Adventure Cove Waterpark

Half of it is a waterpark. The other half is an aquarium you are allowed into.

Adventure Cove is the Sentosa waterpark to pick if your group has confident swimmers and at least one person who would rather look at fish than go down a slide. Float the lazy river together first, then snorkel Rainbow Reef, which is the thing an ordinary waterpark can't offer. The compromise is the rules: Rainbow Reef has height limits and a snorkel requirement, so check them before you promise it to anyone.

It opened in November 2012 as the sister act to the aquarium next door, and the family resemblance is the whole point. Plenty of waterparks have slides and a wave pool; fewer let you drift past marine life on a rubber ring. If you've only thought of it as Sentosa's waterslide option, you've been doing the ordinary half.

Float first

Adventure River is the spine of the park. At 620 metres it's billed as one of the world's longest lazy rivers, carrying tubes through 14 themed habitats, including a grotto and a ray bay. Do it first, while the group is still together: it suits the adrenaline camp and the inertia camp equally, and nobody has to commit to anything more strenuous than floating.

Then snorkel

Rainbow Reef is the signature: a reef pool with more than 20,000 reef inhabitants, as the operator puts it, that you snorkel through without leaving the island, or a lifeguard's gaze. It runs on more rules than an ordinary pool, for good reason. Guests under 107cm can't take part, and children between 107cm and 122cm need a supervising adult. You must breathe through a standard snorkel, so anyone with respiratory difficulties should sit it out. You move with the current, you don't climb the rockwork, and you never touch or grab the fish. Ray Bay, where you can get close to rays, costs extra.

Then scream a bit

For thrill-seekers, Riptide Rocket is the one to queue for: billed as Southeast Asia's first hydro-magnetic coaster, it shoots two riders on a float uphill as well as down. Around it are slides with names that tell you what you're in for, from Pipeline Plunge to Spiral Washout and the side-by-side Dueling Racer. Bluwater Bay is the wave pool, and Splashworks is an obstacle course with a cliff jump and a 122cm minimum.

The smallest visitors have their own corners. Big Bucket Treehouse is a water playground, and Seahorse Hideaway is a shallow wading pool with fountains; anyone under 122cm there needs a supervising adult, so one grown-up is getting wet regardless.

How to do it well

Agree a few must-dos and a meeting point before you go in, and check each ride's height rules in advance rather than at the front of the queue. Sort lockers, sunscreen and a dry change early. Then leave the evening light: showering, changing and feeding a damp, tired group always takes longer than the ticket suggests.

Good to know Check rwsentosa.com for exact-date opening, ride closures, admission inclusions and add-on charges such as Ray Bay. Review the height and participation rules for every ride you care about, especially Rainbow Reef. The nearest MRT is HarbourFront, then onward to Sentosa.

Want more days the children will actually vote for? Here are our favourites in Let the kids choose…

Adventure Cove Waterpark | 14 Sentosa Gateway, Singapore 098132 | Nearest MRT: HarbourFront