By Blaise Jaeger · Updated August 2026 · I have lived in Indonesia since 2016 and I go through Bali immigration several times a year.

Getting to Bali is easier than ever, but the entry procedure has changed a lot since 2024. You now need three separate things before you reach the exit door of Ngurah Rai airport: a visa (usually a Visa on Arrival), the All Indonesia Arrival Card, and proof that you paid the Bali tourist levy. None of them is complicated, but travellers who arrive without them lose forty minutes in a queue at 2 a.m. after a long-haul flight.

This guide covers how to get to Bali from anywhere in the world, what Bali immigration actually looks like on arrival, which visa fits your stay, how much everything costs, and how to get from the airport to your hotel without being harassed by touts. Prices are given in Indonesian rupiah with an approximate euro equivalent — the rupiah moves, so treat conversions as indicative.

Bali Entry Requirements in 2026: the Short Version

If you only read one section of this guide, read this one. Here is everything a tourist needs to enter Bali in 2026, with the cost and the moment you have to deal with it.

Requirement	Cost	When	Mandatory?
Passport valid 6+ months	—	Before booking	Yes
Visa on Arrival or e-VOA	IDR 500,000 (~€27)	Online before departure, or on arrival	Yes (unless exempt)
All Indonesia Arrival Card	Free	Within 3 days before arrival	Yes
Bali tourist levy (Love Bali)	IDR 150,000 (~€8)	Before or on arrival	Yes
Return or onward ticket	—	Have it on your phone	Can be checked
Total per person	IDR 650,000 (~€35)

Two things people get wrong. First, the arrival card is not a visa — filling it in does not give you the right to enter. Second, the tourist levy is separate from the visa and is collected by the province of Bali, not by immigration. You pay both.

Bali Immigration: What Actually Happens When You Land at DPS

Most guides list the rules. Very few describe the actual walk from the aircraft door to the taxi rank. Here is the sequence at Ngurah Rai International Airport, in order.

Step 1 — Have your QR codes ready before you leave the plane

You will need, on screen and preferably screenshotted because airport wifi is unreliable: the All Indonesia Arrival Card QR code, your e-VOA PDF if you bought one online, and your Love Bali levy QR code. Take screenshots before you board. I have watched more than one traveller step out of the queue because their email would not load.

Step 2 — Visa on Arrival counter (only if you did not buy an e-VOA)

If you are paying for your visa at the airport, the VOA counters come before passport control. You pay IDR 500,000 per person, card or cash in rupiah, and receive a sticker or a receipt. This queue is the single biggest time sink on arrival — it can run to 30 or 45 minutes when three wide-bodies land together.

If you bought the e-VOA online, you skip this queue entirely. That is the whole point of it.

Step 3 — Passport control: autogate or manual counter

Bali immigration now runs a bank of autogates. If you hold an e-VOA and a biometric passport, you scan your passport, look at the camera, and the gate opens. It takes under a minute and it is by far the fastest route into the country.

If you took a VOA at the counter, or your passport is not biometric, you go to a manual counter. The officer may ask three questions: how long are you staying, where are you staying, and do you have an onward ticket. Answer plainly and have the hotel name ready.

Step 4 — Baggage, customs and the levy check

After the baggage belt you pass customs, where your arrival card QR replaces the old paper customs declaration. Officers scan it. Beyond that point, and increasingly at the exit of the terminal, staff may ask for the Love Bali levy QR code. If you have not paid, there are payment desks — but you will queue again.

How long does Bali immigration take?

Realistically, from aircraft door to the arrivals hall:

Scenario	Typical time
e-VOA + autogate + arrival card done + levy paid	15–25 minutes
e-VOA + manual counter	30–45 minutes
VOA bought at the airport	45–75 minutes
Nothing prepared, peak arrival bank	90 minutes and up

The lesson is simple: doing the paperwork online costs you twenty minutes at home and saves you an hour in Bali.

Visa Options for Bali

Bali is part of Indonesia, so there is no such thing as a “Bali visa” — you are applying for an Indonesian visa. Four options cover almost every traveller.

