Sea travel - Ferry to Indonesia

Ferry and Sea-travel to Indonesia

.

The tropical resort islands of the Riau Archipelago are well connected to Singapore by regular ferry services.  Ferries depart from both HarbourFront Passenger Terminal and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on their way to the islands of Bintan, Batam, Karimun (Tanjung Balai) and Tanjung Batu.

.

Bintan, the largest of 3,200 islands in the Riau Archipelago, is located less than 40 kilometers from Singapore.  It occupies an area of 1,866 square kilometers and has some lush tropical forests and beautiful white beaches.  Despite of its relatively large size, Bintan is not too heavily populated, which means that the pristine coastline is long enough to accommodate the island's popular holiday resorts and nature, too, gets its share.

The most amazing thing about Bintan is that it is practicaly divided into two sections that have almost nothing in common: the island's northern part, Bintan Resorts (Lagoi), was leased to Singapore by the Indonesian government and is almost a de-facto colony of Singapore, full of expensive resorts, with well-groomed lawns, golf courses and watersport facilities...

Separated from the resorts by barbed wire, checkpoints and armed guards, the southern half of the island is more of the "real" border town Indonesia, with fishing villages, authentic markets, prostitudes and some low-key beaches.

Several daily ferries run between Singapore's Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and the capital of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands, Tanjung Pinang (which is also Bintan island's largest town). Ferries also travel to the ferry terminal at Bandar Bentan Telani / Teluk Sebung which serves the area of Bintan Resorts.  

In any case, the journey from Singapore takes around one hour or less.

Bintan Resort Ferries operates a few daily services to Bandar Bentan Telani.  They have a pretty good website where you can get more information and book for both ferry tickets and accommodation : www.brf.com.sg

Indo Falcon Shipping operates a regular ferry service between Singapore's Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and the town of Tanjung Pinang. For more details, visit their website: www.indofalcon.com.sg or call (+65) 6270 6778

Penguin Ferry Services operates daily ferry services to both Tanjung Pinang and the small island of Lobam (off the shore of Bintan). For more details and bookings, visit their website www.penguin.com.sg  or call  (+65) 6271 4866 (HarbourFront centre office) or (+65) 6542 7105 (Tanah Merah office)

Berlian Ferries is another operator that provides service on route from Singapore's Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to the town of Tanjung Pinang.  You can call their office in Singapore on (+65) 6546-8830

.....................................................................................................................

Traveling in Asia ?

Compare hotel rates instantly and save a lot on accommodation in Singapore,  Hong Kong, Bangkok,  Shanghai,  Beijing,  Tokyo  and  Seoul. 

.....................................................................................................................

. 

Batam is a densely populated island that lies to the west of Bintan, just 20 km off Singapore's south coast.  It coveres an area of only 415 km² and has a population of almost 750,000 people, most of whom are Malay and Chinese who migrated to the island, folowing the 1970s economic boom.

The island is a Free Trade Zone, as well as a Special Economic Zone - a place where Indonesia's economic planners test new economic policies and ideas.   It developed into an industrial hub with electronics factories, a large and growing ship repair industry and an even larger oil service sector. Quite a few expats head there for work, and pubs and golf courses have sprung up to serve them.

As far as tourism is concerned, Batam has much less to offer in the way of beautiful nature sceneries and unspoilt beaches than its larger neighbor, Bintan.  Tourists flock here in droves from nearby Singapore and are mostly interested in prostitution and illegal casinos. Unless you have a particular interest in any of these (or unless you want to use Batam as a gateway to visit the archipelago's other isalnds), you're better off going elsewhere.

Ferries between Singapore and Batam are extremely frequent. They depart from both HarbourFront Passenger Terminal (Singapore Cruise Centre, adjacent to  MRT-Harbour Front) and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, and they serve different terminals across Batam island : Harbor Bay is the main international ferry port for those heading for the island's biggest town, Nagoya.  Batam Center Ferry Terminal has the most frequent ferry connections to/from Singapore and Johor Bahru.  Sekupang is the best place for those who want to catch a domestic connection to the Sumatra mainland and the Karimun Islands.  Waterfront City and Nongsapura mostly serve adjacent resorts while Telaga Punggur is the main ferry terminal for boats to and from Bintan.

Batam Fast is probably Batam Island's largest ferry operator, with a fleet of 12 vessels and many daily services that connect Singapore's HarbourFront Passenger Terminal with the terminals of Batam Centre, Sekupang and Waterfront City on Batam Island. They also operate a frequent service that connects Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal with Batam's Nongsapura.

For more details and bookings, visit their website www.batamfast.com  or call  (+65) 6270 2228 (HarbourFront centre) or (+65) 6542 6310 (Tanah Merah)

Berlian Ferries provides regular service to Harbour Bay.  You can call their office in Singapore on (+65) 6546-8830

Penguin Ferry Services operates daily ferry services to both Batam Centre and Sekupang. For more details and bookings, visit their website www.penguin.com.sg  or call  (+65) 6271 4866 (HarbourFront centre office)

Indo Falcon Shipping operates regular ferry service between Singapore's HarbourFront Passenger Terminal and Batam's Waterfront City.  For more details, visit their website: www.indofalcon.com.sg or call (+65) 6270 6778

.

ZUJI Singapore - Discounted flights to and from Singapore !

.

Karimun, the westmost of the Riau Archipelago, is a small island just off the east coast of Sumatra, guarding the southern entrance to the Straits of Malacca.  It lies west of Batam and to the southwest of Singapore and is surrounded by a group of small islands that carry the same name (The Karimun Islands).

Its "capital" city, Tanjung Balai, is a bustling port town of about 125,000 people with a lot of commerce, boosted by tourists from Singapore and Malaysia.

Indo Falcon Shipping operates regular ferry service between Singapore's HarbourFront Passenger Terminal and the town of Tanjung Balai.  For more details, visit their website: www.indofalcon.com.sg or call (+65) 6270 6778

Penguin Ferry Services operates daily ferry services to Tanjung Balai town.  For more details and bookings, visit their website www.penguin.com.sg  or call  (+65) 6271 4866 (HarbourFront centre office)

......................................................................................................................

Don't waste your holiday money!

Buy the Singapore Attractions Pass NOW and get amazing discounts in the city's top attractions and sites ! 

.....................................................................................................................

You may also want to read more about...

Ferry and Sea-travel to Malaysia

.

. For great tips and updates!

.