Tanjung Pinang in the context of "Riau Islands"

The Riau Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Riau; Jawi: كڤولاوان رياو) is a province of Indonesia consisting of a group of islands located in the western part of the country. It was established in 2002 after being separated from the neighboring Riau Province. The capital of the province is Tanjung Pinang, while the largest city is Batam. It shares a maritime border with Riau and Jambi to the west, Bangka Belitung Islands to the south, Singapore to the northeast, Malaysia and West Kalimantan to the east, and Vietnam and Cambodia to the north. It comprises a total of 2,408 islands (1,798 having names) scattered between Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Borneo including the Riau Archipelago. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes along the Malacca Strait and the Natuna Sea (South China Sea), the province shares water borders with neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei. The Riau Islands also have relatively large potential mineral resources and energy, as well as marine resources.

The Riau Islands have played a significant role in the maritime history and civilization of the Nusantara region. Between the 7th and 13th centuries, the area was influenced by the powerful Srivijaya Empire, a major maritime kingdom that controlled trade routes along the Malacca Strait. Evidence of Srivijaya's influence in the Riau Islands can be seen from the discovery of the Pasir Panjang Inscription (id) in Karimun Regency, which shows the existence of religious practices through Buddha's footprints, indicating early settlement and the spread of Buddhism long before the arrival of Islam.

Bintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community.

Bintan's land area is 1,173 square kilometres (453 sq mi) (total area is 60,057 square kilometres (23,188 sq mi) including 96% sea area). Its administrative region is designated the Bintan Regency, one of the six administrative regencies of the Riau Islands province. The city of Tanjung Pinang is an autonomous area geographically within Bintan Island but not included in the Regency.

Rempang Island (Indonesian: pulau Rempang) is an Indonesian island, located 2.5 km southeast of the neighbouring Batam Island, with the total land mass size of165.83 km. Rempang Island belongs to the three-interconnected islands group of Riau Archipelago known as Barelang (an abbreviation of Batam-Rempang-Galang), and administratively part of the Riau Islands Province. The nearest urban city to Rempang Island is the Tanjung Pinang City, located on neighbouring Bintan Island.

Kundur Island is an island within the Riau Archipelago, part of the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. It lies at about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southwest of Singapore, 76 kilometres (47 mi) southwest of Batam, 32 kilometres (20 mi) south of Great Karimun Island, 172 kilometres (107 mi) northwest of Lingga Islands and 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Tanjung Pinang. It has an area of about 795 square kilometres (307 sq mi), including Buru District and other minor surrounding islands. According to the 2010 Census population, the population of Kundur Island was 67,090; the official estimate as at mid 2023 (including adjacent smaller islands such as Buru, Belat, Ungar and Parit) was 91,463. As Kundur does not have an airport, all visitors arrive by ferry.

Most connections are with neighbouring islands, e.g. Tanjung Balai on Great Karimun Island, and mainland Sumatra. Direct ferry services to Singapore have been terminated because of decreasing profits, so travellers need to detour via Batam or Bintan.