How to Get to Bali and Around the Island

Almost everyone flies in, and almost every journey after that is by road. Bali has no railway and only limited public buses. Keep those two facts in mind and the rest of your planning gets easier.

Flying in

The island's international airport is I Gusti Ngurah Rai (DPS), often shown on tickets as Denpasar. It sits just south of Kuta, with its runway running out into the sea. Direct flights come from Australia, much of Southeast and East Asia and the Gulf. From Europe or the Americas you'll connect, usually through Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Dubai or Istanbul. Jakarta is the domestic hub.

Before you land

Three separate things: an e-VOA if your passport needs one (on evisa.imigrasi.go.id), the free All Indonesia arrival card (in the three days before arrival), and the Bali tourist levy (on lovebali.baliprov.go.id). Having all three done means you walk through arrivals holding QR codes rather than queuing at counters. Our travel guide explains each one.

From the airport

A transfer booked through your hotel is the calmest start after a long flight. Official taxis have desks in arrivals. Grab has a staffed pickup lounge in the arrivals pick-up zone, which ends the old business of meeting drivers in the car park. Rough times with normal traffic: Kuta and Jimbaran in 20 to 30 minutes, Seminyak around 40, Uluwatu and Canggu about an hour, Ubud an hour and a half. The Bali Mandara toll road over the water helps if you're heading to Nusa Dua or Sanur. Late afternoon and Friday evenings can double those times.

Getting around

For day trips, hire a car and driver for the day. It's the standard way to see the island, and many drivers work as informal guides. For short hops, Grab and Gojek offer cars and motorbike taxis. Some villages and parts of Ubud restrict pickups to local transport cooperatives, although drop-offs are rarely a problem. In that case, walk a little way out or book a local taxi.

Scooters

Plenty of visitors ride, but it's only legal with a licence valid for motorcycles at home plus an International Driving Permit that covers them. Police checkpoints in the south look for exactly this. The province has told residents not to rent to foreigners informally and has announced tighter rules for rental companies, so rent from a registered business. Wear the helmet. If you don't ride at home, Canggu's lanes are not the place to learn.

By sea

Fast boats run from Sanur to Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan, and from Padangbai and Amed to the Gili Islands and Lombok. Car ferries cross from Ketapang on Java to Gilimanuk in the west around the clock. Sea conditions change schedules at short notice, so don't plan a boat back on the morning of an international flight. Our 5-day itinerary shows how the transfers fit together.