Bintan or Batam

[Major]

My wife and I have a few spare days in SIN towards the end of May. As we have been to SIN many times before, we are considering catching the ferry to either Bintan or Batam.

Can anyone recommend one over the other? We are over the nightlife thing but really enjoy asian food and the odd market.

 

[munitalP]

My wife and I have a few spare days in SIN towards the end of May. As we have been to SIN many times before, we are considering catching the ferry to either Bintan or Batam.

Can anyone recommend one over the other? We are over the nightlife thing but really enjoy asian food and the odd market.

I can recommend that Batam is an absolute dump. My wife and I went there a few years back and found it a dirty filthy city unworthy of a revisit. The bonus was, the Novotel was cheap...

Actually, there are other offerings such as the coast north of Singapore - in and around Melaka on the west or KL even further up. Melaka is world renown for its markets and food (and pirates)

 

[ksthommo]

There's flash resorts on Bintan if your prepared to pay big bucks. Club Med is one
of them.

Agree Batam is not for the husband and wife, it's full of business girls,
there for the Singaporeans and Expats. Saying that they do have some cheap waterfront seafood places and the outdoor eateries in Nagoya it's not a bad place to
drink beer, eat and watch the world go by.

 

[docjames]

I can recommend that Batam is an absolute dump. My wife and I went there a few years back and found it a dirty filthy city unworthy of a revisit. The bonus was, the Novotel was cheap...

Actually, there are other offerings such as the coast north of Singapore - in and around Melaka on the west or KL even further up. Melaka is world renown for its markets and food (and pirates)

I'd +1 to consider Malakka. Good combo of food, markets and history (if you're interested). The pirates aren't so much an issue unless you plan sailing or visiting secluded beaches!

 

[browski]

There is a relatively underrated island off the sth east Coast of Malaysia called Tioman Island. It is barely a 35 minute flight from Changi on Berjay Air (they fly once per day). Cost about $SG 68 each way.

The island's beaches are beautiful, there is a variety of low end to high end accommodation and most importantly, it is peaceful - with few of the vices of other SE Asia islands.

It has a protected rainforest National Park which contains a wide variety of native (and some unique) wildlife. There are many walking tracks.

I also recall doing some scuba diving there years ago.

Yes, they also have markets. There are about half a dozen little villages on the island.
You can also drive/ferry, but the distance might be a bit too far for a short trip.

 

[ksthommo]

Tioman Island

Depicted as Bali Hai in the movie South Pacific

Agree it's a very scenic place. Stayed at the Berjaya Resort
and also trekked to the other side of the island from the airfield
and stayed in the cheap huts there.

 

[tuapekastar]

Haven't been to either, but was due to go to Pulau Batam on a recent SIN trip with some others, slept in and missed it, and was advised I was lucky to have done so.

I only have vague (and pleasant) memories of visiting Malacca many many moons ago, but it has a rich history.

I spent a week on Pulau Tioman way back before there were any resorts or planes and it is (was) indeed a gorgeous location...from a small boat, you could see the ocean floor in water that was 80 feet deep. As long as 'development' has not wrecked it, it would be a good alternative.

There is also a smaller island on the way to Tioman, but closer to Singapore called Pulau Tinggi, and have spent a night or two there in the dim dark past. No idea what opportunities are offered to visit it these days (we took our own boat from Singapore, and spent the nights on it), but could be worth some investigation.

 

[simonpenny408]

Bintan - [FONT=&quot]Nirwana Gardens Resort has good rates and is a nice place. One tip - pre book your taxi to pick you up from the ferry wharf in Singapore on your return. Taxis don't like going there late at night and you'll be gouged on price
[/FONT]

 

[Major]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
We are now very interested in tioman

 

[dcd]

having lived in Singers for many years i would recommend Bintan, definitely not batam. Tioman is OK but a fair distance from Singers, whilst Bintan is only a 1 hour ferry ride away. however if you are Aussie you need to purchase a visa for Indonesia about $18 US i think. You get it when you book. Bintan has a variety of options for accommodation but if you like a cheap but nice place Mayang Sari is quite good with hut style accommodation on the beach and restaurants not too far away.

 

[tuapekastar]

having lived in Singers for many years i would recommend Bintan, definitely not batam. Tioman is OK but a fair distance from Singers, whilst Bintan is only a 1 hour ferry ride away. however if you are Aussie you need to purchase a visa for Indonesia about $18 US i think. You get it when you book. Bintan has a variety of options for accommodation but if you like a cheap but nice place Mayang Sari is quite good with hut style accommodation on the beach and restaurants not too far away.

Welcome to AFF dcd, and thanks for the informative post. Hope you can stick around.

 

[PineappleSkip]

+1 - welcome dcd

cheers skip

 

[Mitch_W]

I visited Malacca a couple of years ago and also loved the food, history & night markets complete with the street showman/salesman/conman who claimed to be able push his index finger thru a coconut! Bizarre but hilarious! During all this he tried to sell his "special linament" for aches & pains. The mainly Asian audience couldn't wait to hand over the money!
Accomodation is good & plentiful and well priced & up to 5 Star. Car trip from SIN took about 1.5 hours from memory. Customs was an easy transition at the border and no visa required for Aussies.

 

[Major]

having lived in Singers for many years i would recommend Bintan, definitely not batam. Tioman is OK but a fair distance from Singers, whilst Bintan is only a 1 hour ferry ride away. however if you are Aussie you need to purchase a visa for Indonesia about $18 US i think. You get it when you book. Bintan has a variety of options for accommodation but if you like a cheap but nice place Mayang Sari is quite good with hut style accommodation on the beach and restaurants not too far away.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have looked at all resorts and places from the other posts and have booked the Mayang Sari for a few days.

 

[Awesom Andy]

The visa-on-arrival is now $25 USD. It's best if you have the correct change (in USD) ready. The easiest way is to get the cash is from one of the money changers while you are in SIN.

 

[Major]

The visa-on-arrival is now $25 USD. It's best if you have the correct change (in USD) ready. The easiest way is to get the cash is from one of the money changers while you are in SIN.

Thanks for the heads up on the visa requirements. It's been some years since my last visit to Indonesia and did not know they had introduced a fee.
Always keep a few dollars and euros at home for just this very thing.