NParks shut a marked stretch of the Coastal Loop boardwalk at Chek Jawa Wetlands from 15 September 2026. The expected finish is 30 April 2027. The guided wetlands tour is also off until further notice because of works on the floating pontoon. That is not a reason to skip 乌敏岛. House No. 1, Jejawi Tower, the Mangrove Loop and the yellow-marked remainder of the Coastal Loop stay open. The Saturday boat from Changi Point still runs.
What the two notices actually close
The wetlands sit at the eastern tip of Pulau Ubin, about 3 km from the public jetty. In Chinese it is 仄爪哇. Six habitats meet on one 100 ha patch.
- Sandy beach
- Rocky beach
- Seagrass lagoon
- Coral rubble
- Mangroves
- Coastal forest
The 1.1 km of boardwalk splits into a 600 m Coastal Loop and a 500 m Mangrove Loop. Jejawi Tower, a 21 m viewing platform named for the Malayan banyan beside it, sits in between.
The 15 September notice is specific. A section of the Coastal Loop, drawn in red on the NParks map, is closed for maintenance. Visitors can keep using the Mangrove Loop and the open Coastal Loop, drawn in yellow. Expected completion is 30 April 2027. A second notice closes a track from Chek Jawa Wetlands, also marked in red, until further notice. Neither PDF names a detour in words. Read the maps on the Pulau Ubin notices page before you ride out, because a closed track is easy to miss once you are already on the island.
The Chek Jawa Wetlands Tour, the paid guided walk that used to put you on the sandbar at a 0.5 m tide, stays suspended because of the pontoon works. NParks has not posted a restart date. DIY walking on the boardwalks that remain open is still the plan.
House No. 1, the tower, and the rest of the island
The current notices, last updated 17 September 2026, say Chek Jawa Wetlands, including the Coastal and Mangrove boardwalks, Jejawi Tower and the visitor centre, remain open 7 am to 7 pm daily. That is the hours line to use while the works run. An older wetlands page still talks about a DIY window of 9 am to 5 pm. Trust the notices when the two disagree.
House No. 1 is the Tudor-style visitor centre at the wetlands. It is the place with the island map on the wall, the briefing for school groups, and a viewing jetty. The tower is seven storeys of aluminium railings built to take the salt. You can still climb it. You can still walk the mangrove side. What you cannot do is treat the Coastal Loop as a full circuit, and you cannot book the guided intertidal walk until NParks puts it back.
If the red line on the map kills the eastern boardwalk for your group, the island is not empty. Butterfly Hill is a planted knoll that NParks built to hold butterfly species, with a shelter and two short paths. Sensory Trail Pond, the old fish farms joined into one waterbody, is on the way out from the village. Pekan Quarry's floating wetlands sit on the old granite cut. Those are Ubin, not Chek Jawa. They are what people actually do when the tide or a closure makes the wetlands a shorter stop.
The Changi Point boat is still the front door
You start at Changi Point Ferry Terminal, 51 Lorong Bekukong, next to the village hawker centre. Privately run bumboats leave on demand from 6 am to 7 pm once about 12 people are aboard. The ride is about 10 minutes. NParks lists about S$4 a person each way, plus S$2 for a bicycle. Confirm the fare with the operator before you sit down. Outside those hours, or with fewer than 12 people, the boatmen will sometimes leave for a higher fare. That is a private arrangement, not a posted timetable.
From the Ubin jetty it is a 40-minute walk to Chek Jawa, or a rented bike, or one of the island vans. Encik Hassan's, near the jetty, is back on weekends with mee rebus, mee siam and nasi lemak. Cheong Lian Yuen and Season Live Seafood sit by the water. Sin Nam Huat, opposite the wayang stage, still does kopi. Ah Ma Drink Stall is the stop before Jelutong Bridge if you want fruit from the trees behind the house. Cash is still how this island works.
If there is no return boat at the Ubin jetty, NParks tells you to call 1800-471-7300. The last practical boat back toward Changi is before 7 pm unless you have already struck a deal. Camping on Ubin still needs an NParks permit at Jelutong, Mamam or Endut Senin. Tents at Changi Beach Park are not a fallback. They are banned there too.
Box jellyfish have been recorded in Singapore waters on the same notices page. Covered shoes on the intertidal, no collecting, no trampling. The wetlands are a fragile habitat even on the bits of boardwalk that remain open. Take the red closures as a shorter Chek Jawa, not a closed island.
Practical details
- Dates: Coastal Loop section closed 15 September 2026, expected completion 30 April 2027. Guided Chek Jawa Wetlands Tour suspended until further notice. Track from Chek Jawa Wetlands closed until further notice.
- Time: Wetlands, remaining boardwalks, Jejawi Tower and visitor centre 7:00 am to 7:00 pm daily, per NParks notices dated 17 September 2026. Bumboats from Changi Point typically 6:00 am to 7:00 pm.
- Venue: Chek Jawa Wetlands, eastern Pulau Ubin. Visitor centre at House No. 1. Bumboat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal, 51 Lorong Bekukong, Singapore 508597.
- Nearest MRT: Tampines East (DT33) then bus 59, Tampines (EW2/DT32) then bus 29, or Tanah Merah (EW4) then bus 2, all to Changi Village Bus Interchange (99009).
- Price: Wetlands and remaining boardwalks free. Bumboat about S$4 per person each way, plus S$2 for a bicycle. Guided tour not running.
- Website: Pulau Ubin notices (NParks)
