I’ve been threatening to take my family camping for years. This past week we finally did it. Nobody died. Nobody hated it. Nobody said they wanted to do it again.

Our boys are ages 9 and 7. They were born in Tokyo. We have lived in Singapore for two-plus years. Our boys are city kids. A few years ago we were on a nature trail in Japan and two other boys were down in the creek getting muddy and catching crabs with their bare hands. Our kids cringed and squealed in horror. In my heart I had failed as a father.

I grew up in rural America. We caught snakes, frogs, salamanders, turtles, and crawdads at the park. For family vacation, we went camping. My brother and I jousted with sticks over a small creek like Robin Hood and Little John. My father taught us how to bait a fishhook with worms — and leeches. While swimming in a lake, our grandfather told us that if we stand perfectly still the fish will nibble at our leg hairs.

They never did.

It was time to force similar lifelong memories upon my kids. One night I got my wife drunk and convinced her to go camping on Lazarus Island.

Where is Lazarus Island

Lazarus Island is part of an island chain near Sentosa in the Straits of Singapore. Of the islands, St. John’s Island is the most well-known. It was here that Sir Stamford Raffles docked his ship before founding the port city of Singapore. Later on St. John’s would serve as a quarantine center, World War I and II detention center, drug rehabilitation center, and other centers of dubious distinction.

Today St. John’s has a research laboratory and several cheap holiday bungalows. I have heard the bungalows are nice, but in high demand and difficult to reserve.

The third island is Kusu Island, which has an interesting Chinese temple and Malay shrines. There is also a turtle sanctuary that isn’t as interesting as it sounds.

That leads us to Lazarus Island. I discovered Lazarus Island the first time I googled “Singapore camping.” There was once a hospital on Lazarus, but for the most part it remained dormant. (At least according to the diligent research I did on one Wikipedia page.)

Today, the north shore of Lazarus is lined with a manmade white-sand beach. The sand is soft and clean. The water is turquoise blue. It is easily my favorite beach in Singapore, with the caveat that I have only been to the beaches on Sentosa and East Coast Park.

Our family previously did two day trips to Lazarus-St. John’s-Kusu and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was time to take our relationship with the Straits islands to a new level.

How to Reserve a Campsite on Lazarus Island

There are six campsites, labelled A through F, all located along the beach of Lazarus Island. Campsite B is no longer available to reserve since they have built a host of glamping tents on the space.

The campsites are simply flat grassy spots along the beach. There is no running water, no electricity, no toilets.

Perhaps for this reason, at least based on appearances, campsites C and D are the most used. These sites are the closest to the public toilets located about five minutes away at the Lazarus ferry dock. The toilet facilities here are modern. Do note that the tap water is not potable. There are also vending machines (cash only) located at the dock.

Due to their location along the main trail from the ferry to the beach, campsites C and D get the most foot traffic and offer the least amount of privacy. There is also a picnic shelter here. The night we stayed at Lazarus a couple had a private dinner on the beach with a table set up and tiki torches perched in the sand. A private chef grilled fish on a portable barbecue at the picnic shelter while two servers waited on the couple.

This brings me to another note about Lazarus Island. It is a popular fishing spot. We talked to two young men who were fishing for black-tipped reef sharks in the small bay. The bay is also a popular spot for people to park their private boats. There were nearly 10 yachts parked on both sides of the island. People were dashing by in their jet skis or lazing about in rafts or gleefully going down the inflatable water slides attached to their boats.

We were camping. So back to the campsites. As I mentioned, campsite B is not available. Campsite E was pretty much overgrown. Which leaves campsites A and F.

In my opinion, you will want to choose between these two. We chose campsite F. It is at the furthest point on the southwestern side of the beach. There is a nice big flat space for multiple tents to be pitched (the maximum number of people allowed is 12).

There is a picnic shelter. Some people were using the shelter during the day, but we had it all to ourselves at night. In fact, the best part about camping on Lazarus Island is it felt like we had our own private beach all for the cost of free.

