Within these 2 years, there have been a lot of Singaporeans heading over to Batam for a short getaway partly due to the abundance in cheap Batam travel deals making it so affordable yet convenient to travel to that island!
Most deals hover around the basic price of $30-$40. They tend to include return ferry tickets, Lunch and breakfast and a city tour. City tour itinerary are basically the same. While for lunch, deals normally offer either Indonesia Buffet ( Sari Bumbu Restaurant ) or 7 course seafood meal ( Golden Prawn 933 ).
Ferry operators varies too but mostly alight at sekupang Ferry Terminal ( Batam). Do note that theres a total of 5 different ferry terminals in Batam, Sekupang is one of it.
With the influx of tourists to Batam, there's more and more hotels being built there. We chose this package especially because of the hotel ( Harmoni One ) and the Indonesian Buffet lunch.
Do note that theres 3 different hotels in Batam with the name Harmoni, mainly Harmoni suites, Harmoni Hotel and Harmoni One Convention Hotel. They are all managed by Harmoni Group. However the first 2 are located near/within city area. We chose Harmoni One Convention Hotel due to the good reviews we heard prior to this trip. Similarly for the Indonesian Buffet lunch, we chose this combi as there has been many bad reviews about Golden prawn 933 seafood lunch. More reviews will be posted in Batam's Day 1 blog post.
With SGD $10 more, paid when buying the package deal via the website entitles you to either a massage or a bowl of bird nest soup. $10 might sound pricey for a bowl of bird nest soup however we decided to give it a try. More detailed review, please read Batam's Day 1 blog post.
Do note that the basic fare of $38 + $10 / pax is not inclusive of taxes and tipping. $20 ferry tax payable upon collecting of departure tickets.$7 ferry tax payable for return ferry ticket to Singapore from Batam, to be handed over to your tour guide upon reaching sekupang ferry terminal. And lastly, a $2 tour guide and driver tipping fee to be handed in on Day 1 during the end of the city tour ( bus trip to Hotel ).
Our tour group mostly consisted of families ( 3 Generations ). All in all, Batam is more suited for younger people since most of the city shopping brings you to factory outlet stores that sell branded fashionable items ( counterfeit/genuine ), and apparently the elderly in my tour group rested at the couch provided at each station.
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