How to Visit Southern Islands of Singapore: St. John’s, Kusu, Lazarus, Seringat and Sisters’ Islands

Please share this article if you think it's awesome!

If you are looking to literally get away from Singapore, like… out of Singapore, but you can’t go overseas yet, and you think Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are too mainstream, here’s an idea.

You should absolutely visit the Southern Islands of Singapore.

I’ve visited the southern islands a couple of times and I just really love them. I think they’re truly hidden gems. The only challenge to visiting these islands is probably the logistics, such as how to get there and what exactly you can do there.

Therefore, in this post, I’m going to share detailed information and tips about these islands. Here are what I will cover:

• Actually, what are the Southern Islands of Singapore?
• How to get to Southern Islands of Singapore?
  • 1. By public ferry from Marina South Pier
  • 2. By public ferry from Harbourfront
  • 3. By private boat
  • 4. Join NParks’ guided tour
• Island Cruise vs Marina South Ferries: Which one is better?
• Recommended Itineraries
  • Ambitious itinerary: visit 5 islands in a day
  • Slightly ambitious itinerary: visit 4 islands in a day
  • Easy itinerary: visit 2 islands in a day
• What to Bring to Southern Islands
• What to Wear to Southern Islands
• Things to do in Southern Islands

Important:
Please bring your own food and drinks because you can’t buy any on the islands, no matter how much money you have!

However, when locals say “Southern Islands,” they are usually referring to only St. John’s and Kusu islands. This is probably because the public ferries that bring visitors to the southern islands only have 2 drop-offs, namely St. John’s and Kusu.

I have already written a very detailed guide about things to do in Sentosa Island so I’m not going to write about it here.

There is no public transportation to Tekukor Island at the time of writing. Visitors have to charter a private boat to reach this islands. I have never visited Tekukor so I can’t write about it yet. When I do visit it, I’ll definitely write a separate post about it.

Meanwhile, the Small Sister’s Island is not open for public. It is used for research and conservation, so I won’t be including this island in this post.

This article will focus on 5 islands: St. John’s, Lazarus, Seringat, Kusu and the Big Sister’s islands.

Technically, it is possible to visit all these 5 islands in a day (scroll down to my Ambitious Itinerary to read the details about how to do it). But, personally, I wouldn’t recommend that you visit all of them in a day because: a) you’ll need an excellent stamina, b) you’ll always be in a rush and you can’t slow down to enjoy the islands that you visit.

If you’re a first-timer, I suggest that you visit only St. John’s Island and Kusu Island (scroll down to read my Easy Itinerary). If you’re a more ambitious first-timer, add Sister’s Island to the Easy Itinerary.

Note: Sisters’ Islands is closed until March 2024 for enhancement works. Other islands remain open as usual.

A round-trip ticket costs $15 per person (at the time of writing). The ferry will stop at St. John’s island first, then continue to Kusu island. Most people will get off at St. John’s first, spend some time there, then take the next ferry to Kusu. You don’t need to pay again to go from St. John’s to Kusu, because it’s already included in your ticket.

During my first trip to Kusu, I was really clueless about how this ferry thing works. I thought that I must choose either St John’s or Kusu, so I chose Kusu. When the ferry arrived at St. John’s, I just stayed on the ferry because I thought I wasn’t allowed to go to St. John’s. Ugh!

Please don’t make the same mistake as me! You can visit both destinations without additional fee.

How to get to Marina South Pier?

Option 1: Take the MRT to Marina South Pier Station, then take Exit B. Please do not follow the sign to Cruise Center, because Cruise Center is another building meant for cruise passengers.

Option 2: If you prefer a more convenient transport than MRT but cheaper than taxi, you can take KKKL’s direct bus to Marina South Pier from Tampines, Kovan Hub, Choa Chu Kang or Jurong East. It costs $5 on Mon-Thu; and $7 on Fri-Sun. If you purchase the bus ticket online, you can also get discounted ticket for Island Cruise at $13 (instead of usual price of $15).

2. By public ferry from Harbourfront

To get to Southern Islands, you can also catch a public ferry operated by Sindo Ferry that departs from Harbourfront Center.

Island Cruise vs Marina South Ferries: Which one is better?

At the moment, there are two companies that provide public ferries with fixed schedule at Marina South Pier: Island Cruise and Marina South Ferries. You may wonder, which one should you choose and what are the difference between these two?

