Singapore Ferry Guide: Terminals, Batam, Bintan and Johor Crossings

Singapore's regional ferries do not all leave from one place, and our Singapore ferry hub lists the crossings to Batam, Bintan and Karimun. This guide helps you work out which terminal your ticket means, how to reach it, and what the terminal operator and the ferry companies say about check-in, baggage and entry. Singapore Cruise Centre Private Limited says on its own site that it manages and operates three ferry terminals and one international cruise terminal in Singapore, and its home page lists ferry times of 60 minutes to Batam, 70 to Bintan, 100 to Karimun and 90 to Johor.

Everything below was read on 30 October 2026. Singapore Cruise Centre is a terminal-operating company, not a government agency, and Sindo Ferry, Majestic Fast Ferry, Horizon Fast Ferry and BatamFast are ferry companies speaking about their own services. Entry rules are quoted only from the government pages we could open: Singapore's Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Indonesian immigration site. Malaysia's immigration site (imi.gov.my) did not load, so we state nothing about Malaysian entry rules.

1. Which terminal does your ticket mean?

Singapore Cruise Centre lists three terminals: HarbourFront, Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal for ferries to Indonesia and Malaysia, and Pasir Panjang, which it describes as serving offshore industrial islands. Its pages say the HarbourFront Passenger Terminal has relocated, with a last day of 14 July 2026, and describe a new Singapore Cruise Centre (HarbourFront) terminal as an international cruise and regional ferry terminal. Majestic Fast Ferry published a news item on 23 June 2026 titled "New Terminal Relocation Effective 15 July 2026" (the page gives only the title and date), and now gives its address as Singapore Cruise Centre Harbourfront.

The sources do not line up everywhere. Singapore Cruise Centre's older HarbourFront access page and Sindo Ferry's pages still use the label HarbourFront Terminal with the address 5 HarbourFront Avenue, while the new terminal page tells you to reach "the new terminal" through the Harbourfront Tower One lobby. We therefore cannot tell you which door a particular booking uses: read the terminal and counter on your ticket, and ask the ferry company if it is not stated. BatamFast's booking page lists both HarbourFront and Tanah Merah sectors, and Sindo lists both terminals; the terminal operator's Tanah Merah page names BatamFast and Sindo Ferry among its services.

2. Getting to the terminal

For HarbourFront, the terminal operator's older access page says the North East Line or Circle Line goes to HarbourFront MRT station, 15 minutes from the city and 40 to 50 minutes from Changi Airport, and gives taxi times of 10 to 15 minutes from the city and 25 to 30 minutes from Changi Airport. Its page for the new terminal says to alight at Harbourfront Bus Interchange, cross the bridge into Harbourfront Tower One and walk to the end of the lobby, that taxis and private hire cars use a drive-through drop-off, and that parking is limited, so public transport is encouraged.

For Tanah Merah, the operator says to alight at Bedok or Tanah Merah MRT station and take SBS bus 35 to the terminal, and gives taxi times of 20 to 30 minutes from the city and 10 to 15 minutes from Changi Airport, noting that surcharges may apply. We found no source we could open for transfers from a particular cruise berth, so we give none; ask your cruise line which terminal your ship uses. For a day in the city before sailing, see our Singapore pre-cruise day guide; for flights, our flights index.

3. Routes, times and operators as the sources list them

These are the terminal operator's destination figures, not timetable times; the pages do not say which pier or terminal each figure covers. Sindo's schedule page lists, for example, 12 departures from HarbourFront to Batam Center and 5 from Tanah Merah, but it prints the day-type in colour codes (weekdays, weekends and public holidays, selected days, interlining partners) that the text we could read did not carry, so we quote no clock times. The page also says schedules may change without prior notice, and Majestic's home page advertises a new timing effective from 15 May 2026.

Sindo prints its schedules in Singapore time (GMT 8) for departures from Singapore and in WIB (GMT 7) for departures from Batam, which is one hour behind Singapore. Check which clock a time is printed in before you plan a connection.

4. Check-in, baggage and a safe margin

The terminal operator's departure guide says baggage check-in opens 60 minutes before departure and closes 20 minutes before, and the security gate opens 45 minutes before and closes 15 minutes before. Sindo's baggage page says baggage must be checked in at least 45 minutes before departure and that its counter closes 30 minutes before. The two pages disagree on the closing time, so use the earlier one.

Allowances on both pages: hand-carried items up to 10 kg and 55 x 40 x 20 cm; 20 kg of free checked baggage per boarding pass, not transferable, with excess charged per kilogram; and 30 kg as the maximum for one checked item. The terminal page says its self-service bag drop accepts bags up to 20 kg and sends heavier bags to the manual counters, and that self-check-in is for travellers from certain eligible countries with 0 or 1 bag.

5. Entry rules: government pages only

For the way back into Singapore, ICA says all travellers must submit the SG Arrival Card with Electronic Health Declaration before arriving, with exceptions such as travellers transiting without clearing immigration. It says to submit within 3 days including the day of arrival, that submission is free, and that ICA does not endorse commercial entities that charge a fee. ICA also offers an entry requirements checker and says its guidance is general and that entry is subject to its decision at the point of entry.

For Indonesia, we could not read the Directorate General of Immigration's site for this guide (it refused our check), so we quote no rule; check your passport against that official site before you plan a day on Batam, Bintan or Karimun. Singapore Cruise Centre's own immigration page points to the Indonesian and Malaysian immigration sites, and Sindo's page says it is the passenger's responsibility to hold valid documents and that passengers can be refused entry.

6. Comfort, accessibility and cautions

The new terminal's amenities list names self-service check-in, self-service bag drops, odd-size baggage check-in, a nursing room, a prayer room, an adult changing room, public toilets, food outlets and a car park. It does not describe lifts, ramps, seating or assistance for passengers who walk slowly, and we found no ferry-company page that does, so we make no accessibility claim. Ask the ferry company in writing about boarding steps, assistance and baggage help, and ask the terminal operator which route to the counter has no stairs.

The terminal operator's schedule page offers live arrival and departure updates, and Sindo's page says schedules may change without notice. We did not read or quote any sea forecast; check conditions and operator notices on the day. A ferry ticket and a cruise ticket are separate contracts, so see our guides on why separate tickets need a buffer and the all-aboard worksheet.