Desperately needing a break from work? We may not be able to enjoy vacations in places like Bali or Phuket for now, but a quick and easy beach holiday is very much within reach!
I spent 2 nights at Sentosa recently, and enjoyed myself tremendously. Some may think that 2 or 3 days is too long to spend on the island, but I’m determined to prove them wrong!
There are numerous fun activities to do and yummy places to dine, even with the closure of some attractions and shops during Phase 2.
Here’s how to enjoy a 3D2N stay on Sentosa island.
Day 1
Morning: Ride to Sentosa and brunch
We started the morning late (it is a staycation after all), booking a Grab straight to Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) at 10:45am. I was lucky enough to get a Grab Hitch that morning with a family heading to Sentosa, and paid $13.50 from my home at Hougang.
It’s also worth noting that entry into Sentosa is free till December 2020. Besides driving or taking a Grab, you can stroll in via the Sentosa Boardwalk or take the Sentosa Express from Vivocity.
After meeting our friends who joined us for the staycation, we had an early lunch at Malaysian Food Street. Located at RWS’ Waterfront, you’ll find classic Malaysian dishes such as Penang char kuay teow, chicken rice balls, claypot chicken rice and KL hokkien mee.
I’m a huge chicken rice fan, and made a beeline for the Malacca Chicken Rice Ball stall. A set with 8 rice balls is sold for $4, and you can also get rice balls separately at $2 for 8 pieces.
Thought the rice balls were pretty small, this is one of the few places selling this dish in Singapore, so I’d recommend giving it a try!
Afternoon: Skyline Luge
After lunch, we headed straight for the Skyline Luge Sentosa. To get there from RWS, we took the Sentosa Express from Waterfront to Beach Station.
After alighting at Beach Station, walk on past iFly and you’ll reach Skyline Luge in about 5 minutes. With a giant sign above it, it’s hard to miss.
We didn’t pre-book our tickets, but queues were relatively short even during the school holidays.
There are several Luge & Skyride Combos to choose from − we got 3 rides priced at $27 per person.
Waiting times for the Skyride were short as well. It was an estimated 30-minute wait per ride, but we only queued for half the time!
Our ride started at the bottom of the tracks, with us taking the Skyride all the way to the top. I have a dizzying fear of heights, so it was a little scary the first time. Rest assured that the ride is really secure though, with a safety bar locking you in. You’ll also enjoy great views of Sentosa Island and the city skyline, with an ascent and descent that isn’t too steep.
Racing down the tracks is an exhilarating experience! The Luge’s mechanism is safe and really easy to control too. I sped down three different tracks with multiple twists and turns: the Dragon Trail, Jungle Trail and new Expedition trial. With a tunnel feature and tight bends, the Jungle Trail was my favourite!
On days where you encounter longer ticket queues, my advice is to enter via the Luge’s other entrance at Imbiah Lookout, where we saw hardly anyone queueing. From there, you take the Luge down and Skyride back up.
Evening: Retreat to W Singapore & dinner at Quayside Isle
After our Luge ride, we retreated to W Singapore − our home for the next two nights. You can read more about my stay here, which I highly raved about.
After a relaxing late afternoon by the pool, we walked out to Quayside Isle at Sentosa Cove for dinner.
The serene residential enclave has numerous dining options, with various cuisines including Mexican, Italian, Spanish and Thai food. We dined at Gin Khao Bistro, a Thai restaurant with classic dishes like pad thai, stir-fried beef and green curry chicken.
We loved the Gin Khao Special watermelon fried rice ($14.80), which included a large portion of tasty fried rice and juicy watermelon balls. The phat thai talay (seafood pad thai; $14.80) was delicious too, being perfectly seasoned with fresh mussels and prawns. And our chicken in green curry broth ($13.80) was thick and packed with flavour.
The milk tea was unfortunately too diluted − even after sending it back and requesting for another. Nevertheless, this didn’t dampen our dining experience, and we’d gladly return for the tasty mains!
After a full meal, we retreated to W Singapore for a good night’s rest!
Day 2
Noon: Redeeming Sentosa Fun Pass tokens
We spent the morning stuffing ourselves silly with W’s very generous ala-carte breakfast buffet.
Ending breakfast at 11:30am, we skipped lunch and headed straight for the Trick Eye Museum at RWS. Onsite museum entry is usually priced at $25 per adult and $20 per child, but we managed to snag tickets at only $5 per person though redeeming our Sentosa Fun Pass tokens!
In celebration of this year’s National Day, Sentosa has given each local household a free Sentosa Fun Pass loaded with 20 tokens.
Fun passes can be registered for online, and tokens are redeemable at participating attractions like iFly, Trick Eye Museum, Madame Tussauds and AJ Hackett. Each attraction is worth a different number of tokens, and you can purchase additional tokens starting from 5 tokens at $5.
To redeem our pass for Trick Eye Museum tickets, we first booked a visiting slot through Chope about 3 days prior. On the day of our visit, we headed to the ticketing counter at Resorts World Station to exchange tokens for tickets. Adult tickets cost 15 tokens per person, so we topped up an additional $5 each for 30 tokens (for a ‘household’ of two people).
