The Southern Islands with a Packed Lunch

A train to Marina South Pier and a short ferry ride put you on a sandbar south of the city. Three of the Southern Islands share one return ferry ticket. Lazarus has the sandbar, St John's has lagoons and a colonial quarantine history, and Kusu has its temples and a tortoise sanctuary. There's little food out there and less shade, so you bring lunch. The first thing to decide is the order, which mostly follows the ferry's route.

The ferry runs a loop from Marina South to Lazarus, on to Kusu, then back to the city. It doesn't return to St John's from Kusu, so we'd spend the morning on the sandbar and St John's and take the afternoon boat over to the temples. The catch is that you climb Kusu's hill in the afternoon heat. Weekdays are calmer than weekends, and it's worth checking a tide table before you pick one, because the sandbar is at its best around mid-tide.

The orange booth at Marina South Pier

At Marina South Pier MRT (NS28), take Exit A and go up the escalator. Singapore Island Cruise's orange booth is on your left, at #01-04, 31 Marina Coastal Drive. Gardens by the Bay station on the Thomson-East Coast Line is a different stop, so make sure your route ends at the pier. Return tickets are S$18 for adults and S$12 for ages 1 to 12, with early-bird fares from S$15 on the booking page, and cover all three islands. Buy yours at the booth or online.

Get there at least 25 minutes before your sailing on a weekday and 45 minutes before on weekends, when boarding is first-come. On a weekend, aim to be at the pier well before 3pm. The ride out to Lazarus takes about 25 minutes when the boat is quiet and a little longer when it's full. Check Singapore Island Cruise's timetable the night before you go, because sailings and last boats vary from day to day.

Lazarus and St John's

Every boat drops you at Lazarus, because the main jetty on St John's is closed for enhancement works until further notice. Lazarus has the sandbar and very little else: no shops and no shade. Lunch is whatever you carried, so pack water, a hat, a packed lunch, some cash and a dry shirt for the ride home. Overnight stays are sometimes allowed on Lazarus and St John's, with the ferry ticket valid for the next day's return, so check the current rules if you're tempted. The Freediving Taster runs a four-hour session on Lazarus, with theory, dry breathing exercises and safety before you get wet. You need to swim 25 metres without any aid, and a class needs three people to go ahead.

St John's is about 10 minutes away on foot across the causeway, and there's almost no shade on that either, so cross before the middle of the day. Its lagoons are good for a swim, and its history goes back to colonial days, when it was a quarantine island. Come back over the causeway in good time, because the Kusu boat picks up at Lazarus too. Gogreen Eco Adventure rents bikes and kickscooters for two hours around St John's, with a beach mat, from Thursday to Sunday. The ferry costs extra, and there are no shops on the island.

Kusu's temples and tortoises

The afternoon boat takes you on to Kusu. Start at the Chinese temple near the jetty, where Da Bo Gong, the god of prosperity, and Guan Yin are both honoured. The tortoise sanctuary is the stop most children remember. From the temple, 152 steps climb a rugged little hill to the three keramats, Malay shrines to Syed Abdul Rahman, Nenek Ghalib and Puteri Fatimah. It's a steep climb in the heat, so carry water up. Dress modestly and take your shoes off at the shrines, where people come to pray.

Kusu has a small stall, but plan lunch as if it weren't there. Overnight stays and pets aren't allowed on the island.

The Kusu pilgrimage fills the island through the ninth lunar month, from 10 October to 8 November. The boats are packed and the temples are the whole point, which makes those weeks a poor choice for a quiet sandbar day. The standard return ticket isn't valid then, and Singapore Island Cruise sells a separate pilgrimage sailing. If the pilgrimage is why you're going, go then. For the sandbar, pick another week.

The last boat from Kusu

Plan the day backwards from the last boat. The last weekday ferry from Kusu to Marina South leaves at 4.15pm, though some weekday boards list 4pm. Weekend boats run later, and on some Sundays and Mondays the last boat from Kusu leaves as late as 6.15pm. Whatever the board says, be at the jetty an hour early, so at 3pm for a 4pm boat. The crossing back to Marina South takes about 30 minutes. If you're ever stranded after the last boat, call 8511 5551.

Sisters' Islands and Pulau Hantu

Sisters' Islands Marine Park, Singapore's first, opens only Big Sister's Island to visitors. Singapore Island Cruise and Marina South Ferries both run boats there from Marina South Pier, though Singapore Island Cruise has suspended its Big Sister's trips on weekdays, except public holidays, until further notice. The island closes on the first and third Wednesday of each month. NParks leads a free guided walk on the first Sunday of each month: register ahead, buy your own ferry ticket at the pier and take the 9am boat.

Snorkelling at Big Sister's Island means bringing your own gear, because Marina South Ferries says there's none to rent, and NParks advises covering up exposed skin while jellyfish are about. There's no lifeguard, and the lagoon has sudden strong currents. Divers can head for Pulau Hantu, about 30 minutes from the city on a dive shop's boat, for two guided dives among seahorses and nudibranchs. It's for certified divers, so ask the shop which level it wants before you book. To get certified first, the Open Water Diver Course is the full PADI course: a pool session, then four dives from a private yacht over a weekend, and Pulau Hantu to look forward to once you pass.

By yacht from Sentosa Cove

The shared yacht from Sentosa Cove is the comfortable way to the Lazarus sandbar. You get four hours with paddleboards and a cooler on board, and no ferry queue, for a good deal more than the S$18 ferry fare. If what you want is a beach without the packing, Palawan on Sentosa is free once you're over there, and it's the one that doesn't make you pack lunch.

For your own group, a private yacht charter from Sentosa Cove or Keppel Bay takes you to the Lazarus sandbar alone, or round the harbour for a birthday or a proposal. The public ferry costs less, and the extra buys you somewhere shaded to sit, your own cooler and a departure time you pick. A storm cancels the trip, so keep the date flexible.

The Maritime Gallery upstairs

If rain rules out the sandbar, the Singapore Maritime Gallery is upstairs on Level 2 of the same pier, and it's free. Take Exit B from the station for the gallery. It has ship-handling simulators and four exhibit zones, and it's open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 6pm, closed Mondays except public holidays. Guided public tours are a separate booking on Eventbrite.

For a long day on any day but Monday, see the gallery when it opens at 9am, catch a 10am boat to Lazarus and be on the Kusu jetty an hour before the last ferry home. It's a lot of sun, so pack more water than seems sensible.