Best Spots For NDP Fireworks!

Photo by Nitin Mathew on Unsplash

The original plan was to create a little guide for the motorist that would like to seek out the NDP fireworks in the comfort of their own car. It usually is an impressive spectacle and can make for a romantic little distraction with your significant other from the stresses of city living, especially if you choose to watch from a secluded area far away from the masses.

Then 2020 happened. A year that thus far, has thrown us multiple curveballs. Events have been cancelled en masse. Plans have been postponed, in a world that is currently in chaos. It may be the first year of a fresh decade, but if it’s anything to go by, this will be an uncertain couple of years.

Just to be clear here, there will still be NDP fireworks this year. The organising committee has announced that they will bring the fireworks to the heartlands, which logically should mean that the scale and drama of the main display at Marina Bay should be diminished somewhat. 10 Estates will get their own display, and they include Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Buona Vista, Jurong Lake Gardens, Punggol, Sembawang, Tampines, Woodlands and Yew Tee.

Photo by Walter Cheung on Unsplash

You can bet your bottom dollar that the main spectacle, diminished it may be, will still be at the Marina Reservoir. If not for the road closures in the CBD on National Day itself, there would have been many ideal spots to park up and enjoy the display from the comfort of your own car. Connaught Drive for example, would have been an ideal spot, as it is a fairly quiet road in the CBD that is just one street away from the Marina Reservoir

So where else can you head to in and around the city for a comfortable glimpse of the pyrotechnics?

Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash

You can get a pretty decent view of the fireworks once they are fully in the sky. However, you probably won't be able to see them as they are being fired as there are numerous buildings standing in your way.

Patrolling officers are a thing that you do not need to worry about, as this is a proper carpark and you're actually allowed to stop and stare at the spectacle!

Map To International Plaza!

Photo by Eugene Lim on Unsplash

It probably didn’t strike you as a possible vantage point as it actually is quite a distance away from Marina Reservoir, but anecdotal evidence suggests that you can still get a fairly clear view of the fireworks despite said distance.

Being a proper car park, you do not have to worry about cops patrolling and potentially risking a hefty fine too!

Map To KLP!

Photo by Nitin Mathew on Unsplash

We’d have suggested parking up at Bay East Garden. Unfortunately, it will be closed to the general public on National Day itself. The roads surrounding the carpark are fairly secluded though, and it is pretty inconvenient to get there even in a car. But there are pros to this seclusion.

Firstly, you won’t be obstructing any major traffic if you decide to pull up to watch the display. Secondly, the relative ‘ulu’ location means less will go there just for a 10 minute display. You also get a pretty clear view of the city skyline, with no tall buildings obstructing your view.

Map To Rhu Cross

There’s actually no word on if the Marina Bay Open Carpark will remain accessible through the National Day weekend from any source, so it’s safe to say that it will be. Compared to the other suggestions on this list, it is more accessible. However, you’d have one massive tradeoff, in the form of the MBS towers in your direct line of sight. You’ll have to trek towards the reservoir for a clearer view!

Map To Carpark!

Unfortunately, there aren’t very many vantage points in the city you can get to in a car. Most CBD buildings no longer have a rooftop carpark that you can access (that would have been ideal in this case!), and the more close-up viewing points have all been closed off to the general public. However, if you’d still like to get close to the fireworks, without having to drive down to the city in the first place, you can consider catching what we’d expect to be smaller-scale displays in the heartlands.

No official word yet on the specific locations of these fireworks, but you can expect them to be launched in big open fields. Considering scouting for car parks around said fields for the best vantage points!

Just to be clear here, we’d definitely have liked to have provided a little more information on the best viewing spots around the island. But with the locations being kept under wraps for the time being, and with the best vantage points in the city being out of bounds, if you are in a car and would like to catch the fireworks, these happen to be your best bet. There are plenty of other places you can head to should you decide to park up at various CBD buildings and head up to their roof gardens.

However, we'd like to believe that regardless of the carpark you choose to parkup in an attempt to look at the fireworks, if you happen to live in an area like Ang Mo Kio, or Bishan, where the buildings were built shorter originally to accomodate the needs of the RSAF and Paya Lebar airbase, that any carpark of the multi-storey variety will do nicely, as the relative lower heights mean less obstruction standing in your way of the view!

If you’re looking forward to normalcy in 2021, watching the fireworks then in the comfort of a car, and currently do not have a ride legally registered to your name, consider browsing through our extensive car classifieds! With new listings from trusted dealers and brands being added daily, there is definitely something for everyone regardless of your budget, preference or needs! Check out our exhaustive catalogue!

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Credits: Jek Ray Low