Bring A&W back to Singapore!
Batam is an island in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. It is located approximately 20km off Singapore, with the ferry journey from Singapore to Batam taking around 45 minutes – the perfect weekend getaway near Singapore.
It is a shame that Batam has been known as the place where dirty old men go in search of sex. To me, Batam is a nice place where you can enjoy fun water sports, fresh seafood, cheap shopping and affordable spa & massages.
Here’s a list of things to do in Batam for a short weekend getaway:
Eat + Shopping + Massage
A&W Fast Food Restaurant
Ever since A&W pulled out from Singapore many years ago, the one in Batam is the nearest option for Singaporeans to satisfy their craving for A&W root beer float, curly fries and ice cream waffle. I love A&W!
Shopping in Nagoya Hill Mall
From what I understand, Nagoya Hill is the biggest shopping mall on the island. You can buy the popular kueh lapis (layer cakes); eat ayam penyet (crispy fried chicken) at Nagoya Hill’s food street; buy Indomie Mi goreng from the hypermarket; and shop around for bargains in the mall.
Cheap Massage in Batam
I highly recommend Isabella Massage House at Nagoya Hills. From the traditional Balinese massage (170,000 rupiah/SGD$25 for 2 hours) to the popular Thai Massage, there are different massage therapies to choose from.
The massage parlour provides free transportation to-and-fro (for the whole day), and I love the fact that they reply email enquiries ([email protected]) very promptly.
Cheap and good seafood in Batam
Golden Prawn Seafood Restaurant and Harbour Bay Seafood Restaurant are the names that most people mention when you ask them to recommend the best seafood restaurant in Batam.
After massage, we had a seafood feast at Harbour Bay, a stretch of seafood restaurants by the waterfront promenade.
I got a little greedy and over-ordered. Between the three of us, we had mantis prawns, salted egg yolk crabs, black pepper crabs, hotplate tofu, deep-fried spring chicken, chilli stir-fried mussels, and sambal kangkong. Cheap and good seafood. What more can we ask for?
Batam Beach Resort & Water Sports
And of course, you can choose a nice beach resort if you are staying overnight. Water sports facilities can mainly be found on resorts throughout Batam.
What’s there not to like about Batam? It is the ideal place for a short weekend getaway from Singapore.
OMG the massage is so cheap!!
F&E or tour? if tour which agency? =)
ashley: Free and easy. Batam is very easy to travel around, you don’t need agency
Wow. Looks like Batam is not as sleazy as I thought.
Definitely a convenient and cheap weekend getaway.
hi,
can i check if they accept sin dollars in the mall itself ?
Does the isabelle shop help to book ferry tickets too?
Thanks
kary: most of the shops accept sin dollars. But you can always change to Rupiah at the money changer there. No, isabella does not help to book ferry tickets, you can call Batam Fast at Harbourfront Ferry Terminal to reserve tickets.
i think ur photos makes the Nagoya Hill Mall better than it should be like. haha
How did you get to Harbour Bay Seafood Restaurant?
cordelia: the massage house provided transport there, and they sent us from the seafood place back to the harbour. I guess you can always get a cab too?
Yeah i agree with some of the guys above..your pic of the mall makes it look WAYY too good lol…Another place which had good A & W was in Malacca…damn i sure miss that place!..Casa Del Rio hotel was alil pricey but SOOOO worth it..
wonder why they named golden prawn as one of the more popular ones there, the food there isn’t even near good. :-S had a really really bad experience in Batam, obviously. haha
Hi,
I like to ask where is A&W located at Batam? How to get there?
Thanks
valerie: the A&W that I went to is at Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. You can get a cab there?
Hi, may i know if u have any recommendations for stay there? and roughly what is the minimum budget should i have for a visit? Roughly how much did u spend there?
Sorry for asking so much coz i am planning a trip there with my gfs
Linting: I went for a one day trip, we didn’t stay overnight. The hotels there are quite affordable. For ferry ride, it’s SGD$40 for two way.
Hi there! Could like to ask what time did you went to Habour Bay for seafood? Do you know if they open in the afternoon? Thank u!
