Riau Islands

The Riau Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Riau, abbreviated to Kepri) are an archipelago in Indonesia, located east of Sumatra and south of Singapore.

Islands

Map of central Riau: Batam and Bintan

• 1 Bintan.   - The largest island, home to the provincial capital Tanjung Pinang and to a large resort area
• 2 Batam.   - Best known for its fast-growing industrial zone, but also has some resorts and the largest airport in the islands
• 3 Karimun.   - West of Batam, best known for its granite mine. The island also has a few beautiful beaches.
• 4 Kundur.  
• 5 Lingga Islands.  
• 6 Anambas.  
• 7 Natuna.   - The northernmost tip of Indonesia

Other destinations

• 1 Badas Islands - historical part of Pulau Tudjuh division that become part of modern Bintan Regency
• 2 Tambelan Islands - historical part of Pulau Tudjuh division that become part of modern Bintan Regency

Understand

This is also the name of the new Indonesian province which was created in 2004 which was carved out of Riau province. The province includes all the islands off the Sumatra coast which were previously part of the province, namely Karimun, Riau, Singkep-Lingga, Anambas and Natuna in the South China Sea.

The remainder of Riau province on the Sumatra mainland retains the name Riau province with its capital at Pekanbaru.

An archipelago of over 3,000 islands, the province has benefited greatly from its location - just 40 minutes from Singapore. Its two main islands Batam and Bintan are some of the most developed and affluent parts of Indonesia.

While Bintan and Batam get many visitors from Singapore and Malaysia via Johor Bahru, the rest of the islands in the province are very much off the beaten track, offering endless exciting trips to the adventurous.

The islands have also become a favourite destination for cycling enthusiasts from Singapore.

Talk

Indonesian is based on the Riau dialect of Malay. In fact, Riau Malay is regarded as the purest form of the Malay language and visitors from Malaysia will find the Malay spoken here very similar to Bahasa Malaysia, which is the version of Malay spoken back home.

Many of the islands, especially Batam, Bintan, Karimun and Kundur, have huge Chinese populations who speak Hokkien and Teochew as well as Mandarin.

Get in

The Riau Islands are a major gateway into Indonesia because of good ferry links to nearby Singapore and Malaysia. For detailed visa information, see the Indonesia page. Many of the seaports in the Riau Islands and the main airport on Batam are visa-free and visa-on-arrival points of entry. Please see the pages for the individual islands or cities on the visa status for a particular port.

By plane

Batam's Hang Nadim Airport (BTH ^IATA) is the main airport in the province and fields flights from various Indonesian cities, and a handful of international flights from other Asian countries. Airlines like Garuda-Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air & Kartika Airlines fly to cities like Medan, Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar and Banjarmasin. See the Batam and individual city pages for details on connections.

Bintan has a smaller airport called Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport (TNJ ^IATA) at Kijang near Tanjungpinangwith flights From Jakarta By Sriwijaya airlines or Riau-airlines From Jakarta and Pekanbaru

Alternatively, you can fly into Singapore and make your way to Batam or Bintan by ferry.

By ferry

Ferries are the main way to get to the Riau Islands. Check the individual island or city pages for details.

From Singapore: Frequent ferries connect Singapore with Batam and Bintan. See pages of the two islands for details of ports served by the ferries. Ferries also link Singapore with Tanjung Balai on Karimun Island.

From Malaysia: Frequent ferries link Johor Bahru with Batam and Bintan. Ferries also run between Kukup in the south western part of Johor state, and Tanjung Balai on Karimun Island.

From other parts of Indonesia: Numerous ferries link Sumatra mainland cities such as Pekanbaru, Dumai, Palembang, Kuala Tungkal in Jambi and other smaller ports with Batam, Bintan, Karimun and other islands. Ships belonging to Indonesia's passenger shipping company Pelni call at Bintan's Kijang port, Batam's Sekupang domestic ferry terminal and the Natuna Islands, linking them with Jakarta, Medan, Pontianak and other major ports.

Get around

By plane

Ranai Airport (NTX ^IATA) in the Natuna islands and Matak in the Anambas can be reached by scheduled flights from Batam and/or Bintan.

By boat

Boats are the only practical means of traveling through most of the archipelago. There are very frequent ferries between Batam and Bintan. Frequent ferry links the two islands with other islands in the province like Karimun, Singkep and Lingga. The Anambas islands are linked to Bintan by a daily ferry and a twice-monthly Pelni ship. For more details, please see the pages for the individual islands.

Local transport

In terms of land transport, local transport in the form of taxis, buses, vans (angkut, bemo), and motorcycle taxis (ojek) are available on most islands. It cost a dollar or two, it depends how long the trip is. However, to enjoy the island even more try to rent your own motor bike ("rental moto") It starts at 50'000 Rupias (3.2 €uro)/day when there are space to bargain, but on smaller islands they know they can charge more, up to 100'000 Rupias/day.

See

In the capital of the Riau province Tanjung Pinang will you find many historical attractions. The famous Buddhist Temple and Penyengat Island. With the famous Mesjid Raya Mosque made by egg. Include the unique building, it's much a spiritual island.To be there you smell the glorious history of Indonesia, yoe can find the parts of the kings palace. Several mausoleum of royalties and a spirit of old religion. The mysterious of Indonesia, this is maybe the place. Good/evil, black/light, animism. The old ruler's palace and royal tombs, among them the grave of the respected Sultan Haji, who also was creator and author of the first Malay Language grammar book, are among the legacies left by the Riau sultanate. Still in use is the old vice-royal mosque, the Mesjid Raya.

Do

Beach resort at Trikora, Bintan

• Riau has many fantastic beaches.
• The cultural center for stage performances of Malay music and dances is located in Tanjung Pinang. The center organize regular festivals and other cultural performances, such as music and dance.
• Kolek racing is a tradition among the Malays in the Riau Islands and Singapore's Southern Islands. Kolek is a type of traditional Malay wooden canoe with a sail. The tradition died out in Singapore in the 1970s when the islanders were resettled on the mainland, but is still going strong on the Indonesian side of the border. The most important races are part of a series of regattas starting on Indonesian independence day (17 August), with a different island hosting a race in each day. Some of the islands that host races in this series include Pulau Belakang Padang and Pulau Buluh. The series concludes in October at Tanjung Pinang on Bintan island.

Eat

The province is famous for it seafood restaurants, in capital you will find many first class seafood restaurants to very low price compared to the western world and Singapore.

Drink

Indonesia is famous for coffee and tea. The Avocado juice is also a must-try!

Riau doesn't have night life as the western world, but people hang out in the street in the night. So just go out and see how the locals enjoy their evening.

The island of Batam is home to many clubs and bars, catering to the large Western expat population working at the engineering companies, and the younger locals. Be aware of prices, which are quite high in the hotel bars and clubs, and of illegal drugs, which are widely available but dangerous.

Sleep

Hotels of various budgets are available in the main towns such as Tanjung Pinang on Bintan, Nagoya on Batam, Tanjung Balai on Karimun and Tanjung Batu on Kundur, although those at the lower end are often sleazy and unpleasant. Five-star beach and golf resorts, catering mostly to Singaporeans, are also popular in this part of Indonesia, mostly located in the Bintan Resorts area on the northern part of the island. There are also resorts on the other islands, eg. Nongsa on Batam. See the individual city/island pages for listings.

Bear in mind that the economic boom has made accommodation in the Riau Islands more expensive than in other parts of Indonesia.

Stay safe

Riau province is a safe place, with a very low crime rate. There is no terrorism in the province.