Indonesia’s Remote Riau Islands: What to Do in Anambas and Beyond

Most travellers who fly into Batam or Bintan think they’ve seen the Riau Islands. They haven’t. The real Riau archipelago stretches deep into the South China Sea — past the Singapore ferry crowds, past the resort beaches — into a scattering of more than 2,400 islands where the fishing boats outnumber the tourists by a ratio that feels almost embarrassing. In 2026, the infrastructure to reach Anambas has quietly improved, but the place itself has not been softened for mass tourism. That’s exactly the tension you need to understand before you pack your bag.

What Makes Anambas Different From Every Other Indonesian Island Chain

Indonesia has no shortage of remote archipelagos, but Anambas occupies a specific kind of isolation. Geographically, the Anambas Islands sit roughly 200 kilometres northeast of Batam, closer to Malaysia and Vietnam than to most of the Indonesian islands visitors typically associate with the country. The South China Sea here is a deep, vivid cobalt — not the turquoise of Lombok’s Gili Islands or the tea-coloured brown of some Kalimantan coastlines. The water is cold enough in the early morning to feel genuinely bracing when you drop off a boat hull.

The dominant culture is Melayu — the same linguistic and ethnic fabric shared with coastal Malaysia and Singapore, expressed here through a deeply Muslim society built around fishing communities called kampung nelayan. The pace of life is set by the tides and the prayer call, not by tourist schedules. Tarempa, the capital of Anambas Regency on Siantan Island, is a proper small town with a functioning port, wet market, and neighbourhoods where children play football on concrete courts beside wooden stilt houses built over the water.

What Anambas offers that almost nowhere else in Indonesia can match at this level of accessibility is a combination: world-class diving, near-zero crowds, authentic Melayu culture, and a landscape of granite-boulder islands draped in jungle that drops directly into the sea. Conservation status has helped preserve the marine environment — the waters around Anambas are part of a protected marine area, and enforcement has tightened since 2024.

The Best Things to Do in the Anambas Islands

Diving and Snorkelling

This is the primary reason serious travellers make the journey. The dive sites around Anambas — particularly around the islands of Bawah, Temawan, and the outer reefs near Matak — rival the Banda Sea for fish density and coral health. You’ll find schools of bumphead parrotfish, frequent manta ray sightings between April and October, and reef structures that haven’t been bleached into rubble. Visibility regularly exceeds 20 metres. A few local dive operators work out of Tarempa, but liveaboard charters remain the most practical way to reach the best sites.

Bawah Reserve

Bawah Reserve is an ultra-luxury eco-resort on a private island cluster within Anambas Regency. Even if you’re not staying there, it’s worth knowing it exists — the reserve has contributed significantly to local marine conservation funding and employs heavily from surrounding villages. The resort operates its own floatplane transfers from Batam and Tanjung Pinang, which is the only realistic private option for reaching the Anambas area quickly.

Exploring Tarempa Town

Tarempa rewards slow walking. The old Chinese shophouses along the waterfront have been here since the early 20th century, and several are still operating as hardware stores, coffee shops, or family residences. The fish market opens before 6am — if you’re there at dawn, the sight of fishermen hauling yellowfin tuna and grouper off wooden boats while the light turns pink over the harbour is one of the most honest travel moments you’ll find in Southeast Asia in 2026.

Island Hopping to Penjalin and Durai

Charter a speedboat from Tarempa harbour to the smaller outer islands. Pulau Penjalin has a beach that most Indonesians outside Kepri Province have never heard of. Pulau Durai is fringed with seagrass and visited by green sea turtles. These are not developed attractions — there’s no entry fee, no facilities, no snack vendor. Bring water, sunscreen, and your own mask and fins.

Beyond Anambas — The Wider Riau Islands Worth Knowing

The Riau Islands Province (Kepulauan Riau, known as Kepri) contains several distinct island groups that each deserve separate consideration.

