Your Questions, Answered

Tanken is a self-guided walking-trail app for Singapore. Pick a trail, make your way to its starting point, and the experience begins when you arrive: as you walk, each stop opens on its own the moment you reach it, with a short story about where you're standing.

A guided tour moves at the group's pace and ends after a dozen sights. Tanken is yours: walk any day, at any hour, as slowly as you like, which is how our trails can afford twenty or thirty stops where a guided walk manages a handful.

Where other self-guided trails hand you facts at landmarks, a Tanken trail tells one continuous story, and the walk stays yours afterwards: everything you heard, read and captured is there to return to, that evening or years later. We don't know of anything else that walks Singapore this way.

No. There are no timings, no guide to meet, no group to keep up with. Go when you like, walk at your own pace, and take as long as you want, on your own or with friends and family.

Pick a trail in the app and head to its starting point; the app shows you where that is. Arriving doesn't start the trail by itself: once you're there, the app lets you begin whenever you're ready, and guides you from that point on.

No. Tanken works by noticing when you arrive. Step inside a stop's radius and its card slides up on its own. No scanning, no check-ins, just walking.

A card opens with a short story about the spot you've just reached. Some stops ask a question, some ask you to look for something around you, and everything can be listened to as well as read.

Each trail is a sequence, and its story is told in that order. The app points you from one stop to the next, so there's no navigating to think about.

We'd rather you didn't. Being unhurried is the point: with no schedule to keep, you slow down and start noticing your surroundings, which is exactly what the trails are built around. Stops also sit close together, and taken at speed they may not open at all.

It's as useful to locals as it is to tourists. There's heritage all over Singapore, and unless you're a serious history buff, a trail will likely teach you something new about a place you've seen a hundred times.

There are seven, threading through the heart of the city, and none are difficult to get to. Each trail's starting point, distance and walking time are in the app.

We write them ourselves, slowly. The research is led by Kelvin, an award-winning NUS educator, and drawn only from sources we can stand behind: the National Library and National Heritage Board, published books and academic research, the work of established historians, local newspapers, the official records of the institutions themselves, and occasionally Wikipedia, checked against the rest.

The writing is then folded into one continuous story and walked, stop by stop, until every detail matches what's in front of you.

The list in the app is our editors' order, so starting from the top is a fine plan. But each trail is its own story; read the introductions and follow whichever pulls at you.

That depends on the number of stops and the walking distance, both listed clearly for each trail, but most take between two and three hours. There's no clock running: pause whenever you like.

Yes. Your progress is saved to your account, so you can stop for lunch or for a week and pick up where you left off.

No, and that's on purpose. The surprise is part of the walk: stops are meant to be met on foot, not read off a list beforehand.

Each stop is also a chapter in the trail's story, never a standalone fact. That's what makes a Tanken walk different, and what makes it stay with you. What you can see up front: where a trail starts, how far it runs, and roughly what kind of stops it holds.

The trails walk fine under an umbrella. If you'd rather not, pause and come back another day; your progress stays exactly where you left it.

The story still opens; it's tied to the place, not the scaffolding. We do our best to keep trails current as the landscape changes, but a route can be blocked by festivities or sudden construction. If that leaves a stop truly unreachable, write to hello@curiosidad.sg and we'll sort it out.

The seven trails are built as a complete experience of Singapore: more than 200 stops and tens of hours of walking, which is plenty to be getting on with. If the reception is good, we're not ruling out more.

Yes. Tanken is available in every country the App Store and Google Play support, so you can download it, sign in and even buy before you land. The trails themselves need you here: stops open only on the ground in Singapore.

iPhones running iOS 17 or later, and Android phones running Android 8 or later. There's no iPad version yet; on an iPad, Tanken installs as a Designed-for-iPhone app (Apple's compatibility mode), so everything works, drawn at iPhone size.

Text size, yes: the app follows your phone's setting. VoiceOver and TalkBack support is experimental for now.

Yes, families walk trails together. The stories are written for a general audience: history isn't always gentle, and where a trail touches war or hardship it does so honestly, without graphic detail. Tanken is rated 4+ on the App Store, with the equivalent ratings published on Google Play.

Most trails are gentle: level footpaths and few steps, fine with a stroller or a wheelchair. Where a trail has a climb, it's flagged in the Before you go section on that trail's page.

The way you'd handle any walk in the city: bring an umbrella, wet tissues or a small towel, and sunblock if you're sensitive to the sun. There's no schedule to keep, so step into the shade or the aircon whenever you like; the trail waits.