Afternoon: Trick Eye Museum visit
This was my first time visiting a Trick Eye Museum. My friends had gone to the one in Penang, and found this had less exhibits in comparison.
We still had an enjoyable time though! I appreciated that there were instructions next to each exhibit, illustrating how to take pictures to best achieve an illusion. You can also download the XR Museum App for additional special effects when taking snapshots.
Some illusions were downright hilarious too! For example, getting caught in a witches’ boiling cauldron, posing as an elegant ballerina or hanging from the ceiling trapped by a giant snake!
The museum wasn't too packed on the day we went, so we had plenty of time to take the perfect shot, with no pressure of people waiting in line behind us.
Afternoon: Cable car ride
I always assumed that Sentosa’s cable car rides were really expensive. As such, I was surprised to learn that it costs just $3 to take a Sentosa Line round trip (within Sentosa), as part of an ongoing promotional rate. Being an NTUC Union Member, one of my friends even got the ride for free!
We took the cable car from Merlion to Siloso Point station, and were treated to a bird’s eye view of the lush island and the surrounding South China Sea. The ride was smooth as well, with no sudden jerks or stops along the way.
At such a low price point, I would highly recommend the cable car as a scenic mode of transportation. If you’re looking to take it into Sentosa from Harbourfront ($35), you can also redeem tickets via your Sentosa Fun pass at 20 tokens per person.
Late afternoon: Stand-up paddling
Alighting at Siloso Point station, we then walked westward along Siloso Beach to Ola Beach Club for our next adventure.
Usually, the club would be packed with beach-goers chilling and mingling. However, its pool was undergoing renovations on the day we went and it was pretty empty that afternoon.
But we weren't there for the beach bods! I was excited to try stand-up paddling (SUP) for the very first time, at the club’s watersports centre. SUP rentals cost $35 per person an hour, and you can also rent kayaks, jet blades and banana boats.
I had an absolute blast stand-up paddling! Initially afraid of falling into the water, balancing was actually not that difficult.
The trick is to kneel on the board at first, and paddle till you get to Siloso Beach’s enclosed lagoon areas which are sheltered from the waves. It’s much easier to stand on your board without the waves rocking you back and forth. Once you hit areas with stronger waves, slowly kneel down again to prevent falling over.
Evening: Dinner at Duckland
After heading back to W Singapore to freshen up, we returned to RWS to dine at Duckland. Owned by Tung Lok Group, the restaurant has three outlets in Singapore and specialises in imported Irish Duck.
We choose the Family Bundle Set ($118 nett), which comes with roast Irish duck, crispy aromatic duck, shrimp dumpling soup, duck fried rice and seasonal vegetables.
For me, the highlight was definitely the signature Roast Irish Duck. Though boney, the duck itself was tender and well-glazed. You can also pair it with four delicious sauces: mustard, raspberry, chilli and dark sauce.
The other star of the show was the crispy aromatic duck, served Peking-style. Like popiah, you wrap up the fried duck in skin, and add gravy and assorted vegetables like sliced cucumber and pickled onion. Though fried, the duck pieces were really moist and easy to chew too!
The shrimp dumpling soup didn’t disappoint too, being well-seasoned with juicy wantons. We liked that the duck fried rice had a strong wok hey taste as well.
In fact, the meal was so good that I returned a week later to the other outlet at Paya Lebar Quarter, just to savour the duck again!
Happy and full, we retreated to W Singapore yet again for our last night on the island.
Day 3
Afternoon: Tanjong Beach Club
After checking out at 12pm, we headed to Tanjong Beach Club to chill for the afternoon. Taking Sentosa’s Bus B to Palawan Beach, we walked eastward along Tanjong Beach Walk for about 20 minutes to arrive at Tanjong Beach Club.
You can also take a free beach shuttle from Palawan to Tanjong Beach, which operates every 10 minutes.
We were honestly too full from the hotel’s breakfast buffet to order lunch, so we opted for drinks and truffle fries. The all-day menu also offers coastal-inspired cuisine like fish & chips, lobster buns, burgers and crab linguine.
Our truffle fries ($18) came in an extra generous serving, and was topped off with actual shaved truffle. We also got the Tanjong lemonade ($10) and coconut & pandan smoothie ($10). Thick and filled with coconut shavings, the smoothie was refreshing and packed with flavour. Service staff were efficient and really friendly too!
But of course, you don’t come to Tanjong Beach Club just for the food. Us millennials love Insta-worthy pics and cool vibes right? There’s plenty of that there, even with the 12-person pool limit and safety distancing ambassador walking around.
Do note that you need a minimum spending of $100 (weekdays) and $200 (weekends) to rent a daybed. But with mains costing around $20 to $40 a person, most groups of 4 or 5 should be able to hit that amount quickly.
After chilling for a few hours, we sadly had to leave Sentosa to get back to the grind. With a Grab pick-up point just outside Tanjong Beach Club, we managed to snag a ride within 5 minutes.
Final thoughts on my Sentosa Trip
If you’re one of those who assumed that Sentosa is just for kids or not worth an overnight stay, I hope this itinerary has changed your perspective! There are plenty of fun ways to spend your time on the island!
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