@S From what I heard, they only open in the evening 6pm? But I was there around 5pm and they were ready for business.
Hi hi.. i am planning a batam trip this march! Heard about the dirty uncle thing also but wanted a short get away with my friends! Just want to ask u.. are there nice sceneries we can look forward to? Nice resorts? Perhaps??
@xueqi I think Batam is a nice place if you want a short getaway for 2D1N. Cheap seafood and massage. By the way, beach resorts are further away from the town area.
Hi there! Just wanted to let you know that I love reading your recommendations! Anyways, I’m actually heading over to Batam with a couple of friends, and we’ve arranged to stay at the Nongsa Point resort? Don’t know if you’ve got any recommendations for food or recreation near the area?
hihi, wanna know about safety do u think if it is safe to travel alone in Batam? Im planning to go
@flo I think it’s relatively safe to travel in Batam. Of course, you have to make sure you take the necessary precautions whenever you travel alone like don’t carry too much visible valuables, and try to be a little low-profile. Should be fine, have fun!
Went to batam last week. Stayed at HarmoniOne hotel, a very nice hotel at affordable price. The hotel is quite new, less than a year I think. It’s located at Batam Centre
For massage, I went to GO! Massage. The place is really cozy and clean. The whole experience is wonderful. I did aromatherapy + scrub (Rp250.000) for 2 hours. It’s really cheap and feel so fresh after that. It’s located in front of Panorama hotel. Must try!!!
Hi, how much was the seafood feast you had? Do they accept cards? or only purely cash?
@Annie I can’t remember the exact amount, but it was very cheap. Like $20-30/pax for a lot of food? We paid by cash, didn’t check if they accept cards, though.
Hello, which resort did you stay at?
Hi, if i intend to go on a 1 day trip, roughly what time shld I set off? What time ferry is better?
Wanna go for massage, abit of shopping n seafood. Roughly how much cash is sufficient? Nv been there before.
For the transportation by Isabella Massage, is it like free to anywhere? Cause u mention they sent u back to harbour after seafood? So can I arrange for them to pickup from pier to nagoya hill for shop+massage then to seafood at night n back to pier?
Thanks!
totally NOT recomended for occidental tourists… you cant go out on yur own
full of people thinking you are here for charity
hey. i wanna know how much i should bring to Batam and i wanna know if the items there are cheap. thanks!
Juz got home from Batam, spent less than $200/person (including a SPA package at SPA Secret) can basically eat all you go for! Really worth going and will definitely go again for the places mentioned by LadyIronChef. Also I recommend Manzu cuz for $8, their massage is really good!
i rather visit Seruni Massage at Hotel Seruni. it’s near from nagoya hill mall and it’s quite cheap, Rp 125,000 for 1 hour of combination massage and Rp 170,000 for 1,5 hours of aroma therapy massage.you can call them at (0778) 458333 ext 120 or their mobile phone at
+6282169120005 or email them at [email protected]
Hi,
Went Batam the previous time, when coming back to Sin, while waiting to check in, i saw a group holding alot of boxes of Kueh Lapis, was wondering where can i buy it? since i’m planning to go Batam again coming August.
Was in Batam over the weekend for the first time. Things are definitely much more expensive than I’ve read. Stuff sold in Nagoya Mall may be cheaper but quality is poor. The place is full of stalls trying to cheat your money. Taxi ride is exorbitantly priced and its standard price leaving from the mall. No way to negotiate. Decent massage places are charging as much as Singapore. Ayam Penyet RIA’s prices kept going up and servings size is pathetic. I’d rather visit them at Lucky Plaza. The saving grace is Harbour Bay Seafood. However, we still spent $150 for 4 adults and 4 young children. Crab is >$45 a kg. Hence, if you can, avoid going to Batam for vacation. Foreigners are treated simply as milking machines.