So I would totally recommend F. The downside is it is the furthest campsite from the toilets. Campsite A is nearly identical. It is directly across the bay from F on the northeast side. Campsite A does offer a view of sunset. It is however right next to the glamping spaces and is along the bike trail, so there is a little more foot traffic.

The thing about the Lazarus campsites is that even though you made the reservation, the space is still available to all to use. The reservation means you are the only one who gets to sleep there overnight. You still have to be neighborly and share your space during the day.

Also, there are no open flames allowed at the campsites. Open flames are allowed in the picnic shelters. We brought along a portable barbecue pit and a one-burner gas stove to use at the picnic shelter. We were still able to roast weenies, toast marshmallows, and make s’mores.

Finally, here is the useful information on how to reserve a campsite.

First, you need a SingPass and you need to have competently set up your online account. Which means you must be a resident of Singapore to reserve a campsite. I have a Dependent Pass and successfully reserved a spot. When you make your reservation you do need to provide a list of all the people staying overnight along with their ID numbers.

Anywho, here is the link to make an online reservation.

What To Do on Lazarus Island

Well, you can go camping, for one. There is also the beach. What more do you want? You got your picnicking, swimming, snorkeling, and general horseplay.

From what I hear, Lazarus is quite popular on the weekends. I wouldn’t know. I have been to Lazarus Island three times, every time on a weekday. It’s not like a completely deserted island. There are still other people visiting the island. There are staff on hand. What we did have was plenty of peace and quiet.

Most of the recreational amenities are only available on the weekends. The bicycle rental shop located on St. John’s Island is open from Friday through Monday. There is a nice bike trail that goes around Lazarus Island, so it is well worth it. The Gogreen shop also has scooters for rent and they sell kites, picnic mats, and beach tents. Here is their website.

The new Lazarus Sea Sports Centre opened last summer. Since it is only open Friday through Sunday we haven’t had a chance to use it. They have a host of water sports toys to play with, including a variety of stand-up paddle boards, sea kayaks, and sea bicycles. Check out their website for full details.

Also relatively new are the five tiny houses available for rent. They book up fast so keep your eye on their website for available dates. We camped on a Tuesday night and three of the tiny houses were in use (yes, I was snooping).

The tiny houses come with wifi, a bed, a pull-out sofa, a bathroom with toilet and shower, and small kitchenette. You might consider renting a tiny house on the same night you plan your camping trip if you have guests who require modern amenities. Here is the link for the tiny houses.

The Sol Convenience Store is also new. You can buy snacks, drinks, basic necessities, and grilling items here. The stores is open Friday through Sunday, from 10am to 5:30pm. They can also cater events (and private dinners on the beach). Check out their Instagram.

Mostly, we go to Lazarus Island to relax and get away from the city, while still being in Singapore.

How to Get to Lazarus Island

The short and sweet version: take the ferry.

There are two ferry companies. They both leave from Marina South Pier. They both take approximately 25 minutes. They both cost $15 for adults and $12 for kids round trip. The only difference is their schedules. You will want to compare for yourselves:

• Marina South Ferries

• Singapore Island Cruise

We have always used Marina South Ferries simply because their schedule matches ours better.

Now for the long-winded version.

The only adventure we had during our overnight camping trip was getting all of our stuff from our home near Lavender MRT Station to our campsite at the farthest end of Lazarus Island.

Under normal circumstances this isn’t a difficult trip. In fact, it is quite convenient. It is a 15-minute subway ride from Lavender MRT to Marina South Pier MRT, with an easy transfer from the green line to the red line at Raffles Place MRT.

The ferry ticket counter is near the exit of Marina South Pier. Easy peasy. Get on a boat, and 25 minutes later after watching a nice seascape scenery of Harbourfront and Sentosa, boom, you are at the island.

For a day trip, it is perfect.

We were staying for 18 hours, which doesn’t sound like much. However. We had a lot of stuff. So much stuff that I had to google the maximum size of luggage you are allowed to carry on the MRT.

