Hi everyone!
It’s been awhile since I last blogged, so here I am! Last week, we went to Bintan Island with the kids and tried out glamping ( short for glamorous camping ⛺️).
❓Why Bintan?
Cos we’ve never been there before tho it’s just 1 hr ferry ride away from Sg
💵Is it expensive?
Relatively yes especially activities and dining options in the resort
We stayed only for 3d2n as there wasn’t much for the kids to do there. I didn’t pay for any of their planned activities cos it’s just super expensive. So here’s what we did.
Thursday, 11 Jul 2024
We had pre booked our ferry ticket from their website and it cost us (2 adults and 2 children) $335 for 2 way economy class tickets. They also have Emerald class ticket ( which is like business class) but it was about $500 for all of us. Tbh, I feel that economy class is comfortable enough for an hour ferry ride. Save the money.
If you really wanna try it, you can always upgrade it on the spot during check in.
Anyway, our ferry timing was 11.10 am. According to the website, it is recommended to arrive 1.5 hours earlier. We arrived 1 hr earlier and we still had plenty of time. There was nothing much in the waiting room other than some small stalls selling snacks, drinks and toasts. We had one big luggage and one carry on luggage. So after checking in, we dropped our big luggage in the baggage drop area ( which is not the same as the check in counter).
Tho we were travelling on a weekday, there was a significant number of crowd heading to Bintan. Many were couples and young families like us. Immigration clearance and security check were breezy.
Once it was a boarding call, we queued up and headed towards our berth. It was quite a distance from the waiting area to the berth. I had to carry Isaac in one hand and hold Callum in another ( A LOT OF ARM AND BACK WORKOUTS DURING THIS TRIP 🫣)
We finally boarded our ferry and Callum was super excited. It was free seating and all of the window rows (row of 3) were already taken so we sat in the middle row of 4.
The moment we sat down, Isaac started to be super cranky. The only lifesaver we had was snacks ( he really loves to snack). We also took out a book for him to read while Callum occupied himself watching his fav Peppa shows on IPad. Trust me, when you travel with young kids, you just have to be flexible especially if your LO is like Isaac is undergoing ‘Terrible 2’ stage.
Once everyone was onboard, the ferry started sailing. 30 mins into sailing, Isaac was super tired and cranky again so I brought him for a walk at the back and he only wanted me to carry. To make matters worse, Callum wanted to follow me too, so husband had no choice but to follow too. At that moment I told my husband, “ I think we made a mistake booking this trip”. But my husband, being a very optimistic person reassured me that it is fine, we’ve been through worse.
Isaac fell asleep in 10 mins and that’s when we returned to our seats because standing up legit made me seasick.
I was so so happy when we arrived (that’s when Isaac woke up). We waited for about 20-25 mins for immigration clearance ( there were 4 counters open and the officers were pretty speedy with the clearance). Right after that, we picked up our checked in luggage from the conveyor belt ( we didn’t have to wait at all) and made our way out.
As we have pre booked our complimentary shuttle service to our accommodation ( Anmon Bintan) , there was a guy waiting to pick us up and guided us to the shuttle bus.
We were directed to this holding area while waiting for the shuttle
Note: there will be many drivers offering their taxi/ tour services in Bintan because there is no gojek and grab services in the resort area so you might want to do your research first and book your guides / rent your car in advance before you head to Bintan. There will be a lot of such services with diff prices to compare. Skip the hotel ones cos their pricing is super extreme.
The bus driver passed me his contact and offered me 6 hour guided tours to anywhere in the island for IDR650k (approx SGD54). He told me that hotel offers a 6 hr guided tours for IDR 1 Mil ( approx SGD 83) 🤢🤢🤮🤮 - It’s really expensive.
I had pre booked mine a full day tour for IDR 900k ( approx $75) all inclusive - will share more about it later.
From the ferry terminal to our hotel was only 5 mins bus ride.
There is another tent-concept accommodation (next to Anmon) called Natra. Heard many good reviews about it too. We didn’t book this one as the price was pretty steep when we compared with Anmon ( and Anmon looks more like glamping as compared to Natra)
Once we reached our hotel, we checked in and it was fast too ( no deposit required). Our room wasn’t ready yet so we explored the area, checked out the Crystal Lagoon ( which is named the largest swimming pool in SEA) and had our lunch at the restaurant - the Compass Rose.
