Yahoo Finance Bintan and Batam Ferry Price — Which is the Cheapest Ferry? (2022)
Just a short (and cheap) ferry ride away, both Bintan and Batam are top resort destinations among Singaporeans. Depending on your destination and ferry operator, it’ll take about 1 to 2 hours and cost about $50 or so for a return trip.
Yup, it’s so easy to get to that you don’t need a long weekend. Heck, with as many as 5 trips per day for some operators, you can even go there and back within a day if you really wanted to.
Itching to escape? Here’s a comparison of the ferries departing Singapore to Bintan and Batam.
Contents
1. Singapore to Batam Ferry Price
Regardless of which route or ferry operator you choose, ferries from Singapore to Batam almost always cost just under $50 for a return trip. And yes, the price is the same for weekends, weekdays and public holidays.
If you’re booking a Batam trip, the most important thing to check is which Batam ferry terminal you’re going to. Batam is a pretty big island and it’s not very well-connected, so choosing the wrong ferry terminal could result in an hour’s drive or more to your hotel or resort.
2. Singapore to Batam Centre
Singapore | Batam Centre | Ferry Price (2-way) | Ferry Operator |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $70 | Sindo Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Batam Centre | $70 | Sindo Ferry |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $70 | Batam Fast Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Batam Centre | $70 | Batam Fast Ferry |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $70 | Majestic Fast Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Batam Centre | $70 | Majestic Fast Ferry |
Batam Centre and Harbour Bay ferry terminals both serve the Batam city centre, where all the major hotels and malls are.
3. Singapore to Harbour Bay
Singapore | Harbour Bay | Ferry Price (2-way) | Ferry Operator |
Harbourfront | Harbour Bay | No return trips | Batam Fast Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Harbour Bay | No return trips | Batam Fast Ferry |
Harbourfront | Harbour Bay | $70 | Horizon Ferry |
Harbourfront | Harbour Bay | $49 | Batam Fast Ferry |
If you’re going to Montigo Resorts or Turi Beach Resorts, it’s good to take the ferry to Nongsapura to reduce travelling time.
4. Singapore to Nongsapura
Singapore | Nongsapura | Ferry Price (2-way) | Ferry Operator |
Tanah Merah | Nongsapura | $70 | Batam Fast Ferry |
Finally, there’s Sekupang and Waterfront which serve the less-commercialised Sekupang area. The latter ferry terminal is closest to Harris Resort Waterfront and Holiday Inn Resort.
5. Singapore to Sekupang
Singapore | Sekupang | Ferry Price (2-way) | Ferry Operator |
Harbourfront | Sekupang | No trips available | Sindo Ferry |
Harbourfront | Sekupang | No trips available | Batam Fast Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Sekupang | No trips available | Batam Fast Ferry |
6. Singapore to Waterfront
Singapore | Waterfront | Ferry Price (2-way) | Ferry Operator |
Harbourfront | Waterfront | No trips available | Sindo Ferry |
7. Singapore to Bintan Ferry Price
Compared to Batam, there aren’t as many ferries plying the route between Singapore and Bintan.
Most of the resorts in Bintan are located in the Lagoi Bay area, and the ferry terminal for that is Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT). So in most cases, the best (and only) ferry from Singapore to Bintan is by Bintan Resort Ferries. (Unless you’re staying at Bintan Lagoon Resort, which has its own ferry terminal.)
Singapore | Bintan | Ferry Price (2-way) | Ferry Operator |
Tanah Merah | Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT) | $95 | Bintan Resort Ferries |
Tanah Merah | Bintan Lagoon Resort | (ceased) | Mozaic Ferry Line |
Tanah Merah | Tanjung Pinang | $95 | Sindo Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Tanjung Pinang | $95 | Majestic Fast Ferry |
It’s also possible to take a ferry from Singapore to Tanjung Pinang, which is a less-frequented part of Bintan compared to the BBT area. Tanjung Pinang is a port town and is the gateway to Trikora Beach, which is a cheaper place to stay compared to Lagoi.
All Singapore to Bintan ferries depart from Tanah Merah ferry terminal.
Next we’ll cover the major ferry operators one by one to highlight what you should look out for before booking.
8. Sindo Ferry Price and Routes
Singapore | Ferry Terminal | Sindo Ferry Prices (2-way) |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $70 |
Harbourfront | Batam (Sekupang) | Trip not available |
Harbourfront | Batam (Waterfront) | Trip not available |
Tanah Merah | Bintan (Tanjung Pinang) | $95 |
Tanah Merah | Batam Centre | $70 |
Singapore to Batam ferries are unofficially monopolised by 2 operators: Sindo Ferry and Batam Fast Ferry. If you are risk-averse, it’s generally quite foolproof to go with either of the 2.
Sindo Ferry is a huge operation and runs tons of ferries daily from Harbourfront to Batam Centre, Sekupang and Waterfront. You can see the Sindo Ferry schedule here.
