Park Camping Permit

Park Camping Permit

With the school holidays approaching this June, you may want to consider camping in the parks of Singapore.

Park camping is a fun, family-friendly and free way to enjoy family bonding. Friends, classmates and colleagues may even want to use camping as a unique way to get to know one another better.

However, there are some administrative changes to the system of booking a camping permit recently.

NPark camping permits in five coastal parks of Singapore are now required for ALL days of the week. This includes weekdays, weekends, public holidays and school holidays.

Image: Park camping permit required before you park your tent in Singapore coastal parks.

If you plan to camp out in these five parks of Singapore, namely:

Changi Beach Park - Between Carpark 1 to Carpark 4 and Carpark 6 to Carpark 7)

East Coast Park - Area D and Area G

Pasir Ris Park - Area 1 and Area 3

West Coast Park, Area 3

Sembawang Park, Area A

then a camping permit must be obtained. You need to note that there are now designated areas for your camping at these parks.

In the good old days, you just plonk your tent at the beach park and wait for the park ranger to turn up to issue you a ticket after looking through your NRIC. With effect from 15 Apr 2009, you must apply for a camping permit from any of the 500 AXS machines island-wide as well as through the internet at http://www.axs.com.sg before you set up tentage.

A park camping permit is valid for 1 day from 9am to 9am the following day. Each person or camper will be able to apply for a maximum of 8 days per month.

Apart from the five parks mentioned above, camping is also allowed at Noordin and Mamam Beaches at Pulau Ubin. Camping permits are not required at these sites but for safety reasons, campers are advised to inform the officers at Pulau Ubin Police Post on the day they are camping.

There are other details to note before you apply for park camping permit in Singapore.

1. Permits are required for all camping activities which involves set up or erecting of tent.

2. Camping is allowed only within the designated campsite(s). Open fire or stoves are not allowed.

3. Applicant is required to register the particulars of every person staying in the same tent.

4. A NRIC/FIN cannot be used for more than one permit per park per day.

5. Leaving behind trash is an act of litter, liable for a fine of $300.

6. You must declare that you have a permanent housing address in Singapore before you can apply for a camping permit.

Currently no charges are applicable for camping permits, although this may change if the beaches get too congested. I would not be surprised if charges are levied in future, to reduce park camping congestion, the way our roads are ERP regulated. Perhaps they may call it 'ECP' - electronic camp pricing.

Do you have any experience with the booking of a camping permit recently? Share with Seen This Scene That in the comments below.

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