The menu selection was decent but the taste was not superb.
We ordered a classic mee goreng - IDR160k ( super exp)
2 kids menu ( one fried rice with omelette and nuggets, another one mee goreng with omelet and sausages)- IDR100k each. ( we didn’t take photos of the kids meal as it was too havoc already 🫣)
No choice, that’s the only dining option available.
We received a WhatsApp text saying that we were able to check in and we had a buggy bringing us to our tepee. Yay!
When we reached our tepee, it was as advertised on their website. They had set a single bed for Callum to sleep too.
Basically there is 1 queen bed and 2 single pull out beds. Take note that there is no TV.
**They provide 1 sachet of mozzie repellent cream, sanitary bag and shower cap. No dental kit provided at Anmon**
Big question:
🦟Is there any mozzie?
Thankfully when we went there we weren’t bitten by any insects. We always kept our doors shut to prevent any creepy crawlers or insects from invading our space.
So we chilled for abit, the kids were hyped up and we waited until the sun lowered for abit before we headed to the pool.
The pool was nice. The boys had lotsa fun in the water. So much fun that Isaac threw a huge tantrums and meltdown when we said ‘time’s up!’ I had to carry the struggling Isaac back to our tepee while he was screaming at the top of his lungs.
Once we showered the boys, we made a quick dinner for them ( I didn’t bring any portable cooker this time round) but I brought some instant porridge for both of them to eat, followed by milk. Then they had an early night ( it was indeed a tiring day for all of us)
At night, husband woke up and ordered a pizza , French fries and watermelon juice for supper. We ate at the patio. Super nice vibe.
Friday, 12 July 2024
We had prebooked a rented car with driver from this company called SIDOLANCAR RENTCAR BINTAN TOUR (I apparently googled and found this to be one of the car rental companies with highest ratings)
I gave them a WhatsApp text to enquire and they were quite prompt in replying
FYI, here is the quotation they provided upon my Enquiry:
As translated,
Avanza IDR 900.000/ day capacity 6 paxs
Innova IDR 1.100.000/ day capacity 6 paxs
Reborn IDR 1.300.000/ day capacity 6 paxs
Hi ace IDR 1.500.000/day capacity 14 paxs
So we chose the cheapest one, Avanza IDR 900k , they collected deposit IDR 300k, and the remaining amount was collected by the driver once the tour is completed.
The price includes full day use of anywhere within Bintan Island, petrol and driver fee.
(you can Google the company name ‘SIDOLANCAR RENT CAR BINTAN TOUR’ and WhatsApp them directly to enquire/ book
The car was clean and spacious for us. The driver could speak fluent English and very friendly too. Along the way, Callum vomitted in the car and the driver was so ready to help and drove us all the way to nearest convenience store to get wet wipes, tissue etc.
So anyway, we had our breakfast and departed from the hotel at 8.30 am. The driver was super punctual, in fact he arrived 45 mins prior and waited for us 😅
✨First stop, we headed to Gurun Pasir & Telaga Biru ( White Sands and Blue Lake). It’s about 40 mins drive from Anmon.
Entrance fee IDR10k per adult, kids enter for free.
Basically our driver told us that these sands were used for export to Sg but now has become a popular tourist attraction.
The place is super instagrammable and the best time to come is in the morning before the weather gets too hot. We arrived at around 9.15 am and the weather was perfect. It wasn’t too hot and there were clouds to cover us from the scorching heat.
Next to the sands, there is a blue lake. This is man made but so beautiful. Also, an instagrammable place!
Here, there was also a huge raft that you can take to cruise along the lake ( IDR100k- we skipped it)
And there were ATV rides ( didn’t even bother to check the pricing lol)
On the way out, we treated ourselves to some fresh chilled coconuts. It was like godsend in the middle of the heat and dessert 😅
Chilled coconut: IDR20k each
Non chilled coconut: IDR 15k each
Water (chilled) : IDR 5k each
The price was decent.
✨ Next, we headed to TCC ( Tanjung Pinang City Center) to check out the shopping mall. Apparently there are only 2 shopping centers in Bintan which are TCC and Ramayana. TCC is the newest. Our hopes were high when we saw the mall… until we entered , it was like a dead building.