Let me start with their similarities. Both Island Cruise and Marina South Ferries have stops at St. John’s island, followed by Kusu island.

Interestingly, both have the similar (though not identical) departure schedule. Below are their schedules, as captured from their official website and social media.

As for the price, both are selling at similar prices.

The first difference between them is this: Marina South Ferries provide additional ferries to bring customers to Sister’s island every day, meanwhile Island Cruise provide additional ferries for Sisters’ Islands only on weekends/public holidays. (well, obviously, this one is not applicable now because Sister’s island is closed for maintenance works until 2024).

The second difference is that, most of Marina South Ferries have an outdoor upper deck which is good for people who are prone to motion sickness. I love MSF’s upper deck because I do get seasick easily, and their upper deck is a great place to take unobstructed photos and videos.

Meanwhile, most of Island Cruise’s boats come with a single deck. They do have double deck ferries (I’ve boarded one), but the upper deck is quite small (only about 20pax are allowed) and the shelter is not thick enough to protect the passengers from heat.

The third difference: Marina South Ferry (MSF) has additional timings at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. For these special timings, passengers will be boarding express ferry (aka small boat) instead of the normal-size ferry. And these boats will bring passengers directly to Lazarus. So, if you are planning to go to Lazarus and you hate walking the causeway, you can consider this. Also, if you are late-risers who can’t wake up early to catch 9am ferry, you can take this 10am ferry instead of the 11am ferry.

The fourth difference: Island Cruise is pretty good with promotions. Currently, if you purchase Island Cruise ticket here, you can get SGD3 Gong Cha voucher. MSF ticket is sold at similar price but doesn’t come with freebies. If you’re not boba lovers, then you can ignore this point.

Conclusion: Even though there are small differences between the two ferries, those differences are not deal breaker. Both ferries can bring you to the southern islands safely and on time.

Recommended Itineraries

To be honest, planning an itinerary gave me a headache because: a) I don’t know how much time to allocate to each island, b) the ferry schedule on weekends/public holidays are really headache-inducing.

But don’t worry, I had successfully executed an itinerary that allows me to visit 5 islands in a day with public ferry, and it is my pleasure to share with you the details. In addition, I’ll also include recommended itinerary for 4 islands and 2 islands in a day.

One caveat, though. The ferry companies change their schedule all the time without prior notice. I try my best to keep revising my itinerary, but sometimes I might miss out on the latest schedule. So, if you happen to read this article and the below timing doesn’t match with the ferry’s latest schedule, feel free to adjust the itinerary to suit the new schedule.

Ambitious itinerary: visit 5 islands in a day (not applicable now till March 2024 because Sisters’ Island is closed for enhancement works)

I’m that typical Asian woman who wants to get the most bang for her bucks, so it’s only natural that I want to visit as many places as possible in a day. In order to achieve this mission of visiting 5 islands in a day, I booked my ticket from Marina South Ferries because they have boats that go to Sisters’ island. My trip was back in July 2020, that time the Island Cruise didn’t go to Sisters’ Island.

In my original post in August 2020, I shared the original itinerary that I used. However, the MSF has changed their ferry schedule in September, so my original itinerary is outdated. Therefore, I work out a revised itinerary as follow.

AMBITIOUS ITINERARY: 5 ISLANDS IN A DAY via Marina South Ferries on weekends/PHs
8.15am: arrive at Marina South Pier
8.25am: collect the ticket from ferry company and buy food & drinks
8.50am: enter the boarding gate
9am: ferry departs from Marina South Pier (MSP) to St. John’s Island (SJI)
9.30am: ferry arrives at SJI, get off the ferry
10am: board the ferry to Sister’s island
10.30am: ferry arrives at Sister’s island, get off the ferry
10.30am – 11.50am: explore Sister’s island
12pm: board the ferry to Kusu island
12.30pm: ferry arrives at Kusu island, get off the ferry
12.30 – 3.20pm: explore Kusu island
3.30pm: board the ferry to SJI
4pm: ferry arrives at SJI, get off the ferry
4pm – 5.50pm: explore St. John’s island, walk to Lazarus island and Seringat island
6pm: board ferry back to Marina South pier

That’s it! 5 islands in 9 hours is totally possible. BUT… it’s quite rush. It felt like a huge chunk of your time is spent on waiting for your boat. Furthermore, you need to make some trade-offs, such as forgoing swimming or laying down on the beach.

First, you have 1.5 hours in Sister’s island, which is enough for sightseeing and a brief session of swimming or snorkeling.

