Bintan Island - VOA question

[lowan74]

Hello all-

I am travelling to Bintan Island (by ferry from Singapore) in a month. Looking online it seems that a Visa On Arrival is available to Australians for 7 days for IDR250,000, which represents a good saving (50%) on the normal 30 day VOA. Its only available to purchase in person on arrival. I've seen a couple of places where it has also been quoted in USD. I've looked across the internet and yet to find a definitive answer to the following questions - I would really appreciate help/guidance from someone who has recently been there and bought a VOA:

• Is the VOA on arrival only payable in IDR cash, or is USD cash also accepted (asking because I already have some USD from a previous US trip)
• If IDR cash is required, is there somewhere available to change money in Bintan prior to getting to the VOA counter (or an ATM), or do I need to bring this from Singapore?

Also looking for any other tips around Bintan (holiday for 5 days, family of 4) if anyone has travelled there recently?

Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated -

Matt

 

[markis10]

Last time I went it was payable in cash not card (despite the website saying card would be accepted) and the only place to get cash was after immigration, I had an escort to go to the ATM.

 

[Scash]

We went there a few years ago and they took USD. Be aware though that they sometimes claim to not have change in USD so its a good idea to have the correct amount or smaller denominations.

 

[ltwo]

If paying in cash, just check that you get all the paperwork you require.
Excluding card payment is a common way to corrupt/swindle the money by some officers.