Visa	Length	Extendable	Cost	Best for
Visa on Arrival (VOA)	30 days	Once, +30 days	IDR 500,000 (~€27)	Standard holiday
e-VOA (online)	30 days	Once, +30 days, online	IDR 500,000 (~€27)	Anyone who wants the autogate
Visa Exemption (VEA)	30 days	No	Free	ASEAN passport holders
B211A visit visa	60 days	Twice, +60 days each	IDR 2.5–5 million (~€135–270)	Long stays, remote work trips

Visa on Arrival (VOA)

The Bali Visa on Arrival is available to citizens of around 100 countries, including all of the EU, the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and China. It costs IDR 500,000 per person (about €27), children included, and is valid for 30 days from the day you land — the day of arrival counts as day one, which catches people out.

What you need:

• A passport valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry
• At least one blank page
• A return or onward ticket — rarely checked, occasionally checked, always worth having
• Payment by card or in rupiah cash

Electronic Visa on Arrival (e-VOA) — the one I recommend

The e-VOA is exactly the same visa, same price, same 30 days, same single extension — bought online before you fly on the official immigration portal, evisa.imigrasi.go.id. You upload a passport scan and a photo, pay by card, and receive a PDF by email, usually within a few hours.

Two concrete advantages:

• You skip the VOA payment queue completely
• You can use the autogates, which is the difference between five minutes and forty

One warning: search results are full of lookalike agency sites charging €60 to €90 for the same thing. The official site is evisa.imigrasi.go.id and nothing else. If a site asks for more than IDR 500,000 plus a small card fee, close the tab.

Visa Exemption Arrangement (VEA)

Holders of passports from Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam enter free of charge for 30 days. The catch: the exemption cannot be extended. If you are from an ASEAN country and plan to stay longer than 30 days, deliberately buy a VOA instead — it costs IDR 500,000 but it can be extended to 60 days.

B211A visit visa (for stays over two months)

If you plan to stay more than 60 days, apply for a B211A visit visa before you travel, through a sponsor or an agent. It gives you 60 days, renewable twice for 60 days each, so up to 180 days in total. Expect IDR 2.5 to 5 million (about €135 to €270) depending on whether it is a first application or a renewal, standard or express. You will be asked for a passport scan, a photo, and a bank statement showing a positive balance of around USD 2,000.

Which visa should you choose?

Simple rule of thumb: up to 30 days, take the e-VOA. Between 30 and 60 days, take the e-VOA and plan the extension from day one. Over 60 days, apply for a B211A before leaving home — trying to convert on the spot is slower and more expensive.

How to Extend Your Bali Tourist Visa

The Visa on Arrival can be extended once, for another 30 days, giving you 60 days in Indonesia. Both the VOA and the e-VOA can now be extended online, which removes the old requirement to show up at the immigration office in Denpasar for fingerprints and a photo.

Start early — this is the mistake everyone makes

Start the extension around two weeks after arrival, and in any case no later than 7 to 10 days before your visa expires. Processing is not instant, the portal is occasionally down, and payment confirmations can lag. People who start on day 27 spend a very stressful week.

Overstay penalties

The fine for overstaying is IDR 1,000,000 per day per person (about €54), payable when you leave. A few days is an expensive annoyance; a long overstay can mean detention and a re-entry ban. This is not an area where Indonesian immigration is flexible.

The visa run alternative

If your extension fails or you need a fresh 30 days, a return flight to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur resets the clock and often costs less than a few days of overstay fines. It is a fallback, not a strategy — immigration officers notice repeated visa runs.

The All Indonesia Arrival Card

The All Indonesia Arrival Card is a free online form that replaced the old paper customs declaration and health declaration. It is mandatory for every traveller arriving at a major Indonesian airport, including Bali, Jakarta and Surabaya — tourists, residents and Indonesian citizens alike.

How to complete it

1. Go to allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id or download the All Indonesia app, within 3 days before arrival. Earlier than that and the form will refuse your flight date.
2. Enter your passport details, flight number, address in Bali and customs declarations.
3. Receive a QR code by email or in the app. Screenshot it.
4. Show it at customs on arrival, together with your passport.

