Review: Tiny Away Escape @ Lazarus Island

It's been a loooong hiatus since I last blogged, and I'm back! Hello!!!!! Blogging really takes quite a bit of time as compared to just posting on Instagram or Tiktok, so you'll probably still see more frequent updates there. If you want more on-the-go content, please go follow my IG thank you!

Here's my first come-back post dedicated to our little caravan experience on Lazarus Island.

Previously we could only visit Lazarus Island, and you can't camp overnight. There were no toilets, no shops, nothing, and if you were stranded there for the night, good luck.

Camping permits are still not a thing for Lazarus Island at this time of the post, but you can stay overnight on the beautiful peaceful island, in a tiny house. These tiny houses are literally caravans that are super well-equipped, you can live in them. I've always wanted to experience caravan living when I travel overseas, at the same time I don't really want to deal with pouring out my own poop lol.

Enter Tiny Escape @ Lazarus!

Now you can live in a fully-functional caravan, AND not have to deal with the sewage, housekeeping, and all these other things. Literally hotel service but in a camping/caravan setting, and on a little island AWAY from the mainland hustle and bustle. 

Best news for pet owners? YES SOME ROOMS ARE PET-FRIENDLY!!! OMGOMGOMGOMG!

Me and my bf Cheng got the chance to preview the experience so you know what to expect, what to prepare, and how to have the best time there.

What to Expect?

• Comfortable caravan living. You'll retain most of your comforts of home - wifi, fridge, hot showers, aircon, coffee machine, microwave oven, TV.
• Bring your own toothbrush and toothpaste as they do not provide disposable dental kits.
• No shops on the island, so there's nothing for you to buy. If you're kiasu, please bring along your snacks and additional food/water. There is already water and frozen food prepared for your stay.
• Bicycle & E-bike rental is available at the adjacent St Johns Island, which is a 20 minute walk from the Tiny Houses
• Peace ~~~ You and the other 4 houses' guests will probably be the only ones staying overnight on the island. Apart from the other island go-ers in the day, there shouldn't be a crowd. We love it.
• You'll receive details on how to access your Tiny House on the day of your check-in via Whatsapp. Pretty much like an Airbnb!

How to Get There?

You can get directly to Lazarus Island from either Marina South Pier ($12, 20min ride) or from Sentosa Cove ($15, 15min ride). You'll be redirected to a site to book your ferry tickets when you book your Tiny Escape staycation so you don't have to find your own tickets.

If you wish to go island hopping (or don't mind walking), I recommend you getting this additional ticket because it's a round-trip ticket and includes free island hopping between Lazarus, Kusu & St John's island so you can go explore. And it comes with a $3 Gongcha voucher. Use code SILVER5OFF for additional 5% off. Note that this one doesn't go straight to Lazarus Island itself so you will need to walk for about 15 minutes (or 30 if you walk slow.)

If you drive, do note that parking at Marina South Pier is EXTREMELY limited, so it's recommended that you park at Marina Bay Cruise Centre, which is a 500m walk away from MSP itself.

Parking is capped at $20/day. Details for hourly parking here.

It can be quite a walk so do allow 15-20 minutes especially if you're carrying a bunch of things.

We thought there might be parking, and we found out there were limited lots like 10 minutes before the ferry. #lastminuteppl

In the end 跑到半条命. Though we did make it. Living life on the edge. 

Check in is at 2pm for the ferry at Marina South Pier. 

If you forget something, there are shops at Marina South Pier so you can still grab food, toothbrushes, water, alcohol, beach balls, swimwear and stuff. The shops are quite well-stocked!

Collect your tickets from the Marina South Ferries counter, and off you go on a small boat!

What happens if you miss the ferry? Then you'll need to book your own ferry to St John's Island, and walk 20 minutes to Lazarus Island from there. Not what we want to since we have our suitcases. You can also book your own private charter at your own cost if you can't make the set timing.

I loved that the Seringat jetty is just a short 3-5 minute walk to the houses, so for those of you pulling suitcases or carrying a bunch of things, it's very convenient.

