If you are traveling to Singapore, for tourism or work, treat yourself to a break on the island of Sentosa, among nature, history and dream beaches.
Singapore is a small republic that extends over around 60 islands between Malaysia and Indonesia. One of these islands, Sentosa, will amaze you with the beauty of its beaches, the natural environment and the spectacular attractions it hosts. The journey itself from Singapore to Sentosa, located just south of the main island, is spectacular: in fact, the monorail that reaches the center of the island offers a breathtaking view of the center of the city of Singapore and the sea that divides it from Sentosa. And if you don't suffer from vertigo then the best choice is there Singapore Cable Car, a cable car service that connects the two islands.
The main attraction of the island are its beaches, white and very long, and the numerous parks and resorts that populate them, attracting thousands of tourists from all over the world every year. The most famous and beautiful beaches are Palawan Beach e Tanjong Beach: the first is a free beach more suitable for families, quiet but well equipped with themed areas such as children's play areas, swimming pools and slides and the Animal Enchaunter area, where you can see parrots, monkeys and other local animals up close; the second, Tanjong, is a quieter and more private place, suitable if you want to sunbathe in complete relaxation.
The other major attraction of Sentosa are the adventure parks, which see the arrival of almost 2 million visitors every year and are among the largest in Asia. The largest and most famous amusement park in Singapore is Universal Studios Singapore, a huge 20-hectare film-themed area that contains hundreds of attractions inspired by the world of cinema and the most famous adventure films: Hollywood, Jurassic Park, Waterworld , Ancient Egypt, the City of Science Fiction are just some of the areas of the park. Once you enter this park, the possibilities are truly endless.
If you are looking for relief from the tropical heat, the park on the island of Sentosa that you must visit is theAdventure Cove Water Park, completely dedicated to water adventures, with slides, rafting routes and hundreds of water games. One of the park's unique attractions is the Rainbow Reef, an artificial shallow water lagoon for diving among hundreds of friendly marine creatures, such as fish, stingrays and turtles. The park also offers the possibility of boarding a 4-masted sailing vessel Royal Albatross for an unforgettable cruise in the waters of the bay and enjoy the spectacular sunsets over the sea.
In addition to beaches and parks, Sentosa island offers many other naturalistic and historical attractions.
To learn about the history of the island it is very interesting to visit Fort Siloso, one of the only defensive forts built by the English at the beginning of the 19th century that can still be visited. The massive structure of the fort is completely and freely accessible: you can thus walk around the powerful defenses and the imposing naval cannons. Inside the fort is the Fort Siloso museum which brings together a vast collection of weapons and relics from the history of Singapore during the twentieth century, especially during the Second World War, when it became one of the main points of the defensive perimeter of the Japanese empire.
From a naturalistic point of view, Sentosa is half covered by a lush equatorial forest which can be explored on one of the numerous tours and walks organized among the other jungle trees, the Sentosa Nature Heritage Walks. While if you prefer zoological parks, Sentosa offers you two spectacular possibilities: the butterfly park and the S.E.A. Aquarium.
The Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom is a one-of-a-kind park and offers adults and children the chance to see together almost 15.000 butterflies and rare insects from around the world. The park is located near the island's forest and presents a path where the visitor can learn about and discover the life of these extraordinary small creatures from an out-of-the-ordinary point of view. In the butterfly park there is also an entomology research center where passing tourists can witness all stages of the life of butterflies and participate in educational workshops dedicated to children and schools.
To immerse yourself in another dimension, however, you can visit the S.E.A. Aquarium, a huge aquarium that houses 100.000 marine animals in tanks for a total of almost 45.000.000 liters of water; it is in fact the second largest aquarium in the world. The aquarium is part of the same group as the Adventure Cove Waterpark and inside it is possible to walk a few steps from spectacular giant or scary manta rays sharks for a total of 10 different marine environments reconstructed in all their complexity. The main tank, dedicated to the ocean environment, is a gigantic container of 18.000.000 liters of water and the visitor can admire the animals inside thanks to a window of almost 36 meters by 8, as if he were on the ocean floor .
The island of Sentosa offers many other attractions and you never stop discovering it fully, but a new opening is having great success among the tourists who arrive every year: iFly. This new attraction offers the possibility of floating in the void thanks to a huge turbine similar to one wind tunnel, which simulates the effects of a free fall launch from 4000 meters above sea level! And all in the safety of a special 20 meter high room just steps from the beaches of Sentosa.
