Sentosa Travel Guide

Sentosa is an resort island located to the south of Singapore and was formerly known as Pulau Blakang Mati, which literally means ‘island of death from behind’. It can essentially be split into two, the east and the west. The eastern part of the island is less populated and caters more to the rich as seen by the luxurious Sentosa Resort. A major part of the eastern end of the island is also occupied by a housing development for the rich and a golf course.

The western end of the island is more all-inclusive and is home to almost all of the attractions that can be found on Sentosa. The relatively new Resorts World is the main draw of Sentosa with its casino and Universal Studios Theme Park. Images of Singapore is a decent museum that gives a good condensed version of Singapore’s history while Fort Siloso highlights the history of wartime Singapore. The acrylic tunnel at the Underwater World is also an eye-opener as visitors will feel like they are walking on the sea bed while a show put on by the pink dolphins at the Dolphin Lagoon next door is also worth catching. For scenic views of Sentosa and the surrounding areas, there is the Tiger Sky Tower. A visit to Sentosa would not be complete without a visit to or a photo of the iconic Merlion.

The ever popular Siloso Beach is also a good place to engage in beach sports like beach volleyball even though it is a man-made beach and right behind it is the unique Siloso Beach Resort where there is an emphasis on protecting the environment.

There are currently three different ways to enter the island. Visitors can enter by car, monorail or by bus. Entry by monorail cost S$3 per person while entry by bus is relatively cheaper at S$2. Entering Sentosa by taxi or car cost between S$3-7 per vehicle depending on the time of the day. Another way to enter Sentosa would be by cable car but at the time of writing, this service was undergoing renovation. Walking across on the bridge linking Sentosa to mainland Singapore was also not available at the time of writing but is the cheapest way to enter Sentosa once it becomes available.