Our home for the next couple of days!

It was surprisingly spacious!

Our view.

What's Provided In the House?

• Airconditioning
• Wifi
• Queen Bed
• Sofa Bed
• Nespresso Machine
• Microwave Oven
• Toaster
• Smokeless BQ Grill
• Fridge
• Hairdryer
• Safe
• Frozen Food
• 2x1.5 litres of water
• Some snacks 
• An extension cord

I didn't need to bring my own hair dryer cos the one at the house was really powerful!

Great for us long-haired girls!

4 sets of towels, beach towels as well as a beach/picnic mat was provided too!

There were quite a number of power points so everyone can charge their devices!

There is a little tiny broom set in case you or your kids bring sand in and step all over the house.

There was also a pretty good frozen food selection and 2x1.5 litres of water provided. Also 4 little packs of Ribena. 

I didn't like eating from the box so I plated the food. Also easier for you to see what you're getting. 

They also provide a little picnic basket of snacks for you so you can bring this out and sit by the beach.

We're pretty carb-conscious people, so I know for sure we're likely not going to be eating most of the carbs given (will eat, but not likely to finish). Hence we brought along our own meat for BBQ.

And we also brought our own induction cooker and pot for hotpot. Plus some awesome shabu meat from Donki. Totally not sponsored but I think Donki has the best shabu meats out there. Anyone has other recommendations please share!!

You can watch Netflix, Youtube, Disney+ etc, and the network speed is pretty good.

If you want to screen mirror from your android device or laptop you can, but if you don't trust the screen mirror to work well or if you're using a Macbook, you might want to bring your own HDMI cable.

Network speed is generally VERY good most of the time. 

HOWEVER, we did notice on both nights that the network becomes almost non-existent and super slowwwww for a few hours. So bring along something to do, and it's a great opportunity for reconnecting with your loved ones. 

And you know what? These houses are solar powered! 😱😱😱 Lives up to it's eco-friendly theme! I'm impressed! Of course there's back up power in case of anything.

What to do at Lazarus Island?

We loved how peaceful it was - we went on weekdays so we almost literally had the island to ourselves. There are trails you can go explore the island on. Do make sure to use the insect repellent provided in the house before you head out because the mozzies are hungryyy lol. Bring your own if you want to be even safer. 

Beautiful sunset strolls

An almost empty beach. Because there are limited ferry slots in and out of Lazarus Island, and the walk from St John's Island is about 15-20 minutes away, you're not going to see many people during sunset or sunrise.

Especially sunrise. Watch the sunrise from the beach, and because there would likely be no one else on the island except your neighbours in the other 4 tiny houses, you'll be able to have the beach to yourselves as you enjoy the sunrise with your loved ones.

Happy introverts on a quiet island.

Look for this resident cat on the island. There are plenty of monitor lizards and probably monkeys (we didn't bump into any), but I do believe this is the only cat on Lazarus.

Our second sunset on the island. This is the other side of the jetty from the houses, and the sunset here is goldddd.

Make sure to bring your swimwear cos you'll want to soak up the sun and swim at the quiet Eagle Bay beach. The water's pretty calm here too.

Whole beach to ourselves weeeeee~

Like I mentioned earlier, you can also take a leisurely walk to St John's Island and do some exploring there, and from there you can take a ferry to Kusu Island. Be careful if you're carrying plastic bags - monkeys will come and try to take them from you. 🙊 

The night scene.

In case you're wondering, you're not super far from your neighbour so in case you're scared you can run to your neighbour for help lol. With plenty of space on your own porch.

We found out our neighbours were our actual real life neighbours too who do content creation like us. WHAT WERE THE ODDS??? 

All in all we enjoyed ourselves a lot! Because there are only 5 houses I believe it is going to be quite a wait before you get a slot. But if you're planning way in advance, it's definitely worth a shot! I just checked and there are some rooms with slots just a couple months away. Life hack - click on each room to see its availability. The availability for each room is all individually listed.

You can watch our Youtube video here 

 Check out & book your Tiny Away Escape @ Lazarus here.