Ever since we’ve arrived in Singapore, we’ve heard the locals tell us about Bintan.

“You have to go to Bintan… it only takes an hour to get there by ferry.”

“It’s an easy weekend get-away and the resorts are all-inclusive.”

“Bintan is cheap plus you can get spa treatments for cheap.”

“Head over to Bintan with a bike and you can ride around the island on traffic-free roads.”

With an adventurous set of co-workers in town from London, on a whim and with a free weekend in hand, 5 of us (Nick, Tim, Mike, Sarah and Ellen) booked a trip on Friday morning, 12 July and hopped on a ferry to Bintan on Saturday morning the 13th to spend a short and relaxing weekend at the Bintan Lagoon Resort in Bintan, Indonesia.

A Very, Very Short History of Bintan

We’ll make this history short since it’s easy enough to get a comprehensive history of Bintan elsewhere. Here’s a few interesting facts:

• Bintan is an island in the archipelago of the Riau Islands of Indonesia and the Indonesian government markets it as the next-best destination after Bali.

• The island is about 453 square miles and contains approximately 400,000 inhabitants.

• Bintan is about 1 degree above the equator so, like Singapore, it’s a hot, tropical environment year-round.

• The island has a rich history as a trading post between India and China and, like many countries in this area of the world, has been under the control of the Chinese, British and Dutch at one point or another in its history.

• On the 25 July 1990, according to a Presidential Decree, a coordinating team was set up within the framework of Indonesia-Singapore cooperation to create an investment plan with the basic intention to provide leisure space to Singaporeans on the white beaches of Bintan.

• Today, given its proximity to Singapore and its beautiful beaches and golf courses, the economy of Bintan Island is mostly centred on tourism with its resorts in the northern section of the island only about an hour ferry ride away via Singapore.

Getting to Bintan from Singapore

Getting to Bintan is, as we discovered, quick, easy and convenient. We took a ferry from Tanah Merah ferry station which is a stone’s throw from Singapore’s Changi Airport. We also discovered that it’s best to figure out where you are going to stay first as there are a lot of ferries and they all go to different places on the island.

We decided to stay at Bintan Lagoon Resort and soon discovered that we could take a direct ferry through Mozaic Ferry Lines. Tanah Merah ferry station was a bit of zoo when we arrived but overall, very efficient. Be forewarned that you will need to go through immigration on both sides of your trip so while the ferry ride is only an hour, make sure you arrive between 90 and 60 minutes ahead of time.

Work-Free Saturday

Oh those crazy co-workers. Earlier in the week, Mike declared Saturday “work-free” with the goal of getting us to take a day off. From there, it’s a bit unclear who actually instigated the Bintan idea but it certainly gained momentum on Thursday, and by Friday morning, the five of us were committed and ready-to-go.

Where to stay? We landed on Bintan Lagoon Resort because it was affordable, had a pool, a nice beach, good restaurants and bars, and comfy rooms. It wasn’t super-fancy but it certainly checked all of the boxes.

After a late Friday night for some of the UK folks and a bit of a rush to get to the ferry station on Saturday morning, we left Singapore at 9 AM and arrived in Bintan at 9 AM. We checked into the hotel and immediately headed to the beach for a romp in the ocean and a little R&R on the beach. Note that someone needs to remind the UK staff to pack their sunblock next time. An hour in the sun and they looked like lobsters.

From there, we opted to spend time in the shade most of the rest of the day drinking, eating, reading, napping, and relaxing by the pool. No jet skiing, paddle boarding or other water sports this time around.

Dinner that night was at the beach-side restaurant. The highlight of the night were the Indonesian dancers who invited us to join them on the stage. Nick, Tim and Ellen were brave enough to join the fun.

Running in Bintan

One of the things that we love to do when we visit a new destination is to go for a run. Without much of an idea of where to go, we decided to head outside the resort area and found some beautifully paved roads with little-to-no traffic, lots of greenery, a few monkeys and gentle ocean breezes. While hot, it was frankly one of the ‘cooler’ runs that we’ve done and logged a total of 13.5km.

After running and breakfast at the resort (which was included in the price), we got a cheap foot massage at the resort and then got back on the ferry to head back to Singapore at noon.

It started with a boat to Bintan. We added a beach plus a few beers and burgers with our buddies. (Boat + Beers & Burgers + Buddies) * xBeers = a very Blissful time.