Lazarus Island: Singapore's not so best kept secret.

Think of a place when I say there's white sandy beaches. 

Krabi? Nope! 

With clear waters and you can still see your toes even when you're waist deep!

Bali? Nope!

And the sea is dotted with expensive yachts with bikini girls sun bathing?

Maldives? Nope!

It is in fact in Singapore! It is none other than one of Singapore's best kept secret, Lazarus Island!


Everyone's talking about Lazarus Island these days & how it is Singapore's best kept secret. 

It is part of 8 islands (Kusu Island, Lazarus Island, Pulau Seringat, Pulau Tekukor, Saint John's Island, Sentosa and the two Sisters' Islands) which make up The Southern Islands. Lazarus is almost entirely undeveloped, with little more than a bit of jungle and a beach. If you thought St John's was quiet, wait till you come here!

To get to Lazarus Island, you first have to take a ferry from Marina South Pier. Purchase a ticket from the small orange booth of Singapore Island Cruise & Ferry Services. A round trip ticket will cost you $18 (only cash or NETS! So bring enough).

Getting to Marina South Pier: http://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/nature/southern-islands/getting-to-marina-south-pier

Marina South Pier

Singapore Island Cruise & Ferry Services:

Address: #01-04 Marina South Pier
Tel: 6534 9339
Opening Hours: 8am-4.45pm
Ferry Schedule: http://www.islandcruise.com.sg/ferry-schedule.html

I would suggest you go on either a Sunday or a Public Holiday as the ferries are more regular and departs every 2 hours. If possible, try to take the first ferry to St John's Island, because the ferries tend to get very crowded.

The ferry ride will take 30mins to St John's Island than 15mins more to Kusu Island.

Turn left after you alight from the ferry

Once you disembark from the ferry, turn left and walk along the pathway next to the jetty.

Just a straight road

 At the end of the path, turn left again and you will see this sign pointing out the direction of Lazarus Island. This is the ONLY sign you will see.

Signage of Lazarus Island

 Once you turn left, you will see a straight dam/causeway to lead you to another island. This is also a favorite fishing spot of many anglers.

causeway to link St John & Lazarus

The causeway: another straight path

Continue taking the path and soon you'll be surround by vegetation. Just walk along the path.

continue walking!

and walking

 After walking for about 10-15 mins from the causeway, you'll see a clearing just like this and a 'path' in the grass from many people walking through it.

I see the sea!

Be brave and bash through the grassland! You can start to see the sea, the beach and many yachts!

be brave!

Finally! The beach! It is quite an effort walking/finding the beach. & even though it is claimed as Singapore's best kept secret, it is a secret no more. Groups of families and friends are seen everywhere on the beach!

The beach of Lazarus Island

 No doubt there's spots of clean areas on the beach, majority of the beach is actually quite dirty, littered with trash and plastic bottles. At first I was disheartened and I thought that Lazarus was really becoming popular, as people bring their trash and tend to just leave them behind, but as we were walking down the beach, in search of a clean spot, we saw many bottles/brands that only Indonesia has. The current brought them in.

Not very clean either

 We eventually found a clean spot, settled down, and had our lunch!

picnic!

I felt that the beach was too narrow. At one point when the tide was coming in, we were running out of sand to sit on, and had to put our stuff on the grass.

Swimming time! 

As you can see, there are no shelters, no benches, and definitely, no toilets. It is as natural as you can imagine. Gilbert and I are both very fuss free, we didn't really cared, as long as we had our picnic cooler!

yachts behind me!

Do not expect corals and fishes, this is still Singapore. Just be thankful for the white sand and clear waters in Lazarus. Once in a while, the sea bug will bit me and it will itch/hurt, but other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Clear Waters!

 I am still undecided if Lazarus Island and it's beach is worth all the hassle of finding parking, packing and carrying the cooler, taking the ferry, and walking for almost 25mins in search of the beach. Maybe I'll come back when I have enough money to rent a yacht!

Happy boy built his own tub!