Rock climbing walls to try across Singapore
This guide covers five climbing gyms around Singapore for children who want an active physical challenge. Most are in the central area and one is in Sembawang in the north. Choose by what matters to your family: whether you can walk in, how many children one adult may supervise, and whether you want a coached class for kids.
Lighthouse Climbing
Lighthouse Climbing is a bouldering gym with up to 280 sqm of wall surface, and new routes are set every week. It also runs climbing classes and Animal Flow/Stretch classes.
Children aged 12 and under must be supervised by a paying adult, and one adult can supervise no more than two children.
Good to know:
- No booking is needed for a first visit. You can buy a pass at the counter or online beforehand.
- Rental shoes must be worn with socks. Bring a pair or buy them there.
- There are no toilets or showers inside the gym. It has changing rooms, and there are toilets nearby in the building.
- It has baby change facilities and parking. There is also parking at the nearby Pasir Panjang Food Centre.
Boulder Movement Bugis
The Bugis gym has several different features to climb on:
- a boulder island
- a traverse wall
- a 4-sided arete
- a moon board
- a 30-degree mystery grade wall
Visits here are booked by session. Each Entry Pass lets you book one session at a gym of your choice. Climbing shoes can be rented.
Boulder Planet Sembawang
This gym in the north is the one to look at if you want regular lessons rather than a single visit. BP Rocketeers is a guided weekly bouldering class for kids, run by trained coaches. It follows a progressive curriculum and uses games and other activities to build climbing and social skills.
Two things to know before signing up:
- Children must be at least 90cm tall for the Rocketeers class.
- An assessment session has to be booked before joining.
For climbing sessions, avoid dresses, skirts and restrictive clothing.
boulder+ Aperia
boulder+ Aperia has big overhangs and slab walls, with a wide variety of holds. Children under 13 need a parent supervising them in the gym, and this depends on how full the gym is at the time.
First-time visitors are asked to fill in an online waiver before climbing, so it is worth doing this before you leave home. Climbing shoes can be rented, and socks are sold on site to wear with them.
The gym also holds a yearly anniversary Climbing Carnival that runs across weekends.
fit · bloc
fit · bloc has three outlets, and one entry pass lets you visit all of them on the same day. Its Telok Ayer outlet in the CBD mixes beginner-friendly climbs with competition-style routes. It also has a Tension Board 2, auto-belay high walls and a slide.
No booking is needed, so you can simply walk in. Shoes and harnesses can be rented. If you rent shoes, bring your own socks.
The supervision rule here is strict. Each child must be supervised by an accompanying adult, and one adult can supervise only one child. Plan for this if you are bringing more than one child.
Before you go
A few practical points come up again and again across these gyms.
- Count your adults. Lighthouse Climbing allows two children per supervising adult, while fit · bloc allows one. At boulder+ Aperia, children under 13 need a parent in the gym.
- Pack socks for everyone who will rent shoes. They are needed at Lighthouse Climbing and fit · bloc, and you can buy them on site at Lighthouse Climbing and boulder+ Aperia.
- Check whether you need to book. Lighthouse Climbing and fit · bloc take walk-ins. Boulder Movement Bugis works by booked sessions, and the kids class at Boulder Planet Sembawang needs an assessment session first.
- Do the paperwork early. boulder+ Aperia asks first-time visitors to complete its online waiver before the visit.
- Dress children in clothes they can move in. Boulder Planet Sembawang advises against dresses, skirts and anything restrictive.
- Plan toilet stops at Lighthouse Climbing, where the toilets are in the building rather than inside the gym.