I have recently moved to Singapore and it was a month of January. Finally, the most awaited long weekend of Chinese New Year had arrived. We were really excited and looking forward to our trip to Bintan Island. Afterall we all need a break after a hectic working week.
We planned a two days trip to Bintan Island. Bintan Island is only an hour away from Singapore. Singapore has only one departure Ferry Terminal for Bintan Island, Indonesia i.e Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT) Ferry Terminal at Bintan, Indonesia is the closest from Singapore and it’s only an hour away.
It was a long weekend, Saturday early morning. We had our ferry at 8:00 am from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. We arrived at Bintan Ferry Terminal (BBT) by 9:00 am and finished our immigration. We immediately took a cab to our hotel (Lumba Lumba Inn) which was an hour drive from there. We reached hotel, got freshen up, had food from some nearby restaurant as most of the places were closed since it was a Chinese New Year.
Day1: It was already late afternoon, we headed for Lohon Temple as suggested by our driver.
Here are few pics of the temple that i have captured.
After that, we started for Blue Lagoon to witness the sunset. The Sunset was absolutely amazing there. Here is how the sunset looked like,
After watching the sunset, we went to Mangrove Forest. Mangrove Forest is a must to visit place when you are visiting Bintan. We can only go there by private boat. They will put on a life jacket on you and will take you for an adventurous ride through the forest. The best part is there is an amazing restaurant at the pick up point for the ride to Mangrove Forest. So, you can have yummy sea foods before and after your ride. We also went to a place inside the forest where an old man used to live alone. He used to make fresh honey for his living and sell it to all the tourists like us. We spent some time there, talked to him and came back. On our way back, we tried amazing Indonesian food especially varieties of fishes. It’s truly a heaven for foodies. I was actually getting Goa vibes. They use all different kind of spices which makes the food so delicious. And yes, how can i forget to mention that the coconut water is heavenly there. It is must try.
P.S: We tried every single item on the menu :D
Day2: We got ready, checked out from our hotel and went straight to White Sands Beach.
Oh, the beach was dazzling and i was stunned to see the clear water.
The weather was hot but manageable. We spent some time there, relaxed, clicked pics and headed to another nearby beach for Kite Surfing.
I was experiencing this for the first time. We all were assigned a trainer with whom we tried Kite Surfing for an hour. Wow!! an absolutely amazing experience.
By the time, we were done with the activity, we were starving. We had our return Ferry at 8:00 pm from Tanjung Pinang Ferry Terminal. It is a two hour journey from this terminal as this is within the city. We had our dinner, and headed back to Singapore.
There are many islands to visit from Singapore as weekend getaway. All we have to do is pack our bag and get ready. Getting Ferry tickets are hassle free. We could either book the tickets online or directly at the Ferry Terminal but I would recommend booking it online as it is easy and quick. For counter tickets, the ticket cost is comparatively less but we have to pay some additional charges which basically sums up to same amount.
This was a budget trip and we were able to complete our trip within $100 (including shopping).
I would definitely recommend visiting this place. Happy Travelling!!