Then, you have 3 hours in Kusu. 30 mins for a quick lunch, 1 hour for exploring the island, 15 mins for getting smitten by turtles, and you’re left with 1 hour for swimming. I think you’ll have enough time to do everything in Kusu Island.

Lastly, you have 2 hours in St. John’s. You’ll need about 1 hour to walk up the hill to visit Marine Laboratory, explore the beach and walk back to the pier. Then, you need 30 mins to walk to Seringat island, 15 mins to walk around Seringat, 15 mins to explore Lazarus beach, and 30 mins to walk back to the pier. It’s not possible to do all of these in 2 hours! I haven’t even included swimming yet! To be honest, I think you can skip Marine Laboratory.

If swimming and relaxing are your main priorities, I recommend that you don’t visit 5 islands in a day. Instead, visit 4 or 2 islands as elaborated in the next sections.

Also, do note that this ambitious itinerary to visit 5 islands in a day is only for weekends/PHs via MSF. If you’re travelling via Island Cruise on a weekend, or MSF on a weekday, you can consult with them on their recommended itinerary.

Slightly ambitious itinerary: visit 4 islands in a day

If visiting 5 islands and getting on ferry 5 times a day sounds too much for you and you want a slower pace trip, then you can consider this itinerary.

In this itinerary, forget Sister’s island. You’ll be only dropping off at St. John’s, then walk to Lazarus and Seringat, then take the boat to Kusu and finally head back to Singapore mainland. So, you’ll only get on the boat 3 times in total.

To visit 4 islands in a day, you can take either Marina South Ferries or Island Cruise. Below are 2 itineraries, one for each ferry company. These itineraries are based on ferry schedules on weekend or public holidays.

Both the above itineraries allow you some time to take a dip or sunbathe on the beach, so do bring your swimsuit and perhaps a book.

4 ISLANDS IN A DAY via Marina South Ferries
9am: ferry departs from Marina South Pier (MSP) to St. John’s Island (SJI)
9.30am: ferry arrives at SJI, get off the ferry
9.30am – 1.20pm: explore SJI, walk to Lazarus island and Seringat island, have lunch (3 hours 50 mins)
1.30pm: board the ferry to Kusu island
1.50pm: ferry arrives at Kusu island, get off the ferry
1.50pm – 5.20pm: explore Kusu island (3 hours 30 mins)
5.30pm: board the ferry back to MSP (ferry will pass through SJI on the way to MSP)
6.30pm: arrives at MSP

4 ISLANDS IN A DAY via Island Cruise
9am: ferry departs from Marina South Pier (MSP) to St. John’s Island (SJI)
9.30am: ferry arrives at SJI, get off the ferry
9.30am – 1.40pm: explore SJI, walk to Lazarus island, Seringat and Kias island, have lunch (4 hours 10 mins)
1.50pm: board the ferry to Kusu island
2.10pm: ferry arrives at Kusu island, get off the ferry
2.10pm – 6.05pm: explore Kusu island (3 hours 55 mins)
6.15pm: board the ferry back to MSP
6.45pm: arrives back at MSP

Easy itinerary: visit 2 islands in a day

The Easy Itinerary is perfect for first-timers, parents with young kids/elderly, and people who just want to spend quality time sitting down and talking to their loved ones.

For this itinerary, I recommend that you visit only St. John’s island and Kusu island. Forget walking to Lazarus and Seringat or hopping on another boat to Sister’s island.

Below are 2 itineraries, one for each ferry company. These itineraries are based on ferry schedules on weekend or public holidays.

For this Easy Itinerary, I feel that Island Cruise has a better ferry schedule because from Kusu, you can immediately go back to MSP without having to go to SJI first. And you get to spend more time on both islands.

2 ISLANDS IN A DAY via Marina South Ferries
9am: ferry departs from Marina South Pier (MSP) to St. John’s Island (SJI)
9.30am: ferry arrives at SJI, get off the ferry
9.30am – 11.20pm: spend time at SJI (1 hour 50 mins)
11.30am: board the ferry to Kusu island
11.50pm: ferry arrives at Kusu island, get off the ferry
11.50pm – 3.20pm: explore Kusu island (3 hours 30 mins)
3.30pm: board the ferry back to MSP (ferry will pass through SJI on the way to MSP)
4.30pm: arrives at MSP

2 ISLANDS IN A DAY via Island Cruise
9am: ferry departs from Marina South Pier (MSP) to St. John’s Island (SJI)
9.30am: ferry arrives at SJI, get off the ferry
9.30am – 11.40am: spend time at SJI (2 hours 10 mins)
11.50am: board the ferry to Kusu island
12.10pm: ferry arrives at Kusu island, get off the ferry
12.10pm – 4.05pm: explore Kusu island and have lunch (3 hours 55 mins)
4.15pm: board the ferry back to MSP
4.45pm: arrives back at MSP

What to Bring to Southern Islands

This section is extremely important because failure to bring certain things will ruin your trip.

