Bali Airport, useful information on Ngurah Airport

Ngurah Bali Airport is located in the south between Kuta area and Jimbaran beach, both just a 10 minutes drive. It's an international airport with many flights coming daily from South East Asian Countries and Australia.  

To get yourself familiar with Bali airport here are some things you might want to know upon arrival or departure.

 

Domestic Arrivals at Ngurah Airport, Denpasar

 

Visa and Immigration

Once you are finally out of the aircraft and able to stretch your legs you will soon find yourself queuing at the VISA UPON ARRIVAL desk. Check here if you need to arrange a Indonesia visa before you travel to Bali.

Today there are more than just two counters where you can get your visa, so the process of obtaining a visa upon arrival is much quicker than in the past. Here you need to pay USD 25 for a 30 day single entry visa.

 

The visa upon arrival counters at Bali Airport

 

Once you got the receipt you head to the other queue: passport control. If you are lucky you just need to wait about 15 to 20 minutes but if many international flights have just landed too then don't be surprised if you are still standing there after 45 minutes.

So be prepared. Bali Airport is upgrading their facilities, so hopefully the long wait will be history soon.

Make sure you have filled out the immigration entry forms given on the aircraft or provided in the arrival hall before passport control. Don't loose the little piece of paper that the immigration officer places in your passport. You will need it when you leave the island.

 

Queuing at the passpoort control

 

Customs

Once you got your stamp of entry in your passport it's time to collect your luggage. From there on it's time to head for customs. All the bags need to be screened again: hand and check-in luggage.

In Indonesia it's prohibited to import weapons, fresh fruit, pornography, products made from endangered species, printed matter written in Chinese characters, chinese medicine and drugs. For the last one you will get the death penalty when caught. There is no restriction on foreign currency and there's an import limit of Rp. 5000.000.

 

You have been warned...

 

Additionally foreign nationals are allowed to import one liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes and a reasonable amount of perfume.

Officially camera, laptops and other electronics must be declared upon entry but generally the customs at Bali airport don't make a big deal about this. I never had any problems when bringing my laptop together with two cameras and a video camera.

However if you bring an item in 'large quantity', for instance 2 or three surfboards then you might cause some eyebrows to rise.

As soon as your luggage is screened an official will ask for your custom declaration form, which you received on your flight. Once this is all done, it's time for the next step. Getting to your resort....

 

 

Getting out of or to Bali Airport

 

Car rental, Taxi service, Hotel Reservation etc just outside arrival hall

 

You need to pass a row of foreign exchange counters first before going through the sliding doors only to stumble upon the heat and humidity. Welcome to Bali.

You will soon see a crowd of people of which most of them are holding a sign with a name. If you have arranged a pick up through your Bali accomodation then all you need to do if follow your friendly driver.

If that's not the case head to the TAXI stand located nearby. This is the only way you can leave the airport. These taxi's are linked to the Bali airport and the prices are all fixed.

 

 

Bali Airport Taxi prices are fixed, these are from 2011

 

Tell the person behind the TAXI stand desk where you need to go. He will then give you the price which you pay right there. Once you have the receipt your taxi driver will suddenly appear and take you to his car.

Remember, the prices are fixed so there won't be any charges afterwards. So you don't need to worry about already being ripped off within the first hour of setting foot on Bali.

 

The Bali Airport taxis are well organized and you'll soon be on your way...

 

Unfortunately the holiday will eventually come to an end and you need to head back to the Bali airport. Again, if you haven't arranged airport transfer at your accommodation you can ask the reception to call a taxi. This taxi will use a meter so ask the reception how much it will approximately be.

If you are leaving from Lovina, Candidasa or Ubud area then it might be cheaper to arrange a Bali driver in town for a fixed price.

Leaving Bali Airport

After check-in and befor passport control you need to pay airport tax. So make sure you have enough Rupiahs left because otherwise you have to look for an ATM or money exchanger again.

For international flights the Bali airport tax will be Rp 150.000 per person, while domestic passengers only need to pay Rp. 30.000

Also remember not to take any products made from endangered species such as sea shells and accessories made from turtle shells etc as it is prohibited to export these products from Indonesia.

 

Last minute shopping at the Duty Free

 

Once you arrive in your home country you can also receive a fine for these products plus products with fake brands. The last one is only prohibited if you buy it in large quantities and customs will be suspicious of your intentions.

One minor note, if you buy any liquids at the duty free shops at Bali airport exceeding 100ml then it might be confiscated at the security point on your connecting flight even though it is sealed properly.