Pulau Ubin: the last kampong, ten minutes and a bumboat from Changi

Pulau Ubin means Granite Island in Malay, and the quarries that gave it the name are still there — flooded, silent, and slowly being taken back by forest.

The island is 10.19 km², sits in Singapore's northeast, and had about forty residents as of 2012. It is reached by a ten-minute bumboat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal, and it is described in the national record as the last witness of the old kampong Singapore that existed before industrialisation.

There is no ticket, no turnstile and no opening time. This page is about the bumboat and what to bring.

How the bumboat actually works

This is the part that catches everyone out, because it is not a ferry.

Bumboats leave when they are full, not on a schedule. The standard load is twelve passengers. If eleven other people are waiting, you leave in two minutes. If you are the only person at the jetty on a Tuesday morning, you either wait for others to arrive or pay for the empty seats.

It is a cash transaction. Bring notes.

There is a small extra charge for a bicycle if you are taking your own across.

The same applies coming back, and this is where it matters more. The flow of people leaving thins out through the afternoon, so returning at 18:00 on a weekday can mean a wait. Head for the jetty with an hour in hand, not five minutes.

What is on the island

Chek Jawa is the reason ecologists care about Ubin. It is an intertidal wetland at the southeastern tip where several ecosystems sit side by side in one small area — sandbar, seagrass, coral rubble, mangrove and coastal forest — which is unusual anywhere and remarkable in a country this developed. There is a boardwalk over the mangroves and a viewing tower.

From the jetty it is roughly a two-hour round trip by bicycle, and it is the single best reason to make the crossing.

The quarries. Ubin was worked for granite for decades. The abandoned pits have flooded into still, oddly coloured lakes ringed by regenerating forest. Several have viewpoints.

The kampong. Wooden houses, wooden jetties, chickens, and a pace that does not exist on the mainland. This is the part that gets described as "old Singapore", and unlike most things given that label, it is not a reconstruction.

The wildlife. Wild boar, long-tailed macaques, monitor lizards, hornbills and a great deal of birdlife. Treat the boar as wildlife rather than as scenery.

Bicycles

The island is 10 km². Chek Jawa is at the far end. Walking the whole thing is possible and most people should not.

Bicycles are hired in the village by the jetty, from a cluster of small shops. Rates are negotiable, the bikes vary from decent to rough, and it is worth spending thirty seconds checking the brakes before you take one.

Roads are unsealed in places and there are hills — modest by any standard except Singapore's, where the mainland is flat. A basic bicycle is fine; an ambitious mountain-bike rental is not necessary.

Traffic is almost nonexistent, which makes this one of very few places in Singapore where children can cycle freely.

Timing

Go early. The crossing is easiest when there are people to fill a boat, and the island is best before the midday heat. A 09:00 arrival gives you the good half of the day.

Weekends fill the boats faster, which means less waiting at the jetty and more people on the trails. Weekdays are quieter on the island and slower at the pier. Pick your trade-off.

Check the tide for Chek Jawa. The intertidal flats are the point, and at high tide they are underwater. Low tide in the morning is the ideal combination and it is worth planning the day around.

Allow four to six hours including both crossings. Half a day is the minimum that makes the trip worthwhile.

Leave with margin. An hour of slack at the end costs nothing and removes the one genuine risk of the day.

How to save

The island is free. The whole cost of this day is the bumboat, a bicycle and whatever you bring to eat.

Bring food and water from the mainland. Changi Village has a hawker centre right by the terminal; Ubin has a handful of simple stalls near the jetty and essentially nothing beyond.

Take a full water bottle rather than buying on the island. Prices reflect the fact that everything arrived by boat.

Skip the guided tours unless you want the mangrove kayaking. Ubin is self-guiding — a map at the jetty and a bicycle is genuinely enough.

Pair it with Changi Village, not with a paid attraction. The hawker centre by the terminal is one of the better ones in the east and it is a five-minute walk from the boat.

How to get there

Changi Point Ferry Terminal, 51 Lorong Bekukong, in Changi Village.

From the city, take the MRT to Tanah Merah (EW4) and then bus 2 to Changi Village, or MRT to Tampines (EW2/DT32) and bus 29. Allow an hour door to door from the centre.

From Changi Airport, Changi Village is about fifteen minutes by taxi — which makes Ubin an unexpectedly good option on a long layover if you have the better part of a day.

What is nearby

Changi Village itself, with its hawker centre and the boardwalk along Changi Beach Park, both free and both a short walk from the terminal.

Further out, Jewel Changi Airport is fifteen minutes away with the free Rain Vortex, and Wild Wild Wet at Pasir Ris is the family alternative in the same corner of the island.

For the other island day, the Southern Islands sail from Marina South Pier on the opposite side of the city — beaches and a fixed timetable, where Ubin is forest and no timetable at all.