PRIVATE: Batam day tour with Ferry, 2-hour Massage and Lunch from Singapore
Description
Travel back in time on this private day tour ideal for travelers with limited time in Singapore, but still want to have a taste of a small Indonesian town near Singapore. Upon arrival at Batam, you will be greeted by your private tour guide. During the tour, you will first see a unique Hindu temple with beautiful Balinese-style architecture at the Pura Agung Amerta Bhuana temple, followed by a visit to the biggest Buddhist temple in Indonesia. Thereafter, you will stop by the grand Barelang Bridge, a local historical museum, and local shops before indulging in a 4-course traditional Indonesian feast. A 2-hour (120-min) traditional Indonesian massage is also included to complete your Indonesian experience. Highlights ✅ Easy-to-locate departure point at Singapore Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal ✅ Taste of local cuisine with 4-course traditional Indonesian feast ✅ Authentic 2-hour traditional Indonesian massage by experienced masseurs for ultimate relaxation
Tour Options
Itinerary
Make your own way to Singapore Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal for your 10:00am (GMT+8) high-speed public ferry to the Indonesian town of Batam. After about 1 hour at sea, you will arrive at Batam ferry terminal to clear immigration.
Upon clearing immigration in Batam, your private licensed guide will meet you with a signboard, and escort you to your private, air-conditioned vehicle for a tour around Batam, the largest city in the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. You will first stop by Garuda Park (Taman Rajawali). Built in 2017, this park features a monument with a statue of the Garuda, often used to represent Indonesia, much like the Bald Eagle in the United States. The Garuda symbolises the virtue of knowledge, power, bravery, loyalty, and discipline.
From the Garuda Park, you will have a vantage view of the Tanjak Mosque. The mosque is built in Tanjak Melayu architecture and features a minaret of 45 meters. The exterior is made of modern aluminum composite panels. Note: Guests who wish to enter the mosque may do so provided it is not closed to the public (ie: outside Friday prayer times). Otherwise, guests may be respectfully requested to only take photos from the outside.
Next, you will visit Muhammad Cheng Ho Mosque that is modelled like a Chinese temple, due to the significant Chinese population living around the mosque. Note: Guests who wish to enter the mosque may do so provided it is not closed to the public (ie: outside Friday prayer times). Otherwise, guests may be respectfully requested to only take photos from the outside.
Next, you will stop by the beautiful Balinese-style Pura Agung Amerta Buana temple. Established in 1999, Pura Agung Amerta Buana is a Hindu temple adopting a mixture of classical and modern Balinese architecture. Inside the temple stands the highest Padmasana in Indonesia, at an impressive height of 18 meters. The Padnasama is a lotus-like pagoda shrine dedicated to their Supreme God.
Next, you will stop by to visit the Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Temple. This temple is the largest Chinese temple in Indonesia, situated on a hill called Lucky Hill. The temple is dedicated to the Maitreya, who is the future Buddha who will achieve complete enlightenment, Maitreya can also be seen at the most centre of the temple plated in gold standing at 5m high.
From a vantage point at Batam Center, you can see the Welcome to Batam monument. Modelled after the world-famous Hollywood sign, many tourists and locals come to Batam Center to take photos with the Welcome to Batam monument.
Next, you will visit this local museum named after a famous local poet to learn more about the history of Batam through its many collections and artifacts. Note: In the event that the museum is closed (ie: for Covid-19 sanitisation every Monday etc), a visit to Batam Mini Indonesia Park (featuring miniature replicas of Indonesian architecture) will be offered as a replacement.
Next, you will get to make a quick stop at a local bakery to sample famous Indonesian layer cakes, also affectionately known to the locals as Kueh Lapis. Kueh Lapis is not difficult to make, but it requires time and a lot of patience. The bakers hover next to the oven for a couple of hours grilling each layer of batter. Kueh Lapis is typically served in small, thin, rich and fragrant slices.
Next, you will visit the grand Barelang Bridge, sometimes called the Golden Gate Bridge of Batam, which is a piece of modern architecture seemingly ahead of time in this laid-back developing Indonesian town. You will then tuck in to a 4-course traditional Indonesian feast consisting of seafood, chicken and vegetables at traditional Indonesian restaurant nearby.
Finally, your guide will bring you back to the ferry terminal for your high-speed public ferry back to Singapore. The ferry terminal is connected by a skybridge on the departure level to Megamall. If there is still time, you may pop into Megamall for everyday non-touristy items and snacks at local prices. Please head back to the ferry terminal 30 minutes before ferry timing for boarding formalities.