At any reasonable hour, yes: the trails run along public streets, and stops don't need a door to be open. Late at night some places, temples especially, will be closed, so you'd be walking past rather than in. The app has a dark mode, easier on the eyes after sunset.

No stop charges admission. Some sights are worth stepping inside, and where that's possible the story invites you in, but it's always your choice, never a requirement.

The app is free to download, and the first three stops of every trail are free to walk, so you can get a feel for the experience before deciding to go further.

A single one-time purchase opens everything else. The exact price is shown in the app; it varies a little from country to country, as store prices are adjusted for local currencies, exchange rates and taxes.

No. It's a one-time purchase: pay once, and it's yours.

Every stop on every trail, plus Makan Time, our companion guide to hawker dishes and the stories behind them.

No. The seven trails are one body of work: each covers different ground, and together they make the full Singapore experience. That's what the single purchase buys. Walk the free stops of a few trails first; you'll know whether it's for you before spending anything.

No, each account buys its own. A guided tour is priced per person, and Tanken asks the same, with a difference: one accessible, one-time price opens all seven trails, and the free stops mean everyone can try before anyone pays.

Yes. You can buy Tanken as a gift through Pelago.

No. Nothing in Tanken is sponsored: no paid placements in the trails, no advertising, and no shop or stall is mentioned because someone paid to be. If that ever changes it will be clearly marked, and we won't take sponsorship that doesn't sit right with heritage.

Singapore doesn't sit still, and neither do the trails: when a place changes, we update its story. Your purchase covers the trails as they grow, not a snapshot. When a change is significant, we'll even send a notification to those who've walked the stop before, so you can see what's different in your passport.

Yes. Sign in with the same account and your trail progress comes with you. The purchase itself is handled by the App Store or Google Play, so restore it from the store account you originally bought with.

If you unlocked Premium with your SG Culture Pass, it's tied to your Tanken account rather than a store, so it's even simpler: just sign in with the same account.

Purchases go through Apple or Google, so refunds do too: request one from the App Store or Google Play, whichever you bought from. If you get stuck, write to support@curiosidad.sg and we'll point you the right way.

SG Culture Pass purchases are different: they go through Pelago and can't be refunded, so walk a trail's free stops before you spend your credits.

Yes. You can put your SG Culture Pass credits toward Tanken Premium, which opens all seven trails. You book it through Pelago, Singapore Airlines' experiences platform, and it unlocks in the app once you redeem. Our SG Culture Pass page walks through the whole thing.

The SG Culture Pass gives eligible Singapore Citizens $100 in credits to spend on local arts, heritage and culture, valid until the end of 2028. If you have credits, Tanken is one of the experiences you can spend them on. You can check your eligibility and balance at sgculturepass.gov.sg.

No. Tanken Premium is a one-time S$25, a quarter of your $100, and the rest stays yours for other local experiences.

On the Tanken listing on Pelago, look for the "SG Culture Pass eligible" tag, pick any date, and tap Book. The date is only there for checkout; it isn't a session you have to attend, and your access never expires.

At checkout, choose Pay with SG Culture Pass, log in with Singpass, and confirm. Your credits cover the S$25; if your balance is short, you can top up the rest with PayNow or a card.

Once your booking comes through, we email you a redemption link. Open it, sign in with your Tanken account, and Premium unlocks straight away.

Open the redemption link we email you and sign in with your Tanken account, the same one you use in the app. Premium unlocks on that account straight away, so open the app and it's there.

New to Tanken? Download the free app and create an account when you redeem; the link works either way.

Your account. An SG Culture Pass purchase unlocks Premium on your Tanken account, not your Apple or Google account, so it works the same on iPhone and Android and comes with you to any new phone. Just sign in with the same account.

The App Store and Google Play can't take SG Culture Pass credits, so credit purchases run through Pelago, an approved SG Culture Pass platform. We chose Pelago over the other options because it's local, Singapore Airlines' own. Either way you get the same Tanken Premium, unlocked on the same account.

Yes. Because you're booking on Pelago, Singapore Airlines' platform, your booking can still earn KrisFlyer miles, even when you pay with credits. The current rate is on Pelago's guide.

Yes. The SG Culture Pass lets you spend your credits on friends and family, so you can put them toward Tanken Premium for someone else. Book it on Pelago as you would for yourself, then forward the redemption link we email you: whoever opens it and signs in with their own Tanken account gets Premium.

No, there's nothing more to unlock, and SG Culture Pass purchases can't be refunded, so don't spend your credits on it twice. If you've already booked by mistake, the redemption link isn't tied to your account, so you can pass the unlock to a friend or family member. Unsure? Write to support@curiosidad.sg first.

