Adventures at home: New Sentosa tours offer wild encounters and 'time travel'
PHOTO: Sentosa Development Corporation
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 26, 2022 4:28 AMByJanelle Yong
All information in this article is accurate at the time of publishing.
Our beloved "island getaway", aka Sentosa, celebrates its Golden Jubilee this year, marking 50 years of Sentosa's history as a unique leisure destination.
Naturally, this means you can look forward to over 50 thrilling new experiences and events as part of the celebrations, kicking off with a series of sustainability-and heritage-themed SentoSights tours that have been categorised into three fun sections:
1. Island Play
Letters from Blakang Mati
Organiser: Monster Day Tours
Explore Fort Siloso through a family-friendly gamified puzzle hunt game-based puzzle hunt with the help of dinosaur mascot Pepper.
This challenging trail will test your mental and physical stamina as you decipher clues hidden within the Fort's installations to unravel secrets and stories about one of Singapore's key landmarks.
You'll discover first-hand accounts of Singapore in its various stages of war during World War II, learn why Sentosa was important to Singapore's defence, and even uncover letters written for wartime generals.
Not only that, you'll also win a collectible prize if you solve all the puzzles and succeed in uncovering the mystery.
Date and time: Every Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 12.30pm
Price: $32.10 per person
Coming soon, click here for updates.
Magical Discovery @ Sentosa
Organiser: Monster Day Tours
Discover Sentosa's connection to Singapore's past through the island's first "magic" tour. You'll explore lesser-known sites in Sentosa while enjoying street-magic performances, designed by local magician Mr Bottle and performed by your magician-guides as they share island stories of Sentosa and its history via magic-infused storytelling.
Date and time: Every Saturday and Sunday, 9.30am to 11.30am
Price: $53.50 per person
Coming soon, click here for updates.
2. Island Nature
East Asian Flyway (Introduction to Birdwatching)
Organiser: The Untamed Paths
What sort of birds can be found on a small island like Sentosa? Well, the answer is just around the corner thanks to this crash course in birdwatching.
Armed with nothing more than a pair of binoculars and a guidesheet, you'll learn the ropes of "birding" as you spot and identify common birds around the island.
Be sure to bring an adventurous spirit, and get ready to be one with nature as you embark upon a trail through a series of tall rainforest trees and along the coastline.
Date and time: Every Saturday, 7am to 8.30am
Price: $90.95 per person, $321 per family bundle (two adults and two children)
Click here to book.
Immersive Rainforest Trails
Organiser: The Untamed Paths
Explore a lush rainforest ecosystem right in the heart of Sentosa.
This tour shines the spotlight on oft-overlooked flowers and plants of the forest, providing insight into topics relevant to Singapore's landscape and development as an island-city. In addition, you'll get a first-hand experience of a tropical biotope amongst the tall rainforest flora.
Date and time: Every Sunday, 8am to 9.30am
Price: $90.95 per person, $321 per family bundle (two adults and two children)
Click here to book.
Sentosa Intertidal Exploration
Organiser: The Untamed Paths
Discover a hidden world beneath the ocean and more when the tide retreats. This tour offers a rare opportunity for you to get up close to often overlooked marine life like sand gobies and swimmer crabs as they scurry away with the waves.
You'll also learn simple facts about marine biology and gain insight into how the different biotopes on Sentosa's shores work hand-in-hand.
Date and time: Various dates and times available depending on tide
Price: $90.95 per person, $321 per family bundle (two adults and two children)
Click here to book.
Sentosa Naturalist Night Adventure
Organiser: The Untamed Paths
Experience Sentosa's true "wild side" as you embark upon a night adventure through the rainforest under the cover of darkness.
Be immersed in the forest's symphony as you learn how to identify common amphibians and nocturnal invertebrates, peeking into the secretive lives of Sentosa's nocturnal creatures with the aid of a small torch.
Date and time: Every Saturday, 7.30pm to 9pm
Price: $90.95 per person, $321 per family bundle (two adults and two children)
Click here to book.
3. Island Heritage
A Taste of Time Travel: Back to 1870s (Fort Serapong)
Organiser: Beyond Expeditions
Urban exploration meets tropical jungle in this experiential tour that takes you back to the 1870s via an adventurous heritage trek through a lesser-known part of Sentosa.
Through this multi-sensory tour, you'll explore sprawling stone ruins overgrown with vines, underground tunnels, abandoned World War II structures and secret reservoirs, discovering the profound history behind Fort Serapong and Sentosa along the way.
Date and time: Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8.30am to 11am and 12pm to 2.30pm | Every Saturday and Sunday, 12pm to 2.30pm
Price: $267.50 per person
Coming soon, click here for updates.
Escape from St John's Island
Organiser: Tribe Pte Ltd
The year is 2029. A new pandemic named "Green Death-29" is sweeping the world (like we haven't had enough of that with Covid). Almost all of Singapore has been infected, with Sentosa and St John's Island being among the few areas that have yet to be impacted.
You play the role of Elle, daughter of a researcher who was tasked with finding a cure. Now, a tablet and your dad's old journal with many missing pages are the world's only hope. Your task? Retrieve the missing pages and solve this mystery before time runs out. Are you ready to save the world?
Date and time: Every Saturday, 9am to 2.30pm
Price: $481.50 per group of five
Coming soon, click here for updates.
Sentosa Sunset Cruise
Organiser: Wanderlust Adventures
Sail along Sentosa and the Southern Islands, picking up a tip or two on sustainable fishing along the way. You can also choose to add-on and dine onboard a yacht before enjoying a night cruise back to the marina.
Date and time: Various dates available, 6pm to 10pm
Price: From $202.20 onwards (for two people)
Click here to book.
Serapong Trail
Organiser: Pudu Puda Travel
Lace up your boots and explore a rougher side of Sentosa on a hike to one of the highest points on the island.
This exploration is not for the faint-hearted, and those who are ready to brave the hidden forest trail will be rewarded with an unforgettable exploration of one of the country's most complete fort complexes.
You'll embark upon a moderate walk up Serapong Hill towards the abandoned military fort to visit the Battery Command Post and the Casemates amongst other buildings, where expert guides will recount the rich history of Serapong Fort from the late 1800s till the early 1970s when it was abandoned.
Date and time: Every Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 12pm
Price: $105 per person, $630 for private tour (up to six people, depending on prevailing safe management measures)
Coming soon, click here for updates.
This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.