Karimun Island, Riau Islands - Indonesia

[Backpacker]

Karimun is a small island offerring a range of tourist activities in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. It is also the name of a group of islands and regency to which it belongs. Karimun is located just off the east coast of Sumatra, guarding the southern entrance of the busy Straits of Malacca.

Its proximity to Singapore has made the islands quite affluent and busy. Its main town, Tanjung Balai is a bustling port town with a lot of commerce, boosted by tourists from Singapore and Malaysia, however, it must not be confused with Tanjung Balai in North Sumatra province, a much larger city also known as Tanjung Balai Asahan and an international port. However, like Batam and Bintan, Karimun is also listed as a Free Trade Zone area.

[commoners]