Selat Panjang (Selatpanjang) is a city in the province of Riau, located on the island of Tebing Tinggi, just off the coast of mainland Sumatra.

Understand

Chinese Temple Vihara Sejahtera Sakti

Chinese Temple Vihara Panca Sakti

Iman Bonjol Street, a traditional Selat Panjang street

Selatpanjang is the capital of Kepulauan Meranti Regency. The city is fast growing with a population around 100,000. It is a trading, shipping, shopping and tourism seafood centre in the region.

Get in

Selat Panjang has neither an airport nor any roads to mainland Sumatra, so travellers' only option is to get in by boat. Selat Panjang has good ferry connections transit with Singapore and Batu Pahat in the southwestern tip of Johor, Malaysia as well as the other Riau Islands and the Sumatra "mainland".

By boat

The Tanjung Harapan ferry terminal at Selat Panjang at of Jalan Tanjung Harapan is the main passenger port of Selat Panjang City and is used by all domestic and international services from the city. It is visa-free for most ASEAN citizens and a visa-on-arrival port; see Indonesia's Get in section for visa details.

• From Malaysia Batu Pahat Minyak Beku Ferry Terminal, operate a round-the-clock service between the Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesia. Run every day of the year across the Strait of Malacca. Every day on MV.Elucgho and MV.Indo Mall (H/P 016-788 0400/ling6868@gmail.com). Batu Pahat Minyak Beku Ferry Terminal also has a comfortable fleet on these waters. Minyak Beku to Selat Panjang takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes. Selat Panjang Terminal also has a ferry to Tanjung Balai, Tanjung Pinang, Pulau Batam, and Pekanbaru.

The two companies' code-sharing agreement allows you to board any ferry at Selat Panjang for the return leg to Malaysia only if you hold a return ticket that was purchased in Malaysia. If you buy your ticket in Selat Panjang, you can only board the ferry of the company from which you buy the ticket.

• As of 2022, direct ferries from Singapore remain suspended due to COVID-19. The best alternative is to transit via Batam.

• From other parts of Indonesia
  • Batam, Bintan and other Riau Islands:
    • MV Dumai Express (☏ +62-765-31820) operates several ferries to/from Batam, Karimun, and Bintan.
    • MV Batam Jet (☏ +62-765-35888) has daily ferries to Batam.
    • MV Mikonata (☏ +62-765-31820) operates several ferries to/from Karimun
    • MV Batam Line (☏ +62-765-35888) operates several ferries to/from Batam, Karimun, and Bintan.
    • In Batam, ferries dock at Sekupang, next to the international ferry terminal where there are connecting ferries to Singapore. In Bintan, ferries arrive/depart from Tanjung Pinang harbour in the middle of town.
  • From Pekanbaru there are Porti Express, Naga Line (☏ +62 853-6353-6555 and Meranti Jaya Express ferries from the Sungai Duku ferry terminal.
  • From Dumai, there is a ferry to Insit Ferry Port in Selatpanjang.

Get around

The cheapest way to travel in Selatpanjang is by Becak.You can get almost anywhere in Selatpanjang for Rp 10,000 or Rp 20,000.

See

• 1 Vihara Sejahtera Sakti, Ayani Street. This Chinese temple was built in 1868. Take your time to look at the temple drawings such as "Story of Devotion to the state of children and parents.".  
• Vihara Panca Sakti, Sungai Juling Village. Chinese temple 
• Vihara Buddha Dharma, Ibrahim Street. Chinese temple 
• 2 Masjid Agung Darul Ulum, Siak Street. Grand mosque. 

Do

Stroll around Selat Panjang, which is the main town on Tebing Tinggi Island, and one of the busiest towns in the Riau. You can walk around and explore on your own or you can take a becak (small public vehicle) for Rp 20,000.

To enjoy the rural lifestyle on a tropical Indonesian island, you need to get away from Selat Panjang and go to some local kampung (village) areas in Alai or Dorak beach.

