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Updated November 4, 2026

The Sims 4 Island Living expansion pack

The Sims 4 Island Living expansion pack: the world of Sulani, mermaids, the Conservationist career, island spirits, activities, and if it is worth it.

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What is The Sims 4 Island Living expansion pack?

Island Living is the seventh expansion pack for The Sims 4, from June 2019. It adds Sulani, a tropical island world. It also adds mermaids, the Conservationist career, beach lots, boats, and dolphins. Wikipedia calls it the spiritual successor to The Sims 3: Island Paradise.

We opened the EA page, the Steam page, Wikipedia, and several fan guides on November 4, 2026. The facts below come from these pages, unless we name another source. We did not play the pack for this post.

For the list of every item and every part of the pack, see the Island Living page of our Sims 4 database.

What are the key facts of Island Living?

FactIsland Living
Type of packExpansion pack, the seventh one
Release dateJune 20, 2019 on EA and Steam. Wikipedia gives June 21. PS4 and Xbox One: July 16, 2019.
PriceEA shows no price. Steam lists $39.99.
PlatformsPC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox
New worldSulani, with 3 neighborhoods and 14 lots
CareerConservationist, with two branches
Part-time jobsDiver, Lifeguard, Fisherman
Items182 Build Mode items and 136 Create a Sim items, on the EA page
ReviewsMetacritic 84, on Wikipedia. Steam: Mixed, 65% of 166 reviews.

What is in Sulani?

Sulani is a Polynesian-themed island world. It has 3 neighborhoods and 14 lots: 9 residential lots, 2 empty lots, and 3 community lots.

Ohan’ali Town

The main town, where most Sims live. Its lots are Chieftain’s Villa, Kin-Ship, Lagoon Look, Ohan’ali Beach, Tangled Flat, and The Sand Bar.

Lani St. Taz

The beach area, with white sand and warm water. Its lots are Journey’s End, Pier Perfection, Reef Finery, Sand Simoleon Beach, and Sapphire Shores.

Mua Pel’am

The wild part, with the volcano and no residents. Its lots are Admiral’s Wreckage, Caldera Camp, and Key Point. The volcano is active and can erupt.

Beach lots and stilt houses

You can build a house over the water, on stilts. Two lot traits are new. Volcanic Activity brings earthquakes, hot steam, and eruptions. Aquatic Paradise brings dolphins and rare fish.

To move a family to Sulani, read how to move house in The Sims 4.

What can you do in Island Living?

The EA page, the Steam page, and Sims Community name these activities:

  • Swim in the ocean, and snorkel or dive in deeper water.
  • Ride the aqua zip, a water scooter, and do tricks on it.
  • Take a canoe trip, or sail a boat.
  • Make friends with dolphins. They do tricks and spray water at Sims.
  • Build sandcastles, hunt for seashells, and get a suntan.
  • Hold a kava party, or cook at a pit barbecue.
  • Learn the island folklore, and go to traditional events.

The Beach Life aspiration

Its goals include a suntan, a gold kava party, and a coconut to eat. The reward trait is Laid-Back. For every aspiration, see the Sims 4 aspirations database.

Clean up the island

Mua Pel’am starts dirty. Your Sims can pick up litter, clear volcanic rocks, take out invasive fish, and snorkel. When an area is clean, coral, flowers, birds, and butterflies come back. After the full cleanup, albino dolphins appear. Sea turtles lay eggs on the beach, and Sims can watch them hatch.

Some Sims make trouble: litterbugs, fish poachers, and anti-environmentalists. A Steam player summed up the pack as “yelling at poachers and cleaning the ocean”. If that sounds like a chore, keep it in mind.

How do you become a mermaid in Island Living?

There are two ways:

  1. Make a mermaid in Create a Sim.
  2. Eat Mermadic Kelp. It costs 500 satisfaction points in the Rewards Store, or you find it by chance in Mua Pel’am. Your Sim then gets the Strange Sensation buff for 24 hours. Go into the water before the buff ends.

A mermaid has Hydration in place of Hygiene. Her powers include Aquatic Lure, Siren’s Call, Siren’s Lullaby, and the Mermaid Kiss, which lets another Sim breathe under water. A mermaid can also call an azure dolphin.