Three mistakes to avoid

• Filling it in too early. The 3-day window is strict. Do it the day before you fly.
• Paying for it. It is free. Any site charging you for an “Indonesia arrival card service” is an intermediary.
• Thinking it replaces the visa. It does not. It is a declaration, not permission to enter.

One form per traveller, including children. Families should budget ten minutes, not two.

The Bali Tourist Levy (Love Bali)

Since 14 February 2024, every foreign visitor entering Bali pays a tourist levy of IDR 150,000 per person (about €8). It is a one-off payment covering your whole stay on the island, not a per-night tax, and it applies to children as well as adults. The money funds environmental protection, cultural preservation and waste management — problems that are very visible if you spend time on Balinese beaches after the rainy season.

How to pay the Bali tourist tax

Pay online, before you fly, on the official Love Bali portal. You enter your passport details and arrival date, pay by card or e-wallet, and receive a QR voucher. Save it offline.

You can also pay on arrival at the dedicated counters in the terminal, or by scanning the QR codes displayed in the arrivals area — but that means another queue at the end of a long flight.

Where the levy is actually checked

Enforcement has tightened. Checks now happen at the airport exit and, increasingly, at the entrance of major tourist sites and at the Sanur fast boat terminal before crossing to Nusa Penida. Keep the QR code on your phone for the whole trip — it costs nothing to have and saves an argument.

• IDR 150,000 per person, one payment for the entire stay
• Payable online in advance via Love Bali, or on arrival
• Applies to all foreign visitors, including children
• Separate from the visa fee — paying one does not cover the other
• Holders of certain long-stay permits (KITAS, KITAP, diplomatic and student visas) are exempt

Customs Rules: What You Can and Cannot Bring

Indonesian customs are relaxed about ordinary tourist luggage and extremely strict about a short list of items. Worth knowing before you pack.

Item	Rule
Alcohol	1 litre per adult, duty free
Cigarettes	200 cigarettes or 25 cigars per adult
Cash	Declare amounts above IDR 100 million (~€5,400)
Personal goods	Up to USD 500 in value, above that duty applies
Drones	Allowed, but flight permits are required in many areas
Narcotics	Extremely severe penalties, including life imprisonment
Vapes and e-cigarettes	Permitted for personal use, restricted for resale quantities

The point that deserves emphasis: Indonesia applies the death penalty for drug trafficking and gives long prison sentences for possession. There is no grey zone, no tourist tolerance, and no medical exception for cannabis. Prescription medication should travel in its original packaging with the prescription.

Flights to Bali: Airport, Hubs and Routes

All commercial flights to the island land at Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), also called Denpasar or simply Bali Airport. It sits between Kuta and Jimbaran, on the narrow isthmus at the south of the island, which is why nearly every hotel transfer starts with the same stretch of the Ngurah Rai bypass.

The international and domestic terminals are next to each other, a five-minute walk apart, so self-connecting between an international flight and a domestic one is realistic — allow three hours to be comfortable, since you clear immigration and re-check your bags.

Where do you fly into for Bali?

There is only one answer: DPS. Bali has no second commercial airport. If a booking engine offers you a cheaper fare into Surabaya (SUB), Jakarta (CGK) or Lombok (LOP), you are adding a domestic flight or a long ferry crossing to your journey — sometimes worth it, usually not.

Getting to Bali from Europe

There are no direct flights from Europe to Bali. Every route involves one stop, typically in the Gulf or in Southeast Asia. Total journey time from a western European capital runs from 17 to 22 hours depending on the connection.

Connecting hub	Airline	Typical total time from Paris
Doha (DOH)	Qatar Airways	~18 h
Dubai (DXB)	Emirates	~19 h
Istanbul (IST)	Turkish Airlines	~19 h
Singapore (SIN)	Singapore Airlines	~19 h
Kuala Lumpur (KUL)	Malaysia Airlines	~20 h
Hong Kong (HKG)	Cathay Pacific	~21 h

A practical detail: the Gulf hubs give you the shortest total time, while Singapore and Kuala Lumpur give you the option of breaking the journey for a day or two, which transforms the arrival if you are travelling with children.

Flights from Asia

Bali is exceptionally well connected across Asia, with direct flights from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City. Singapore alone has upwards of a dozen daily rotations, which makes it the most reliable connecting point if a schedule falls apart.

