Sentosa Island Is Singapore's Action-Packed, Something-for-Everyone Vacation Destination

Depending on how long you have for your trip to Singapore, I would definitely recommend at least a half-day visit to Sentosa Island. From gorgeous beach resorts and boardwalks, to water parks and theme parks, to a historic fort, an aquarium, and so much else to do, Sentosa Island is truly stacked with adventure.

Getting to Sentosa Island: Cable Car from Mount Faber

The first thing you have to do, and arguably one of the best reasons to go to Sentosa Island, is the cable car ride. While Sentosa is accessible by both car and monorail (the Sentosa Express), I highly encourage you to travel by cable car unless you're afraid of heights. You can get to the cable car entrance from the Harbourfront MRT station, or you can grab some awesome views from one of the highest points in Singapore, Mount Faber Park.

Mount Faber is really nice. There's a 10-kilometer trail called the Southern Ridges that takes you through the forest, a couple of different parks, and over an awesome bridge called the Henderson Waves. There are some great views from different parts of the park, and once you reach Mount Faber Point, especially nice panoramic views and, of course, one of Singapore's iconic Merlion statues.

The view along the cable car route is truly stunning. At its highest, you'll be 300 feet above the bay, sailing over Singapore's Keppel Harbor, container ships, and cruise boats. The water is so incredibly blue, and the island so green. It's an awesome trip that takes about 15 minutes, including a brief slowdown when you reach the middle stop at Harbourfront station. If you pay a couple of extra dollars, you can get a cable car with a glass bottom, which I absolutely recommend.

The History of Sentosa Island: A Look at Fort Siloso

Being alone and having only half a day, I wasn't really looking to spend a lot of money on a tourist attraction, although Sentosa surely has plenty of them. My main goal was to enjoy the weather, get some nice views, and see what the island was all about. My first stop in this quest was Fort Siloso, which is a large part of the historical backdrop of the island.

The island has been used for centuries, first by neighboring peoples for fishing and then later as a pirate haven back in the early 1800s, thanks to Singapore being a large shipping port and the island's geography providing ample locations for hideouts and ambushes. Then, in the mid-19th century, the British built Fort Siloso and a number of other coastal forts designed to protect their port in Singapore from attackers coming in from the south.

In 1941, the island was overtaken by Japanese forces when Japan invaded Singapore. They turned Fort Siloso into a prisoner of war camp, and today, the site is memorialized as a national historic monument. Of the four forts that the British constructed on the island, Fort Siloso is the only one that remains. It has been converted into a museum with exhibits in the old buildings and the Fort Siloso Skywalk through the jungle connecting it to other parts of the island.

Despite this grim history, Singapore renamed it Sentosa Island in the late 1960s, just after gaining independence as a country, and began development to turn the island into what it is today. While around one billion Singapore dollars was initially invested in the 70s, the government put in another three billion more recently in the 2000s to build more attractions, as well as the new monorail line and the footbridge connecting the island to the rest of Singapore.

Things to do on Sentosa Island

Despite being less than two square miles, Sentosa Island is chock-full of attractions. There are golf courses, luxury resorts, beaches, and boardwalks. There are water parks, a wax museum, an aquarium, amusement parks, a butterfly garden, and an animal encounter. You could try luge, indoor skydiving, bungee trampolining, ziplining, and flowriding (simulated surfing). Phew, that's plenty, though I haven't even listed everything. The point is, there are tons of things to do, whether you're looking for a luxurious beach getaway or a kid-friendly family vacation.

Mount Imbiah Nature Trail

As I said, I didn't get up to any of the more touristy attractions, having only half a day to explore and being more interested in the nature side of things. After walking all around Fort Siloso, I wandered back toward the cable car facility via the Mount Imbiah Nature Trail. The island has a ton of wildlife, from lizards and turtles to monkeys and squirrels to peacocks and hundreds of interesting birds. This nature trail has two slightly underwhelming but still nice waterfalls and was overall just a lovely, quiet walk through an otherwise bustling tourist haven.

While my trip to Sentosa Island was quite short, you could easily spend all day, if not all week, exploring the many attractions on this small but packed island. The Singapore government has invested billions of dollars in making this a super nice place to vacation or take a day trip from "mainland" Singapore, and they have done a great job in providing something for everyone. Whether you want to relax on a beach, go wildlife spotting, have a luxurious resort experience, or amp up your adrenaline, Sentosa Island is really the place to be.