Bali quarantine-free travel: What to expect on arrival at Denpasar Airport

There's a few hoops to jump through after arriving in Bali, but my experience was rather quick and painless.

⚠️ Important Update

The following changes have taken place since this article was first published:

Bali has reopened for quarantine-free travel, and although there’s still a short isolation period on arrival, it’s as good as things get for now. 

I’ve already gone through what you need to do in preparation for your trip to Bali, and in this post I’ll lay out my experience with the arrivals process at Denpasar Airport. 

tl;dr: 24 minutes from landing to exiting the airport, <2 hours for on-arrival swab results.

🏖️ Eat, Pray, Swab

Before you fly

I highly recommend you read through this post for the checklist of things to do before you fly, but to briefly recap, you should be carrying physical copies or screenshots of the following: 

  • Vaccination certificate
    • Indonesia accepts Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, Sinopharm, and pretty much every vaccine you can think of
  • Negative pre-departure PCR test result
    • Taken within 48 hours of departure, and required for all travellers (even infants!)
  • Hotel booking
    • Hotel booking(s) must cover the entire duration of stay. Bookings need not be at a CBSE-approved hotel (the requirement was recently lifted). A screenshot or printout of the confirmation email is acceptable
  • Completed e-HAC 
  • Prepaid on-arrival PCR test (optional)
    • The on-arrival test can be booked here for IDR 285,000 (inclusive of an IDR 10,000 admin fee)
    • Ignore the fields labelled “city” and “hospital”. Just enter the name of your hotel and select “PCR regular same day”
  • e-CD form

Interestingly enough, I wasn’t asked to show proof of travel insurance at any point. You might still want to print and carry a copy with you nonetheless. 

Departing from Singapore

Changi Airport

Upon checking in at Changi Airport, I was only asked to show two documents:

  • Vaccination certificate
  • Negative pre-departure PCR test result

You won’t receive any physical customs forms or immigration cards when boarding, so there’s no need to ask the ground staff for them. 

On arrival in Bali

Disembarking from SQ938

Once we disembarked from the plane, we were instructed to follow the signs for immigration. 

Path to immigration

This led to the first document check station, identifiable by the rows of socially-distanced chairs. There were 20 counters in operation when I arrived, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be served right away. If not take a seat and wait for your turn.

Document check station
Document check station

I was asked for three items:

  • Boarding pass
  • e-HAC QR code
  • Hotel booking(s) for duration of entire stay

Here’s where people hold up the line because they haven’t completed their e-HAC. Please don’t be that guy; get it done in advance. 

Please don’t scan the QR code and steal my personal information!
⚠️ Important Update
On-arrival PCR tests are no longer required, unless you’re detected to have a body temperature above 37.5℃ on arrival. 

After this, a receipt with a QR code was generated and I was sent to the PCR test payment counter. You still need to come here even if you’ve paid for the test in advance, but there’s a special express queue. 

Payment counter for PCR test (express queue on left)

Once my payment was verified, someone signed my QR code slip (not the most robust method of verification) and I was sent across the hall to the swab station (the layout of stations isn’t the most logical, as you’ll be criss crossing with arriving passengers and there’s the potential to get mixed up). 

Swab station

Prior to the swab station, I was asked for my:

  • Vaccination certificate
  • Pre-departure PCR test
  • Hotel booking (again!)

Once satisfied, they printed out a sticker for my swab vial and sent me to the end of the hall where the swab stations were. 

As far as swabs come, this was very gentle- almost cursory. I’ve had nose picking sessions that were more intense than this. 

Swab station
⚠️ Important Update
Visas are no longer required for ASEAN nationals, defined as citizens of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

The next stop was immigration, where you make payment for the visa-on-arrival if required. This is valid for 30 days, with the option to extend it for a further 30 days. 

