Let's start with the thing that's changed since your last trip. Bintan Resort Ferries and Sindo Ferry implemented a temporary fuel surcharge from March 12, 2026, and are charging an extra SGD 6 each way from Singapore. That's SGD 12 added to every return trip before you've even touched a club, not a huge amount, but worth knowing when you're deciding whether to splurge on the better course. Book early regardless, on peak weekends and long weekends like Labour Day, ferries can be fully booked three to four weeks in advance, and you do not want to miss your tee time because you left it late.
Now, the courses.
Ria Bintan is the one that makes the postcard shots. Designed by Gary Player, who ranks it among his top ten favourites from over 300 designs, the 18-hole Ocean Course offers views of the South China Sea from virtually every corner of the back nine. The signature run from holes 7 through 9, Player himself calls hole 7 Asia's best par five, is as good as anything in the region. The fairways are generous enough that mid-handicappers won't spend the whole day in the trees, but the water and elevation will keep you honest. Caddies here are knowledgeable and genuinely useful on the Ocean Course's more theatrical holes.
Remember to bring IDR or SGD for the tip and expect to share a buggy.
Weekday green fees are SGD 153.50, with caddie and buggy included, good value for the quality on offer. Weekend rates are higher, check the Ria Bintan website or use the code "JUSTGOLF" for their standalone golf package, which includes green fees, twin-share buggy and caddie, golfer's insurance, and land transfers from the ferry terminal. Note: ferry ticket not included.
Laguna Golf Bintan, not to be confused with Bintan Lagoon further down the coast, is the Greg Norman layout that was fully rebuilt in 2016 and sits inside the Banyan Tree/Angsana resort cluster. The revamped course was named Indonesia's Best Golf Course at the 2020 World Golf Awards, and it's earned it. The design is more varied than Ria, the back nine plays through dense jungle and among unique rock formations, before the course opens out to the coast again. The par-3 17th, where you play from a tee perched over the sea across rocky foreshore to a green defended by the ocean rather than bunkers, is one of the most visually dramatic holes in Southeast Asia.
The catch? Laguna is pricier.
Published visitor rates are IDR 1,750,000 on weekdays and IDR 2,500,000 on weekends, roughly SGD 128 and SGD 184 at current exchange rates, and all green fees include a twin-shared caddie, twin-shared golf cart, golfer's insurance, and driving range usage.
On pace of play, both courses run quiet during the week. Ria Bintan is popular with Singaporean golfers on weekends, so if you want to play on Saturday or Sunday it's worth staying at the lodge to get an early tee time before the day-trippers arrive.
Laguna tends to be slightly less crowded, partly because the resort cluster caters more to overnighters than day-trippers. If you're going, a weekday is always the better call on both pace and price.
The honest verdict: Ria Bintan gives you more bang for your dollar, or rupiah, with a course that flat-out belongs on any Asia bucket list at a weekday green fee that's hard to argue with. Laguna is more expensive and arguably more polished as a full resort experience, and that 17th hole alone is worth writing home about. If you can only do one, Ria Bintan wins the head-to-head. If you're doing a two-night trip, play both.
QUICK FACTS — RIA BINTAN
Green fees: SGD 153.50 weekday (buggy + caddie included); weekend rates higher
Getting there: Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal → Bandar Bentan Telani (Lagoi), ~70 mins. Add SGD 12 round-trip fuel surcharge (from March 2026)
Best time to go: Weekdays; avoid Indonesian and Singapore public holidays
Caddie: Included in green fee (twin-share); tip in SGD or IDR
QUICK FACTS — LAGUNA GOLF BINTAN
Green fees: SGD 128 weekday / SGD 184 weekend
Getting there: Same Tanah Merah → Bandar Bentan Telani ferry; Laguna is closer to the terminal than Ria (~10 min transfer)
Best time to go: Weekdays; book well in advance for weekends
Caddie: Included (twin-share); additional caddie fee of IDR 250,000 if you want your own
TAKEAWAY
If you haven't played Ria Bintan's Ocean Course yet, go next month, the price is still reasonable, the weekday crowds are thin, and those back-nine holes over the water will make every high handicapper feel like they're on TV. Book the 8:10 ferry from Tanah Merah, tee off by 11, and you're back in Singapore before dinner. Just factor in the SGD 6 fuel surcharge each way, and book the ferry at least two weeks out if you're going on a Saturday.
