BATAM BASICS - 2 Minute Primers
Departing Singapore - Stepping Ashore in Batam - Hotels - Eating Out - Entertainment
Air
Batam is accessable by air from Jakarta (10x daily) and Kuala Lumpur (3 x weekly).
Ferry
Batam is accessable by ferry from Singapore (40 x daily), Johor (15 x daily) and parts of Sumarta (4 x daily).
Visa
If you do not already have an Indonesian visa in your passport, bring US$25 in cash (US currency only please) to pay for a 30 day tourist visa. Your passport is supposed to be valid for 6 months.
Harbor Bay F.T is 10 min from Nagoya
Only "Wavemaster" Ferries operate between Singapore Harbor-Front and Batam Harbor Bay (which is 5 mins from Nagoya.). Batam Fast and and Penguin Ferries will bring you to one of Batam's four other ferrry terminals: i.e. Batam Center, Nongsa, Waterfront or Sekupang. See map below :
- From Singapore ::: The first ferry departs at 7am; the last at 9pm. (Spore time)
- From Batam ::: The first ferry departs at 6am; the last at 8.30pm (Batam Time)
Batam time is 1 hour behind Singapore time
The ferry trip takes one hour (not 45 minutes).
Departing Singapore for Batam
Guide
- DECIDE WHICH FERRY COMPANY (i.e. choose which terminal you wish to arrive in Batam.)
- CHECK IN LARGE BAGS AT THE PORTER SERVICE COUNTER.
- Don't trust the porter service to put your bag on the boat, check yourself that your bag was loaded on board.
- CHANGE MONEY
- Get some rupiah (about US$100 worth) (for the Batam taxi and starter money)
- Get US$25 (to pay for the 30 day tourist visa - in US currency.)
* Batam's Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal is 10 minutes from Nagoya.* Decide which ferry terminal you wish to arrive at* The Wavemaster Ferries check-in counter at the SporeHarbourfront FT brings you to Nagoya.* Harbourfront FT check-in counters are on the 3rd level.* Singapore Harbourfront FT Departure area is on the 2nd level - same as the Porter Service (called Ferry Baggage Check In).* Immigration Counters at Singapore's ferry terminals are woefully undermanned.* Allow plenty of time for long queues
