Tanjung Uban Ferry Port: Bintan Crossings and Access
Tanjung Uban ferry port: the Bintan crossing to Batam
Tanjung Uban ferry port is on the north-western side of Bintan, in Bintan Utara, Bintan Regency, Riau Islands province. It is a domestic crossing point to Telaga Punggur on Batam. The key practical distinction is that Tanjung Uban has separate departures for vehicle-carrying Ro-Ro ferries and passenger speedboats: identify which pier your service uses before setting off. The crossing is useful for moving between Bintan and Batam, but it is not the international ferry gateway for Bintan’s northern resort coast.
Two crossings leave from different piers
When people say “Tanjung Uban port”, they may mean the Ro-Ro ferry terminal or the passenger boat pier at Bulang Linggi. Both serve the Batam connection, but they are not interchangeable check-in points. The Ro-Ro crossing links Tanjung Uban with Telaga Punggur and carries vehicles as well as passengers. The speedboat service from Bulang Linggi is for passengers travelling without a vehicle. If a driver is taking a car across, the Ro-Ro terminal is the relevant departure. If you are travelling on foot and have been told to use the speedboat, go to Bulang Linggi instead.
Make the pier name part of your route plan, not a detail to resolve after arriving in town. A car journey to the wrong terminal can cost the margin you had allowed for boarding. In a group, send the exact pier name to the person arranging the drop-off and to anyone travelling separately. The distinction also matters when asking for directions: “the ferry to Batam” can refer to either service, while “Ro-Ro” and “Bulang Linggi passenger boat” identify the type of crossing more clearly.
Ro-Ro means roll-on/roll-off. Vehicles drive onto the vessel and off again at the other end, so the terminal handles a mixed flow of people, cars, motorbikes and freight vehicles. A walk-on passenger uses the same vehicle ferry service but does not bring a vehicle aboard. The speedboat pier is a passenger-only alternative and has a different boarding setting. These differences affect where you wait, how you approach the vessel and what onward transport you need after landing.
Where it sits on Bintan
Tanjung Uban is a town on Bintan’s north-west coast, facing Batam across the water. Administratively, the port is in Bintan Regency; the Riau Islands are a province, not a single island. The larger island and regency share the name Bintan, while Tanjungpinang is a separate city on the island and the provincial capital. These distinctions help when a map, ticket or driver uses a place name without explaining whether it refers to an island, municipality or individual terminal.
The port is a working transport gateway rather than a resort arrival beach. A passenger arriving here has reached Bintan by a domestic island crossing, not the international route from Singapore to the north-coast resort area. That makes Tanjung Uban particularly relevant for a trip linking Batam and Bintan, or for a traveller already on Bintan who needs to reach Batam. It is less convenient if your first objective is to arrive directly beside a northern resort stay: that is a different ferry arrival and a different part of the island.
For island context, the Riau Islands guide explains the wider archipelago, while the Bintan Island guide compares the island’s distinct areas. Tanjung Uban is on the north-west side; Tanjungpinang lies towards the south-west, and the Trikora coast is on the east. The port should therefore be read as one gateway within a large island, rather than as a central stop from which every Bintan destination is immediately close.
Which service fits your journey
Choose the Ro-Ro crossing if a car or motorbike needs to travel with you, or if your itinerary depends on keeping your own vehicle on both islands. It is also the vehicle ferry option for people travelling on foot. Its operational character is shaped by vehicle loading: passengers share a service built around cars and other vehicles boarding and leaving by ramp. Allow for the fact that vehicle queues and loading order can shape the sequence at the terminal; a passenger-only speedboat pier does not handle that same traffic.
Choose the Bulang Linggi passenger speedboat when you are travelling as a foot passenger and the service you have arranged departs there. This avoids taking a vehicle across, but it also means you must make a separate onward-transport plan after reaching Telaga Punggur. A speedboat crossing is not a continuation of a car journey, and you cannot assume that a vehicle will be waiting on the Batam side unless you have arranged it. Travellers with bulky luggage, mobility needs or several children should think through the boarding and transfer sequence for the specific service rather than treating “ferry” as one uniform experience.
The route across the water is Tanjung Uban–Telaga Punggur. Telaga Punggur is on Batam’s eastern side, so reaching a hotel, city district or airport after landing involves another journey across Batam. If your final destination lies elsewhere on Batam, compare the time and transfer effort after the boat with the crossing itself. A short water leg does not mean that the complete trip ends at the terminal.
For Batam’s different arrival points and geography, see the Batam island guide. Telaga Punggur is a domestic ferry harbour; it is not the same place as Batam’s international passenger terminals. If your onward plan involves an international ferry, confirm which Batam port serves that leg before choosing transport from Telaga Punggur. The port name alone does not tell you whether the next journey is across the island or out of Indonesia.
Getting to Tanjung Uban from elsewhere on Bintan
From Tanjungpinang, reaching Tanjung Uban is a road transfer across Bintan, not a short walk between two adjacent town centres. Set aside a meaningful overland leg and choose a departure margin that accounts for the road journey as well as the port process. The town and port are on Bintan’s north-west side; Tanjungpinang is farther south. A route planner may show a simple line, but the decision that matters is whether your chosen ground transport can get you to the correct pier before its boarding process begins.
