the description of the museum, which had caused me to imagine a larger sanctuary for these creatures where they would be sipping on boo-​juice while chilling and laughing at large-​eyed humans talking and staring at them. Despite boasting over 50+ species, my personal count after spending over an hour there… was slight less than 30.
YET…after much thought, I scrapped my original RANT because there were some things that I truly enjoyed about this place.
1. A young kiddo was helping out there and provided a different experience. First of all, when I said YOUNG, I meant 13 years young. Not only was he very knowledgeable about all the various species in this little sanctuary, but he was quite impressive with his ability to handle and «interact» with them. We noticed him the moment we entered… because he kept saying in a loud and cute but nasally voice, «POOT POOT COMING THRU!» Yep, he was clearing large tortoise dung. After asking him one question and getting to know him better, he gave me a complete tour of the inner part where other species where housed in tanks. He even showed me how to hold each one… as well as how the «smiling turtle» gets so full that it enters a food coma where you can pet it and there is no chance of it biting. COOL KID. Stay around! You’re hilarious!
2. I now know what tortoises sound like when they are mating. No freaking kidding… when I say that it’s one of the FUNNIEST things I’ve ever seen and heard. They are LOUD… LOOOOOOOOOUD…
3. There was one very aggressive tortoise that was charging into anything in front of him. He charged at a pole. He charged at a bucket. He charged into a newspaper and «got lost» within for a moment before charging right out of it again. He eventually tried to charge at the young kid… who just sidestepped and kept him at bay after. The tortoise was probably screaming «YOLO» in whatever animal language he uses.
4. In the middle of the sanctuary is probably the best highlight of it all if you’re having a bad day and need some extreme attention. You could even pretend to be a mage and «conjure» up friends and animals… by purchasing $ 1 turtle feed. These endless — probably 200 – 400 terrapins — automatically move towards any «human movement». Stand there and they’ll flock to you in hordes. Feed them and watch them try to scale walls clumsily before falling back in. Easily the most entertaining part about having little friends who are so eager to get closer to you… that they attempt non-​turtle feats.
For $ 5…and introduction to species you won’t usually see anywhere else… I think it’s more than worth it and definitely recommend if you like turtles and tortoises.
Unilocal 100: ⁴³⁄₁₀₀

This is located inside the Chinese Garden which is right beside the MRT station hence makes it easily accessible. The entrance fee is 5 dollars per person. They raise such a large variety of turtles, terrapins and land tortoises in the museum, it is quite amazing. It is certainly quite an eye opener to see so many types of turtles in many shapes and sizes. They have a large pond with a wooden bridge that vistors can walk across on in the middle of the museum. The large pond houses an astounding number of red-​eared sliders that can be a little overzealous when you present them with food. The food can be bought from a small stand that sells small packets of turtle food for 1 dollar. This place is highly recommended for turtle lovers.