Kusu Island tide times

Kusu Island — Turtle Island in English, Gui Yu in Mandarin — sits approximately 7 kilometres south of Singapore's Marina Bay, accessible by ferry from Marina South Pier in 25 minutes. The island is 8.5 hectares, small enough to walk its perimeter in 30 minutes. It has two religious sites that define its cultural significance: the Tua Pek Kong Taoist temple on the main islet, and three Malay kramats (sacred shrines to Muslim holy men) on the hill behind. Both sites draw pilgrims, and during the ninth lunar month (typically October or November), the island receives up to 100,000 visitors for the annual pilgrimage — ferries run continuously and queues at Marina South Pier build through the day.

The swimming lagoon on the western side of the island is the main draw for leisure visitors. The lagoon is enclosed by a low seawall and protected from the main shipping channel, giving calm water at most tide states. Spring tidal range in the Strait of Singapore is approximately 2.7 metres — a substantial drop that exposes the outer reef platform on the seawall's outer face and the sandy bottom of the lagoon to a depth of less than 0.5 metres at extreme low water. Swimming in the lagoon is therefore best around high water and the two hours either side, when depth is sufficient and the water is clearest as the incoming tide replaces the turbid water that collects inside the enclosed lagoon during the ebb.

The name Turtle Island reflects the island's historical association with sea turtles — green turtles occasionally haul out on the southern beaches. Sightings are rare but documented; the island's protected status (no overnight camping, no fishing within the lagoon enclosure) creates undisturbed conditions that may support occasional visits. The outer reef platform on the southern face, exposed at low water springs, is accessible on foot for careful intertidal exploration — sea stars, crabs, and molluscs occupy the platform.

Fishing from the outer seawall and rocky outcrops on the northern and eastern faces is popular outside the pilgrimage season. The flood tide is productive for snapper and grouper in the deeper water off the outer reef face. Squid (cuttlefish) are caught by jigging around the jetty lights in the early evening during the northeast monsoon months (November to February).

The ferry from Marina South Pier runs several times daily, with additional services during the ninth lunar month pilgrimage period. The island has toilet facilities and a covered rest area, but no food vendors outside of pilgrimage season — bring supplies. The lagoon has a lifeguard on duty during weekends and public holidays in the dry season.

Kusu Island sits within the southern Singapore waters that are managed under the Singapore Strait Port Limits. The island's reef platform and surrounding waters are not formally protected as a marine park (unlike the Sisters' Islands), and fishing from the outer seawall is permitted with a valid Singapore recreational fishing licence.

Predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model. Accuracy is typically within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height — model-derived, not from a local gauge. The local tide authority is the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), which publishes annual tide tables for the Singapore Strait.