The Singapore Cable Car first opened in 1974 and acts as a form of aerial transportation across Keppel Harbour between Sentosa and Mount Faber.
I usually get a taxi or the cheap and efficient MRT when I want to go to Sentosa (there are fantastic dining outlets at Sentosa) although for a change I thought why don’t I make the journey on the famous cable car. It is one of the main tourist attractions on Sentosa, with over 80 pods carrying up to 8 passengers each. I do have a fear of heights, but I was prepared to risk my life on this occasion! It is not as steep as the epic Langkawi Cable Car in Malaysia, nor the ropeway at Table Mountain in Cape Town, but it is still very high above Keppel Harbour giving amazing panoramic views of the area. From the Jewel Box at Mount Faber (which has a great café, by the way), I headed down to Sentosa: Singapore’s playground!
I can remember paying S$29 for my adult one way ticket. I cannot remember how much the return fare was, but I only wanted to do one journey anyway (I don’t think my vertigo could have taken much more!). The queue for the cable car once you have purchased your ticket is always very busy, and I stood there for a long time waiting for a pod to become available. It must have taken a good half hour from when I bought my ticket to when I entered the actual pod and got moving. Anyhow, there were amazing views as we immediately pulled out of the station. The Singapore Cable Car is not really a long ride – it only lasts around 10 minutes in the air – but as with all things in Singapore there was a great ambience to the whole thing and you could see that families and young children were enjoying the spectacular setting. I had an Indian family in my pod with me, which made taking videos quite difficult but I made sure I had a lot of photos of my experience!
At the beginning and end of your journey there are opportunities to buy various merchandise and souvenirs, but to be honest it all looked a bit tacky to me (stuff like ‘I Love SG’ T-shirts), so I just walked through the gift shops and out into what was Imbiah Lookout on Sentosa, quite near the Tiger Sky Tower. It would be interesting to compare the views from the Cable Car and the Sky Tower, and maybe I will get a chance to do so soon! Watch this space…
Please check out my video experience of the Singapore Cable Car below:
Yeah, Langkawi cable car is very steep. I don’t know where I got the courage to ride on one back then. Initially when I went to Singapore, I wanted to try the cable car, my my SG friend said, no need. Hahaha
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There was a disaster on the Singapore Cable Car in the 70s or 80s, where many people lost their lives after plunging into the sea below. Thankfully safety standards are higher these days!
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Yeah, I heard that story. If I am not mistaken, it was due to the raising sea level causing the ship’s antenna to collide into the cable or something like that.
But as you said, thankfully the standards are way way way better than the past!
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I was thinking I may have to try this while in Singapore this August… but the comments are making me think otherwise. 😉
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