Buy

• There is a small department store called 99, where you can get all the items required for normal consumption. There are also stores named Incomix and OK Minimart. This 3-storey department store offers food, clothing, housewares, stationery and basic necessities. For fruit and vegetables there is the Pasar. A pasar is a traditional market (bazaar) for daily fruit and vegetables, fish, other groceries and clothes.
• There are a lot of small shop houses selling all type of necessities.

Eat

• Dynasty Restaurant, Tebing Tinggi Street No 49, ☏ +62-763 31792. For those who love to eat seafood. this restaurant will be the right place for you. They offer a variety of live seafood such as crab, fish, shellfish and a lot more. They also have "HEKHO" and "Spicy and sour Lome" which you cannot find in Singapore or Malaysia. If you happen to go there, try the pepper crab, sauce crab, kangkung belacan, ALL the grilled seafood, hekho, fried chicken, cereal prawn, fried sotong, lobster and a lot more. 
• Several Chinese restaurants can be found along Imam Bonjol street or Sungai Juling Street. This is probably the central area for Chinese food. Noodles are also available.
• Asia Baru Restaurant, Iman bonjol Street (close to Vihara Sejahtera sakti/Tua Pek kong Temple). For those who love to eat Indonesian food (nasi Padang), this restaurant will be the right place for you. Four people eat much for less than RM 20 or S$8. 
• Miso is a kind of noodle soup, made of yellow noodles and vermicelli noodles that have been boiled and sprinkled with chicken, fried onions and slices of celery. Characterized by a thick and fragrant aroma and a blend of soy sauce and chili sauce. It is just as popular as nasi goreng. Both are sold from street side stalls, or push carts that make their rounds through the neighborhoods.
• Sago Noodle/Mie sagu Noodle dishes from Sago in the area. The famous Selatpanjang food.

Drink

• Alpukat jus / Avocado juice
• Es Campur Indonesian famous drink
• Laksemane Mengamuk Riau famous drink
• Carlsberg and Guinness are produced locally, as well as Bintang and Tiger beer.

Sleep

• 1 Grand Meranti Hotel, Kartini Street No 55, ☏ +6285272928888, fax: +62-763-33688, grandmeranti55@gmail.com. Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 12:00. Was once the best hotel in town, but newer ones have popped up. This hotel suffers from a lack of maintenance but is comfortable enough for a short stay. Rp 300,000-550,000 (S$42-78) inclusive of breakfast. (updated Nov 2022)
• New Furama Hotel, DI Panjaitan Street, ☏ +62-763-434088. For advance booking: +62-763-32088. Rp 150,000 - 500,000 (S$20-70) inclusive of breakfast. 
• Trio Jaya Hotel, Masjid Street No. 5, ☏ +62-763-31283, +62-763-31434. Close to the ferry terminal and hotel offers complimentary terminal pickup and drop off. Rp 138,000-198,000 (S$19-28) inclusive of breakfast. 
• Lily Hotel, Tebingtinggi Street No.58, ☏ +62-763-31155. Rp 130,000-225,000 (S$18-32) inclusive of breakfast. 
• Holiday Guesthouse, Tengku Umar Street No.6, ☏ +62-763-32703. Rp 45,000-60,000 (S$6-8). 
• Sempena Guesthouse, Tebing Tinggi Street No 52, ☏ +62-763-32757. Rp 80,000-100,000 (S$11-14). 

Connect

Telephone numbers

• The country code for Indonesia is 62. The area code for Selatpanjang is 763. To call Singapore from Wartel phone shop, please dial 007-65 follow by the phone number.

Postal services

Post office (known as Kantor Pos in Indonesia language) in Selatpanjang City is open daily except Sundays and public holidays.

Go next

The nearest airport is on Batam island, so you'll need to head back there for domestic flights. For international flights heading to Singapore or Batu Pahat, Minyak Beku Ferry Terminal (Malaysia), would be the best option. The international seaport tax is Rp 60,000.