Sentosa Island

Singapore is a city-state on a small island located just north of the equator and just south of the Malaysian peninsula. Since gaining independence in 1965, Singapore has emerged as a business center of Asia, one of the busiest ports in the world and the fourth-largest trading center in the world after London, New York City and Tokyo.

Singapore has a lot going on in its 274 square miles (710 square km), but when the people of Singapore want to have fun and relax, they make their way to Sentosa, an island three by two miles (4.8 x 3.2 km) south of Singapore. For centuries this island was shrouded in mystery and was known as Pulau Blakang Mati, which meant “death from behind.” Not a good name for an island designed to accommodate tourists! So, in 1972 the name was changed to Sentosa, which means “peace in tranquility” in Malay.

The Singapore Cable Car system linked Sentosa to the main island in 1972 and that was followed by the Sentosa Monorail in 1982 and the causeway bridge in 1992. Easier access to Sentosa made it a prime destination for a fun zone, and pioneering attractions like Fort Siloso, Surrender Chamber Wax Museum, the Musical Fountain and Underwater World have been followed by a wide range of attractions, making Sentosa “The Orlando of Asia.”

Just as Singapore crams a lot of commerce into a small island, Sentosa has something fun happening on all sides and in the middle. The west coast of Sentosa is known for its three tropical beaches at Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso – which is a series of sandy, tree-lined coves protected from the wind and currents of the South China Sea – and also the endless wakes from the thousands of ships passing in and out of Singapore every hour, day, week and month.

Siloso Beach gives Singapore locals and visitors a taste of the tropical beach life within view of the non-stop commercial traffic of Singapore. Among the bars and resorts are other attractions: Singapore’s first sky diving simulator – which takes four flyers as high as 17 meters in the air – and the 1,870-square-meter Azzura Hydro Sports Centre for boating and wakeboarding.

Siloso Beach is home to two very popular beach parties: ZoukOut in December and the Siloso New Year’s Eve Splash. Wave House Sentosa will fit right in, as it will feature a Double FlowRider® and a FlowBarrel™ around a music, entertainment and retail complex with quality food and drinks, live music and DJs, and quality retail.