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Access to Singkep
The ferries to Singkep depart from Tanjung Pinang (Bintan) and they used to go to Dabo. But here is the latest info, May 2005, from Chuihua from Singapore:
Ferries no longer go to Dabo from Tg Pinang. On Tue, Thu and Sat, there are two ferries to and from Tg Pinang to Jago. Dumai Express and Super Jet depart from Tg Pinang to Jago at around 11.15am. They leave Jago for Tg Pinang at around 8am. On Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun, there's only Super Jet going to and from Tg
Pinang and Jago.
Ben Williams writes:
A good time to depart from Tanah Merah (Sing) through to Singkep is 9am. That connects well at Tanjong Pinang (Bintan) with one or two ferries that both leave at 11.30am (Indo time, 12.30am Singapore time).
Dheera Venkatraman writes:
I was just visiting Singkep [although no cycling as I don't have one here in
Singapore] for a weekend trip and thought I'd let you know it did in fact stop
at Jago instead of Dabo. A thunderstorm hit the sea during the ride from TP,
and after much tossing around it pulled in at Jago, and many mini-buses and
cars took people to Dabo, which cost about Rp15000. Bought a return ticket at
Dabo, then asked the same mini-bus guy if he could take me to Jago the next
morning at 5:45am since it was *not* leaving for TP from Dabo (the ticket
salesman said this and had a sign up that said "6:30am Pelabuahan: Jago"). He
did for Rp10000. It was scheduled to leave from Jago at 6:30am for TP, but
actually left at 7:00am.
Staying on Singkep
Dabosingkep has three inns, all on the road parallel (and one block to the right or northeast) to the main road into and through town from the pier. The food is quite basic here, mostly from small stalls, but in the evening there's a delightful pair of open air restaurants across the street from the main mosque in town.
Chuahua from Singapore writes:
There are no losmen in Jago, at least, that's what the locals told us.
However, you could easily rent a small boat over to Penuba, about 10
min away, where there's a nice half day cycling and a single losmen
called 'The Mess'. The Mess has only three rooms and charges 15000 rp
per night, and is run by a really nice Bapak.
There are quite a number of cars and motorcycles in Singkep now, and
the town is not really that pleasant. Much better alternative to cycle
round Singkep and head back to Jago and cross over to Penuba for the
night. Also easier to catch the ferry in the morning back to Tg
Pinang.
Bicycle Touring on Singkep
Use the above map as a reference, but note that the indicated distances are rough estimates. The indicated roads are paved roads only.
- You can head southwest from town by turning left as you enter town from the pier. About 5 km down the road, you come up along Batuberdaun, a nice beach with calm waters. It's "natural", i.e. not maintained, with scattered coconut shells and pieces of wood washed up from the water. But it's also clean, in that there is little garbage. The road continues along the coast for maybe 5 more km, and ends at a small village.
- There's a nice loop around the eastern half of the island which you can take, about 60 km in length. From the pier, head into town and then continue straight through, about 300 meters. At the "T" intersection, turn right, and continue for about 50 meters, where you'll find yourself in front of the town's mosque. The island loop starts along the left side of this mosque and returns along the right side (obviously this can be done in the other direction too). Taking the road along the left side of the mosque, you will head across the island. It's quite pleasant to cycle, on smooth pavement with mild rolling hills. About 10 km out, you will see a left turn, which leads to Batu Ampar, a waterfall (1 km) and what was once a small pool, but now has been dammed up to create a swimming area. It is a pleasant place to take a dip, and it's popular with the locals on Sunday. There's a minor entrance fee.
Back on the main road, you can continue for another 10 km or so to Raya (there's a left turn here I will describe later). Continuing straight for maybe 6 km, you will reach the north shore, where you have a choice of going straight or turning right. The straight road will curve to the left and follow the north shore westward, crossing a small river at Kuala Raya and then ending at another small village (maybe 3 km from the main road). In the middle of this village, about 30 meters before the end of the road, there's a left turn which goes 1 or 2 km into the forest before the pavement ends.
Continuing on the main road again, turn east and you will circle a small bay and then come into Pengambil. With the coast on your left, you can continue another 5 km or so to a fork in the road. The left fork goes to the port town of Sungaibuluh (about 1 km), with boats being loaded and unloaded, and a couple of places to eat.
Back at the main road again, the right turn will continue on the island loop. This next 5 km is the last portion of the loop with pavement to be constructed, and is hilly. Coming to a "T" intersection in what feels like the middle of nowhere, you can turn left and about 0.5 km further come to Jago, with its few wooden buildings and boats (take the downhill slow because there's little room to brake at the bottom).
Back at the "T" intersection and continuing on the main loop, the hills end 1 or 2 km later and the rest of the trip (about 25 km) passes through woods and several villages along the coast, until finally returning to the mosque at Dabo.
- Entering Raya from Dabo, there is a left turn which leads to Marok Tua. This road is paved for about 20 km (not all the way to Marok Tua), and is also a pleasant excursion. The turnoff to Marok Kecil, about 15 km down this road, is entirely unpaved.
- Finally, there's a road that leads northeast out of Dabo along the coast. Once again, coming off the pier, make the first possible right turn, and then continue straight out of town. About 5 km long, the road will follow the coast and then curve left, heading inland, and then continue to curve left until it merges with the road returning to the Mosque.
- You can also explore the residential areas around Dabo. There are a host of roads winding around and through hills in the west direction between the road to Batuberdaun and the road to Raya. There are also some roads behind the mosque, and a few east of the aforementioned road coming back into Dabo.
Latest update: June 1, 2005.
 
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