As a reminder, the following passport holders are eligible for a visa-on-arrival:

🇮🇩 Bali: Eligible Visa-on-Arrival Countries
  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • Brunei
  • Cambodia
  • Canada
  • China
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Hungary
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Laos
  • Malaysia
  • Mexico
  • Myanmar
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Seychelles
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey
  • UAE
  • UK
  • USA
  • Vietnam

A visa-on-arrival costs IDR 500,000, but 14 other currencies are accepted. Be warned, however, there’s a significant mark-up involved if you pay in currencies other than IDR.

Price of visa-on-arrival in different currencies
CurrencyAmount ChargedMark-up
US DollarsUS$389%
Singapore DollarsS$5312%
Hong Kong DollarHKD33423%
Euro€348%
Japanese YenJPY4,4003%
Pound Sterling£299%
Saudi Arabia RiyalSAR15216%
Australian DollarA$5314%
Thai BahtTHB1,62039%
Canadian DollarCAD4912%
Swiss FrancCHF346%
Korean WonKRW63,00048%
Malaysian RinggitMYR16714%
Chinese YuanCNY27826%

Some of the mark-ups (THB, KRW) are so steep, I wonder if they’re typos!

Beyond immigration was the baggage claim area. I didn’t check any bags, so I can’t speak to wait times. 

Baggage claim

After baggage collection comes customs screening. Have your e-CD QR code ready for the officers to scan. 

You’ll now run a gamut of duty-free shopping (sample price: Champagne Lanson Black Label Brut for 660,000 IDR) and money changers, after which you’ll emerge in the arrivals area. I distinctly remember this being packed with touts and hotel staff before COVID, but now it’s completely deserted.

Arrival area

Instead, the pickup area has shifted slightly further down. The touting situation seems to have improved as well; I stood around for five minutes waiting for my driver, and no one so much as said hi to me. 

Pick up area

All in all, 24 minutes had passed from the time I disembarked the plane to the time I exited the airport, and you can probably shave another 5 minutes off for the time I spent taking photos and asking questions. 

Of course, this is a classic example of YMMV. I was able to complete the process so quickly because I: 

  1. Did as much paperwork as possible in advance, such as the e-HAC, e-CD, and prepaying for the on-arrival test
  2. Could bypass the visa-on-arrival counter by virtue of my APEC Business Travel Card
  3. Had no check-in luggage
  4. Flew in Business Class and was one of the first off the plane

Frankly speaking, (4) is probably the biggest time saver. The Boeing 787-10 I flew over on had 337 seats and was probably at least 80% full. By the time I finished the second station, a long queue had formed for the first one.

A long queue quickly formed after me

If you’re flying Economy, try and select a seat as far forward as possible, and some brisk walking after disembarkation might pay dividends!

Waiting for on-arrival test results

International arrivals to Bali must head directly from the airport to their accommodation via private transport. There’s no need to pre-book a transfer with the hotel; you can book a gojek/Grab on the spot or hail a cab if you’re so inclined.

I was staying at the Conrad Bali, and had pre-booked a transfer with Klook. It took about 20 minutes to get to the hotel.

Conrad Bali reception

Unlike Thailand, where visitors are whisked off to their rooms for isolation immediately upon arrival, Bali was very chill about the whole thing. 

In fact, I waited in the lobby a whole 30 minutes to check-in, during which I was free to wander around. They even served me a welcome drink, which I guess meant they’re OK with masks off too.

In another case of YMMV, the staff told me that I wasn’t confined to my room per se, and could wander around the hotel freely. However, I could only leave the hotel grounds once my on-arrival PCR test came back negative.

My swab was completed at 12.22 p.m, and I received my PCR test result at 2.30 p.m via email, making the turnaround time slightly under two hours. From what I understand, this is par the course for most people. 

By the way, the on-arrival results slip can be used as a pre-departure test for travel to Singapore, assuming your return flight is within 2 days of arrival (e.g. if you arrive on Monday, you can use your on-arrival test as a pre-departure test for any flight to Singapore up till 11.59 p.m on Wednesday).