From	Flight time to DPS
Singapore	2 h 40
Kuala Lumpur	3 h 00
Bangkok	4 h 20
Hong Kong	5 h 00
Seoul	7 h 00
Tokyo	7 h 20
Perth	3 h 30
Sydney	6 h 20

Flights from Australia

Bali is Australia’s favourite overseas destination and it shows in the schedule. Direct flights run from Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin, several times a day on the busiest routes. Perth is the shortest hop at about three and a half hours, which is why Perth arrivals dominate the early-morning bank at DPS.

How to Find Cheap Flights to Bali

Fares to Bali swing enormously with the season. The same Paris–Denpasar return can cost €450 in early May and €1,100 in mid-August. Three habits do most of the work:

• Be flexible by a few days. Leaving on a Tuesday instead of a Saturday routinely saves 15 to 25 percent.
• Avoid July, August and the Christmas fortnight if you can. These three windows combine European summer, Australian winter and the driest weather.
• Book 2 to 4 months ahead for high season, 4 to 8 weeks for the shoulder months.

My preferred metasearch engine for this route is Trip.com, mostly because it does not add a booking fee on top of the airline fare and because its flexible-date calendar is genuinely usable. Enter your departure airport and DPS, leave the dates open, and the calendar shows you the cheapest days across the whole month. In the example below it finds a Paris–Bali fare at €413.

Whatever engine you use, check the final price on the airline’s own site before paying. Metasearch is for finding the date, not necessarily for buying the ticket.

Getting from Bali Airport to Your Hotel

You clear customs, the doors slide open, and thirty drivers call out at once. After twenty hours in the air this is the least pleasant five minutes of the trip — and the moment when people accept whatever price is shouted first. Decide before you land.

Book a private transfer with Roy

The option I recommend, and the one I use for everyone who comes to visit me in Bali, is to arrange the transfer in advance so that a driver is already waiting for you with your name on a sign. Roy is a Balinese friend of mine who runs a small pool of drivers he has selected and trusts personally. He does not drive himself — he organises the transfers, assigns the right car, and stands behind the service. Every friend, relative and guest of mine who lands at Ngurah Rai is picked up this way, in an air-conditioned car, at a fixed price agreed before take-off.

Rates start at IDR 300,000 (about €16) for the southern beach areas, and increase with distance for Ubud, the east coast or the north. Send Roy your flight number, arrival time and hotel name on WhatsApp; he confirms the price and assigns a driver. The driver tracks the flight, so a delay is not a problem.

Tell him you come from My Best Places to Visit. His drivers speak English and know the island far better than any map application — and if you get on well with yours, you can book the same driver again through Roy for a full day of sightseeing later in the trip.

Grab and Gojek

Grab and Gojek are the two ride-hailing applications used across Indonesia, and both work at Bali airport from a dedicated pick-up point outside the terminal. Prices are transparent and usually the cheapest option. Download the apps and register your card before you travel — signing up needs a phone number that works, which you may not have in the first hour.

Two limits: at 1 a.m. after a delayed flight, availability drops sharply, and a car with two large suitcases plus three passengers is not always what turns up.

Official airport taxi

The official taxi counter inside the terminal sells a fixed-price coupon by destination zone. It costs more than Grab but there is no negotiation and no surprise. If you land exhausted and want the simplest possible answer, this is it.

Which option to choose

Option	Typical cost to Seminyak	Pros	Cons
Private transfer (Roy)	From IDR 300,000 (~€16)	Waiting for you, fixed price, tracks your flight, luggage space	Needs a message in advance
Grab / Gojek	IDR 100,000–180,000 (~€5–10)	Cheapest, transparent	Walk to the pick-up point, scarce late at night
Official taxi coupon	IDR 200,000–300,000 (~€11–16)	Immediate, no app needed	More expensive, no flight tracking
Hotel transfer	IDR 350,000+ (~€19+)	Zero effort	Usually the most expensive

Once you are settled, read my complete guide on how to get around Bali — scooters, private drivers, Grab, and the realities of Balinese traffic.

Getting to Bali from Other Indonesian Islands

If you are already travelling in Indonesia, you have three ways into Bali: fly, take the ferry from Java, or take a boat from Lombok.

