Bintan and Batam ferry prices: Which is cheaper? (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 one to two 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 five 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 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.

Singapore to Batam Centre

Batam Centre and Harbour Bay ferry terminals both serve the Batam city centre, where all the major hotels and malls are.

Singapore to Harbour Bay

If you’re going to Montigo Resorts or Turi Beach Resorts, it’s good to take the ferry to Nongsapura to reduce travelling time.

Singapore to Nongsapura

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 Sekupang

Singapore to Waterfront

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.)

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.

Sindo Ferry price and routes

Singapore to Batam ferries are unofficially monopolised by two operators: Sindo Ferry and Batam Fast Ferry. If you are risk-averse, it’s generally quite foolproof to go with either of the two.

Sindo Ferry is a huge operation and runs tons of ferries daily from Harbourfront to Batam Centre, Sekupang and Waterfront.

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.

Batam Fast Ferry price and routes

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).

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.

Majestic Fast Ferry price and routes

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.

Horizon Ferry price and routes

The fourth 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 1.5 times the usual Economy price — which, to me, isn’t very worth it for a such a short ride.

Bintan Resort Ferries price and routes

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 two 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.

Mozaic Ferry Lines price and routes (ceased)

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 two 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.

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!

This article was first published in MoneySmart.