The only saving grace there was Matahari ( this is like OG in Sgp- where they sell a lot of apparels, shoes, etc) and Hypermart.
Believe it or not, there were 3 levels in the building and there is NO restaurant. The only Makan place is CFC ( California Fried Chicken) which is a fast food chain like KFC. We had no choice but to settle our lunch there but thankfully, they had rice bowls and spaghetti which were always the kids’ favs. Pathetic.
We did abit of shopping in Matahari and Hypermart then at around 1.30 pm, we headed to our next destination
✨ Callum had been looking forward to go to this place ever since he has been into sculptures/ statues. Statue of Liberty, Statue of unity and such really fascinate him alot. So when we went to 500 Lohan Temple , he was so overjoyed.
So this temple is one of the famous Buddhist temples in Bintan.
The place is super well organised, beautiful, serene and well kept.
Entrance fee: IDR 5k per adult. Kids enter for free
There were about 500 monk statues with different facial expressions. It was really fascinating for us. Thankfully, when we reached there at 2.30 pm, it wasn’t crowded and the sky was cloudy so it wasn’t too hot.
✨ Next, we dropped by an ice cream store called Momoyo. It’s something like Mixue but it’s just as nice and not too expensive too you can easily find the stores along the streets in Tanjung Pinang
Mango smoothie with ice cream
Strawberry Sundae
The driver asked me where I’d like to go next. I told him “GONG GONG BUILDING!” 🐚
It was located right next to a seaside. Super chill vibe. When we reached there at around 3.30 pm, many sellers were setting up their tents to sell their food. There were food and drinks sold there in the pushcarts. We tried the famous Bintan Otah otah IDR1k per piece. We bought 10 and shared with our driver. It was not as big as the ones sold in sg but so yum!
✨ Next, the driver drove us around Dompak Island. They recently built a bridge to connect Tanjung Pinang and Dompak Island.
So the driver told us that Dompak Island is the newest tourist destination and it is also home to many local government agencies/ officials like the governor’s buildings etc.
The island was well maintained ( not surprising)
Pic taken by Callum 😅
✨By the time we were done driving around Dompak Island, it was raining cats and dogs and we decided to head to the famous eatery for an early dinner.
We had our dinner at Kelong Ciuyong Seafood where you can choose to have a fresh fish. When we reached there, there wasn’t customer other than us ( could be cos of the rain too)
So anyway, we ordered:
Prawn cereals
Sambal kangkong
Chicken soup
Hotplate tofu
Steamed Grouper Fish HK style
Stir fried Gong Gong
All cost us about SGD83 ( the price might be abit on a high side but so worth it!)
Note: this place is not like those atas restaurant. It’s like a hut on stilts.
By the time we were done with our dinner, it was about 7.30 pm. We headed back to our accommodation which was about 40 mins drive away.
We reached Anmon around 8.15 pm, showered the kids and finally bed time.
Saturday, 13 July 2024
As usual, the boys woke up super early. We packed our luggages, had our breakfast and gathered at the lobby.
Our ferry back to sg departed at 11.35 am so we had to be ready by 9.50 am at the lobby so that we could get on the shuttle bus which would bring us back to the ferry terminal.
The process of checking in to boarding was quite straightforward. There was literally nothing much in the departure terminal/ hall. I had to bring the boys out to walk for abit otherwise they just became so cranky.
Once the boarding call was announced we boarded the ferry and off we were , back to Sgp!
All in all, would I recommend Bintan?
Yes, for couples ( without kids )
Yes, for young families who have never experienced glamping
No, for families with kids under 18 mo - there is nothing much to see
I don’t think I would go back to Bintan in the near future. Maybe when the boys are slightly older ( like in primary school)
Important things to bring:
✅ Mozzie repellent
✅ Sunblock
✅ Swimsuit
✅ Sandals/ slippers
✅ Cap/ hat
✅ Comfortable clothing
✅ Ready meals / instant noodles
✅ Wet wipes
✅ Hand Sanitiser and surface sanitiser
Hope this sharing has been insightful. Thank you for reading!
With Love ❤️,
Jane