Domestic flights

DPS is connected to dozens of Indonesian cities, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Labuan Bajo, Makassar, Medan and Lombok. Domestic fares are low — Jakarta to Bali often sits under €50 one way — and Garuda, Citilink, Lion Air, Batik Air and Super Air Jet all compete on the trunk routes.

Route	Flight time	Frequency
Jakarta (CGK) → Bali	1 h 50	Very frequent, all day
Surabaya (SUB) → Bali	0 h 55	Frequent
Yogyakarta (YIA) → Bali	1 h 25	Several daily
Labuan Bajo (LBJ) → Bali	1 h 20	Several daily
Lombok (LOP) → Bali	0 h 40	Several daily
Makassar (UPG) → Bali	1 h 30	Several daily

For the wider picture — trains, buses, ferries and internal flights across the archipelago — see my guide to getting around Indonesia.

Ferry from Java

From East Java, the Ketapang to Gilimanuk ferry crosses the Bali Strait in 30 to 45 minutes and runs 24 hours a day. Most travellers reach the port of Ketapang by train or bus from Surabaya or Banyuwangi. If you are on a long-distance bus, the coach drives onto the ferry and you stay on board.

Be realistic about the distance: Gilimanuk is at the far western tip of Bali, and it is another 4 to 5 hours by road to Ubud or the southern beaches. This route makes sense if you are coming overland from Yogyakarta and Mount Bromo, not as a shortcut.

Boat from Lombok and the Gili Islands

From Lombok or the Gili Islands, fast boats leave from Bangsal, Senggigi or Gili Trawangan and arrive at Padang Bai in east Bali, sometimes at Sanur or Serangan. The crossing takes 1 h 30 to 2 h 30 depending on the swell and on how many islands the boat serves on the way.

There is also a much cheaper and much slower public ferry from Lembar to Padang Bai, around 5 hours, used mostly by locals and by travellers with vehicles. The sea between Lombok and Bali can be rough between December and February — if you are prone to seasickness, fly instead, it is forty minutes.

Getting to Nusa Penida from Bali

Once you have landed, the easiest and most rewarding side trip is Nusa Penida, the big island off the south-east coast. It is where I live and work, and it is the reason a lot of people extend their Bali trip by three days.

The crossing leaves from Sanur harbour, a modern terminal about 30 minutes from the airport, and takes 30 to 45 minutes by fast boat. Departures run from early morning to late afternoon, and boats land at Toyapakeh, Buyuk or Sampalan depending on the operator.

Schedules, prices and operators change often, so I keep a dedicated guide updated: how to get to Nusa Penida from Bali, with the boat companies, the real prices and the traps to avoid. If you want to dive with manta rays or see the mola mola, this is the crossing that gets you there.

When to Go: Best Time to Travel to Bali

Bali sits eight degrees south of the equator, so the temperature barely moves: 29 to 32 °C all year, with humidity between 78 and 81 percent. What changes is the rain and the crowds.

Period	Weather	Crowds & prices	Verdict
April–June	Dry, clear	Moderate	Best overall
July–August	Driest	Peak, expensive	Book far ahead
September–October	Dry, warm sea	Moderate	Excellent, best for diving
November–March	Wet season, short heavy showers	Low, cheapest	Good value, pack a rain jacket

The rainy season is far less punishing than its reputation: it rarely rains all day, and flights and hotels are dramatically cheaper. July and August are the genuinely difficult months, because they combine the European and American summer, the Australian winter and the driest weather on the island.

For divers, the calendar is different again: manta rays around Nusa Penida all year, and mola mola from July to October. See my guide to diving in Bali and to the best diving in Indonesia.

Practical Tips for Your First Hours in Bali

Get connected before you land

Buy an eSIM before departure, or a local Telkomsel SIM at the airport counters. Coverage across Bali is good and data is cheap. Having a working connection at the exit door changes everything: you can call your driver, open your maps and check your booking.

Money and ATMs

Withdraw rupiah from a bank ATM inside the terminal rather than changing cash at the airport counters, where rates are poor. Use ATMs attached to a bank branch, not free-standing machines in shopping streets. Cards are accepted in hotels and established restaurants; warungs, markets and small drivers are cash only.

