Fun in the sun in Bintan

 

Short but sweet getaway to Bintan (Where to go and what to do)

I went to Indonesia particularly to the island of Bintan as part of my training for my new job. I am not that excited about the trip because my colleagues told me that the place is so secluded and boring. For the first few days on the island, I was totally bored - no nightlife, no places to go, no malls and there are very few places to eat. Imagine being stuck in your capsule (a cute little room where I stay) without any activity as if you are a prisoner? Boring, right?!

Thanks to one of my co-Filipino workmates who invited me to join them to wander around Bintan, I was able to discover some exciting places to visit. From boredom in my capsule home, I ended up enjoying the whole Bintan trip.

We are a group of five and decided to rent a car for 500,000 Indonesian rupiah (37 USD/1,850 PHP) all-in for a 1–day tour. We went out at 9:00 in the morning to buy some foods to eat and started our unplanned trip.

Here is the list of where we went and what we did:

Gurun Pasir

Our first stop was Gurun Pasir. The place left us in awe. We never expected to find a Dubai-like scenery in the tropical island like Bintan heavily surrounded by rainforests.

Actually, Gurun Pasir was once a quarry for sand mining but after years of disuse, it somehow transformed into picturesque sand dunes. Instagrammers will surely love this place. Another thing you will love at Gurun Pasir is the clear turquoise blue water surrounding it.

What to do? Take lots of pictures! Like I said, the place is Instagram-worthy and what’s better is entrance is free, so you can enjoy the place as long as you want. There are also other things to do there like archery which costs 10,000 rupiah for 10 arrows (less than 1 USD/ 50 PHP). There are also food stalls near the place in case you get tired of archery, posing for Instagram, or just from admiring the charming landscape.

Plaza Lagoi

Our next stop was Lagoi where Plaza Lagoi is located. It’s a modern-looking shopping center but with rustic Indonesian touches. The place is brimming with restaurants, food parks, spa, tourism center, souvenir shops and many more to please your senses.

If you love the beach, you will definitely enjoy the white sand beach of Lagoi Bay. They offer lots of water activities for you to try, though we haven’t tried any because the weather wasn’t convenient for the activities so we just decided to take some photos.

You can also have a side trip to Lagoi lake and have some pictures. The place is Instagram-worthy, too. But I think the best place to visit Lagoi is at nighttime (unless you’re going to the beach) to enjoy and appreciate their lantern park. Like in Gurun Pasir, there is no entrance fee in Lagoi.

Treasure Bay

Unlike the other places we visited, Treasure Bay has an entrance fee of 100,000 Rupiah, but I am telling you, the money’s all worth it. With the fee, you get to enjoy a whole-day pass to the resort facilities such as the Crystal Lagoon and complimentary activities like Bossa Ball, Beach Volley Ball and Beach Soccer. You also get to have an unlimited ride on slip and slide.

Treasure Bay houses the Crystal Lagoon, the first and largest man-made saltwater lagoon in Southeast Asia. There are a lot of water activities to enjoy. They have kayak, jetovator, water sports park, Zorb, water tricycle, sea scooter, and a lot more water activities that will leave you splashing around.

We stayed at the resort for almost 4 hours and enjoyed every bit of place by playing and swimming. We also rented a paddle boat and swan pool float for 175,000 rupiah. We were completely lost in all the fun activities that we forgot we have stayed under the burning sun for so long. Only after then we decided take a break & sip on some refreshments while we take some shade under the trees.

Treasure Bay also offers glamping although we haven’t got the time to try it.

I went back to my capsule with lots of memories to treasure from the unexpectedly fun Bintan getaway. There are more activities & places to check out with so little time so we agreed to revisit the place (hopefully).