What to expect when travelling to Bali
from departure to your hotel

A trip to Bali from Europe is long, but it isn’t complicated once you know what happens along the way. After four years on the island, and countless trips to and from the airport to pick up guests, we know exactly where most travellers lose time, money and patience. This guide walks you through the whole journey in the order you’ll experience it: preparing at home, the flight, arriving in Denpasar, your first days on the island and the trip home.

Ready to choose a trip and get a price? You’ll find package trips, areas and a free proposal on our page about travel to Bali.

Rather not think about all of this yourself? We arrange airport pickup, transfers, hotels and excursions, and you get one itinerary with everything in it.
Get a free trip proposal →

The timeline: what the trip looks like

For most travellers, a trip to Bali looks roughly like this:

When	What happens
2–3 months before	Book the trip and flights. Check that your passport is valid long enough.
6–8 weeks before	Travel clinic or GP for vaccinations. Travel insurance in place.
2–4 weeks before	Apply for the e-VOA, pay the tourist levy, buy an eSIM.
Final week	Customs declaration, download Grab and Gojek, save your itinerary on your phone.
Travel day	16–22 hours from Northern Europe to Denpasar, with one or two stops.
Days 1–2 in Bali	An easy start: jet lag and heat.
The trip home	At the airport three hours before departure.

Before you leave: what to sort out at home

Most of the preparation takes less than an hour in total. But some of it has to be done in the right order, and a couple of things can stop you at the airport if you forget them.

• Passport: must be valid for at least six months after arrival and have at least two blank pages. Check this first, before you book flights.
• Visa (e-VOA): apply on the official site evisa.imigrasi.go.id two to four weeks before departure. It costs IDR 500,000, roughly $30, and is valid for 30 days, extendable once. Citizens of most European countries, the UK, the US and Australia are eligible. Read more in our Bali visa guide.
• Tourist levy: IDR 150,000, about $10 per person. Pay on lovebali.baliprov.go.id and keep the QR code on your phone.
• Travel insurance: make sure it covers the activities you plan to do, such as scooters, surfing, diving and volcano hikes.
• Vaccinations: talk to your GP or a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you leave.
• Money: bring at least two cards, ideally one credit and one debit card, and keep them in separate places.
• eSIM: buy and install it at home, so you have data the moment you land.

💡 Vegard’s tip

Only use the official sites for the e-VOA and the tourist levy. Search for “Bali visa” and you’ll find plenty of sites that look official but charge an extra fee to do exactly the same thing. The official e-VOA site ends in imigrasi.go.id.

Everything else practical, from plugs and power to health and payments, is in our guide to practical information about Bali.

The flight: 16–22 hours with a stopover

There are no direct flights from Europe to Bali. You’ll fly with one or two stops, and the total journey from Northern Europe takes 16–22 hours. Return fares typically cost around $800–1,600 per person depending on season and how early you book.

Airline	Stopover	Typical journey time
Thai Airways	Bangkok	approx. 19–20 hours
KLM	Amsterdam + Singapore	approx. 20–21 hours
Singapore Airlines	Singapore	approx. 18–20 hours

Choose a connection of at least two hours, so both you and your luggage make the transfer without stress. With Thai Airways you can also add a couple of nights in Bangkok and break up the journey. Routes and prices are covered in our guide to flights to Bali.

💡 Vegard’s tip

Try to sleep on the last leg, not the first. If you land in Bali in the evening, it’s much easier to fall asleep at the hotel if you’ve been awake for a while rather than sleeping the whole way. Keep a light jumper in your hand luggage: it’s cold on the plane and hot the second you step outside.

Arriving in Denpasar: from the plane to the arrivals hall

The airport is called Ngurah Rai (DPS) and lies at the southern tip of the island, between Kuta and Jimbaran. From stepping off the plane to standing in the arrivals hall usually takes 30–60 minutes, a little longer in the evening when many long-haul flights land at once.

1. Immigration: with an e-VOA you can often use the automatic passport gates and skip the queue. Without one, you pay for your visa at the counter first, and the wait is longer.
2. Tourist levy: your Love Bali QR code may be scanned on the way out. If you haven’t paid, you can do it at the airport.
3. Baggage: collected after immigration.
4. Customs: the customs declaration is completed online at ecd.beacukai.go.id before arrival, and the QR code is scanned on the way out.
5. Arrivals hall: your driver will be waiting with a name sign if you have booked a pickup.

💡 Vegard’s tip

In the arrivals hall, lots of people will come over and offer you a taxi. Say no thanks and keep walking. If you haven’t booked a pickup, use Grab from the marked pickup point. You’ll see the price in the app before you get in, and it’s usually a fraction of what you’re offered inside the hall.

