Bintan Island, Indonesia

Bintan is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community. Singapore, the closest major city, is a 45-50 minute trip by motorised catamaran across the South China Sea from Bintan Resort area in the northwest of the island.

Tanjung Pinang is a port town and a trade centre with ethnic diversity and with traditional villages and temples. Attractions include a small Chinese temple in the interior of the old town at Lorong Gambir II, called the Cetiya Satya Dharma. There is a Dutch Colonial Graveyard (mostly in ruins), which reflects the life of the seamen (Europeans) in the old days. The town also has a museum at the crossing of the Jalan Kamboja road with Jalan Bakar batu.

Trikora group of beaches is situated on the eastern quiet side of Bintan; the beaches have been numbered from 1 to 4 in the south-north order. The best known is Trikora Beach Four (Trikora Empat), which is the northernmost bit, right next to the "border" with Bintan Resorts and is an attractive and popular bay.

Things to See & Do

* Trikora Beach
* Purchase local wooden handicrafts
* Tanjung Pinang
* Banyan Tree Temple
* Beaches and resorts

General information

Cruise Season - Jan - Dec
Currency - Rupiah (IDR)
Language - Indonesian
Population - 200,000 approx
Electricity - 2 round pins European style
Land Area - 2,402.28 km²
Time - GMT plus hours seven hours
International Country Telephone Code - +62

Port Location - The port at Bintan is located at Tanjung Pinang, on the southwestern part of the island.

Travel Links - Bintan's Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport only caters to a limited number of flights, none of which are international. The main operator is Riau Airlines which provides connections to Jakarta, Pekanbaru, Palembang, Jambi and the remote Natuna Islands. Sriwijaya Airoffers daily flights from Jakarta. Alternatives include flying into Singapore and taking the ferry across (see next section), or using the larger airport in neighboring Batam.

There are several passenger ports in Bintan. The most common one is at Tanjung Pinang where most short-distance inter-island ferries and those from Singapore and Johor Bahru dock. The other ferry terminals are at Tanjung Uban, Kijang (where Pelni boats dock), and Teluk Sebung which serves the Bintan Resorts area on the northern part of the island.