You will arrive back in Singapore Harbourfront Centre Ferry Terminal at about 10:00pm (GMT+8) where your trip ends. Please note: Please inform at time of booking if you need to end the tour earlier, so that your itinerary can be adjusted accordingly.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- A current valid passport (with at least 6 months validity) is required on the day of travel to visit Indonesia
- Indonesian visa-on-arrival (US$20/person, payable in cash at the border) is available for guests from: Albanian, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgarian, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Danish, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hongkong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Morocco, Mexico, Monaco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbian, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USA, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Vatican, Vietnam
- Guests from all other countries not stated above, please seek prior travel authorization from your nearest Indonesian embassy
- Passport name, number, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all guests
- Your tickets will be held at the ferry counter for collection on the day of travel up to 9:20am (GMT+8), you will be required to present all passports (with at least 6 months validity) to exchange for your tickets
- Refunds will not be issued if high-speed public ferry is missed (ie: late check-in, fever, incomplete documents etc)
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- In the event that Museum Raja Ali Haji is closed (ie: for sanitisation every Monday etc), a visit to Batam Mini Indonesia Park will be offered as a replacement
- This trip is not suitable for guests with fever or other serious medical conditions
- This trip is not suitable for children below 12 years of age (children will be served a cup of beverage while waiting beside their parents/guardian during the 2-hour massage)
Reviews(13)
We were met as soon as we disembarked the ferry. We were taken to the terminal lounge whilst our paperwork was sorted. I found it easy to arrange the Arrival Visas online ahead of our trip. We were then met by Jackey and his driver. Both were lovely and went over and above to ensure we saw all we could. I contacted the company the day before the trip to request an earlier ferry booking and to tailor the trip and they were very prompt in reply and very accommodating. Jackey took us to various mosques, temples and museums and was always on hand to take pictures. The lunch was a great experience and was very tasty. The two hour massage was also very good after a very busy holiday. Once we were all done, we were driven back to the terminal lounge for coffee and cake while the paperwork was completed. We were then taken directly to our ferry and waved on board. It was a wonderful trip and provided a great insight into Batam. This turned out to be one of the best trips we had been on.
Loved the ferry ride over and the massage! Didn’t care too much for the cake and coffee tour as it was expected to buy something before you left each tour.
This was a nice tour. We'd done Singapore and Kuala Lumpur the days before and while nice, wasn't as nice as the two aforementioned cities. However, we had Aulia as our tour guide. She'd served as our guide to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and we enjoyed her so much, that we booked this tour and requested her as our guide. She met us at our hotel and we went to the boat terminal and caught a ferry (about 40-45) minutes to Indonesia. The visa is $35, but there's a money exchange in the terminal as they only take Indonesian money and no credit cards. The day included lunch and a two hour massage. Nice day!
Ended my Asian trip in here. Gave the luwak coffee to my dad and he loved much. Will definitely buy again if any chance to go to Indonesia. The 2 hours massage was so rejuvenated. The lunch set menu made my belly fatter than we came. Lol
My guide Ms. Aulia is absolutely lovely and she is the best guide I have had. The experience started a bit shaky as they changed the pickup vehicle and did not tell me ahead of time. I would suggest not chose the hotel pick up option as they will just call an Uber type of service to do it and you end up paying much more for the trip from your hotel to the terminal. The tour itself is quite interesting. Do not expect spectacular architecture or attractions but it is still worthwhile because you get to experience Indonesia within a very short period of time. I am really really happy that I decided to do this.
It's my second time in Batam but this time I enjoyed it more, We had a super great private tour. The tour guide is easy to understand and easy to find too at the seaport. We hope to go back again soon.
Our guide was informative and we saw a lot of the island. Lots of history on the island. I would have preferred to order our own lunch because there was too much food for two people.
I had read several good reviews about a day-trip to Batam and decided to take one of my few days in Singapore to do that. What a huge mistake! There was nothing worth seeing there that couldn’t be seen other places or that were worth the visit. The massage and the kart ride were OK, but we didn’t need to go all the way there to do that. No interesting landmarks (the Barelang bridge pales compared to all the architectural landmarks in Singapore), and the temples were nothing special nor historical. The visit to the coffee factory is a real tourist trap: I told the guide that neither my son or I drank coffee but he still took us there just to sit in a closed room to hear him try to sell us souvenir packages of coffee. Also, my guide barely spoke any English, so it was extremely hard to communicate. Finally, the lunch was also very disappointing, as we couldn’t choose what we ate (the meal was pre-set and despite seeing some good alternative in neighboring tables, we had to stick with the bland fish and sea snails they had given us). I had wished to discover a bit of Indonesia but left that country never wanting to go back. What a disappointment!
Dear ClMitchell, this tour does not go to the Batam go-karting center. We are therefore very confused with your "the kart ride were OK" remark. We sincerely apologise we are unable to locate any booking with the name ClMitchell, may you please provide us with your booking number for us to check if you had reviewed the wrong tour?
We really enjoyed this trip and were amazed at all the things we were able to do and see. Diane (hopefully spelled right!) was an fabulous host -- knowledgeable, amenable, and open to us veering off course a bit. Highly recommend her!
Diane was a great tour guide. She met me at the port in Batam and I found out that I was the only person on the tour. She was awesome! I mentioned that I wasn't really that interested in the trick eye museum so she arranged for me to get an extra 30 minutes massage instead. =) One of the best viator trips I've ever booked. Highly recommended.
