Sentosa

An island with three free beaches and a great many ways to spend S$40 a head.

Sentosa is the cheapest beach day in Singapore and, if you let it, one of the dearest family days out. Getting in costs S$4 by train and the beaches, the fort and the night-time light trail are free; the bill arrives with the rides and the shows. It suits families, visitors with a spare day and anyone who wants sand without a flight. The compromise is that the island is really five different outings, so choose one or two and leave the rest for next time.

How to get to Sentosa

Take the train to HarbourFront and go up to VivoCity. The Sentosa Express leaves from Lobby L on Level 3 and costs S$4 to enter; holders of selected TransitLink concession cards (seniors, students, persons with disabilities and Workfare cards) pay S$2, and child concession card holders and children under 7 with an adult ride free. Trains run from 7am to midnight. Once you are on the island, the Sentosa Express, Bus A and Bus B (7am to 11pm) and the beach shuttle (9am to 10pm, with a pause from 7.35pm to 9pm) are free.

The Sentosa Boardwalk starts at VivoCity's Lobby F on Level 1. Part of it has been closed since 22 May 2025 for Resorts World's waterfront works and Sentosa expects it to reopen in 2030; walkers and cyclists are sent along a covered linkway instead. The Singapore Cable Car is the scenic way in: the Sentosa Line is S$15 for an adult and S$10 for a child, the Mount Faber Line S$33 and S$22, and both together S$35 and S$25, from 8.45am to 10pm with last boarding at 9.30pm. Bus 123 runs straight to Resorts World Sentosa and Beach Station at ordinary distance fares, and the RWS 8 shuttle from VivoCity is S$1.

Drivers pay by time of day: S$6 a car between 7am and 11.29am and between 1.31pm and 5pm, and S$2 from 11.30am to 1.30pm and from 5.01pm to 6.59am. Motorcycles are not allowed in.

Things to do in Sentosa: free

Three beaches, for a start. Siloso is the busy one with the bars, Palawan has the rope bridge to an islet Sentosa calls the southernmost point of continental Asia, and Tanjong is the quiet end. Lifeguards are on duty from 9am to 7pm, daily at Siloso and Palawan and at weekends and on public holidays at Tanjong. Fort Siloso is free, with the fort and Surrender Chambers open 9am to 6pm and last admission at 5.30pm; the 181-metre Skywalk that leads to it is free too. Sensoryscape, the 350-metre garden walk between Resorts World and the beaches, is open all day and lights up from 7.30pm to 9.15pm. For shade, the Imbiah Trail (2.3km) and the Coastal Trail (2.2km) each take 30 to 40 minutes.

Sentosa attractions: paid

Wings of Time, the fireworks and water show at Siloso Beach, runs nightly at 7.40pm and 8.40pm for about 20 minutes, rain or shine. Tickets start at S$22 and you must reserve a date and time after buying. SkyHelix, the open-air gondola that rises to 79 metres, is S$20 for an adult and S$17 for a child, from 10am daily. Skyline Luge sells three rides with the chairlift back up for S$33 and four for S$36, and stays open until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, 7.30pm otherwise. The big-ticket places are on the Resorts World side and have their own pages: Universal Studios Singapore, the Singapore Oceanarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark.

What's on at Sentosa now

Resorts World's Christmas programme, Season of Joy, starts on 27 November with fireworks on 15 nights, and DINO-A-LIVE brings its life-size dinosaurs to the Resorts World Ballroom from 3 to 6 December.

When to go and with kids

Our advice is to arrive mid-afternoon, when the 2pm sun has eased and a car costs S$6 only until 5pm, take the beach first and finish with Sensoryscape or Wings of Time. On Friday to Sunday evenings a free shuttle bus runs from Beach Station to HarbourFront Bus Interchange between 6pm and 9pm, a useful way off the island. With small children, Palawan is the one to pick. Pets are not allowed on the trains, buses, cable car or Boardwalk, so dog owners drive or book a pet-friendly ride.

Nearby

For the rest of the south, from Mount Faber to Labrador, see our Sentosa and the Southern Ridges guide, and for a longer read on choosing between its outings, Sentosa, your way.

Good to know Sentosa Express from VivoCity, Level 3 (HarbourFront MRT): S$4 entry, S$2 for selected concession cards, free for children under 7 with an adult; 7am to midnight. Travel within the island is free. Part of the Boardwalk is closed until about 2030, with a covered linkway in its place. Sentosa's page gives both 9pm and 9.30pm as SkyHelix's closing time, so go before 9pm. Parking is S$2.20 an hour until 5pm, then S$4 an entry, capped at S$10 a day. Prices and times from sentosa.com.sg, checked 13 November 2026.

Sentosa | Sentosa Island, Singapore | Nearest MRT: HarbourFront