Singapore/Sentosa and Harbourfront

Sentosa is an island just off the southern coast of Singapore. This district also includes Harbourfront and the Southern Islands.

Understand
Formerly a malarial swamp known by the rather unattractive name of Pulau Belakang Mati ("The Island of Death From Behind" in Malay) and the centrepiece of Britain's spectacularly unsuccessful "Fortress Singapore" strategy in World War II, Sentosa has been renamed after the Malay word for "tranquillity" and remade into one big tourist attraction, popular among Singaporeans as a quick island getaway. The jewel in the crown is Resorts World Sentosa, an enormous complex comprising of the Universal Studios theme park, S.E.A. Aquarium, the Adventure Cove water park, a casino, shopping malls and hotels.

At the eastern tip of the island is Sentosa Cove, Singapore's poshest residential neighborhood, where prices for a modest bungalow start at $10 million and climb into the stratosphere.

The small southern islets of Kusu Island, St. John's Island, the Sisters Islands (closed for remediation works until 2024), and Pulau Hantu (literally "Ghost Island") are a little to the southeast of Sentosa. Various plans to develop them have not come to much and they remain off the beaten track, but by no means undiscovered. The first three can be reached by public ferry, while Pulau Hantu can only be reached by chartered boat.

Get in
The island is open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Entry fee for admission into Sentosa via most modes of transport have been reinstated since 1 April 2023; however, walking or biking is free, hotel guests can get their admission waived, and Sentosa Islander "Insider" members get free entry and parking.

By train
Take the North-East (Purple) Line or Circle (Yellow) Line of the MRT to Harbourfront MRT station. Make your way up to Level 3 via Lobby L to take the Sentosa Express monorail into Sentosa.

The fare including Sentosa island entry is $4, payable at the gates by tapping your EZ-Link or credit card. Children under 0.9m tall are free. The train operates from 7AM to midnight, and taking the train back from Sentosa to the mainland is free.

By bus
Bus 123 connects Orchard Road and Tiong Bahru directly to Sentosa, while bus RWS8 connects from Harbourfront/Vivocity. Standard bus fares apply.

For access to Sentosa Cove, there is a private shuttle bus ($2) that operates every 30 min or so from HarbourFront Bus Terminal.

By cable car
Alight at Harbourfront MRT and take Exit B to Harbourfront Centre. Take the cable car from Harbourfront Tower II via the Mount Faber line. The Mount Faber Line covers three stations: Mount Faber Peak, Harbourfront and Sentosa. Located within a 3-5min walk from Sentosa Cable Car Station, the Imbiah Lookout Cable Car Station is part of the Sentosa Line, which covers Merlion (closed), Imbiah Lookout and Siloso Point Cable Car Stations.

By car or taxi
Entry fee for cars and taxis range from $2 (noon-2PM, 5PM-7AM) to $6 (7AM-noon, 2-5PM). Island Admission can be auto deducted via the CashCard inserted in the in-vehicle unit (I.U.) or via cash paid to the counters at the gantry. Parking lots can be found at Beach Station, Imbiah, Tanjong Beach, Palawan Beach and Sentosa Cove Village Parks. Carpark charges are $1.20 per hour (7AM-5PM) and $2.40 per entry (5PM-7AM).

By ferry
To visit the Southern Islands, head to downtown Singapore's Marina South Pier for the ferry to Kusu and St John's Island. On weekends and public holidays only, there are also direct ferries from Sentosa Jetty @ Cove to Lazarus Seringat Jetty (roundtrip $20/15 adults/children, or family package for $64). Departure times from Sentosa Jetty @ Cove are 9AM, 11AM, 1PM, and 3PM, while departure times from Lazarus Seringat Jetty are 10:30AM, 12:30PM, 2:30PM, and 5:30PM.

On foot or bicycle
Admission to the island by foot via the Sentosa Boardwalk or by cycling is free. The boardwalk starts from Vivocity, is mostly shaded and even have a few travellators.

Get around
All transportation around Sentosa (except taxis, private hire and the cable car) is free. This includes taking the Sentosa Express back to the mainland.

Beach Station is the terminus of the Sentosa Express monorail and the primary transport hub for the island, with connections to all other bus services. As the name hints, it's walking distance to both Siloso and Palawan beach, or you can hop on the open-air beach trams that shuttle people between Beach Station and all three beaches every 10 minutes.

For long distances, there are three shuttle buses on the island, coded as Bus A, B, and C. All bus services come every 15 minutes, with Buses A and B operating from 7AM to 12:10AM daily, while Bus C operates from 8AM to 10PM daily.

There is also an internal shuttle service within Sentosa Cove, but it's open to residents with access cards only.

