Sentosa Island Singapore: One Day Trips and Tourist Holidays

Sentosa is well-known among Singaporeans and tourists as an island of fun and entertainment. It's a large island away from mainland Singapore on which various resorts, hotels and attractions have been built. Sentosa is also the location of the first integrated resort in Singapore, Resort World Sentosa, and the theme park Universal Studios Singapore.

There are various thrilling attractions, such as a luge, a zip wire and a place for indoor skydiving, but also relaxing attractions, such as a viewing tower and driving with a Segway. Nature lovers can go to the Underwater World, which includes a Dolphin Lagoon, and to the Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom, where you can find marine wildlife, butterflies and insects.

Sentosa is a nice island for a day trip or a longer holiday as there is enough to do. In addition to the countless attractions, there are also several man-made beaches which are a great place to relax and cool down in Singapore's hot climate.

The Tiger Sky Tower is a tall tower with a rotating observation deck. It takes you up in a short amount of time and from there you can look all over Sentosa, Singapore's port and nearby islands and even countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia. The Tiger Sky Tower can be found at Imbiah Lookout, a part of Sentosa Island.

Other things you can see are the integrated resort and the famous red and blue dueling roller coaster of Universal Studios Singapore.

Universal Studios Singapore is finally back in action with its flagship roller coaster Battlestar Galactica (yes, themed after that televion show!) reopening in February 2011. Universal Studios Singapore is a theme park with various attractions, all related to old and more recently released movies.

It is the first and at the time of writing only Universal Studios theme park in South-East Asia so try not to miss it when you are there!

A sight that is hard to miss when walking around Sentosa Island is the large Merlion, Singapore's national symbol! The Merlion both a lion and a fish which refers to Singapore's history as a fishing village and also its name "Singapure" or "lion city".

Many tourists and Singaporeans alike will recognize this huge structure as the Merlion can also be found near the central business district of Singapore, near the Marina Bay.  But the Merlion on Sentosa Island is the tallest one!

You can actually enter this huge Merlion as it's one of the attractions: it has a lookout at the top.

Sentosa Island is one of the places that I recommended in my other article on things to do in Singapore with young children. Have a look at this article if you are visiting Singapore with kids:

Underwater World is an oceanarium and some of its inhabitants are dolphins, sharks and dugongs. If you want you can even enter the water to swim with dolphins in the Dolphin Lagoon!

Other marine wildlife that you can find here are lots of crabs, fish, jellyfish but also turtles, stingrays and coral reefs. It is an oceanarium so you somewhat know what to expect but it's still worth a visit!

Sentosa Island has three beaches: Palawan Beach, Siloso Beach and Tanjong Beach.

Close to Palawan Beach you'll find the southern most point of continental Asia. This point can be found on a separate island and you'll need to cross a bridge to get there. In particular for tourists there is a nice sign that marks the spot: a nice photo opportunity!

Although Sentosa can be considered pricey for Singapore standards, you'll still find many locals who go to the beach or to enjoy one of the other attractions. You can pay for each attraction separately and there is no general entrance fee. There are also package deals which combine entry fees to several attractions and this saves you some money.

To get to Sentosa Island you can pay for the Sentosa Express monorail or the Sentosa Rider bus. You can also get there by car or by taxi.

Take the MRT to HarbourFront station and then go to VivoCity and take the Sentosa Express from there. For the Sentosa Express you can purchase a day pass but you can also use your EZ-Link pass which can be used to travel all around Singapore's public transport (MRT and bus). Depending on how long you stay in Singapore I think it's well worth it to get this public transport pass that you can regularly top up. For the Sentosa Rider bus you can purchase a day pass.

As of January 2011 you can also access the island by foot using the Sentosa BoardWalk. This walkway goes from the shopping center VivoCity to Sentosa Island. Entering the BoardWalk is not free but it is cheaper than the Sentosa Express or Sentosa Rider.

There are buses and trams to get around Sentosa Island itself and you can also walk of course.

Western tourists can benefit from the exchange rate of western currencies to the Singapore dollar. If money is a pressing issue then you can opt to go for the cheaper or even free attractions, such as walking around the flower garden or spending time on one of the beaches.

This article was written by Simeon Visser. I am earning money online by writing here at HubPages.com. Would you like to earn money online as well? Read the success stories and sign up today to get started!