Where to sleep on your first night

If you land late, do not plan a two-hour drive to the north. Stay in the south — Seminyak, Sanur or Jimbaran are all within 30 minutes of the airport — then move on the next morning. Ubud is 90 minutes away in good traffic and considerably more in bad, and the east coast towards Karangasem is a two to three hour drive.

A few things that surprise first-time visitors

• Traffic is slow. Distances in kilometres tell you nothing. Always ask for the time, not the distance.
• Temples require a sarong, usually provided at the entrance.
• Nyepi, the Balinese day of silence in March, closes the airport for 24 hours. Check the date before booking.
• Tap water is not drinkable. Refill stations are widespread, and a filter bottle saves a lot of plastic.

With the formalities behind you, the rest is the easy part. My complete Bali travel guide covers where to go, what to see and how long to spend in each part of the island.

Read More: Plan the Rest of Your Trip

FAQ — Getting to Bali and Bali Immigration

Do I need a visa to enter Bali?

Yes, unless you hold an ASEAN passport covered by the Visa Exemption Arrangement. Most travellers use the Visa on Arrival, valid 30 days, extendable once for another 30 days. It costs IDR 500,000 (about €27) and can be bought online in advance as an e-VOA.

How much is the Bali Visa on Arrival in 2026?

IDR 500,000 per person, roughly €27, children included. The price is identical whether you buy it at the airport counter or online as an e-VOA on evisa.imigrasi.go.id.

What is the difference between the VOA and the e-VOA?

None in terms of rights, duration or price. The difference is operational: the e-VOA is bought online before departure, lets you skip the payment queue and gives access to the autogates at Bali immigration. In practice it saves 30 to 45 minutes on arrival.

Is the All Indonesia Arrival Card mandatory?

Yes. It is free and mandatory for every arrival at a major Indonesian airport, and must be completed within 3 days before arrival on allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id or in the All Indonesia app. It replaces the old paper customs and health declarations, but it is not a visa.

How much is the Bali tourist tax and how do I pay it?

IDR 150,000 per person (about €8), a single payment covering your whole stay. Pay online before you fly on the official Love Bali portal and save the QR code on your phone, or pay at the counters on arrival.

Which airport do you fly into for Bali?

Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), also called Denpasar or Bali Airport. It is the island’s only commercial airport, located between Kuta and Jimbaran, 20 to 40 minutes from most southern resorts and about 90 minutes from Ubud.

Are there direct flights from Europe to Bali?

No. Every European route involves one connection, usually in Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Total journey time runs from about 17 to 22 hours from a western European capital.

How long does immigration take at Bali airport?

Between 15 and 25 minutes if you arrive with an e-VOA, your arrival card QR and your levy paid, using the autogates. Between 45 and 90 minutes if you buy your visa at the counter during a busy arrival bank.

How do I get from Bali airport to my hotel?

Four options: a pre-booked private transfer (from IDR 300,000, the most comfortable after a long flight), Grab or Gojek from the dedicated pick-up point (cheapest), an official fixed-price taxi coupon, or a hotel transfer (usually the most expensive). Booking in advance means someone is waiting for you with your name on a sign.

Can I extend my Bali tourist visa?

Yes, once, for another 30 days, giving 60 days in total. Both the VOA and the e-VOA can be extended online. Start the process about two weeks after arrival — the overstay fine is IDR 1,000,000 per day.

Do I need a return ticket to enter Bali?

Officially yes, a return or onward ticket can be requested at check-in or at immigration. In practice it is checked irregularly, but airlines are stricter than immigration officers. Have a booking on your phone.

What is the best time to travel to Bali?

April to June and September to October offer the best balance: dry weather, warm sea, manageable crowds and reasonable prices. July and August are the driest but also the most expensive and crowded. The wet season, November to March, is much cheaper and rarely rains all day.

How do I get from Bali to Nusa Penida?

By fast boat from Sanur harbour, 30 to 45 minutes, with departures from early morning to late afternoon. Boats land at Toyapakeh, Buyuk or Sampalan. Prices and schedules change often — see my dedicated guide on getting to Nusa Penida from Bali.