Sentosa [1] is an island just off the southern coast of Singapore.

Tanjong Beach on a lazy Sunday afternoon

Understand

Map of Sentosa

Formerly known by the less attractive name Pulau Blakang Mati ("The Island of Death from Behind" in Malay), Sentosa has been rebranded and resculpted into one big tourist attraction, popular among Singaporeans themselves as a quick island getaway. The island does offer a few star attractions (notably Underwater World) and Singapore's best beaches, but many of the would-be-attractions are duds and the general trend of overpricing everything makes the island an undeniable tourist trap.

The small southern islets of Kusu Island, St. John's Island, the Sisters Islands and Pulau Hantu are all managed by 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 two can be reached by public ferry, for the rest you'll have to charter a boat.

Get in

Sentosa is just 15 minutes away from the city center by taxi. The cheapest way is in to take the North-East MRT to HarbourFront and changing to $1 shuttle bus (well signposted); more fun, however, is to ride the Cable Car [2] for scenic views of the city and the island ($9.90/4.50 adult/child one-way, $10.90/5.50 return, including the chance to visit Mt. Faber).

Ferries from HarbourFront have stopped running. The Sentosa Express monorail linking the island to HarbourFront MRT is under construction, but won't be ready until the end of 2006.

No matter which way you choose, admission to the island will set you back $2 per person. There is an ever-changing palette of combination tickets that may work out marginally cheaper if you plan to visit multiple attractions. The island itself is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, although many of the attractions are not.

Get around

All transportation around Sentosa (except taxis and ferries) is free.

By bus

Four colored shuttle bus services connect the Visitor Arrival Centre to various points through the island.

By ferry

There are limited services from Sentosa Ferry Terminal to the southern islands of Kusu and St. John. Monday through Saturday, there are two services a day, leaving at 10 AM and 1:30 PM, looping to Kusu, St. John, Kusu again and then back to Sentosa. This gives you one hour on Kusu, which is plenty for seeing the sights. On Sundays and holidays only, there are five services, at 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM and 5 PM, which run to Kusu, St. John and then return directly to Sentosa; this means you have to stay a minimum of two hours on any island you go to. All ferries cost $11 return, and they'll refund your $2 Sentosa entry too.

By train

The somewhat misnamed beach trains (just cars in disguise) shuttle people along the beaches. One service connects Palawan Beach to Tanjong Beach, another connects Palawan Beach to Siloso Beach.

By monorail

The Sentosa Monorail was decommissioned in March 2005 to make way for the new Sentosa Express.

See

Sentosa has lots of self-proclaimed attractions but many if not most are pathetic; for example, the "Enchanted Grove of Tembusu" consists of a couple of badly painted concrete totem poles. The following list is limited to those that somebody might actually find attractive. For all attractions below, a "child" is defined as someone between the ages of three and twelve.

• Carlsberg Sky Tower, near Cable Car (blue/green bus), http://www.skytower.com.sg. 9 AM-9 PM daily. Asia's tallest observation tower. It takes you up to a height of 131m above sealevel and offers a 360 degree view of Sentosa, Singapore and the Southern islands. On clear days even the outlines of Malaysia and Indonesia can be seen. $10/7 adult/child.

• Dolphin Lagoon, Tanjong Beach (yellow/red bus). Has cute pink dolphins doing all the usual tricks (jumping through hoops, balancing balls, etc). Shared ticket with Underwater World.

• Fort Siloso, near Underwater World (all buses, then transfer to tram), http://www.fortsiloso.com. 10 AM-6 PM. Formerly the largest British naval base in Fortress Singapore, its guns staring balefully out towards the sea in preparation for enemy attack. Of course, the Japanese rode bikes down the peninsula instead; after your visit here, be sure to visit the Battle Box at Fort Canning Hill to find out what happened next. Now turned into a museum, you can follow a tour through the area (complete with lots of wax figures) to find out what the life of a recruit was like. Nearly doubled in size after an expansion in 2004. $8/5 adult/child.

• Images of Singapore, near Cable Car Station (green, blue bus). 9 AM-7 PM. A sugar-coated, kid-friendly retelling of the official Singapore story, where people of many races have come together to live in harmony. Renovated in 2006 and now uses the latest technology, but there's not all that much substance under the glitz. $10/7 adult/child.

• Sentosa Merlion (red bus). 10 AM-8 PM. A stretched-out 37-metre version of the statue by the Singapore River, which is lit up at night and even shoots lasers from its eyes. Admission enables you to take the elevator up into its mouth and gaze out over the nearby Port of Singapore, as well as experience some seriously cheesy exhibits downstairs. $8/5 adult/child.

• Underwater World, near Siloso Beach (all buses), http://www.underwaterworld.com.sg. Claims to be Asia's largest tropical oceanarium, it features a walk-through aquarium with lots of sharks and fishes and many smaller tanks. $19.50/12.50 adult/child, includes admission to Dolphin Lagoon.

Da Bogong Temple

There are a few sights of minor interest on Kusu Island, reachable only by separately charged ferry. The name means "Turtle Island" and there are indeed lots of reptiles scampering about, but don't expect an unspoiled tropical paradise: the island was thoroughly reworked with land reclamation in 1975 and looks exactly like the rest of Sentosa.

• Da Bogong (Tua Pekong) Temple, Kusu Island. An unassuming little Taoist temple dedicated to the Merchant God. During the yearly Kusu Festival (Oct-Nov), this is the focal of pilgrims coming to pray for prosperity.