I feel sorry for people that get milk out when visit Batam. I was growing up here when I was a kid and Batam just still empty. Now I am back living here and I got the same problem like you tourist too. I will suggest you some tips when visit Batam : call silver cab or blue bird when you need taxy as they are metered taxy so you know its normal price and you don’t get scam or ripped out with so many black unregister taxy. For regular message I used to go to genko which is clean and cheap only Rp.80.000 rupiah for 1,5 hour, for message and spa ; spa secret beside the hills or kampung spa at batam center, for seafood…i love sinar bulan batu besar that I knew for such a long time..cheap and delicious! Goldgen prawn just known cause its big but the taste is nothing! 4 people with crabs and scallopn still hungry, already 1 million rupiah? Come on! I spend half of it with full menu as crabs, calamari, prawn and scallop and we can’t even finish the food at sinar bulan.hotel? Sentosa its nice and cheap but you need to book it since tuesday and wednesday since it is cheap and clean! Mercure have the nicest banquette and if you like ayam penyet or duck penyet, kuali oma is recomended! I’m making a show top 5 in batam, so if its finish I hope traveler can check it out and find what is normal and right in Batam from tv cabel at your hotel. Well..the island isn’t the same anymore since many outsider with low education and manner move and make a living in here. But you wish all luck
I am going batam next week and I am hearing gd & bad comments. Can I have some suggestions?
As a local people here and work as tour guide and private driver, I also think that Batam is not cheap even for some Singaporean, but in general I could said that all the items here is at least half price of the same items that you spend in Singapore either for massage, seafood, or accommodation except for transport probably.
Hey! Can I ask which hotel would you recommend to stay? Is it best to book packages online?
Thanks!
Actually now it’s even a better time to visit Batam and go for shopping, eating, relaxing etc. The exchange rate is SGD$1 to Rp8890. One of the highest, I remember the last time I went, was only around Rp6500!!!! Wow!
Went batam the other time . It was a pleasant experience!
had massage at Mustika Ratu salon and spa and the staffs were definitely friendly. Their massage was great and i really refreshed myself. And it was definitely cheap too.! They actually have 3 other outlets called Tiara Mustika Salon and Spa. Mustika Ratu has an exquisite ambience because it actually followed some palace atmosphere with white and gold color as their main color. It gives me the high class feeling with a low price and affordable service. Definitely going back there 
Does anyone know the opening hours of the seafood restaurant? My friends and I are going there for a short trip and we would like to eat at Golden prawn!
The exchange has just made it more attractive to be S$1 to Rp10,000.
Anyone tried the I Hotel? I heard very good review about it. I am going to book soon but from photos, it just looks like any other hotel.
Thanks.
How much at least should we spend on shopping… Would like to hear reply soon…
Thx…
You can try a newly opened hotel in Nagoya Hill. Sakura hotel is just a stone’s throw away from the shopping mall. Stayed in Hokkaido room & managed to squeeze in 4 persons. clean place, friendly staffs, free transportation as well. Going back for their spa again this CNY!
Now at jan 2014 the massage at Isabella SPA is sell at 600.000 rp for two hours
We’ve been to Batam a couple of times but only for a whole day. Next week we are booked for an overnight stay at Swiss-belhotel Harbour Bay. Any feedback on this hotel? Also, it’ll be my second time to visit The Spa Secret. Last time I only took their massage service. This time we’ll try their massage + gelish polish + classic mani + facial. Can’t wait to be pampered! Anyone knows approximately how much it will cost us to take a cab from Batam ferry center to Nagoya Hills?
Hi coming tis Thursday 17 want planing to batam trip may I knw must book ticket advance ? Hw to book ? &which hotel &food massages is better ?
May I know about the rates for the tipping? i.e masseur. Thank you very much!
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Went Batam a few times. Taxis are definately fixed to leech tourists from cheapest $7sgd to 12$ sgd (considering a $130k car cost $6-10k in Batam!! volksvagen 30k) and golden prawn can match world’s most expensive city (ie SINGAPORE) in price, then there’s something very wrong! the taste is… very average. Tourist trap. And i speak fluent Malay otherwise pamper yourself with cheap shopping (do not go to the hypermart beside Batam Center, its price is X2-3 more made to leech on tourist) in Nagoya etc where beers are $0.70-1.30 and so on.
Hi just want to ask of there is any cheap water sports activities package and any resort or hotel with good gym facilities?