Ferries from Indonesia to Singapore

Twenty-two direct routes cross the Singapore Strait, which reads like abundance and works like a trap. The operators are largely interchangeable; the terminals are not. Two islands of Indonesia lie within about an hour of the city, Batam and Bintan, and each has separate quays for its towns and for its resorts. Book the wrong one and the sea time you saved goes back into a taxi.

Batam, town quays and resort quays

Batam Centre is the island's main gate and the right choice for the town and onward transport. Sindo Ferry alone lists twelve sailings a day in each direction from HarbourFront, with Batam Fast and Majestic Fast Ferry working the same water, and Batam Fast and Majestic also run it from Tanah Merah. Frequency is the product here.

Sekupang sits on the western side and is served from HarbourFront by all three of those operators, though Batam Fast currently marks part of its Sekupang and Gold Coast timetable as suspended until further notice, so check the sailing before you build a day around it. Harbour Bay is Horizon Fast Ferry's principal route from HarbourFront; the same operator also reaches the resort island of Nirup on a limited schedule.

Nongsapura is the outlier. It lies on Batam's north eastern tip, roughly 45 minutes from Tanah Merah and from nowhere else, and it exists for the Nongsa hotels and the two golf clubs a few minutes inland. Most resorts there run their own transfer to the pier.

Bintan, Lagoi or Tanjung Pinang

Bintan divides more sharply still. Bandar Bentan Telani serves the Bintan Resorts enclave in the north west and nothing else; Bintan Resort Ferries crosses from Tanah Merah in about 1 hour 10 minutes, four times a day from Monday to Thursday and up to six on Fridays and Saturdays. Tanjung Pinang is the island's capital and a different journey altogether, reached from Tanah Merah by Sindo and by Majestic, the latter twice daily.

The Singapore end is not a detail

HarbourFront and Tanah Merah stand at opposite ends of the city and carry different traffic. HarbourFront covers Batam Centre, Sekupang, Harbour Bay, Gold Coast, Waterfront, Nirup and Karimun's Tanjung Balai. Tanah Merah is the resort and Bintan terminal, plus Batam Centre. A ticket bought for the wrong one costs an hour across town.

It is a border, not a strait

Passports are required in both directions, and Bintan Resort Ferries asks for six months of validity, check-in 90 minutes ahead and counters that close 40 minutes before departure. Both governments want a form filed in advance: Singapore's SG Arrival Card within three days of arrival, the day of arrival included, and Indonesia's All Indonesia arrival card also within three days before arrival. Some nationalities need a visa for Singapore, and possession of one does not by itself guarantee entry. Indonesia's electronic visa on arrival covers citizens of 87 countries for a single stay of 30 days, and the Riau Islands seaports, Batam Centre and Sekupang among them, are listed entry points. Set your watch back an hour on the way over.