Travel Tips in Batam

GETTING AROUND
The main modes of travel are taxis (“official” and “unofficial”), ojeks (motor cycle taxis which you can hire to take you to your destination as a pillion passenger), privately operated mini-buses and walking. There are no becaks or bemos, so common in some Indonesian towns and cities. If you are bold enough and maybe just a little crazy, there's also driving yourself! Step out your hotel door,..

BATAM WEATHER
Batam Island enjoys a tropical climate all year round with temperatures ranging from an average minimum of 25 degrees to an average maximum of 34 degrees Celsius (77 to 95 Fahrenheit). Humidity ranges from 73% to 96%. The annual average rainfall is 2,600 mm (about 105 inches) with the wet season extending from November to April/May and the dry season from June to October. The dry and wet season..

Shopping
Don’t expect to find such sophistication you may find in Singapore, though they are only some miles away. But Batam is duty free and the prices can be very cheap, a bit like Singapore and Hong Kong in the “good old days”. You may want to visit some of the shopping centers a little out of Nagoya like the malls at Batam Centre and Pambil (near Muka Kuning). Paintings, wood carvings, pottery, etchings..