However, be aware that the Sindo Ferry prices do not include hidden costs like taxes and levies. After adding these up, the ferry fare ends up at costing $70 to $95 (pretty much the same as other ferry operators).
Sindo Ferry is also the only operator that goes directly to Waterfront, where Harris Resort Waterfront and Holiday Inn Resort Batam are.
9. Batam Fast Ferry Price and Routes
Singapore | Ferry | Batam Fast Ferry Price (2-way) |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $70 |
Tanah Merah | Batam Centre | $70 |
Harbourfront | Batam (Harbour Bay) | No trips available |
Tanah Merah | Batam (Harbour Bay) | No trips available |
Tanah Merah | Batam (Nongsapura) | No trips available |
Harbourfront | Batam (Sekupang) | No trips available |
Tanah Merah | Batam (Sekupang) | No trips available |
The other big player for ferries from Singapore to Batam is Batam Fast Ferry. As its name suggests, ferries are to Batam only, no Bintan ferries here. Prices displayed on their website are transparent and include terminal fees, so what you see is really what you’ll be paying.
Compared to Sindo Ferry, Batam Fast Ferry has more routes, with some departing from Tanah Merah ferry terminal (which might be convenient for east-siders or those coming from Changi Airport). You can see the Batam Fast ferry schedule here.
It’s worth noting that Batam Fast Ferry is the only operator that takes you directly to Nongsapura, where all the luxe Batam resorts are located. Coming here directly is way more convenient than a land transfer from Batam Centre ferry terminal.
10. Majestic Fast Ferry Price and Routes
Singapore | Ferry | Majestic Fast Ferry Price (2-way) |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $70 |
Tanah Merah | Batam Centre | $70 |
Tanah Merah | Bintan (Tanjung Pinang) | $95 |
Majestic Fast Ferry is a newer and smaller player compared to Sindo Ferries and Batam Fast, although it still has a respectable number of ferries going back and forth.
Note that Majestic Fast Ferry only takes you to Batam Centre, whereas the Sindo Ferry and Batam Fast Ferry have a few other routes to more touristy areas like Waterfront, Sekupang, Nongsapura and Harbour Bay too.
One annoying thing about Majestic is that their website prices exclude the terminal fees until you add your bookings to cart. After adding the surcharges, the prices are similar to the other operators.
11. Horizon Ferry Price and Routes
Singapore | Ferry | Horizon Ferry Price (2-way) |
Harbourfront | Batam (Harbour Bay) | $70 (Economy) |
Harbourfront | Batam (Harbour Bay) | $110 (Business) |
The 4th operator that runs ferries from Singapore to Batam is called Horizon Ferry. It only has one route, from Harbourfront in Singapore to Harbour Bay in Batam. This supposedly takes only 35 minutes.
What’s special about Horizon Ferry is that they have Business Class seats for about 1.5X the usual Economy price — which, to me, isn’t very worth it for a such a short ride.
12. Bintan Resort Ferries Price and Routes
Singapore | Bintan | Bintan Resort Ferries Price (2-way) |
Tanah Merah | Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT) | $95 (Economy) |
Tanah Merah | Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT) | $149 (Emerald) |
Bintan is mostly a resort island, and many beach resorts are located at the Lagoi region, accessed via Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT). This area is served by just one operator, Bintan Resort Ferries.
There are 2 classes of seats: Economy (normal) and Emerald (so-called first class). Prices are significantly higher, almost double the cost.
The prices are also differentiated based on peak and off-peak periods. Off-peak is from Monday to Thursday, excluding eve of public holidays and public holidays. Peak is from Friday to Sunday, including eve of PH and PH.
13. Mozaic Ferry Lines Price and Routes (ceased)
Singapore to Bintan | Mozaic Ferry Lines Price (2-way) |
Tanah Merah to Bintan Lagoon Terminal | $64 |
If you specifically want to go to Bintan Lagoon Resort — they are the largest integrated resort on the island — there used to be a dedicated ferry operated by Mozaic Ferry Lines (ceased operations).
There didn’t used to be any official ferry schedules online, but when trying to make a booking few years back, I realised there were only 2 timings each way. Departure used to be at 9AM and 3PM (Tanah Merah to Bintan Lagoon), and the return trip was either at 11.45AM or 5.10PM (Bintan Lagoon to Tanah Merah). The ferry ride was 75 minutes.
14. Book Ferry on Qoo10, Klook, Changi Recommends
For discounted tickets, try looking on Qoo10, Klook and Changi Recommends. It’s much cheaper on these sites! The promotions vary from time to time depending on the platform, so which is the cheapest will depend on the discount at the time of booking.
It’s also possible to buy ferry tickets from Singapore to Bintan on Klook and Changi Recommends as well.
Don’t forget to compare and buy the best travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage before you go!
What’s your experience with these ferries to Bintan and Batam? Tell us in the comments below!
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Original article: Bintan and Batam Ferry Price — Which is the Cheapest Ferry? (2022).
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