See and do
Long a bit of a joke, Singaporean wags used to quip that "Sentosa" stood for "So Expensive and Nothing to See Actually". Well, it's still expensive, but there are now more than enough attractions to spend a day or two taking it all in, especially in the family-oriented Resorts World Sentosa. In fact the crowd during the weekends and school holidays can be quite daunting, and it's never easy waiting in long sweaty queues under the mid-day sun but Universal Studios Singapore is a standout experience for theme park lovers and for those who haven't been to Orlando or Hollywood. For all attractions below, a "child" is defined as being between three and twelve.

Sentosa heavily promotes their Fun Pass token system, which gives minor discounts (5-8%) on some attractions if you purchase large packages. Most of the big-ticket attractions do not accept these, leftover tokens are useless outside Sentosa and cannot be exchanged back, and all attractions also accept credit cards, so there's little reason to bother with this.

Resorts World Sentosa
Resorts World Sentosa can be reached via the Resorts World station (previously Waterfront station) of the monorail or via the dedicated buses RWS8 from Harbourfront and other points in Singapore (see Get in). If you plan on visiting more than one park, check out the Multi-Park Passes. The most comprehensive, which includes Universal Studios Singapore, S.E.A. Aquarium, Maritime Experiential Museum and Adventure Cove Waterpark, costs $188/136 for a two-day visit and is curiously more expensive than the individual tickets combined, but allows for switching between attractions as you like.



Beaches


Among Singaporeans, a popular reason to go to Sentosa is to hit the beaches: Siloso, Palawan and Tanjong from west to east respectively. All three are artificial, but does it really matter? Unfortunately the water is rather murky due to the never-ending parade of ships across the Straits. Siloso has a nice beach promenade full of clubs and restaurants, some rather noisy, while Palawan claims to be the southernmost point of continental Asia (if you count the bridge connecting Sentosa, and ignore any competing Malaysian claims, and other parts of Singapore or even Sentosa that are further south). Tanjong, the quietest of the three, is the place for beach volleyball.





Activities



 * Gogreen Eco Adventure, 51 Siloso Beach Walk, 10:30AM–7:30PM daily. Rent bicycles, kick scooters and other retail items to travel around Sentosa’s beaches.
 * HeadRock VR, 80 Siloso Road, ☏ +65 6963 4127. M–F noon–7PM, Sa Su and public & school holidays 11AM–7PM. Singapore’s first VR theme park with 8 themed virtual reality experiences in the VR Play Zone, and the kids media interactive zone with a ‘Hello! My Dino’ children’s playground.

Family fun



 * Nestopia, 6 Siloso Beach Resort, ☏ +65 6371 1067, W–F 2–6:45PM, Sa–Su, PH and school holidays 10AM–7PM. Open-air space with 17 play sections fitted out with obstacle courses made up of three giant nests situated 7.5 m off the ground with two long slides. A 1 hr Play ticket costs $12.
 * Ricochet Sentosa, 1 Larkhill Road, ☏+65 8200 9417, 7AM–10PM daily. Ricochet Padel’s first club in Singapore offering padel equipment and accessories for rent and sale. Court booking prices are $72/hour at off peak hours (noon–4PM) and $84/hour at peak hours (7AM–noon, 4–10PM), while padel racket rental is $10 per racket.
 * Trickeye @ Southside, 80 Siloso Road, 11AM–7PM daily. Four different themed zones that use 3D, augmented reality technology and mobile app ‘XR Museum’ to create interactive displays. A standard ticket costs $32 for adults (aged 13 to 59 years old) and $28 for children (aged 4 to 12 years old) and seniors (aged 60 years old and above).

Relaxation and sightseeing

 * Sentosa Nature Discovery, 40 Imbiah Road, 9AM–5PM daily. The nature trail includes eight types of habitats with interactive exhibits, sculptures, and a lookout point. The Geology Gallery displays earth processes and rock formations, geological maps, coastal forests, rock samples and fossils that formed Singapore and Sentosa. Admission is free.
 * SkyHelix Sentosa, 41 Imbiah Road, ☏ +65 6361 0088, 10AM–9:30PM daily. An open-air gondola that rotates and ascends to 79 m above sea level with a 360° view. Choose between one standard non-alcoholic drink or a souvenir (included in the ticket). A standard ticket costs $20 for adults (aged 13 years old and above) and $17 for children (aged 4 to 12 years old).
 * Sentosa Nature Discovery, 40 Imbiah Road, 9AM–5PM daily. The nature trail includes eight types of habitats with interactive exhibits, sculptures, and a lookout point. The Geology Gallery displays earth processes and rock formations, geological maps, coastal forests, rock samples and fossils that formed Singapore and Sentosa. Admission is free.
 * SkyHelix Sentosa, 41 Imbiah Road, ☏ +65 6361 0088, 10AM–9:30PM daily. An open-air gondola that rotates and ascends to 79 m above sea level with a 360° view. Choose between one standard non-alcoholic drink or a souvenir (included in the ticket). A standard ticket costs $20 for adults (aged 13 years old and above) and $17 for children (aged 4 to 12 years old).

