Bintan Island - Indonesia

Bintan is the largest of 3,200 islands in the Riau Archipelago, the third largest of 27 provinces in Indonesia. Located 45 km southest of Singapore and a mere 45 minutes ride away by high-speed catamaran. The island boasts of 18 kms of pristine white beaches with rich marine life ... a diver's haven.

Bintan Resort - In the northern sector of Bintan Island is Bintan Resorts, a 23,000 hectare development which is being jointly undertaken by the Singaporean and Indonesian governments. It has 18 kilometres of pristine white beaches and azure waters, rich with marine life and offers the ideal retreat for those seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

In the south, a must see is a visit to  Bintan's capital, Tanjung Pinang, a quaint old town characterised by rows of wooden houses on stilts linked by a maze of walkways.

You can take a public bus between northern and southern Bintan, or travel by charter taxi or speed boat arranged through your hotel. The trip will take approximately 90 minutes.

Getting There from Singapore

Information updated on 30 Jan 2008. Indicated are Starting From Prices in S$

Bintan Resort (North)

Bintan Resorts has a dedicated sea-sports centre offering a variety of activities underwater and on the water including hosting a major annual windsurfing event. Choose from motorised and non-motorised watersports including jet skiing, windsurfing, snorkelling, scuba diving or just unwinding on the beach.

Experience F1 Racing Bintan style as you take on the Bintan Usahatama race-track. The Bintan Usahatama is a miniature Go-Kart race-track that boasts of up to 17 UK imported Go-Karts, each retro-fitted with a miniature engine that runs on petrol. Speed up to 50km per hour as you navigate your way through winding tracks and bumper tyres.

The Elephant Park presents a wonderful opportunity to get up close and personal with these gentle giants. Home to seven Sumatran elephants, the 40-minute elephant show allows you to observe their varied diet and eating habits and your child will be educated with snippets of information about their characteristics, food source, living habits and group behaviour. These elephants have also been trained to perform all kinds of delightful antics at the Bintan Elephant Park, such as making perfect turns on raised forelegs astride a tiny drum-stand, swinging their trainers carefully on their trunks with a 360-degree turn or jiving to disco music.

Golfing at Bintan Resorts is truly an unforgettable experience for everyone, whether it's for business or pleasure. Here, you will find golf courses built on varied landscapes of hilly terrain, natural forests and running streams, each promising golf enthusiasts the thrills of challenging courses and delightful visual sights.

Bintan (South)

About an 90 minutes further south by car (50 mintues by speed boat) from Bintan Resorts is Tanjung Pinang. It is the administrative and trading capital of the Riau Archipelago. An excursion to this picturesque town offers travellers a glimpse into the quaint and rustic lifestyle of the Riau people in a by-gone era of kings, warriors and simple fishing folks.

A five-minute ride on a motorised sampan will take you to the rustic fishing village of Senggarang, which was the previous capital, before being razed by fire. Once the home of the Bugis, today it has a strong Chinese population with a Chinese village. Senggarang is renowned for its Land, Sea and Earth Temples, more than 100 years old, to which many Singaporean Chinese come to worship during festivals. There is also the 300-year-old Kwan Yin Temple, which is the oldest in the Riau group, situated near the mouth of the Snake River (Sungai Ular).