Singapore’s offshore islands have plenty of nature and history you can easily explore with tours — we tell you how
By Pamela Chow
Photo: Shutterstock
Like pearl drops scattered around our coasts, Singapore’s offshore islands are treasures packed with rich heritage and biodiversity.
Now, you can easily access and explore these secluded havens through tours with different interest and research groups. If you’re longing for a quick escape from the bustle of city life, you can spend your weekend discovering Singapore’s smaller sanctuaries.
At Sisters’ Islands, you can spot a variety of marine wildlife including hard corals and nudibranchs, through walking and diving tours. (Photo: National Parks Board)
Sister’s Islands: Singapore’s latest marine park
Singapore waters are home to more than 250 species of hard corals — that’s 32 per cent of hard coral species found worldwide — more than 100 species of reef fish and about 200 species of sponges. These include anemone shrimps, giant clams, seahorses, starfish, clownfish and colourful nudibranchs.
You can best catch some of these during low tide on one of NPark’s free guided intertidal walks conducted bi-monthly. Registration for August opens on July 1, and you should book early.
If you’d like to get up close to the underwater wildlife, Big Sister’s Island has two dive trails — a shallow one and a deep one to showcase different biodiversity. Dives must be conducted by approved operators, a list of which can be found on nparks.gov.sg.
Big Sister’s Island and Small Sister’s Island, which form part of the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, will soon include a boardwalk, intertidal pools, a turtle hatchery and more. NParks has launched a “Plant-A-Coral” initiative, in which the public can contribute by sponsoring a coral for $200 via gardencityfund.org/coral.
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