5. Punggol Beach
For those wanting to leave hectic Singapore life behind for the day, Punggol Beach will feel like a tropical paradise. The site of the 1942 Sook Ching Massacre and later a very rural area where wild pigs lived, Punggol has been cleaned up and re-imagined over the years. Today, it offers a quiet escape in Northern Singapore, where you can dig your toes into the golden sands or jump into the azure waters for a cool swim.
Punggol is a favorite destination for photographers and nature lovers, with the many boulders on the beach offering stunning views as the sun both raises and sets over the water.
Just steps from the beach, you’ll find Punggol Settlement, an area with many restaurants and eateries, plus places to rent bicycles, explore the fauna and flora at the Lorong Halus Wetlands, and walk along Punggol Promenade (where the Punggol Jetty is located) and Punggol Waterway Park.
6. St. John’s Island
Singapore’s many offshore islands offer plenty of adventure for nature lovers. Luckily for visitors to St. John’s Island, that means not only beaches but also caves and mangroves that can be explored on short hikes.
St. John’s beaches are narrow but golden and soft, with plenty of beautiful coral reefs around. They’re a great place to sit back and relax while listening to the waves crashing on the shore. The island is also home to swimming lagoons, picnic grounds, and a rustic vibe that will appeal to those wishing for a quieter getaway.
St. John’s was once known as «cat island» because of the many free-roaming cats that inhabited it. Over the past few years, however, a successful trap-neuter-return-program headed by the SPCA has reduced the population to a manageable number that’s now watched over by dedicated caretakers.
St. John’s can only be visited as a day trip, since there are no accommodations on the island. The one exception is for renters of the Holiday Bungalow, a single property that can be shared by up to 10 people.
To get to the island, you’ll have to catch a ferry from Singapore’s main Marina South Pier. The last boat back leaves at 5 to 6pm depending on the day of the week, so make sure you don’t miss it if you don’t have accommodations on the island. There’s no food available for sale on the island either – if you have a picnic in mind, make sure you bring your own food.
