Dear all bros, being a newbie in the Batam scene,i now consolidate my newbie's trail to Batam as a record & basic information for the future of other Batam newbies who wish to cheong this place solo/in group :
If you wish to cheong Batam,cannot find a buddy or guide to bring/guide you,fret not...i was inspired by all the helpful bros here and below is my experience and you should not have any problem if you could follow them thru step by step.
READ THE BELOW PLAN 1ST :
1. Change your Sin $. S$300 is sufficient for a 2D1N trip there.Change only $250,and keep S$50 as spare. S$300 exclude ferry price which will be another S$48.00. (it is safer to have this amt of money for 1st timer,later trip will cost you less or once you know what REALLY need to spend on)
2. Book a hotel from agoda.com or booking.com ,i suggest for 1st timer to book online as you are 99% guaranteed to get a room this way. The 2 suggested site is more reliable for hotel booking as i have tried them personally.
3. Book Formosa Hotel. Reason,becos it is a newbie hotel and it is near to the cheonging place & girl booking joint. The hotel will cost you about S$60 to S$70 for a night. This cost is included inside the S$250 i ask you to change in step no.1 and you only pay upon checking out. The hotel will ask to safe keep your Singapore Passport for you,and again fret not,its safe enough till you check out.
4. Book a ferry (to & fro Singapore) at Prima Ferries,
http://primaferries.com/
Check your desire timing you wish to go/reach Batam and book from there on. Remember that Indonesia Time and Singapore Time has one hour difference/apart,which will also means if you book a ferry to go to Batam at 2pm Singapore time,you will reach Batam at about 2pm indo time.
5. Have a passport that has at least 6 month validity.
Now,once the above 5 steps are done,you are ready to go. Below will be steps to help you Navigate Batam :
Do note here that as a newbie myself,i do not speak a single word of Bahasa Indonesia or Malay. I am a Chinese.
1. Go to any MRT station in Singapore,make a trip to Harbour Front MRT station,head to :
1 Maritime Square #03-47,
Harbourfront Centre,
Singapore 099253
Tel: +65 6276 6711
Fax: +65 6276 6551
Make sure you reach there an hour before the time you book the ferry to collect your boarding pass. Check in for ferry ride is half an hour before the stated time.