Visit Sentosa Island, Singapore

Sentosa is Singapore’s playground, a small island just off the south coast with beaches, theme parks, a historic fort and big resort hotels. It’s busy at weekends and quieter on weekdays, and it suits families especially well. You can be there in minutes from the city.

What to see

The beaches. Siloso, Palawan and Tanjong beaches run along the south shore, each with a different mood: Siloso is the liveliest, Palawan the most family-friendly, and Tanjong the quietest. The sea is calm, and the view is of ships waiting offshore rather than open ocean, but the sand is soft and there are cafes all along.

Resorts World Sentosa. Home to Universal Studios Singapore and the Singapore Oceanarium, which replaced the S.E.A. Aquarium and opened in July 2025 in a building about three times larger.

Fort Siloso. Coastal guns and tunnels from Singapore’s defenses in the Second World War, with a high skywalk above the fort. It’s one of the few places on the island that tells the history of Singapore.

Getting there

The Sentosa Express monorail runs from VivoCity, next to HarbourFront MRT station. You pay a small fare as you enter, and rides between the island’s stations are then free. You can also walk across the Sentosa Boardwalk from VivoCity, take the cable car from Mount Faber, or arrive by taxi. Singapore plans to replace the monorail with a new people-mover in future, so check the current options before you go.

How long to stay

A full day covers one theme park or the Oceanarium plus the beaches. Families sometimes stay a night or two in one of the island’s resorts and treat it as a short beach break at the end of a trip. For more on timing, see the best time to visit Singapore, and for the city side, Marina Bay.

Planning it with My Way Travel

We plan private trips in Singapore with transfers, tickets and hotels arranged for you, and can combine Sentosa with Malaysia, Bali or Vietnam. Have a look at our Singapore tours or tell us your dates.

Sources: Resorts World Sentosa on the Singapore Oceanarium (2025); Sentosa transport information. Last checked October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get to Sentosa?

By the Sentosa Express monorail from VivoCity at HarbourFront, on foot across the Sentosa Boardwalk, by cable car from Mount Faber, or by taxi.

Is Sentosa worth visiting?

Yes, especially with children. It has beaches, Universal Studios, the Singapore Oceanarium and Fort Siloso within a small area.

What happened to the S.E.A. Aquarium?

It closed in 2025 and was replaced on the same site by the larger Singapore Oceanarium, which opened in July 2025.

Photo: Chensiyuan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.