Elsewhere

 * Sentosa Cove. Singapore’s oceanfront residences, home to more than 2,000 villas, bungalows, mansions, and condominiums. The area comprises The Residences at W Singapore – Sentosa Cove, W Singapore – Sentosa Cove hotel, and Quayside Isle.
 * Sentosa Cove. Singapore’s oceanfront residences, home to more than 2,000 villas, bungalows, mansions, and condominiums. The area comprises The Residences at W Singapore – Sentosa Cove, W Singapore – Sentosa Cove hotel, and Quayside Isle.

Southern Islands


St. John Island and Lazarus Island are connected by a causeway, and it's a sweaty, largely unshaded 15-min walk from the ferry pier at St. John to Lazarus; rent a bicycle or kick scooter from GoGreen to ease the pain ($25/2 hours). St. John is also a popular spot for fishing.





There are a few sights of minor interest on Kusu Island. The name means "Turtle Island" and there are indeed lots of the reptiles scampering about, but don't expect an unspoiled tropical paradise: the island was thoroughly reworked with land reclamation in 1975 and looks similar to Sentosa. Kusu island can be reached by ferry from Marina South Pier.



Facilities on all three islands are limited to toilets. There are no regularly open places to buy food or drink, not even vending machines, and the tap water is not potable, so bring everything you'll need with you including water. On busy weekends or (for Kusu) during the festival season enterprising hawkers may set up shop to sell basic drinks or snacks out of a cooler, but you can't count on this.

Buy
Every corner of Sentosa is inundated with gift shops filled with all the plush Merlion toys you will ever need (and then some).



Eat
As you might expect from a giant amusement park, food on Sentosa is (by Singaporean standards) rather pricey and mediocre. Local chains have some outlets, though. Since the opening of the casinos, good (though still pricey) fine dining options are available at Resorts World Sentosa. For cheaper food options, grab a bite at either VivoCity or HarbourFront Centre.

Mid-range

 * CHIFA!, Resorts World Sentosa, ☏ +65 6577 6558, M Tu Th F noon–3PM, 6–11PM; Sa Su noon–11PM (closed on W). Peruvian-Chinese cuisine food $18-24.
 * Gin Khao Bistro, #01-12 Quayside Isle, 31 Ocean Way, ☏ +65 6570 2208, M–Th noon–3PM, 5:30–10PM; F Sa noon–10:30PM; Su noon–10PM. Thai cuisine food is priced between $15~25.
 * Kailash Parbat, 42 Imbiah Road, ☏ +65 6592 5545, 10AM–10PM daily. Indian vegetarian food items served at prices between $10~20.
 * Le Faubourg, Block 17 #01-02, 2 Gunner Lane, Mess Hall, ☏ +65 6677 7128, 8:30AM–6PM daily. French cuisine food $20-26.
 * Le Faubourg, Block 17 #01-02, 2 Gunner Lane, Mess Hall, ☏ +65 6677 7128, 8:30AM–6PM daily. French cuisine food $20-26.

Drink
There's a string of beach clubs on Siloso Beach that offer chill tropical vibes, but the party ends at 10 PM sharp every night to avoid disturbing the beauty sleep of the billionaires next door in Sentosa Cove. There are, however, occasional special events that run much longer, especially during events like F1 or New Year's Eve. The most famous of these is ZoukOut, a massive yearly outdoor party organized by Zouk featuring a roster of international and local DJs. Beaches, beer, bikinis, and booming bass. What more do you need?