For the full guide, read mermaids in The Sims 4. For every occult type, see the Sims 4 occults database.

What jobs come with Island Living?

The Conservationist career

It starts as Wildlife Enthusiast, at $14 an hour. Level 6 is Conservation Director, at $62 an hour. Then the career splits in two:

  • Environmental Manager, up to Chief Sustainability Officer.
  • Marine Biologist, up to Master of Marine Affairs.

The reward traits are Natural Speaker and Master of the Sea. For the levels and tasks, see the Sims 4 careers database.

Part-time jobs and odd jobs

The pack has three part-time jobs, each with 3 levels: Diver, Lifeguard, and Fisherman. Lifeguard needs the Fitness skill. Fisherman needs the Fishing skill.

Odd jobs are short tasks that pay at once, for example frog research. For more ways to earn money, read how to make money in The Sims 4.

What are the island spirits and the island traits?

Child of the Islands

A Sim with this trait has a special bond with Sulani. The Sim can talk to the island spirits and earn their favor. The Sim can also call the island elementals from the menu of the Sim.

The island elementals

The spirits help Sims who protect the island. They make trouble for Sims who do not respect it. The elementals have the Sulani Mana trait. For Sulani Mana to pass into a family, an ancestor needs Child of the Islands, Sims Community says.

Child of the Ocean

A Sim with this trait likes water activities. The Sim does not like fishing or seafood: “Fish are friends, not food!”

For every trait in the game, see the Sims 4 traits database.

Is The Sims 4 Island Living worth it?

Critics liked it more than players. It has 84 on Metacritic, but the Steam reviews are Mixed. Buy it if you want a beach world, water activities, and mermaids. Skip it if you want new things to do inside the house.

In a Steam thread, players paired it with City Living and Snowy Escape, for three very different worlds. With Seasons, some weather changes the Hydration of mermaids.

QuestionIsland Living
Want a beach and the ocean?Yes. Sims swim, snorkel, and dive in the ocean of Sulani.
Want mermaids?Yes. The pack adds mermaids and Mermadic Kelp.
Want a new career?One: Conservationist. Plus three part-time jobs.
Want new family play?Little. Read Growing Together instead.

For a farm life instead of a beach life, read Cottage Living. For every pack in one list, read the Sims 4 expansion packs. Or take our Sims 4 pack quiz.

Want an island life with real places?

LifeSim is our game. It is free, with no ads, no subscription, and nothing to buy. It plays in a web browser at play.lifesim.com and in an iPhone app. The map is the real Earth in 3D, and you pick the city.

LifeSim fits if you want to live on a real island. Pick a real city on an island, and the people there have jobs, homes, and friends. You talk to them in your own words.

LifeSim does not fit in other ways. It has no mermaids, no swimming, no boats, and no build mode. It is not a pack for The Sims 4. You can bring your Sims, though: import a Sims 4 household into LifeSim.

Questions

When did Island Living come out?

On PC and Mac in June 2019: June 20 on EA and Steam, June 21 on Wikipedia. On PS4 and Xbox One, on July 16, 2019.

Can you live on the beach in The Sims 4?

Yes, with Island Living. Sulani has beach lots, and you can build houses on stilts over the water.

Can Sims swim in the ocean in Island Living?

Yes. Sims swim, snorkel, and dive in the ocean of Sulani, and ride the aqua zip.

Is Island Living on console?

Yes. It came to PS4 and Xbox One on July 16, 2019.

Can the volcano in Sulani erupt?

Yes. The volcano is active. The Volcanic Activity lot trait brings eruptions and earthquakes to a lot.

What we could not verify

  • The exact first date: June 20 or June 21, 2019. The sources do not agree.
  • The price on the EA store, which showed no price.
  • Kelp from fishing or from diving. We saw it only in search snippets.
  • How each kind of weather from Seasons works in Sulani.

More Sims guides

Sources

New to life sims? Read what a life simulator is, or play LifeSim, a free online life simulator on a real map of Earth.

Sims 4 database

Look it up in the Sims 4 database, read from the game files: cheats, traits, careers, moodlets, deaths, packs, challenges, recipes, popular mods, pack finder, and the death odds calculator.

On this topic: testingcheats, motherlode, and Genius trait.

Step by step: all Sims 4 how-to guides.

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