Batam

From MaxTravelz

Batam is a small but busy island in Indonesia of 45km x 25km and nearly a million people, hundreds of multinational owned factories, towns, shopping centres and gateway to the Riau Islands.

Located only 20km from Singapore and 25km from Johor in Malaysia, Batam is Indonesia's equivalent to China's SEZ's (Special Economic Zones) - a place where the nation's economic planners test new economic policies and ideas.

Contents 1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 5 Talk 6 Get in 6.1 Visa 6.2 By plane 6.2.1 From other parts of Indonesia 6.2.2 From Malaysia 6.3 By boat 6.3.1 From Singapore 6.3.2 From Malaysia 6.3.3 From Bintan 6.3.4 From the Sumatra mainland and other Riau Islands 7 Get around 8 See 9 Do 10 Eat 11 Drink 12 Stay safe 13 Get out

Regions

Cities

• Nagoya (Lubuk Baja)
• Nongsapura
• Batam Centre
• Sekupang

Other destinations

Understand

Batam is synonymous with electronics sweatshops, underaged prostitutes and illegal casinos, and unless you have a particular interest in these you're better off going elsewhere (such as Batam's more resort-y neighbor Bintan).

Talk

Bahasa Indonesia, which is spoken throughout Indonesia, is modeled on the version of Malay which originates from Riau on the Sumatra mainland and the Riau Islands. In fact, Riau Malay is regarded as the purest form of the Malay language and visitors from Malaysia will find the Malay spoken here very similar to Bahasa Malaysia, which is the version of Malay spoken back home.

Get in

Visa

For detailed information on visas, please refer to the Indonesia page. All Batam ports, namely Batam Centre, Batu Ampar, Nongsapura, Sekupang and Waterfront City (Teluk Senimba) are visa-free and visa-on-arrival ports of entry.

By plane

Batam's international airport is Hang Nadim International Airport (BTH).

From other parts of Indonesia

Most Indonesian carriers serve Batam with connections with the other Riau Islands, cities in Sumatra, Jakarta, Bali and further afield.

From Malaysia

• Riau Airlines (Johor Bahru airport office Tel: +60-7-599 4500 Ext 1113) flies to/from Johor Bahru every Sunday, RM76 one-way. Flights depart Johor Bahru at 1530. They depart Batam for Johor Bahru at 1315.

By boat

From Singapore

There are ferries running from Harbourfront and Tanah Merah Frry Terminals to several destinations on Batam. Ferries departing from Harbourfront go to Batam Centre, Sekupang and Waterfront City (Teluk Senimba) while ferries from Tanah Merah serve Nongsapura.

• From Harbourfront: Ferry operators operating routes from Harbourfront include:
  • Penguin (Tel: +62-778-467574 in Batam Centre; +62-778-321636 in Sekupang; +62-778-381280 in Waterfront City; +65-62714866 in Harbourfront). S$16/20 one-way/return. Virtually hourly ferries to Batam Centre and Sekupang, fewer ferries to Waterfront City.
  • Dino/Batam Fast (Tel: +62-778-467793/470344 in Batam Centre; +62-778-325085/6 in Sekupang; +62-778-381150 in Waterfront City; +65-62700311 in Harbourfront). Also hourly ferries to Batam Centre, fewer ferries to Sekupang and Waterfront City.
  • Indofalcon (Tel: +65-62783167 in Harbourfront). This company does not operate to/from Sekupang
  • Berlian/Wave Master (Tel: +65-65468830 in Singapore)
• From Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal: Ferries operated by:
  • Dino/Batam Fast (Tel: +62-778-761071 in Nongsapura, +65-65426310 in Tanah Merah FT). Several ferries daily to/from Nongsapura.

From Malaysia

Ferries link Johor Bahru with Batam Centre on Batam. There are virtually hourly departures betweem 0750 and 1840 from JB to Batam, and between 0750 and 1720 from Batam to JB. Tickets cost RM60/95 one-way/return before taxes to/from JB. For more information, call Tenggara Senandung (Tel: +60-7-2211677) in Johor Bahru.

Ferries also operate between Batam Centre and Tanjung Belungkor in Johor.

From Bintan

Telaga Punggur is the main port for ferries between Bintan and Batam, with very frequent ferries to/from Tanjung Pinang and Tanjung Uban on Bintan. However, you can also board boats to Tanjung Pinang at Sekupang which originate from the Sumatra mainland as well as Karimun Island. Boats travelling the other direction also stop at Sekupang.

• Via Telaga Punggur

Baruna (Tel: +62-778-479162 in Telaga Punggur; +62-771-28578 in Tanjung Pinang) and Sentosa operate speedboats between the domestic ferry terminal in Telaga Punggur at the southeastern end of Batam, and Bintan's main town Tanjung Pinang virtually every 15 minutes during daylight hours. Tickets cost between Rp35,000 and Rp38,000 excluding port taxes.

Frequent speedboats also run between Telaga Punggur and Tanjung Uban on the western part of Bintan.

Getting to/from Telaga Punggur: Official taxis from Batam Centre to Telaga Punggur cost Rp65,000. You can try and bargain for a lower rate with taxis outside the port area. Passenger vans run between Telaga Punggur and Jodoh/Nagoya.

• Via Sekupang

Many ferries which originate from Tanjung Pinang, the main town on Bintan and heading to the Sumatra mainland as well as Karimun and Kundur Islands make a stop at the domestic ferry terminal in Sekupang. Likewise, ferries travelling the other direction also make a short stop in Sekupang. These are however not as frequent as those leaving from Telaga Punggur.

For details on how to get to Sekupang, please see following section.

From the Sumatra mainland and other Riau Islands

Sekupang is Batam's main domestic port where you can ferries to/from the Sumatra mainland and other Riau Islands west of Batam. The bulk of ferries to Bintan operate from Telaga Punggur at the southeastern corner of Batam, although you can catch a few boats from Sekupang too (see above section for Bintan ferries).

• To/From Karimun Island: Regular ferries operate between Tanjung Balai on Karimun and Sekupang. Some of the ferries originate from the Sumatra mainland or Kundur Island. Boats also stop at Tanjung Balai when going from Sekupang to Sumatra or Kundur.
• To/From Dumai: Several companies, including Dumai Express operates several ferries daily to/from Sekupang. Most of these ferries originate from Tanjung Pinang, the main town on Bintan, and also make a stop at Tanjung Balai on Karimun Island after making a stop at Sekupang.
• To/From Kundur Island: Several ferry companies run daily between Sekupang and Tanjung Batu on Kundur. These ferries also make a stop at Tanjung Balai on Karimun enroute.
• Other ferry destinations include Pekanbaru, Selat Panjang, Bengkalis and Tanjung Buton in Riau, and Kuala Tungkal in Jambi province.

Getting to/from Sekupang: Numerous taxis make the run between Sekupang and Nagoya. There is also a public minibus service between Sekupang and Batam Center as well as Nagoya.

Get around

See

There are some places in Batam that are quite beutiful and not-to-be missed. The Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Buddhist Temple is one of the tourist attraction there.

Do

Eat

Drink

Stay safe

Get out

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