singaporecity360° Kusu Island
Kusu Island is a small island in the Southern Islands group, reached by ferry from Marina South Pier, and the reason most people make the trip is religious rather than scenic: a Chinese temple to Da Bo Gong and Guan Yin, built in 1923, sits near the jetty, while three Malay kramat shrines stand at the top of 152 steps on the hill behind it.
Five things to know first
The last ferry from Kusu back to Marina South Pier is 4.15pm on weekdays, and overnight stays and camping are prohibited. Missing it is a genuine problem, not an inconvenience.
There is no ferry from Kusu across to St John's or Lazarus. The route runs Marina South Pier, then Lazarus and St John's, then Kusu, then back — so you cannot do Kusu first and hop across.
Tickets are strictly non-refundable, weekend departures can be delayed, and the operator advises against arriving at the pier after 3pm at weekends.
During the Kusu pilgrimage season — the ninth lunar month, roughly October into November — thousands of devotees visit and the island is extremely crowded. Go deliberately for the atmosphere, or avoid it entirely.
Very limited facilities and no food outlets to rely on. Bring water, food and sun protection; there is little shade.
The crossing takes roughly half an hour on the Singapore Island Cruise ferry, and tickets are a return trip by default, so you buy once and come back on any later sailing. There is no charge to land or to enter the temples; you pay only for the boat. For a month each year, in the ninth lunar month, the island fills with pilgrims and the ferry runs on a special expanded timetable. The same ferry route also serves St John's and Lazarus Islands, so many visitors pair Kusu with a swim or a walk on Lazarus in one outing.
Take the North-South Line to Marina South Pier (the line's southern terminus), and buy the ferry ticket at the pier counter or online at islandcruise.com.sg beforehand — the queue for tickets, not the boat, is what builds during pilgrimage season and after 3pm on weekends.
The single most useful thing to know is that the fare changes with the calendar. During the 2025 Kusu Pilgrimage Season (21 October to 19 November) the adult return was 16 dollars on weekdays but 22 dollars on weekends and public holidays, with children one to twelve at 12 dollars throughout — so going on a weekday is both cheaper and far quieter, since weekends draw the heaviest crowds. Overnight stays and pets are not allowed, and there is no shop worth relying on, so carry your own water and food and plan around the last ferry back.
Rain, heat, and what to do about it
Live readings and forecasts from NEA. Four days is the limit — past that, nobody is forecasting, they are showing you an average.
Southwest Monsoon
June to September
Short, sharp early-morning showers and occasional squall lines. Drier overall than the northeast wet phase.
The other good window. Rain tends to arrive early and clear, leaving usable afternoons. This is also when haze can occur, which is worth checking rather than assuming.
Plan your Kusu Island stop
Straight-line distance from the three places a visitor has already heard of.
6.8km
south
9.6km
south
20km
south-west
What costs money inside
| What | Adult | Resident | Child |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore Island Cruise ferry from Marina South Pier From S$15 an adult, and unlike the Ubin bumboat this is a RETURN fare — one ticket covers the round trip out to St John's and Lazarus, on to Kusu, and back, with nothing more to pay coming home. Children under one travel free. Book online; tickets are strictly non-refundable. About forty-five minutes each way. | S$15 | — | — |
Kusu Island, in every light
Nearby, on foot
In Southern Islands — close enough to collect on the same trip out.
Contains information from Tourist Attractions accessed on 2026-08-01 from data.gov.sg, made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0.