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| The beach on Lazarus Island - a wide C-shape bay and more sand than most beaches in Singapore. |
St John's Island, the fabled Lazarus Island and Seringat Island
The three islands are connected - Lazarus to St John's, Seringat to Lazarus. All you have to do is find your way to St John's and you'd have access to all of them!
St John's Island
The most well-known of the three, the island has holiday bungalows for rent and well-loved beaches of its own to boast.
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| Partner-in-crime Thamsy in red carrying a foldable chair and food, among other things. |
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| A landmark that you can spot from the boat, hundred meters before reaching the island. |
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| My cousin mentioned that she used to stay in this house during Sec School badminton camp. There was a row of such houses, which we didn't have time to explore, but looked old and worn, like they had a story to tell. |
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| A lookout point on the causeway to Lazarus. Amazing. |
Lazarus Island
As with many experiences that people try to sell you, this one is a tad hyped up.There're nothing (save for one shelter) on this beach, except sand, sea and trees so you're completely immersed in nature, which I was a happy with, but could be a bad thing for some people. It's on you to bring all you need to make yourself comfortable - a huge beach hat, 1.5l of water and sunblock, in whichever combined amount you would prefer (and I recommend equal), a mat, and some snacks.
When we were there the sun was so hot that you'd want to be in the water or under shelter.
If it weren't that hot, it would have been way more relaxing. It's a decent stretch of beach with white, fine sand, a view of the sea not littered with countless cargo ships and very few people. We visited it during the school holidays so there's no doubt that if you visited it on a normal week day, you'd see almost no one.
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| If you got a boat. |
Seringat Island
Not much has been written about Seringat Island. It's even quieter than Lazarus, which has stolen the limelight for having "the best beach in Singapore". I much prefer it actually! There's a nice path that leads you around the island and a couple of picnic shelters facing the sea thrown in for good measure.Thamsy and I ended up spending most of our time there, looking at the residential estates of Sentosa Cove and enjoying the food that he prepared. The aspiring home cook is a life saver. We'd be living on chips if he didn't have pursuits like these.
Kusu Island
On the way back to the mainland, the ferry dropped us off at Kusu Island for an hour. You could probably cover its perimeter in twenty minutes. We climbed up to Datuk Kong, which appeared to be a place for prayer, and chilled out by the beach. It gives off a bit of East Coast type of vibe, but more zen.
Kusu Island means "Turtle Island" and there were tales of how the turtle saved early sailors who reached its shores and the island's mystical healing powers. With more time it I would have liked to soak up the cultural heritage of the place.
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| Iconic Chinese temple in the background, and one of the many homages to turtles on the island. |
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| Thamsy doing his best to be the last picture in Tyra's hands so he would not have to pack his bags and go home. |
How to get there:
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| The ferry schedule as of June 2015. |
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Charter a yacht. Waiting for Thamsy to become a millionaire for this. Or more economically:
2.
Singapore Island Cruise will bring you to St John's Island and back for $18, stopping by Kusu Island for about an hour on the way back.
A typical weekday trip will see you leaving Marina South Pier (which you can get to via MRT to the station of the same name) at 10am and coming back to the mainland at 4.15pm. The weekends offer more timings, which you can check out here.
Resources:
Straits Times: Lazarus Island's laid-back charmExpat Living Singapore: A step-by-step guide to finding Singapore's best beach
