Singapore - Afternoon in Batam - worth it?

Any thoughts on a quicky trip to Batam via the ferry? I'm not a big tourist trap kind of a guy, and frankly it's a toss up between sitting on my ar$e in a chilled suite with a jolly fabulous view, watching a bit of footy and getting up, driving down to the WTC ferry teminal, and catching the oat, walking around in the heat, getting sweaty, and taking in the sights, sounds and smells.

If you've been to Batam, what was the most interesting thing you have seen, or recommend doing, and what is your advice for someone that just wants to have a quick look-see?

Thanks.

I suggest that you go to the thread describing the trip pre-SinDo 2009 where a number of us went to Batam. The best thing IMO is the boat ride over and back. Not much to Batam, buy one can negotiate at taxi (AC) for a tour around the island. Be aware that there are 4 different ports of landing so research carefully.

The boats are now Air Conditioned and make the trip in less than an hour each direction. Saturday and Sunday are not great days to go because of the large number of Singaporeans going over for the weekend. Boats are crowded and you may have to wait for a few to depart before you can get on.

Either take the MRT or a taxi to Harbourfront where the ferry terminal is located.

Thanks - I'll check out the referenced thread.

just did a day trip to batam a couple of weeks ago....it was nothing special....quite hot so i guess that made it a bit of a pain....

Day trip to Batam? :D

We spent 4 days at the Holiday Inn. My kids had a lovely time.

Day trip to Batam? :D

We spent 4 days at the Holiday Inn. My kids had a lovely time.

i guess if i was staying there longer then i could have had a better time as well....but my wife & i decided to spend 4 days in singapore as compared to batam....

Hi Forum,
will be in Singapore for the F1 Grand Prix nightrace in September with my dad. So am looking for advise for the Friday to Sunday what to do during the day. Will stay in the Intercontinental, so any day trips to do while return is around 6 PM ( so we can catch up the qualifying ) ? Must see ? Been there ? Done that ........Where to go at nightlife ?

Thanks a lot for advises.

Hi Forum,
will be in Singapore for the F1 Grand Prix nightrace in September with my dad. So am looking for advise for the Friday to Sunday what to do during the day. Will stay in the Intercontinental, so any day trips to do while return is around 6 PM ( so we can catch up the qualifying ) ? Must see ? Been there ? Done that ........Where to go at nightlife ?

Thanks a lot for advises.

it will be extremely difficult for you to do day trips & be back in time to get to the race....singapore gets crazy during this time & a lot of traffic comes to a standstill around that time....

clarke quay is a great place to hang out at night....lots of options there for restaurants, clubs, bars, nightlife....

Day trip to Batam? :D

We spent 4 days at the Holiday Inn. My kids had a lovely time.

I ultimately did not venture out to Batam on that particular trip to SIN. However, on my next trip I will be spending a night or two on the island, and am planning to stay at a friend's condo, play a little early morning golf, relax at a spa, hang out and eat some interesting food. I shall report back.

The only nice thing about Batam is that it's cheap. It's a good idea if you need some duty free liquor, as it's probably cheaper to head out and come back to Singapore (if you don't need a visa anyway).

Over there, there's a very nice restaurant across this hotel we stayed at. Don't remember the name, but it was a 3* swiss something. Great, cheap food. There's also some water sports at the other end of the island, but priced for Singaporean tourists, and nothing fantastic. The city area has shops and a mall with a really cheap Pizza Hut. Apart from feeling like your spending power suddenly went up, there's really nothing there.

I believe Bintan is much nicer as far as beaches and such go.

I believe Bintan is much nicer as far as beaches and such go.
Not really: although Batam's beaches are actively bad (eg. the Harris resort advises visitors not to enter the water!), Bintan's are merely blah. The hotel options on Bintan are much better, but prices are higher and escaping the hotel zone into the "real" Bintan is quite difficult (or at least expensive).

My two cents: both Bintan and Batam are among the least interesting bits of Indonesia and South-East Asia. If you have only a day to spare, spend it in Singapore; if you have a few days, go to somewhere that is worth the effort, like east coast Malaysia, Bali, or Thailand's smaller islands.

Yea, Tioman in M'sia is supposed to be amazingly beautiful and still not very touristy. Beaches in Singapore are terrible too, so you need to go to M'sia for something nice.