If you are staying around Lagoi in northern Bintan, Tanjung Uban is geographically more relevant than Tanjungpinang, but it remains a separate transfer. Do not confuse the Ro-Ro crossing with the direct international service used by the resort area. If your trip begins in Singapore and ends in Lagoi, arriving at the northern ferry terminal may avoid travelling south-west to Tanjung Uban and then back north. Conversely, if you are travelling from Batam by the Telaga Punggur route, Tanjung Uban can be a practical point of arrival before continuing to a Bintan destination.
Travellers already near Tanjung Uban should still check which pier is written on their departure details. The town’s shared name is not enough to distinguish a vehicle ferry terminal from Bulang Linggi. Build the local transfer around the named pier and share that destination with whoever is driving. Where the last part of the route is unfamiliar, allow room to identify the entrance and passenger area instead of assuming that the terminal is visible from the main road.
For the south-western town itself, the Tanjungpinang guide covers its harbour and city setting. It is useful for deciding whether to stay in the provincial capital or travel onward to Bintan’s north-west coast. The port at Tanjung Uban is not a substitute for Tanjungpinang’s urban ferry harbour: each serves a different location and set of connections.
What to expect at the terminal
Think of the Ro-Ro terminal as a vehicle-and-passenger sequence. You approach the port, enter the terminal area, complete the relevant departure process and wait until boarding is called or directed. If travelling with a vehicle, the vehicle lane and passenger movement are tied to loading. Keep travel documents and your booking details accessible, and follow the instructions for your particular service. Do not walk into a vehicle queue to ask for a passenger waiting area; use the passenger directions given at the entrance or by terminal staff.
A foot passenger on a vehicle ferry should be ready for a different boarding rhythm from a speedboat. Vehicles must be positioned and loaded, and the order of movement can depend on the vessel’s operation. Stay with the passenger flow and do not try to cross the vehicle ramp independently. A person travelling with luggage should keep it manageable enough to move through the terminal and aboard without blocking other people’s passage. These are practical consequences of sharing a crossing with vehicles, not a promise about the current layout of the terminal.
For Bulang Linggi, the central task is to reach the passenger pier itself and board the correct boat. Keep your group together while moving from the drop-off point to the departure area. If one person is handling the tickets or coordinating the group, agree on a meeting point before separating to ask questions. A separate pier can be easy to miss when directions only say “Tanjung Uban”, so confirm the exact departure point before leaving your accommodation or the town centre.
Do not build a tight same-day connection around an assumed crossing time or an old timetable. Ferry operations can change, and boarding time is not identical to time spent on the water. This is especially relevant when a flight, another ferry or a long road transfer follows. Keep enough flexibility for the terminal-to-terminal process and for the onward trip from Telaga Punggur. If your arrival in Batam is time-sensitive, choose a later connection or an overnight buffer rather than relying on a timetable you have not checked on the day.
Port development and what it means for travellers
In June 2026, construction of a second Ro-Ro berth and an upgrade to the first berth were formally launched at Tanjung Uban. The plan is for the new berth to take vessels up to 1,000 gross tonnage and the upgraded first berth up to 2,000 gross tonnage. This is relevant because the port’s role includes both passenger movement and vehicle and goods traffic. A second berth is intended to add capacity to a busy crossing, but the launch does not mean construction is complete or that a new facility is open to passengers.
For a traveller, the sensible approach is to treat the port as an active transport site whose arrangements may evolve. Do not select a pier, expect a particular waiting area or promise yourself a shorter queue based on a construction plan. The service you have booked and the instructions you receive for the travel date determine where to go. The enduring point is the port’s function: it is a significant domestic connection between Bintan and Batam, with a vehicle ferry operation that also moves people and goods.
The crossing therefore serves more than holiday transfers. Bintan and Batam are separate islands within the same province, and the ferry provides a way for residents, visitors and vehicles to move between them. The combination of foot passengers, private vehicles and freight explains why its landside activity may feel more like a transport terminal than a small scenic jetty. Set expectations accordingly: the port is a useful link in a multi-part journey, rather than an attraction whose main purpose is to provide a waterfront visit.
Common questions about Tanjung Uban ferry port
Does the ferry from Tanjung Uban go to Tanjungpinang?
The Ro-Ro crossing discussed here connects Tanjung Uban with Telaga Punggur on Batam. Tanjungpinang is another town on Bintan, reached by road from Tanjung Uban; it is not the destination on the Batam crossing.
Can I take a car across?
The Ro-Ro service carries vehicles and passengers between Tanjung Uban and Telaga Punggur. A passenger speedboat from Bulang Linggi is for people, so a traveller taking a vehicle should use the correct Ro-Ro terminal and confirm the travel arrangements for that vehicle.
Are the speedboat and Ro-Ro terminals the same place?
No. The passenger speedboat service is associated with Bulang Linggi, while the vehicle ferry uses the Ro-Ro port. Confirm the exact pier before travelling to the waterfront.
Is Tanjung Uban the ferry port for Singapore?
Tanjung Uban is the domestic crossing point for the route to Batam. It is not the direct international ferry arrival used by Bintan’s northern resort area. Match your arrival port to the part of Bintan you intend to visit.
How far is it from Tanjungpinang?
It is an overland trip from the south-western city to Bintan’s north-west coast. Allow for a separate road transfer and use the correct terminal name when arranging it; the driving time depends on the route and conditions.
See also: Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport at a glance, harbour bay ferry terminal, Where Sekupang sits on Batam, bintan regency.