Here are the essential items you need to bring to Southern islands:

• FOOD – you need to bring your own food because you CAN’T buy food on the islands. You can, however, buy food at Marina South Pier before boarding the ferry. There is a small food stall that sells economic rice, but please don’t expect restaurant quality food.
• DRINKS – similarly, you need to bring your own drink because you CAN’T buy drinks on the islands, not even from vending machine! There are several stalls at Marina South Pier that sell drinks and snacks with reasonable price, so I recommend you buy drinks from them to save you the hassle of bring your drinks all the way from your home to MSP (unless you drive). Please bring at least 1.5L per person (3L if you intend to visit 5 islands in a day); I made the mistake of bringing only 600ml water and ended up having to cut my trip short!
• Sunscreen – there are not much shelter on the islands, except the occasional tree shades.
• Mosquito repellent – don’t let mosquitoes ruin your trip! And yes, I had to apply both sunscreen and mosquitoes repellent on my skin and it felt weird, but don’t skip them because both are really important.
• Umbrella – to protect you from the sun or rain
• Swimsuit, extra clothes, shower stuffs, towels – if you’re planning to swim (PS: there are shower facilities on SJI, Kusu, Sister’s island)
• Snorkel gears – if you’re planning to snorkel
• Beach towels – if you’re planning to sunbathe
• Picnic gears – portable chairs, tables, picnic mat, food and drinks (if you’re planning to go on a picnic)
• Powerbank – if you’re going to use your gadgets a lot
• A bag – to keep your things. Avoid using plastic bags because they attract monkeys (yes, there are monkeys on these islands)
• Camping gears – if you’re planning to camp (camping permit is required and campers need to apply TOL via SLA website; it’s free of charge).
• Fishing gears – if you’re planning to fish
• Pet – the islands are pet-friendly, but do check with ferry operator to confirm that pets are allowed on the day you intend to travel

Things you do NOT need to bring:

• Passport

What to Wear to Southern Islands

The walkways are well constructed on these islands, so it’s okay to wear any footwear. But remember, you need to jump in and out of ferry, so flat shoes/slippers are definitely better than heels.

As for clothing, there are no restrictions to what you can/can’t wear, so it’s really up to you.

Things to do in Southern Islands

Before you visit the Southern islands, I think it’s really important to plan your trip, down to the details of what you’ll do and see, in order not to waste your time thinking about what to do when you’re already on the islands (well, unless your main purpose of going there is to do nothing, which is perfectly fine).

1. Sisters’ Island

As mentioned previously, the Small Sister’s island is not open for public, so the things mentioned here are only meant for the Big Sister’s island (Pulau Subar Laut).

These are the things to do in Big Sister’s Island:

1. Snorkeling
2. Swmming
3. Picnic lunch
4. Intertidal walk (only possible during low tide)
5. Diving (must be done with dive approved operators)

Read my detailed guide about things to do in Sisters’ Islands.

2. Kusu Island

These are the things to do in Kusu Island:

1. Da Bo Gong Temple
2. Wishing Well
3. Kusu Kramats
4. Tortoise Sanctuary
5. Swimming
6. Picnic
7. See Singapore skyline
8. Take part in the Kusu Island’s Annual Pilgrimage

Read my detailed guide about things to do in Kusu Island.

3. St. John’s Island

These are the things to do in St. John’s Island:

1. St. John’s Island National Marine Laboratory
2. St John’s Island Beach
3. Picnic
4. Intertidal walk (only possible during low tide)
5. Overnight Stay
6. NParks Guided Walking Tour
7. Walk to Lazarus Island and Seringat Island
8. Lazarus Beach

Read my detailed guide about things to do in St. John’s Island.

Want to be the first to know whenever I post new articles and videos? Join my Telegram Channel and you’ll get new post alerts sent directly to your phone.

Please share this article if you think it's awesome!