RegionUsable guide

Bintan

Island in Bintan Regency, Riau Islands Province, Indonesia

Photo: Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

Bintan is one of the Riau Islands of Indonesia.

Getting there and around

Getting there

By plane
Tanjung Pinang's Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport (TNJ) caters to a few domestic flights.
By boat
You are most likely to arrive by boat. Most international travelers arrive from Singapore and Johor Bahru.

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Getting around

By taxi
Taxis compete furiously for your custom and cutthroat bargaining is a necessity.
By car
Car rental could cost between S$50–100/day for a sedan, depending on how far you go: all the way around the island, visiting Tanjung Pinang, the east coast, and the resort belt in the north would be…
By scooter
Prices about Rp100,000 IDR to Rp170,000/day, fun and convenient way to hop from beach to beach or even travel quite a long distances over the island.
By minivan
Bintan's embryonic public transport system consists of white minivans known as mikrolet or angkutan kota (angkut).

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Airports and nearby hotels

Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.

Raja Haji Fisabilillah International Airport

Tanjung Pinang-Bintan Island · Regional · TNJ

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Cities

Tanjung Pinang

largest town on Bintan, and capital of Riau Islands province

Kijang

long-distance ferry port (another bigger town of Bintan)

Tanjung Uban

second largest town on Bintan

Bintan Resorts

a chunk of Singapore in Indonesia

Trikora

Trikora is the collective name of the northeastern beaches on Bintan, Indonesia. Trikora is actually quite a long stretch of separate beaches, with beaches numbered from south to north as one to four (satu, dua, tiga, empat in Indonesian).

Read before you go to Bintan

Articles and travel topics about Bintan and Indonesia.

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Full travel guide

Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.

UnderstandBintan: the northern tip of the island, Bintan Resorts (Lagoi), 45 minutes from Singapore by ferry, full of expensive resorts and manicured lawns.

TalkBahasa Indonesia, which is spoken throughout Indonesia, is modelled on the version of Malay which originates from Riau on the Sumatra mainland and the Riau Islands.

Get inFor detailed information on visas, see the Indonesia page.

Get aroundPublic transportation on Bintan is very limited, and is probably not worth the effort unless you have a passable command of Indonesian and a lot of time on your hands. Virtually all visitors use taxis or rent cars.

SeeGo to Trikora Beach. It is beautiful and there are many watersports readily available.

DoBintan has excellent beaches, although the water tends to be murky due to its proximity to Singapore, shipping lanes, and Batam's industries.

BuyThe local wooden handicrafts are worth buying, if you're on the lookout for a souvenir or two. The prices are generally cheap if you can find the right places to buy from.

EatSeafood in Bintan is fresh and affordable (about S$3–7/person) and Tanjung Pinang has many restaurants, although they usually have sub-standard fans and minimal or gaudy decoration.

DrinkDrink bottled water. Except for a few 4/5-star hotels, tap water is generally not potable.

Stay safeWhile better than it used to be, Tanjung Pinang has a partly deserved bad reputation. Do not carry large quantities of cash or flash it about, and do not take unfamiliar taxis (particularly the touts at the jetty).

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Sources and licences

Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Bintan" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Summary from the Wikipedia article "Bintan Island", available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikipedia
Photo: Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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