A Sentosa day before the show

An island with two names

Sentosa lies off the southern coast of Singapore's main island, separated from it by Keppel Harbour. It was formerly Pulau Blakang Mati, which in Malay means the Island of Death Behind. The name Sentosa means peace and tranquility, and the island was renamed in a contest organised by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board. Today it has an area of close to 5 square kilometres and receives up to 25 million visitors per year, according to Wikipedia, so it is worth deciding what to see rather than trying to see all of it.

Starting with the cable car

The Singapore Cable Car links Mount Faber on the main island with Sentosa. The article says the original line was the second aerial ropeway in the world to span a harbour. The Sky Pass card on the home page is a round trip between Mount Faber and Sentosa. A daytime ride gives you the harbour view before the evening.

Fort Siloso

Fort Siloso is the only surviving coastal gun battery of Fortress Singapore. Its guns were built to face the sea, but during the Battle of Singapore in February 1942 they were turned inland. During the Japanese occupation it was used as a small prisoner-of-war camp. It later became a military museum, and the Surrender Chambers have a refreshed exhibition.

Siloso Beach in the afternoon

Siloso Beach lies on the west portion of the island's southern coast and is a place for beach volleyball, canoeing, skimboarding, mountain biking and rollerblading. It has dining and shopping outlets, and attractions including Wavehouse, iFly Singapore and AJ Hackett Sentosa. It is also where Wings of Time is staged, which makes it the natural place to wait out the hours before the gates open. Lifeguards on the beach wear red and yellow uniforms, a small detail that helps you find them.

Resorts World Sentosa

Resorts World Sentosa is a family-oriented integrated resort with a casino at its core. Universal Studios Singapore occupies nearly half of the resort space. A theme park day followed by an evening show makes a long day, so decide early which one is the main event. Prices, rides and opening hours at the park are set by its own operator, and they change.

A day that fits the show

A workable pattern is one daytime anchor, a rest and then the show: the cable car and Fort Siloso, or a morning on the beach, or a park day with a long break. The seats at Wings of Time are shared wooden benches, and the organiser describes the show as about 20 minutes, so the evening itself is short. The effort goes into the seat reservation after booking and the arrival, which the guide to getting there covers.

Read next: How to get to Wings of Time

Who this isn't for

This plan is not for visitors who want a detailed hour-by-hour itinerary: it names options and facts and leaves the schedule to you, because opening hours and prices change. It is not for guests who dislike walking in tropical heat or want to avoid the outdoors: much of Sentosa is outdoors. And it does not include tickets to any attraction except the show itself, which is a separate booking.