I went to Batam for 2 days 1 night. Only thing I did was laze around and went for massage after massage while the ladies shopped around.

Some technical questions related to the OP's question (I'm planning something similar). I've checked the referenced thread but that was from 2009 so I was wondering...

* Are VoA still available for $10 USD? I've read contradictory reports on various websites and some have claimed the rules changed fairly recently. Either way, where's the most convenient place to get $10 (or more) USD if I'm coming from Harbourfront?

*Is it difficult to get seats on the Penguin ferry back to Harbourfront from Batam Centre without booking in advance? Or can I get a two way-ticket from the Harbourfront terminal?

Sorry for the bump, and thanks in advance.

* Are VoA still available for $10 USD? I've read contradictory reports on various websites and some have claimed the rules changed fairly recently. Either way, where's the most convenient place to get $10 (or more) USD if I'm coming from Harbourfront?
Nope, the only option is US$25 for 30 days. Plenty of money changers with good rates for both USD and IDR at Harbourfront itself.

*Is it difficult to get seats on the Penguin ferry back to Harbourfront from Batam Centre without booking in advance? Or can I get a two way-ticket from the Harbourfront terminal?
You can get a two-way ticket, but you need to reconfirm it in Indonesia after arrival. Outside peak hours/periods, though, it's rarely a problem to get on board, the boats are large and the services to the main ports are quite frequent.

Are VoA still available for $10 USD? I've read contradictory reports on various websites and some have claimed the rules changed fairly recently. Either way, where's the most convenient place to get $10 (or more) USD if I'm coming from Harbourfront?

$25....

Is it difficult to get seats on the Penguin ferry back to Harbourfront from Batam Centre without booking in advance? Or can I get a two way-ticket from the Harbourfront terminal?

i never booked in advance & got the tickets very easily....

Bring exact change for the visa.

A visit to Johor and Batam will greatly increase the number of passport stamps from 2 Singaporean stamps to an Indonesian visa and 10 stamps (3.5 pages instead of 0.5 pages). However, if you time is limited, there is plenty to do in Singapore.

Not much in Batam.

I would skip it and check out the beaches in Malaysia's coasts if u want beaches.

skip it. even Bintan (indonesia, same distance to singapore) is better than Batam unless you are into Cable skiing.

skip it. even Bintan (indonesia, same distance to singapore) is better than Batam unless you are into Cable skiing.

i agree....i prefer bintan over batam....

* Are VoA still available for $10 USD? I've read contradictory reports on various websites and some have claimed the rules changed fairly recently. Either way, where's the most convenient place to get $10 (or more) USD if I'm coming from Harbourfront?



The bank that issues the VoA at Batam (counter next to the actual Immigration people) has an exchange rate board and accepts a variety of currencies (fee free for the VoA). I had IDR on me, so paid IDR250,000 rather than USD25.

Hey I was thinking of a trip to Batam or taking a cruise with royal caribbean cos there's a promotion now that offers savings of up to $400. And they're also offering a room upgrade for only $10! Cruise, or trip to Batam?

Hey I was thinking of a trip to Batam or taking a cruise with royal caribbean cos there's a promotion now that offers savings of up to $400. And they're also offering a room upgrade for only $10! Cruise, or trip to Batam?

i would probably go with the cruise....

Yea, Tioman in M'sia is supposed to be amazingly beautiful and still not very touristy. Beaches in Singapore are terrible too, so you need to go to M'sia for something nice.

I agree. Malaysia is definitely the place to go away from SIN for nice islands and beaches and you won't have to pay for a visa. Tioman is worth it. Even nicer are the Perhentian islands (which can be done over a long weekend if you schedule a flight or overnight train from Johor Bahru)

I agree. Malaysia is definitely the place to go away from SIN for nice islands and beaches and you won't have to pay for a visa. Tioman is worth it. Even nicer are the Perhentian islands (which can be done over a long weekend if you schedule a flight or overnight train from Johor Bahru)

Oh I have a very interesting story about what was supposed to be a weekend in Perhentian. Basically, everything went wrong, there was a storm and we were stranded on the island with torrential rain throughout, garbage piled up on the beach and no boats going to the mainland. I think I need to go again to really experience it as it's supposed to be!