Conclusion

The on-arrival process in Bali is fairly straightforward, though the layout of stations could be improved and you might have a longer wait on your hands if you’re unlucky enough to arrive during peak periods.

I was particularly pleased that the results of the on-arrival test came back so quickly. Two hours is an acceptable timeframe, once you factor in the travel time to your hotel, and the settling in.

Still, one hopes they move to antigen testing on arrival as soon as possible, as every minute on vacation counts!

Any questions about the arrivals process in Bali?

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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bent

was just wondering if all hotels would check you in early even if you say arrive at 9am in Bali…since it is gov requirement to isolate in hotel until results are out. Guess they are mandated to do so..

Edm

So how’s the local shops around conrad?

Travel Ok

In Bangkok, my swab was cursory at best! It barely entered the nostril. I don’t want a result that destroyed my holiday anyway so I am thankful. Money well spent and you get to support the local economy! Apparently too much drama to sort out should one turn positive so the benefits of such a cursory swab goes both ways! Not sure if its true but it is reported that Singaporeans ranked number 1 for positive conversion rate in Thailand for on arrival PCR, beating the US and UK! 😬

Polo

Do you need to pay cash fore the visa? Or credit card are accepted?

bent

credit card is accepted.

Nicky

I am hoping to move around Bali while there so haven’t booked hotels for my whole stay just for first 5 nights. Is that enough?

Local Guy

Hotel booking(s) must cover the entire duration of stay. You can still move yourself around and book in to other places once you are there, see this is how they work it so can extract more of your money from you. It’s all about getting as much money as they possibly can from you and then more.
Have a lovely holiday.

Will

Does anyone know if I can stay in two different hotels (e.g. day 1&2 in hotel A m, day 3&4 in hotel B) during my trip in Bali?

Novz

The much anticipated article, thanks Aaron! The price for your transportation booked via Klook sounded too good to be true. But looked like it was true! How did you recognosed your driver /vice versa? Were they actually one of the rideshare drivers?

Novz

Oh wow! 😳 i wonder if it even covered his fuel. Ah well, the point is good to know the booking was legit.

Luisa

The fuel subsidised by the government, someone that lives and works there told me.

A Liang Ge

our minister just announce, in near future, no pcr on arrival
welcome back our international friend, 🙂

Thomas

Does a singaporean still get 30 days of visa free travel?

Cath

Is it possible to just transit at Bali? Meaning fly in n out on the same day? I wont have a hotel booking to show.

Mia

Hi,
Do you know if it is possible to enter if due to medical reasons vaxx not possible?
I have a document from my doctor stating this and I also have a Certificate of Recovery as I just had covid a month ago.
I haven’t had much luck trying to figure this part out…
Thanks a million in advance!
Other that this, great article, very informative and clear.
Br, Mia

Nhil

Is it also possible to book an AirBNB instead of a hotel?

valencia

Hi, i was wondering if i need to book my full length of homestay/hotel stay for my full duration in Bali in advance before arrival? E.g If i am travelling to Bali for a month, do i have to book a month’s worth of homestay/hotels in advance? Is this required by the Indonesian officials? I am confused as i do not remember reading this elsewhere. Thank you.

Care

Hi, if one fails PDT prior to flying out from Bali, is he required to self quarantine at hotel or has to be admitted to local designated hospital? Thanks.

Bart

Is it true that a Negative pre-departure PCR test result is not necessary anymore in case you have a proof of recovery of Covid-19 maximum 30 days before departure?

zohirul Islam

I’m from Bangladesh do I have to pay at Airport for visa of 30 days

Ayy

Hey Aaron, will you be doing a review on Conrad Bali?

Deborah

Your articles are always so helpful ! You facilitate all my travel post covid 🙂
I was wondering : Is there any option to stay at a friend accomodation ?

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