Guide to staying in St John’s Island’s Eagle Bungalow as of 1-4 March 2024

Introduction
What is there to do on St John’s Island?
How to book St John’s Island’s Eagle Bungalow
Getting there and back
Things to bring
Photos

Introduction

If you want to stay in a cheap and big accommodation on St John’s Island, you can book the Eagle Bungalow on the island.

The bungalow sleeps 10 pax (4 rooms with a total of 8 single beds and 1 double bed).

It is fully air conditioned and has a fully furnished kitchen (excluding a microwave though).

You have to bring your own food though for your stay and endure cold showers.

The internet reception has improved, so you can still be digitally connected.

However, I think staying in the Eagle Bungalow is more about enjoying the idyllic life of St John’s Island instead.

Cost: (as of 1st March 2024)
$54.50(including 9%GST)/weekend night (Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights)
$27.25(including 9% GST)/weekday night (Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday nights)
(Per booking, there is a $50 deposit)

What is there to do on St John’s Island?

The sand, the sun and the sea.

Explore St John’s Island. There is a National Marine Laboratory to visit, with aquariums to view. Swim in the lagoon. Go fishing. Set up a hammock and relax away.

Explore Lazarus Island on foot from St John’s Island. It is connected via a causeway. The beaches at Lazarus Island are really quite beautiful and nice. There is a small beach just across the causeway from St John’s Island. The main beach is about another 10-15mins walk from the causeway. On the Lazarus Island, there are tiny homes and glamping for booking. A convenience store is open on Fridays till Sundays, 10am – 6pm.

On the return ferry ride back to the main island, you can also stopover at Kusu Island and explore it.

How to book St John’s Island’s Eagle Bungalow?

Go to Singapore Land Authority(SLA) main website. (I would not be giving the SLA website url here as it might end up as a potential phishing site.)
Click on “Apply for Temporary Occupation Licence”
Under Individuals, click on “Log in with SingPass”
Continue to log in with your SingPass.
After logging in, click on “Apply TOL”
Under the drop down list, “select or Type Usage”, choose “St John’s Island Lodge Bungalow”
Then click “Next”
Choose the date that you want. Take note that the dates are for the night that you are staying. For example, if you want to stay from 1st March checking in, till 4th March checking out, the dates entered are 1st March till 3rd March (3 nights stay: 1st March night, 2nd March night, and 3rd March night)
Important note: Booking the St John’s Island Eagle Bungalow is VERY POPULAR. Bookings are open 3 months in advance, exactly at the stroke of midnight for the next available date, 3 months later. So, if you want consecutive dates, you would need to log in at midnight for consecutive nights to book accordingly. (That’s what I did to get my 1-4 March stay. 3 separate bookings for 3 consecutive nights stay.)
After choosing the dates of the stay, click the preferred location, which is “Eagle (former Bungalow)”.
Then click “Search.
If Eagle Bungalow is available on your selected dates, it would be highlighted in green. Then click on the green site to continue with booking.
If Eagle Bungalow is NOT available on your selected dates, it would be highlighted in red. But, you can still click on the red site to see which dates are available for booking. So, this is also a tip to just choose an UNavailable date to check out possible dates for booking. Dates in green are available and dates in red are unavailable.
After choosing an available date for booking, click “Next”.
Enter your details, then click “Next”.
Supporting document are required here. This would be a list of the overnight guests and their details for the stay. You need to submit their NRIC name, NRIC number and contact number. However, for me, I would just submit a screenshot/photo of myself as the only overnight guest with my own details. When nearing the date of the stay, about 1-2 weeks before the stay, SLA would WhatsApp you to provide an updated list of overnight guest and their details. So, it would be good to get your potential overnight guest to give you their details at least 2 weeks before the stay, as when SLA contacts you, they would need the updated list quite soon.
After submitting the supporting document, (List of overnight guests.) click “Next”.
Proceed with the payment which includes the $50 deposit.
And you are set and ready for your stay on St John’s Island’s Eagle Bungalow.

Getting there and back

There are 2 ferry services to/from St John’s Island: Marina South Ferries and Singapore Island Cruise & Ferry Services.

As of 1st March 2024, both companies charge $15 for a return ticket.

As the prices are the same, you might want to check the timings of their ferry services to/from St John’s Island, taking into account if you want to explore Kusu Island as well. (Both ferry companies do stopovers at Kusu Island but have different timings for the stopovers.)

Update: I think Marina South Ferries is a better choice. It has more timing options which would give you greater flexibility. The Marina South Ferry has a upper floor to sit and view, which the Singapore Island Cruise & Ferry only has an enclosed area to sit.

(I think Marina South Ferries is a better choice. It has more timing options which would give you greater flexibility. The Marina South Ferry has a upper floor to sit and view, which the Singapore Island Cruise & Ferry doesn’t. I had wanted to go back on the 930am Singapore Island Ferry but they don’t go back to Marina South. Only goes to Kusu Island. Then would come back to St John only at 1030am. 😛 so I have to wait till 1030am now. 🙂

Singapore Island Cruise & Ferry Services

Things to bring

As of 1 March 2024, this is the comprehensive packing list recommended by SLA when they contact you for your stay. Do bring your personal fork, spoon, mug, plate and mess tin. The bungalow does not have personal plates nor bowls, just big serving plates and big serving bowls.