Yahoo Finance Price Comparison of Singapore Ferries to Bintan & Batam — Which is the Cheapest?
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.
Singapore to Batam by ferry — price list
Singapore ferry terminal | Batam ferry terminal | Ferry price (2-way) | Operator |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $49 | Sindo Ferry |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $49 | Majestic Fast Ferry |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $49 | Batam Fast Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Batam Centre | $49 | Majestic Fast Ferry |
Harbourfront | Harbour Bay | $48 | Horizon Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Harbour Bay | $49 | Batam Fast Ferry |
Harbourfront | Harbour Bay | $50 | Batam Fast Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Nongsapura | $49 | Batam Fast Ferry |
Harbourfront | Sekupang | $49 | Batam Fast Ferry |
Harbourfront | Sekupang | $49 | Sindo Ferry |
Harbourfront | Sekupang | $49 | Majestic Fast Ferry |
Harbourfront | Waterfront | $49 | Sindo Ferry |
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.
Batam Centre and Harbour Bay ferry terminals both serve the Batam city centre, where all the major hotels and malls are.
If you’re going to Montigo Resorts or Turi Beach Resorts, it’s good to take the ferry to Nongsapura to reduce travelling time.
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.
Singapore to Bintan by ferry — price list
Singapore ferry terminal | Bintan ferry terminal | Ferry price (2-way) | Operator |
Tanah Merah | Bandar Bentan Telani | $58 / $64 / $70 | Bintan Resort Ferries |
Tanah Merah | Bintan Lagoon Resort | $64 | Mozaic Ferry Lines |
Tanah Merah | Tanjung Pinang | $54 | Sindo Ferry |
Tanah Merah | Tanjung Pinang | $53 | Majestic Fast Ferry |
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.)
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.
Ferry operator #1: Sindo Ferry routes & prices
Singapore ferry terminal | Ferry terminal | Sindo Ferry price (2-way) |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $49 |
Harbourfront | Batam (Sekupang) | $49 |
Harbourfront | Batam (Waterfront) | $49 |
Tanah Merah | Bintan (Tanjung Pinang) | $54 |
Singapore to Batam ferries are unofficially “duopolised” 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. In the case of Batam and Bintan, that’s a $7 terminal fee when both departing and returning. After adding these up, the ferry fare ends up at costing $49, about the same as everyone else.
Sindo Ferry is also the only operator that goes directly to Waterfront, where Harris Resort Waterfront and Holiday Inn Resort Batam are.
Ferry operator #2: Batam Fast Ferry routes & prices
Singapore ferry terminal | Ferry terminal | Batam Fast Ferry price (2-way) |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $49 |
Tanah Merah | Batam (Harbour Bay) | $49 |
Harbourfront | Batam (Harbour Bay) | $50 |
Tanah Merah | Batam (Nongsapura) | $49 |
Harbourfront | Batam (Sekupang) | $49 |
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.
Ferry operator #3: Majestic Fast Ferry routes & prices
Singapore ferry terminal | Ferry terminal | Majestic Fast Ferry price (2-way) |
Harbourfront | Batam Centre | $49 |
Tanah Merah | Batam Centre | $49 |
Harbourfront | Batam (Sekupang) | $49 |
Tanah Merah | Bintan (Tanjung Pinang) | $53 |
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 and Sekupang, 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 comparable to the other operators.
Ferry operator #4: Horizon Ferry routes & prices
Singapore ferry terminal | Ferry terminal | Horizon Ferry price (2-way) |
Harbourfront | Batam (Harbour Bay) | $48 (Economy) |
Harbourfront | Batam (Harbour Bay) | $72 (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.
Ferry operator #5: Bintan Resort Ferries routes & prices
Singapore to Bintan ferry route | Class | Bintan Resort Ferries price (2-way) |
Tanah Merah to Bintan (BBT) | Economy | $58 (off-peak) |
Tanah Merah to Bintan (BBT) | Economy | $64 (peak + off-peak) |
Tanah Merah to Bintan (BBT) | Economy | $70 (peak) |
Tanah Merah to Bintan (BBT) | Emerald | $102 (off-peak) |
Tanah Merah to Bintan (BBT) | Emerald | $108 (peak + off-peak) |
Tanah Merah to Bintan (BBT) | Emerald | $114 (peak) |
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.
Ferry operator #6: Mozaic Ferry Lines routes & prices
Bintan ferry route | 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 — then the ferry there is operated by Mozaic Ferry Lines.
I couldn’t find a proper ferry schedule, but when trying to make a booking, I realised there are only 2 timings each way. Departure is at 9AM and 3PM (Tanah Merah to Bintan Lagoon), and the return trip is either at 11.45AM or 5.10PM (Bintan Lagoon toTanah Merah). The ferry ride is 75 minutes.
Pro tip: Book your ferry on Qoo10, Klook or 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.
Generally, for return trips from Singapore to Batam, you can expect to pay about $35 to $38 instead of the usual $48 to $50. That’s a huge discount.
It’s also possible to buy ferry tickets from Singapore to Bintan on Klook and Changi Recommends, but you only get about $2 to $6 off the retail price.
Don’t forget to compare and buy the cheapest travel insurance before you go!
What’s your experience with these ferries to Bintan and Batam? Tell us in the comments below!
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