Natuna Regency sits even further north, closer to the Vietnamese coastline than to Jakarta. Access is limited to a weekly Pelni ship or infrequent charter flights, and tourism infrastructure is minimal. Natuna is mentioned increasingly in geopolitical contexts due to its position in contested South China Sea waters, which means Indonesian government investment in local infrastructure has accelerated. As of 2026, there is renewed interest in developing Natuna’s diving sector, but it remains genuinely frontier travel.

Lingga Archipelago is south of Bintan and historically significant — the Riau-Lingga Sultanate made this archipelago its heartland before Dutch colonial pressure dismantled the sultanate in the early 20th century. Daik Lingga town still has crumbling palace ruins and royal mosques. It’s a four-hour ferry from Tanjung Pinang on Bintan Island.

Karimun and Batam/Bintan are the well-known entry points — Batam is primarily an industrial city with a busy Singapore ferry terminal, and Bintan has established beach resorts popular with Singaporean weekenders. These don’t offer the same experience as Anambas or Lingga, but they function as transit hubs.

The Food Scene — What to Eat and Where to Find It

Anambas food is Melayu seafood cooking, and it is exceptional if you know where to look. The signature dish to seek out is gonggong — a type of sea snail boiled and served with a spicy sambal on the side. The texture is dense and slightly chewy, and the sambal here has a fermented shrimp base that gives it a depth that bottled chilli sauce can’t replicate. You’ll find gonggong at the small seafood stalls near the Tarempa waterfront, particularly active in the evenings when the heat drops and families come out.

Mie tarempa is the local noodle dish — thick yellow wheat noodles tossed with egg, dried squid, and chilli in a wok that’s been blackened by years of high flame. The smell of the wok smoke drifting across the narrow lane where the noodle stalls operate is the kind of thing you remember long after you’ve left. Look for the stalls just back from the main harbour road, usually open from around 7am and again from 5pm.

Fish curry made with fresh grouper and coconut milk is common in the warung that cater to locals rather than visitors. A full meal — fish curry, rice, vegetable stir-fry, and tea — costs between IDR 35,000 and IDR 60,000 at a local warung. Nobody is charging tourist prices here because there are very few tourists.

Getting to Anambas and the Outer Riau Islands in 2026

This is the section most guides gloss over. Getting to Anambas requires genuine effort and some flexibility.

By air: Wings Air operates scheduled flights from Tanjung Pinang (Bintan) to Letung Airport on Jemaja Island and to Matak on Siantan Island. Flight times are under an hour, but schedules are limited — typically two to three times per week per route — and cancellations due to weather or low passenger loads are common. Always have a backup day. Pelita Air and Susi Air have historically served Natuna routes, though schedules shift annually.

By sea: Pelni operates the KM Bukit Raya and other vessels on routes that connect Tanjung Pinang, Tarempa, and Natuna on a weekly schedule. The journey from Tanjung Pinang to Tarempa takes approximately 18 to 24 hours depending on sea conditions. The Pelni ship is comfortable by Indonesian ferry standards — meals are served on board, and economy cabins exist — but it is a proper overnight journey.

Fast ferry: Private speedboat charters and occasional express ferry services connect Tarempa to Letung (about 3 hours) and to some outer islands. Prices vary widely — negotiate at the harbour.

Getting Around Once You’re There

There are no ride-hail apps functioning in Tarempa as of early 2026. Transportation within the Anambas islands works on a combination of ojek (motorbike taxi), chartered speedboats, and the occasional local express boat between islands. Renting a motorbike in Tarempa is possible — ask at your guesthouse — and costs around IDR 80,000–100,000 per day. The roads on Siantan Island are limited but paved enough for a scooter.

For inter-island movement, negotiate speedboat charters directly at Tarempa harbour. Prices depend on distance, fuel costs, and the operator’s mood — a half-day charter to nearby islands typically runs IDR 500,000–900,000 for the boat, not per person. Get a written price agreement before departure.

Day Trip or Overnight? How Long You Actually Need

Anambas is not a day trip from anywhere. The journey time alone — minimum 18 hours by sea from Tanjung Pinang, or a flight with limited schedules — means committing to at least four nights to make it worthwhile. A week is the practical minimum if you want to dive seriously, explore more than one island, and absorb Tarempa at anything other than a sprint.