• Keramat Kusu, Kusu Island. An unusual Muslim shrine (not a mosque) atop a small hill, dedicated to the saint Syed Abdul Rahman and his family, who lived here in the 19th century. The shrine is painted bright yellow and is visited by particularly by childless couples.

Do

Among Singaporeans themselves the most 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 neverending parade of ships across the Straits. Siloso is the place for beach volleyball, while Palawan claims to offer the southernmost point of continental Asia (if you count the bridge connecting Sentosa and ignore any competing Malaysian claims). Tanjong, for a long time the quietest of the three, is now home to hip beach club KM8 (see Drink) and is best avoided if you don't like thumping bass.

• Sentosa Golf Club, 27 Bukit Manis Road, ☎ +65-62750022. One of Singapore's most prestigious golf courses, features two 18-hole courses. When sipping your gin tonic in the clubhouse, raise a toast to Chia Thye Poh (see box), whose was for years held under house arrest in a one-room guardhouse on club grounds. $120 weekdays, $220 weekends.

• Spa Botanica, 2 Bukit Manis Road (The Sentosa Resort), ☎ +65-63711318, http://www.spabotanica.com/. Singapore first self-proclaimed "tropical garden spa", offering limited facilities but a wide range of treatments. $100-300.

The nearby islands of Kusu and St. John also offer some beaches, which are quieter but otherwise not much different from those on Sentosa itself. St. John is also a popular spot for fishing.

Buy

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

• Vivocity, HarbourFront MRT, http://www.vivocity.com.sg/. Partly open but still growing, this complex on the mainland just next to the Sentosa bridge is set to up the stakes once again as Singapore's soon-to-be largest shopping mall. The Singapore Cruise Centre is integrated into the mall.

Eat

As you might expect from a giant amusement park, food on Sentosa is (by Singaporean standards) rather pricy and mediocre. Things have, however, gotten slightly better in recent years with local chains allowed to open up outlets.

Mid-range

• Trapizza, Siloso Beach (north end). Yes, that's right, this place offers pizzas, pastas and a trapeze school. $20.

• Sakae Sushi, Siloso Beach (south end). Beachside conveyor belt sushi (yes, with aircon), hardly gourmet fare but quite tasty anyway. $20.

Splurge

• Altivo, Mt. Faber, http://www.altivo.com.sg. Not on Sentosa itself, but accessible via the cable car. The food here is fancy and unspectacular, but it's a good place to just go for a drink and watch the lights twinkle.

• The Cliff, 2 Bukit Manis Rd (The Sentosa Resort), ☎ +65-6371-1425, http://www.beaufort.com.sg/res_cliff.html. In sight of jungle, beach and sea, repeatedly voted the most romantic restaurant in Singapore. Book a table on the lower deck for the best views. $100+.

Drink

The beaches can offer some pretty wild parties on Friday and Saturday nights, especially if one of the on-again, off-again foam parties pops up. The New Year's Eve party in particular is legendary, as is ZoukOut [3], 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?

• Bora Bora Beach Bar, Palawan Beach (yellow/red bus), ☎ +65-9005-4238, http://www.boraborasentosa.com/. Open daily 10:30 AM until 7 PM or later. Laid-back beach bar playing jazzy tunes. Free entry, beer $8, cocktails $12.50-.

• Km8, Tanjong Beach (yellow/red bus, then beach train or walk), ☎ +65-6274-2288, http://www.km8.com.sg/. Open daily 11 AM until midnight or later. The closest Singapore gets to the Ibiza scene, with DJs spinning music on the beach and partygoers splashing in the club's pool. Beware the infamous Sarong Fly ($48), a bottle of Absolut vodka somewhat diluted with lime and grape juice. Free entry, drinks S$10-.

Sleep

Sentosa is not a particularly convenient base for sightseeing elsewhere in Singapore, and most of the accommodation targets visitors looking for a simple beach holiday.

Budget

• Camp Laguna, near Palawan Beach. One of Singapore's few campsites, with shower, toilet and BBQ facilities. Currently closed for refurbishing, scheduled to reopen in late 2006. Spaces $12.60 with your own tent, S$25.20 with tent rental.

Camping is also possible on St. John's Island, the Sisters Islands and Pulau Hantu, but free camping permits from the Sentosa Development Corporation (tel. +65-62750388) are required.

Mid-range

• Costa Sands Resort Sentosa, 30 Imbiah Walk (red/blue bus), ☎ +65-6275-1034, http://www.ntucclub.com/resorts/index.html. Offers simple "kampung" huts (max 3 people) for $50/36 peak/off-peak and new air-con chalets (max 2 people) for $125/98; there are additional discounts for trade union NTUC members. In addition to the nearby beach, guests can use a swimming pool.

• Sijori Resort (red/blue bus), ☎ +65-6271-2002, http://www.sijoriresort.com.sg. In a prewar colonial building, which may interest architecture buffs, but beach lovers will be disappointed to find that it's plonked down in the middle of the island far from the coastline. At least there's a pool. $120-.

Splurge

Sentosa features a sprinkling of resort hotels catering to those who want a beach holiday within striking distance of the city.

• Rasa Sentosa Resort, 101 Siloso Road (all buses), ☎ +65-6275-0100, http://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/rasasentosa/en/index.aspx. With 459 rooms this is by far the largest hotel in Sentosa, offering a rather generic package holiday experience. The main selling point is that this is the only beachside resort in Singapore. $240-.

• The Sentosa, 2 Bukit Manis Road (yellow bus), ☎ +65-6275-0331, http://www.thesentosa.com.sg/. Formerly Beaufort Sentosa, this hilltop resort-style hotel on the quieter eastern side of the island is well known for its Spa Botanica and fancy restaurants. $300-.