Ferries from Tanah Merah

For Bintan you have two choices. Bintan Resort Ferries sails to Bandar Bentan Telani, the terminal for the Bintan Resorts area, in about 70 minutes. Majestic and Sindo sail to Tanjung Pinang, Bintan's main town, in about two hours. See Tanah Merah - Bandar Bentan Telani and Tanah Merah - Tanjung Pinang.

For Batam, Batam Fast, Majestic and Sindo sail to Batam Centre in about an hour, and Batam Fast to Nongsapura in about 50 minutes: Tanah Merah - Batam Centre and Tanah Merah - Nongsapura.

Batam Fast also crosses to Malaysia: to Desaru Coast in about 90 minutes, from Thursday to Monday, and to Tanjung Pengelih on Saturdays and Sundays. See Tanah Merah - Desaru Coast and Tanah Merah - Tanjung Pengelih.

Getting to Tanah Merah

• MRT and bus: take the MRT to Bedok or Tanah Merah station and change to SBS bus 35 towards Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.
• Taxi: 20 to 30 minutes from the city centre and 10 to 15 minutes from Changi Airport, which makes Tanah Merah the easier terminal if you come straight from a flight.

Check-in and security

Tanah Merah has self-service check-in kiosks, and ticket counters on the terminal concourse. The terminal opens baggage drop 60 minutes and the security gate 45 minutes before departure; baggage drop closes 20 minutes and security 15 minutes before. The operators close check-in earlier: Batam Fast, Majestic and Sindo 30 minutes before departure, Bintan Resort Ferries 40 minutes. Bintan Resort Ferries recommends arriving 90 minutes ahead. Have your passport and boarding pass ready for security and Singapore's departure immigration.

Luggage

The terminal rule applies to every operator: one piece of hand luggage of up to 10 kg and 55 x 40 x 20 cm, and 20 kg of checked baggage per boarding pass, with no single piece over 30 kg. Excess baggage and bulky items are charged. Bintan Resort Ferries allows 30 kg in Emerald Class.

In the terminal

The terminal has a CIP lounge, a 7-Eleven, money exchange and duty-free shops in the departure and arrival halls.

Coming back

The return sailings from Bintan, Batam and Johor arrive at Tanah Merah, where you clear Singapore immigration. Visitors submit the SG Arrival Card before they arrive, also when they come by sea. Bintan is one hour behind Singapore, so read the return times from Bintan in local time.