Posted 26th July 2013

Boat: SV Aquarius     Flag: Australian   Crew: Gary and Libby Penney (both Australian)

After spending nearly 12 months at Nongsa Point Marina, we thought we would put together some information to maybe assist other cruising yachties to find some outlets on Batam for shopping, dining etc.  To provide some perspective, Nongsa Point Marina Resort is about 40-45 mins away by road from the main shopping areas on Batam.  We used several Malls for shopping:  Kepri Mall (the nearest) has Carrefore.  Nagoya Hill has a Hypermart and Matahari department store.  Batam  Centre has a Hypermart and Matahari.  DC Mall has a Hypermart.

Nongsa Point Marina Resort

Marina. The Nongsa marina is a modern, fully functional, floating marina.  All berths have water and electricity – we used water filters and found the water after filtration to be potable.  The approach has good depth at all tides and the channel to the marina is well marked with port and starboard channel markers – these are lit at night.  The marina can be called on VHF channel 72.  The marina is equipped with very clean, modern showers and toilets.  Security is good with the marina patrolled by security guards 24/7.  Marina staff are very friendly and welcoming.  The berth rates are very reasonable – especially given the close proximity to Singapore.  The marina has a fuel dock that provides both diesel and petrol.  The water cleanliness in the marina is very good.  However, occasionally some rubbish and oil from shipping will find its way into the marina.  In a North Easterly, a bit of surge does penetrate the marina.

CIPQ Inwards/Outwards Clearance.  The Marina Staff complete all inwards/outwards clearance for you ie Immigration, customs, port and quarantine.  Usually takes about an hour for inwards.  Outwards, the staff require that you give them 24 hrs notice of your departure.  All bills, eg bar, restaurant, marina berthing electricity and water are invoiced and payable at the lobby reception.  On final payment, you will be given your respective clearances papers.

Sunday Buffet.  Sundays the marina resort has a lunchtime buffet in the bar area. This is a favourite with local expats. The cost is SG $30/head and that is an all you can eat soup, mains and cheese platter with a glass of house red or beer thrown in for good measure.  The buffet is a great value with usual fare including soup of the day with crusty bread, roast beef, lamb, chicken, a fish dish, lots of veg and salads.  Starts 1200 sharp.

Marina Mini Mart. Expensive.  The manager can and will purchase top-ups for your Telkomsel or other sims.

Resort Bar.  Happy hour is 1700-1900.  Drinks are half price and this is the time some of the local expats front the bar – so friendships are born.  There is a pool table in the bar and this is a favourite with the expats.  All beers during happy hour are SG$3.00, Spirits SG$2.00, wine SG$5.00.

Pool. The resort boasts a nice swimming pool that is cleaned daily and well maintained.  All facilities at the Resort (including restaurant and bar) are open for use by marina berth holders.

Outside the Resort

Transport

Shuttle. Nongsa Marina provides a free shuttle to Batam Centre on Fridays (leaves 1300 returns 1630) Saturday (same hours as Friday) and Sunday  (departs 1000 and returns 1300.)A car/taxi can be hired by asking at the reception in the resort Lobby at Nongsa.  The car will cost 300,000Rp for a return trip to Nagoya,  Batam or elsewhere with a time limit of 4 hrs for the journey. Extra hours are 80,000/hr.

Singapore Ferry.  Batam Fast Ferry operates with good frequency from Nongsapura Ferry Terminal (near to Nongsa Point Marina) and terminates at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on the eastern end of Singapore near to Changi International Airport.  The resort provides a  free shuttle to/from the ferry for marina berth holders.  Pick up is from the Lobby usually 1 hour before the ferry departure times.  The resort lobby staff will book your ticket on the ferry of your choice and will advise you of the pickup times.  The first ferry departs Nongsapura at  0600hrs daily. The resort lobby has ferry timetables.  Cost.  An open return trip to Singapore is US$26.00.  Returning from Singapore however,  you will be required to pay SG$20.00 departure tax.  Luggage is free going to Singapore, returning from Singapore the first 20Kg is free with additional weight attracting an excess baggage fee.  On return to Nongsapura, incoming travellers are required to purchase a new visa (US $10 for 7 days, US$25.00 for 30 days although this is worked as being 28 days).  You can carry your own luggage or the local porters charge SG$1.00 per bag.

Shopping

Nagoya Hill Mall.  The vegetable quality varies by the day.  Chicken is usually fresh and also frozen chickens can be purchased.   Ace Hardware is located at the Mall and is a reasonable source of hardware.  Telkomsel has a customer service shop just outside the  Mall – where you can purchase SIM cards and top-ups

DC Mall.  Good for local and sometimes imported fruit and vegetables.

