Fort Siloso

Siloso Point lies less than half a kilometre from Labrador Park, separated by sea. An urban legend suggests an underwater tunnel linking British forts at these points, but no tunnel has ever been found or documented. The area around Fort Siloso was once called Sarang Rimau, meaning Tiger’s den in Malay, reflecting local history and knowledge by the Orang Laut.

Siloso Beach

Siloso Beach was created in the 1970s and 1980s with swimming lagoons by the Sentosa Development Corporation. Named after the Malay word for “rock,” it was initially a defensive site. Today, the beach is known for beach volleyball, water sports, and a lively nightlife scene.

Palawan Beach

Palawan Beach’s name comes from the Malay word “Pahlawan,” meaning warrior or hero. British soldiers once guarded swimmers here from sharks and saltwater crocodiles, using shark fences called “swimming pagars.” These predators are no longer present, making the beach safe for visitors.

Sentosa Island

Sentosa Cove, launched in 2003, is a gated community covering 117 hectares, of which 100 hectares are reclaimed land. It contains 2600 homes including oceanfront villas, mansions, and condominiums, spread across five artificial islands: Coral Island, Paradise Island, Treasure Island, Sandy Island, and Pearl Island, mostly reserved for bungalows. Residential developments are mainly in the northern and southern precincts. By June 2015, Sentosa Cove housed over 5000 residents living in 2160 homes including condominiums, terraced houses, and bungalows.

Lazarus Island

Formerly known as Pulau Sakijang Pelepah, Lazarus Island once had prison confinement sheds abandoned after a prisoner escaped. It now attracts visitors for its clean white sand beach around a c-shaped lagoon. It is one of the few southern islands where private boats can anchor.

Kusu Island

Kusu Island hosts a Chinese temple and three Malay shrines, drawing pilgrims especially during the ninth lunar month. Originally 1.2 hectares in 1975, landfill expanded it to 8.5 hectares. It served as a burial site for immigrants who died in quarantine on nearby islands during the colonial era.

St John's Island

St John's Island, formerly a penal settlement, is now a holiday resort with historical connections to Singapore. Stamford Raffles anchored off the island on January 28, 1819. The island functioned as a report boat station for the Marine Department and during an 1873 cholera epidemic, which caused 448 deaths, it hosted a floating police station, hospital, and quarantine burial ground at Peak Island, managing over 1300 cholera-infected Chinese coolies. After immigration slowed, it housed political detainees and secret society leaders, was later a drug rehabilitation centre, and became a campsite for schools and students in 1975.