For your information, “only articles not exceeding the maximum dimensions (120 x 70 x 40 cm) are allowed to be carried onboard trains.” Still unfamiliar with the metric system, I couldn’t envision how big this actually was. Once I broke out the ruler, I was relieved to find that is a sufficient allowance. It’s big enough to carry a prize pig in a crate.

Ultimately we were carrying one trolley, one rolling cooler, a carry-on cooler, my 40-liter Montbell backpack, my wife’s 20-liter Artceryx backpack, two kids’ backpacks, and one beach bag. They were all stuffed to the gills.

Still, we were within the size limit so off we went.

Then it started raining. A downpour, really. We lugged all this stuff through the crowded streets for the 10-minute walk from our condo to Lavender MRT, getting dumped on with rain the whole way.

Water-logged, once we did make it to the train platform we had to choreograph the whole family to make sure all of our luggage, and family members, made it onto the train before the sliding doors closed. Thankfully the good commuters of Singapore did not give us any hassle as the four of us tumbled onto the train like a thundering herd of buffalo.

We had it down pretty well after the first transfer.

The processing at the ferry ticket counter is low-hassle. The counter is easy to find and the staff are friendly and efficient. The boat crew helped us load everything onto the boat, and off we went.

One reason we chose Marina South Ferries is they have a direct boat to Lazarus Island that operates a few times a day. Singapore Island Cruise only goes to the St. John’s ferry dock, which adds an extra 20 minutes to your walk to the campsite.

All departures from the island are from St. John’s Island. There are no departures from Lazarus.

Marina South Ferries also allows you to hop back and forth between the islands, which is handy if you are staying overnight. Your ticket allows you to go visit Kusu Island and return to St. John’s within the same day on the inter-island shuttle.

We didn’t do this during our trip. We took the 2pm ferry direct to Lazarus, then we returned the next morning on the 9:30am ferry from St. John’s. This was a short, ambitious trip.

Thankfully it stopped raining by the time we arrived to Lazarus Island. We got to campsite F by 3pm. The boys played on the beach while I set up camp. Then we explored the jetty. I made a one-pot supper of freeze-dried teriyaki chicken. We walked to the north side of the island to watch sunset. Then we finished the night at our picnic shelter roasting weenies and marshmallows.

Our biggest fear was the heat. Before we had kids, my wife and I camped in Japan on the island of Shikinejima. It was August and it was hot as balls. It got so hot I stopped sweating (a sign of heat stroke).

We were very conscious of this as we planned our camping trip on the equator.

As it turned out, the nighttime temperature on Lazarus was perfect. I don’t know if it was because of the time of year. We camped in mid-February at the tail end of the rainy season. Singapore’s hottest months are April to May, so maybe the nights are hotter then.

In any case, we had a nice breeze coming in off the bay. I had to turn off the camping fan in our tent because it was getting too cold.

Our other main concern was mosquitoes. They still have dengue fever in Singapore. We dowsed ourselves in bug juice and wore mosquito patches at night. Our oldest son (who always gets bitten) had three bug bites on his ankle, otherwise we had no issues.

The ants, however, are another story. Those little buggers are everywhere. By morning an entire colony had set up shop inside our trolley. When we got home I had to deep-clean every item to make sure the ants didn’t try to repopulate inside our condo.

I don’t know if there is much you can do about the ants. It’s nature. It’s their home. You are just a guest there. If that’s the worst thing then you are okay.

What To Bring for a Camping Trip to Lazarus Island

I’ll make a complete list here of all the items I consider necessary (I brought a lot of unnecessary items):

• Family tent

• Two air mattresses (with hand pump)

• Two sleeping bags

• Four fleece blankets

• Two camping fans with built-in LED lights

• Headlamps

• Dining fly

• Two camp tables

• Four camp chairs

• One picnic mat

• Portable BBQ pit (eight charcoal briquettes)

• Single-burner stove with one gas can

• Cooking pot set

• Bowl, cup, and utensil sets

• Two camp towels

• Four beach towels (which we didn’t use — sun dry baby)

• One pocketknife

• One lighter

• First aid kit

• Sunscreen, bug juice, mosquito patches

• Six 2L bottles of water (we brought 10 bottles but only used six — and our family drinks a lot of water)

• Four beers

• One flask of whisky (Jameson)

• Biodegradable dish soap, sponge, hand soap and/or handwipes.