Beach bars

 * +Twelve, 54 Palawan Beach Walk, The Palawan @ Sentosa, ☏ +65 6277 7089, M–Th 10AM–9PM, F–Su holidays 10AM–10PM. Serves beers from $14 and cocktails from $21.
 * Rumours Beach Club, 40 Siloso Beach Walk, ☏ +65 6970 0625, M–Th 11AM–9PM, F Sa eve of public holiday 10AM–10PM, Su & public holidays 10AM–9PM. Serves beer from $15 and cocktails from $19.
 * Sand Bar, 52-54 Siloso Beach Walk, Sa & public holidays 3PM–1AM, Su 3–9:30PM, M–F closed. Serves beers from $12 and cocktails from $15.
 * Splash Tribe, 54 Palawan Beach Walk, The Palawan @ Sentosa, ☏ +65 6277 7089, M–Th 10AM–7PM, F–Su & public holidays 10AM–10PM. Serving beers from $14 and cocktails from $19.
 * Rumours Beach Club, 40 Siloso Beach Walk, ☏ +65 6970 0625, M–Th 11AM–9PM, F Sa eve of public holiday 10AM–10PM, Su & public holidays 10AM–9PM. Serves beer from $15 and cocktails from $19.
 * Sand Bar, 52-54 Siloso Beach Walk, Sa & public holidays 3PM–1AM, Su 3–9:30PM, M–F closed. Serves beers from $12 and cocktails from $15.
 * Splash Tribe, 54 Palawan Beach Walk, The Palawan @ Sentosa, ☏ +65 6277 7089, M–Th 10AM–7PM, F–Su & public holidays 10AM–10PM. Serving beers from $14 and cocktails from $19.
 * Sand Bar, 52-54 Siloso Beach Walk, Sa & public holidays 3PM–1AM, Su 3–9:30PM, M–F closed. Serves beers from $12 and cocktails from $15.
 * Splash Tribe, 54 Palawan Beach Walk, The Palawan @ Sentosa, ☏ +65 6277 7089, M–Th 10AM–7PM, F–Su & public holidays 10AM–10PM. Serving beers from $14 and cocktails from $19.

Hotel bars

 * 1-Altitude Coast, 10 Artillery Avenue, The Outpost Hotel, ☏ +65 8879 8765, M–Th 11AM–10PM, F Sa 11AM–2AM, Su 11AM–midnight. Rooftop restaurant, al-fresco deck and infinity pool serving beers from $12 and cocktails from $23.
 * Boater’s Bar, #01-01 11 Cove Drive, ONEo15 Marina Club, ☏ +65 6305 6988, W–Su, eve of public holidays and public holidays 5–11PM, M Tu closed. Floating bar at Sentosa Cove that serves beer from $11 and cocktails from $16.
 * Bob’s Bar, 1 The Knolls, Capella Singapore, ☏ +65 6377 8888, 11:30AM–11:30PM daily. Serves beers from $16 and cocktails from $22.
 * LeBar, 2 Bukit Manis Road, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, ☏ +65 6708 8310 / +65 6708 8362, noon–midnight daily. Outdoor pavilion lounge that serves beers from $17 and cocktails from $25.

Sleep
Sentosa is not a particularly convenient base for sightseeing elsewhere in Singapore. Most of the accommodation targets visitors looking for a beach or theme park holiday, and is priced accordingly: don't expect any cheap hostels or the like. However, the Sentosa Express monorail has improved access to the mainland, and good deals can sometimes be found if you scout around.

Budget
The cheapest place to stay is actually off the mainland on the Southern Islands: you can camp for free on St John's Island, the Sisters Islands and Pulau Hantu, but free camping permits from the Singapore Land Authority are required, and you'll need to get somebody with Singapore ID to register for you. And because the islands have zero facilities, you'll need to bring everything with you, including drinking water.

Splurge



 * Oasia Resort Sentosa, 23 Beach View, ☏ +65 6818 3388, info.orsentosa@fareast.com.sg. Hotel with 191 suites and rooms, in-house spa, a 22.5-m pool with sun lounges, three function rooms, and 9 dining establishments.
 * Oasia Resort Sentosa, 23 Beach View, ☏ +65 6818 3388, info.orsentosa@fareast.com.sg. Hotel with 191 suites and rooms, in-house spa, a 22.5-m pool with sun lounges, three function rooms, and 9 dining establishments.
 * Oasia Resort Sentosa, 23 Beach View, ☏ +65 6818 3388, info.orsentosa@fareast.com.sg. Hotel with 191 suites and rooms, in-house spa, a 22.5-m pool with sun lounges, three function rooms, and 9 dining establishments.


 * The Barracks Hotel Sentosa, 2 Gunner Lane, ☏ +65 6512 2202, info.tbh@fareast.com.sg. Hotel that is housed in a conserved colonial building, it has 40 rooms and suites, pool and Jacuzzi.
 * The Outpost Hotel Sentosa, 10 Artillery Avenue, ☏ +65 6722 0801, info.toh@fareast.com.sg. Hotel with 193 guest rooms, 7 function rooms, and a rooftop Sky Pool and bar for hotel guests only.
 * Village Hotel Sentosa, 10 Artillery Avenue, ☏ +65 6722 0800, info.vhs@fareast.com.sg. Hotel with 606 hotel rooms, 7 function rooms, and a pool deck with 4-themed pools – Lazy River Pool, Children’s Play Pool, Adventure Pool and infinity Pamukkale Pool.





Resorts World Sentosa
All the hotels in Resorts World Sentosa, 8 Sentosa Gateway, can be booked via reservations@rwsentosa.com.



Go next
Chinatown and Little India are easy stops on the North-East MRT line. Or check out the other integrated resort at Marina Bay.