Lingga, by contrast, is more manageable as a short trip from Tanjung Pinang — a long day trip or one overnight gives you enough time to see the Daik ruins and the main town. Natuna requires a minimum five-day commitment given Pelni schedules.

2026 Budget Reality — What It Costs to Visit Anambas

• Budget: IDR 300,000–500,000 per day. This covers a basic guesthouse room (called penginapan) in Tarempa at IDR 150,000–250,000 per night, local warung meals, and ojek transport. Diving is not included at this level.
• Mid-range: IDR 700,000–1,200,000 per day. Cleaner guesthouse with air-conditioning (IDR 350,000–500,000/night), boat charter day trips, and meals at slightly better seafood restaurants. One or two guided dives would push daily spending toward the top of this range.
• Comfortable: IDR 2,000,000–4,000,000 per day, excluding Bawah Reserve. This covers the best accommodation available in Tarempa, private boat hire, and multi-dive days with local operators. Bawah Reserve operates on an all-inclusive package starting above IDR 15,000,000 per night per person and should be considered a separate category entirely.
• Getting there: Wings Air flights from Tanjung Pinang cost IDR 400,000–850,000 one way. Pelni economy class from Tanjung Pinang to Tarempa runs approximately IDR 180,000–320,000.

Practical Tips Before You Go

Internet and phone: Telkomsel has the best coverage in the Riau Islands — even in Tarempa, coverage is reasonable for calls and basic data. The outer islands are largely offline. Download offline maps on Maps.me or Google Maps before leaving Tanjung Pinang.

Cash: There is one ATM in Tarempa as of 2026. It occasionally runs out of cash before the next supply boat arrives. Bring more than enough IDR from Tanjung Pinang or Batam. Card payments are not accepted at local businesses.

Health: The nearest hospital with serious capacity is in Tanjung Pinang. Tarempa has a puskesmas (community health centre) for basic needs. Travel insurance with medical evacuation coverage is not optional for this destination.

Best time to visit: May through September offers the calmest seas and best diving visibility. The northeast monsoon (November–February) brings rough South China Sea conditions that can ground flights and delay ferries for days at a time.

Permits and registration: Foreign visitors should carry their passport at all times. As of 2026, there are no special permits required for visiting Anambas, but local police registration at certain outer islands (particularly near Natuna) may be requested. Comply without concern — it’s standard procedure in remote border areas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Anambas safe for foreign tourists in 2026?

Yes. Anambas is a conservative Muslim community that is generally welcoming to respectful foreign visitors. Petty crime is rare. The primary safety concern is the sea — South China Sea weather can turn quickly, and boat travel should only be undertaken with local operators who understand conditions. Always check weather before any inter-island boat trip.

Do I need a visa to visit Anambas as a foreign tourist?

Anambas is part of Indonesia, so standard Indonesian visa rules apply. Most nationalities either enter visa-free for 30 days or purchase a Visa on Arrival at major entry points. You must enter Indonesia through an official port of entry first — typically Batam or Tanjung Pinang — before travelling onward to Anambas.

Can I visit Anambas without booking a liveaboard or resort?

Yes. Tarempa has independent guesthouses, local restaurants, and boat operators available for hire without pre-booking. It’s a functioning town, not just a resort zone. That said, accommodation options are limited — arriving without any reservation during Indonesian public holidays risks finding nothing available. Contact guesthouses via WhatsApp before travel.

What is the difference between Anambas and Natuna?

Both are remote Riau Islands regencies in the South China Sea, but Natuna is further north, harder to reach, and has even less tourism infrastructure. Anambas has better access via Wings Air flights and more established local guesthouses. Natuna is recommended only for experienced independent travellers comfortable with serious logistical uncertainty.

Is the Bawah Reserve worth the price?

For the right traveller, yes. Bawah Reserve offers world-class marine conservation, exceptional dive access, and complete privacy within a genuinely remote setting. The price — above IDR 15,000,000 per person per night all-inclusive — reflects floatplane transfers, meals, activities, and conservation fees. It occupies a different category from independent Anambas travel entirely.

📷 Featured image by Ace Lang on Unsplash.