If you’re heading into Johor Bahru for a day trip and trying to maximise your time, this neighbourhood is a great place to bookmark! Eco Spring and Eco Palladium is conveniently located in the Tebrau Corridor, which is around a 30 min drive after crossing CIQ customs.
We probably squeezed in a week’s worth of fun with the kids into one day in Johor Bahru, and it was possible because everything we did was all in one area and within walking distance of each other. From a kid-friendly escape room, to a digger theme play area – both kids and adults had so much fun!
JB With Kids: Explore Eco Spring & Eco Palladium
Here’s a suggested 1-day itinerary:
Head to Eco Spring
We started our day at Eco Spring – the two spots are just a 5-minute walk apart, so even if you’re not driving in, you can simply cab to either spot to start your day and stroll to the next for an entire day of fun!
UE SQUARE’S COSMIC SPACE EXPEDITION: Have An Out-Of-This-World Adventure!
CARNIVAL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER: Celebrate and Win at Plantation Plaza and Northshore Plaza!
SNOW MUCH TO CELEBRATE: Christmas Fun at The Centrepoint
8 O-Clock Bagel
Start off your day at this cafe which specialises in freshly made bagels – it opens at 8am, which makes it a great option to start off the day with breakfast before the other attractions in the area open.
With their variety of bagel selections, there would definitely be something for everyone in the family. Our kids loved the Turkey Ham & Cheese Bagel, while I really enjoyed the seasonal special – Pistachio Kunafa.
Address: Eco Spring Labs, Lot M, Jalan Ekoflora Utama, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun: 8am-4pm; Closed on Mondays
Diggersite JB
If you have kids who are obsessed with construction vehicles, this digger site themed play area will definitely be a hit! With 5 different types of diggers and its respective items to pick up, each site poses a different challenge which requires kids to use their hand eye coordination skill.
For RM40/kid, it not only includes 1 hour of play time with the diggers but also unlimited playtime with the bicycles and sand pit. While adults did not have to pay for entrance, the owner was kind enough to allow us to have a go at operating the diggers too!
Address: Eco Spring Labs Jalan Eko Flora 1 Taman Eko Flora 81100, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Fri-Sun: 10am-8pm; Closed Mon-Thu
Woodfire Eco Spring
image: @thedeeshive
There are several lunch options in this area, we chose to have our lunch here as Woodfire is known for its thick, juicy patties, and it definitely didn’t disappoint! There was even an arcade console to keep the kids entertained while we waited for the food.
Aside from burgers, the restaurant also serves smoked meat platters – but we definitely preferred the burgers and would highly recommend this to be your pit stop to fuel up for the second half of your day!
Address: Eco Spring, SL006, Spring Labs, Lot D, Jalan Ekoflora Utama, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Sat-Thu: 12pm-10pm; Fri 330pm-10pm
Walk in the Park Cafe
If you have kids who love animals, pop over to this pet-friendly cafe after lunch. The resident dogs in the cafe are actually the owners’ and you are welcome to interact with them. Aside from dogs, there was also a small area with guinea pigs.
There is a minimum spend of Rm26/adult required which includes a drink and fries, but you can also order from their main menu to offset this amount – we ordered 2 drinks and finger food from the main menu to share. The cafe does serve mains as well, so this could be a potential lunch spot too.
Address: SL002 Spring Labs, Jalan Ekoflora Utama, Taman Ekoflora, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Mon-Thu: 3pm-8pm; Fri-Sun: 1pm-8pm
Head to Eco Palladium
Once you’re done exploring Eco Spring, head over to Eco Palladium which is just across. It’s a lifestyle hub that’s designed in a European-style architecture where you can shop, dine and play at.
Final Mission Escape
Most escape rooms are usually quite terrifying and definitely not suited for kids, but this one not only offers that but also kid-friendly ones. There are 6 different kids-themed escape rooms to choose from, with varying difficulty and corresponding duration to solve the puzzle.
This was our kids’ first time trying so we decided to choose one of the easier puzzles which would take approximately 30 minutes to solve – Dinosaur Treasure. Happy to report that we solved the mystery and escaped successfully!
Address: Eco Palladium, B-01, 31, Jalan Ekoflora 7/1, Pusat Perdagangan Ekoflora, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri: 1130am-1030pm; Sat-Sun: 1030am-1130pm
Twinkle Square
Haven’t tried the viral Floor is Lava game yet? Then this place is definitely a stop you need to make! Our kids loved the game where you can have step on the blue (safe) tiles and avoid the red (lava) ones.
It definitely sounds easier than it was – took some teamwork and coordination to get past each stage. We worked up a good sweat jumping and running around, the kids enjoyed it so much they asked us for another round right they were done with their first!
Address: Eco Palladium, B02-11 BLK B, Eco Palladium, Jalan Ekoflora 7/1, Pusat Perdagangan Ekoflora, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri: 12pm-10pm; Sat: 11am-12am; Sun: 11am-10pm
Project Smoked Dong
With many restaurants in Eco Palladium, you will definitely be able to have dinner in the area without traveling out. However we took a short 15 minutes drive to this restaurant which we’ve been wanting to try as we were fans of their first outlet which serves American BBQ.
This second outlet is a fusion concept where there’s an Asian twist to the usual American smoked meats. If you’re a fan of beef tongue, I particularly enjoyed the typhoon smoked beef tongue. Do order the Angmo Claypot Rice for the kids to try too!
Address: B5 & 6, Lot 120122, Jalan Austin Perdana 1, Taman Austin Perdana, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Mon-Thu: 1130am-230pm; 5pm-10pm (closed on Wed); Sat: 1130am-11pm; Sun: 1130am-10pm
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The kids and us definitely played to our heart’s content and had the best sleep back in our Airbnb near Mid Valley! There are still quite a few cafes, restaurants and activities we bookmarked but didn’t manage to try – definitely will be making another trip back again!