Money and mobile: the first five minutes

Cash: withdraw rupiah at an ATM inside the arrivals hall or at a bank. Avoid stand-alone ATMs on the street, where card skimming is more common. Many places take cards, but warungs, markets and tips are paid in cash.

Always pay in rupiah: when a card terminal asks whether you want to pay in your home currency or IDR, choose IDR. If you pick your own currency, the shop or bank sets the exchange rate, and it’s almost always worse.

Mobile: if you installed an eSIM at home, you’re online straight away. Otherwise several providers sell SIM cards in the arrivals hall, though they cost more there than in town.

More on prices and exchange rates in our guide to currency, prices and tipping in Bali.

From the airport to your hotel

Traffic in Bali is slower than the distances suggest. Thirty kilometres can take an hour, and two in rush hour. Allow plenty of time to reach your first hotel:

Area	Drive from the airport
Sanur and Nusa Dua	25–40 minutes
Seminyak	30–60 minutes
Uluwatu	45–75 minutes
Canggu	45–90 minutes
Ubud	1–1.5 hours

💡 Vegard’s tip

If you land late in the evening, spend the first night in the south, for example in Seminyak, Sanur or Uluwatu, and drive on to Ubud the next day. Sitting in a car for an hour and a half after more than 20 hours of travel is not a great start to a holiday. The next day, the drive to Ubud becomes part of the experience rather than something to get through.

Not sure where to start? See where to stay in Bali and our map of Bali.

We pick you up at the airport and drive you to your hotel, however late you land. Your driver waits with a name sign, and there is nothing to pay on the spot.
Get a free trip proposal →

Your first days: jet lag, heat and an easy start

Bali is seven hours ahead of Central European summer time and eight hours ahead in winter. Most people need a day or two to adjust. Plan the easy days first: the pool, the beach, a long lunch and a relaxed dinner. Save the volcano hike, Nusa Penida and the long excursions for day three or later.

The heat and sun are stronger than most people expect, even when it’s cloudy. Drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen all day and drink bottled water, not tap water. It’s the simple things that most often spoil the first days, not anything dramatic.

💡 Vegard’s tip

Get out in daylight on your first morning, even if you’re tired. A walk along the beach or through the rice fields before ten helps your body reset faster than anything else. Go to bed early rather than napping in the middle of the day.

Getting around during your trip

Bali has almost no public transport, so it’s worth thinking about before you go.

• A private driver is the most common way to travel between areas and on excursions. It’s safe and comfortable, and the price is per car, not per person. With us, a car with driver costs $99 for up to eight hours, however many of you there are.
• Grab and Gojek work well for short trips in the south. Add your payment card in the app before you leave home.
• Fast boats to Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and the Gili Islands leave from Sanur and Padangbai. Hotel pickup is usually included.
• Scooters require a motorcycle licence and an international driving permit. Without them, your insurance may refuse to cover an accident.

More on your options in our guides to getting around Bali and whether a private driver is worth it.

💡 Vegard’s tip

Change areas less often than you think. Every hotel change easily costs you half a day of packing, checking out and driving. Two or three places are plenty in ten days. It’s better to stay a little longer where you’re happy than to try to see everything.

The trip home

Be at the airport three hours before departure. Traffic towards the airport is heavy in the afternoon, so allow plenty of time, especially from Ubud and Canggu. If you have a late flight, most hotels can offer a late check-out or a room to shower in before you leave. Ask when you check in, not on the morning itself.

Keep a little rupiah for food and drinks at the airport, but no more than you need. It’s hard to change it back at a good rate.

💡 Vegard’s tip

Spend your last night near the airport, in Seminyak, Jimbaran or Uluwatu, if you have an early flight. You won’t have to get up in the middle of the night to drive from Ubud, and you can spend your final evening at a sunset dinner on the beach instead.

What we do, and what you do

When you travel with ReadySetIsland, most of what’s described above is arranged before you leave.

We arrange	You arrange
Airport pickup and transfer to your hotel	A passport valid for at least six months
Hotel or villa in each area	e-VOA and tourist levy
Driver between areas	Travel insurance
Fast boats and excursions	Vaccinations
International flights, if you’d like	eSIM and cards
An itinerary with times, driver names and your contact person

We remind you of what you need to do yourself well before departure, and you have the same contact person all the way, including while you’re in Bali. Our package holidays are covered by the Norwegian Travel Guarantee Fund.

Ready to choose your trip? See the package trips, the areas and how to get a personal proposal within 24 hours.
See travel to Bali →

Or go straight to all our Bali package trips.