• We brought beach toys but our kids didn’t play with them

• We wore our swimsuits on the ferry, then changed into pajamas (shorts and T-shirt) after supper, wearing our pajamas home on the ferry the next morning

A few notes.

The tent was obviously the most important purchase. I ended up buying a family-size tent from Decathlon. I’ve been eyeing their tents ever since we moved to Singapore, and for family camping, they are as good as anything.

However, instead of buying a new tent from the store, I purchased a used (“refurbished”) 4.2 Fresh & Black tent off the Decathlon app, sight unseen. First, I got a $100 discount on the exact size tent I wanted. Second, being that the tent had been cleaned and fixed by Decathlon tent experts, I was confident there wouldn’t be any structural issues. Any holes would be patched and any weak zippers firmly reattached.

What I’ve learned after living in Singapore for a couple of years is that any new appliance or such works better after it is fixed once. Our new laundry machine, vacuum cleaner, and oven all had a malfunction shortly after purchasing. However, once the technician serviced these appliances, they have worked like a dream ever since.

For a major purchase like a tent, I figured it would be best if they have already had all the kinks worked out before I end up pitched in a thunderstorm with torrents of rain pouring through the leaky ceiling.

Anyway, I was happy with the Fresh & Black tent. Sure there was a little wear, but you can’t tell unless you look closely. I had never used an air pump to set up a tent before, but it was quite slick. Plus the kids had fun helping.

There was ample room inside. The tent had nice ventilation. We did get a light sprinkle in the middle of the night and not a drop got inside. Overall, I was impressed.

The only thing is once it is packed inside its bag, it is huge. It took up all the space in our trolley meaning I had to carry most of the other equipment in my backpack.

I also got the air mattresses, sleeping bags, and fleece blankets from Decathlon, all at a decent price. All in all the equipment made for a comfortable sleeping space.

The one thing I dilly-dallied over was the air pump. This is where they get you. The air mattresses and tent require a specific air pump you can only buy from Decathlon. They offer the hand pump for $39 or the electric pump for $59. Neither one is cheap, and the hand pump is huge, twice the size of our bicycle pump.

Anyway, I am satisfied that I bought the hand pump. It worked smoothly. And if the electric pump malfunctions for any reason, you are screwed.

The other equipment, which I didn’t already have, I bought for dirt cheap on Lazada. Camping pillows — $3 each. I was most happy with the single-burner stove. It worked great, bringing water to boil quicker than our stove at home.

I got the dining fly for $15 and got what I paid for. It was easy to set up, but the poles were flimsy and the rope slippery. It lasted through a light rainfall, but once the wind picked up it constantly fell over. You might consider buying something more sturdy (or just make sure you know how to properly set up a dining fly).

Daiso also has incredibly cheap cooking equipment and a random selection of barbecue and camping equipment. The Daiso at Kallang Wave Mall has the best selection.

The one item I splurged on was the Go BBQ Briefcase I bought from the Outside store at Marina Square. At just 30cm-long, it worked great and will last a lifetime, so I was happy with the purchase.

The item I would have upgraded was our cooler. I bought a cheap one on Lazada a while back to take to soccer games and whatnot. It’s got the wheels and handles and enough space. However, for long distances and rough terrain, the wheels weren’t so mobile. Also, the handle didn’t come up very high so we had to stoop down to pull it. Next time I will invest in a decent Coleman cooler.

At the end of the day it was a lot of work to get all of our equipment transported and set up on the island. We then literally ran with all of the equipment back again in the morning to catch the early ferry.

That evening that we were out there on Lazarus Island, however, as my kids happily caught crabs and snails on the beach, we looked up and saw a rainbow over Kusu Island. I told my kids we were the only people in the world who got to see that rainbow.

That one moment made the whole thing worth it.