SG Culture Pass purchases can't be refunded, so it's worth trying Tanken first: the first three stops of every trail are free to walk. If your purchase didn't go through properly, write to support@curiosidad.sg and we'll sort it out.

Of course. The SG Culture Pass is one way to pay, not the only one. Tanken Premium is available to everyone in the app through the App Store or Google Play, at the price shown there.

No. The 2028 deadline is on the SG Culture Pass credits, not on what you buy with them. Spend them on Tanken Premium before then and the unlock is yours for good, updates and all.

No. Start the trail, put your phone away, and walk. Tanken notices when you arrive at a stop even with the screen locked, and if you allow notifications (you'll be asked when you start a trail), it sends one as each stop opens. On an Apple Watch, the next stop is on your wrist.

Yes. Tanken needs a data connection to load trails and save your walk. Mobile coverage in Singapore is good, and a regular data plan or tourist SIM is plenty. The app is also built to tolerate flaky connections, so don't worry if the signal dips here and there; the walk carries on.

Not much. A full trail, narration and images included, comes to a few dozen megabytes, about what a few minutes of streamed video uses. A tourist SIM or roaming plan will barely notice it.

City GPS wanders between tall buildings, and the app is built to expect that: a stop still opens when you're in its vicinity, even when your phone's accuracy is poor. If nothing happens, a few steps around the spot usually settles it.

Yes, and we encourage it: listening lifts the whole experience. Stops are narrated in a Singaporean's true voice, colloquial terms and all, so you can keep your eyes on the street and your phone in your pocket. Bring earbuds.

No. The narration reads the same words that are on the screen; nothing is audio-only.

English and Chinese, across the whole app, including trail content and narration. The Chinese edition is a proper translation with its own native narration, not an afterthought.

We'd love that. But every language we add has to tell the story as precisely and honestly as the original, and that means a human reviewer working through every stop, every dish and every line of narration. We'll add languages only when we can do them properly.

Yes. The watch keeps you pointed at the next stop so your phone can stay in your pocket, and with your permission it records the walk as a workout in Apple Health.

Not yet; watch support is Apple Watch only for now, though we're not ruling it out if the response is good. Everything else works the same on Android: phone in pocket, notifications on.

We know this is the worry: nobody wants a dead phone halfway through a trail. So Tanken is built with energy efficiency in mind, and tested on the ground rather than on paper.

From our field testing, the longest trail, walked at a very slow pace, used less than 40% of a full charge on a four-year-old iPhone.

You collect as you go. Every stop you visit lands in your passport the moment you reveal it, finished trail or not, and your journal keeps everything you wrote, answered and photographed along the way. Quiet trophies, but they're yours.

Yes. Once you've walked a stop, its story stays yours to re-read and re-listen from anywhere, long after you've flown home. The walk is the way in, not a rental period.

Write to hello@curiosidad.sg for both. Bugs get fixed; corrections get checked and, if you're right, changed. We'd rather fix an error than defend it.

Trails work by noticing when you arrive at a stop, and that takes your location. The app uses it in exactly two places: when you open the app, to work out which trails you're close enough to start, and while you're walking a trail, so stops can open as you reach them, even with your phone in your pocket. Nowhere else.

We don't store your location, and the detection happens on your phone. Your device asks for permission first, and you can withdraw it at any time in settings; without it, stops can't open. We value your privacy because we value ours too.

They're yours. Everything you make on a trail is saved privately to your account as a journal of the walk. Nothing is posted anywhere, and nobody else sees it unless you choose to share it.

No. We collect only what the trails need to work, we don't sell it, and you can ask us to delete it at any time. The details are in our privacy policy, written in plain language.

Yes. Your account is what keeps your progress, journal and purchase together. Use a one-time email link, Sign in with Apple, Sign in with Google, or Facebook Login.

In the app: Settings → Account → Delete account. If you can't get into the app, the steps are on our account deletion page. Your data goes with it.

We'd love that. The trails carry real research, and they work as well for a class outing as they do back in the classroom. Write to hello@curiosidad.sg and tell us what you have in mind.

Trail-making is slow craft: deep research folded into one continuous story, then walked and rewritten until every stop earns its place. If you're a heritage board, a neighbourhood association or a brand with a place worth that kind of telling, write to hello@curiosidad.sg.

Yes, as your own experience. Everything inside Tanken is written and edited by us, and we keep it that way. But the platform underneath (stops that open as you arrive, narration, translations, the journal) can run an experience under your own name, with your stories. Write to hello@curiosidad.sg with what you have in mind.