Batam Centre.  Again, the quality of the fruit and vegetables varies daily.  The Mall is also home to Starbucks, Black Canyon Coffee and JC  Coffee, Bread talk and Pizza Hut.

Kepri Mall Carrefore.  Fruit and vegetables usually not so good.  Big supermarket but somewhat light on for choices.

Gelael.  This is ‘upmarket outlet’ located at Nagoya and also Batam Centre (not at the Malls but close by).  This outlet supplies imported food products mainly from the USA and Europe.  They also have some frozen pork products.  Warning: expensive.

The Meat Shop.  The Meat Shop is located near Nagoya Hill Mall and has frozen and chilled cryovaced NZ and Australian beef products.   Eg beef ribeye and tenderloin fillets, prime mince, also frozen chicken etc.  They have a very limited range of cheese.  The manager name is Zen and speaks good English.  For large orders, it is best to call him and organise the order. Ph +6281270486234/+6281991028488.   The Meat Shop also has an upstairs bar and grill.

Boat Parts.  Toko Nikken in Nagoya is probably the best location for simple boat parts. The range is limited and the English not good.  We sourced most of our boat parts from either Marinetech (Jessie) or Aquamarine (Ron) in Singapore.  The staff at the marina have a pretty good idea of what is available and where it can be located. Apart from Clement (the Marina Manager), Mr Acok is the best of the marina staff for advice and assistance.  The marina office has a selection of business cards relating to local business companies/individuals.

Canvas Work.  Toko Robin is a good place to have awnings resewn etc. Robins is located in Nagoya.

Alcohol.  The local expats recommend purchasing wine and spirits from the shop at the Nongsapura ferry terminal.  We checked it out and the owners said they would give a good discount on large orders.  We purchased our wine from the alcohol shop in the Kepri Mall. The price was more expensive but the wine was of better quality.  Beer is best bought in the local village of Batu Besar.  There is a minimart that sells beer and a smaller mart on the same side of the road but 100-200 metres nearer to Nongsa Point.  The nearer one is cheaper.

Dining Out.  We did not spend a lot of night time away from Nongsa – mainly because of distance etc.  However, we can well recommend Retzeki Restaurant in the nearby village of Batu Besar to seafood lovers.  The food quality is fabulous mud crabs, prawns, bugs, fish etc, the service bright, friendly and fast and you can pay by credit card.  There is a smaller seafood restaurant that some local expats use located past the Nongsapura ferry terminal along the beach.  When we first arrived this was a favourite of ours. However, over time the prices rose and the quality and portion size dropped.  Both Batam Centre Mall and Nagoya Hill have reasonable lunchtime restaurants.  For additional spots to eat out, the expats at Nongsa Point have a wealth of collective knowledge.

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Posted 5th June 2010

Our departure clearance from Raffles Marina, Singapore, was delayed until midday, which meant we missed the tide, so an ebb current of 3 knots against us all the way, 7 knots through the water, 4 knots over land. ARRGH!

This had the knock-on effect of us arriving too late to book into Nongsa Marina. We dropped anchor just outside by Pulau Nongsa (Nongsa Island) and entered the Marina the following morning (2 June 2010).

There was no problem with this, as far as CQI clearance was concerned, and the Marina Authorities were happy too. Our “VOA” (visa on arrival) cost $25 (US) each, for 30 days. They are not extendable. I.e. you have to leave then return to extend your stay. Malaysia is the best place. Beware, if you overstay your welcome, it is $20 (US) each day, for each person!

As well as the “Q” flag, we had to fly the “N” flag, and our giant courtesy flag, some other Indonesian anomaly.

The Marina is very upmarket, but not excessively expensive, S$1.5 (£0.75) per foot per night, water and electricity on top. And they love Singaporean dollars! The nearest thing to hard currency for them. It has the usual facilities, small (expensive) mini market, showers, swimming pool, restaurant, bar and an 18 hole golf course!

There is no ATM, but (hard) currency can be changed by the reception. Exchange rates aren’t too good. We went into town, some 20 km away, by taxi and found a huge Mall with ATMs, supermarket etc. cost about £15 return though! The Imray Pilot book advertises the availability of a free taxi service into town, but it’s no longer in operation.

The ATMs will only give relatively small amounts of Indonesian Rupiah, and expect to carry a sack load of them! 1,000,000 (a million) is about £72! This was the maximum amount I could withdraw.

We plan to now cruise the Ruia & Lingga Islands.

Jerry & Caz Flint

SY Mandarina