Sentosa
The biggest and most famous
of Singapore’s offshore islands, Sentosa is also one of the nearest
to the mainland. A multi-million dollar pleasure resort, the island is encircled by a monorail and offers a wide variety of
activities and places of interest. Some of these are the Underwater
World and Dolphin Lagoon,
Images of Singapore,
the currently refurbished Musical Fountain
Show, the Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom Museum, The Merlion,
the Carlsberg Sky Tower and Sijori WonderGolf.
Beautiful gardens, fine beaches and a variety of restaurants and
eating outlets all contribute to the popularity of the island with
foreign travellers and natives alike. Many people skip the theme park sites
and go straight to Sentosa’s beaches like Palawan, Siloso and
Tanjong, where there are a great selection of watersport facilities. These beaches were created with imported white sand
and are usually crowded, particularly Saturdays and Sundays.
Many of buses, trams and monorails are provided from Sentosa to
the city centre, and the causeway bridge is open to pedestrian
traffic. An entrance fee to the island is charged and composite
tickets can also be purchased which allow admission to some of
the attractions; enquire locally for information. Camping, hotels and resorts
as well as other accommodation are available on Sentosa.
Other Islands
St John’s Island is a big, hilly and tree-shaded island, which
has many superb beaches. Plenty of walking trails are also available.
A scheduled ferry service from the HarbourFront
Centre will take travellers about 40 minutes to reach this island.
Kusu Island is popular for 2 famous sights: the Chinese Tua Pekong Temple and the
Keramat (a Muslim shrine).
It can be reached by a frequent ferry from the World Trade Centre which takes
about 30 minutes.
Pulau Hantu, Lazarus Island
and Sisters Islands (the latter
being part of the group of Southern Islands) are excellent for
fishing, snorkeling and swimming. There is no regular ferry however,
boats can be chartered; enquire locally for details. |
