Denpasar Bali Airport

Arrived mid evening, visa on arrival purchase, immigration and baggage claim was very quick - although the crowd was building up behind us. Customs was a little slower but in the end was just a cursory inspection aided by X-ray. Walking thru a 'shopping mall' to arrivals landslide is a pain. The car park station was chaotic but that is Bali. International Departure was easy. Very pleasant waiting area with lots of food/ drink options. Of course it is another shopping mall. Gate lounge was comfortable enough and Singapore Airlines has the boarding by group well organised. One of the many good SE Asian airports.

Bit crowded in Arrivals. I was in the baggage hall within about 30 mins of landing in the afternoon which is very bad. No wait on baggage but had the usual confusion about which carousel it's on. The monitors showed the planes that had arrived but did not show the carousel numbers where to collect your baggage. After 45 minutes we finally found our bags. On my next flight departure, it's nicer than the arrival in terms of experience. The check in was smooth and not much problem. But, I think the airport need to improve on the boarding system as to make the queue shorter and make people more convenient. Overall, it's a nice airport experience.

Bit crowded in Arrivals but I was in the baggage hall within about 20 mins of landing in late afternoon which is not too bad. I believe the $35 Visa Fee is about to be dropped. (The Departure Tax has already been dropped). No wait on baggage but had the usual confusion about which carousel it's on. No big deal I was pointed in the right direction and was out of the terminal a few minutes later. Taxi system is fine with no waiting involved. Departures were quick and slick with no queuing at all on Air Asia. The Duty Free Shopping area is extensive for a small airport but didn't appear especially good value. Signage isn't great so you have to check carefully to avoid gate screw ups. A better airport than I was expecting.

First visit to Bali for my Wife and I and first impressions of the airport left me fuming. For the millions and millions of dollars the Government makes through the arrival tax (USD $35) and departure tax ($200K Rupiah) surely they can get their systems right. Firstly the queue's on arrival to get your passport stamped and to pay the arrival tax were staggering. They did have almost all the booths open yet it took at least 35 minutes to get through. Then the fun starts - the monitors showed the planes that had arrived but did not show the carousel numbers where to collect your baggage. There were 4 carousels with hundreds of bags on them and people (including us) were going from carousel to carousel trying to locate their own baggage. Don't bother to ask a Airport employee as they have no idea or just don't answer your question. After 45 minutes (yes 45 minutes) we found our bags. Very frustrating. Yet more frustration on our flight home - we checked in and went through the various 4 or 5 steps even before you get through: check in - go to another counter to pay your departure tax - go to another counter to have the departure tax receipted - go to the next counter to have your passport stamped and then at least your through. But wait there's more - our flight we were advised would leave from gate 11 and we proceeded to gate 11 (which is downstairs). When we got to the stairs to go down 2 guards at tables were checking bags etc. for water bottles. When he asked what flight and where we were going we weren't allowed through as "you have to wait for the current flight to leave before you can go to the gate". I'm not sure why but there was no way we were getting through. Once they packed up and left (20 minutes) we then went downstairs to the gate and waited for our flight. But it doesn't end there! There was a monitor above the departure gate but no details - then 30 minutes before our flight was due to leave 2 employees rolled up and placed the various flags and placards of their airline next to the gate - and these were of a different airline to ours. Upon enquiry as to our flight they had no idea (which was understandable as they are a different airline). Result - upstairs again and in a hurry to find which gate we were supposed to be at. We ended up locating where we had to be (gate 9) but there was no announcement; no details on any of the monitors to inform us that the gate had changed. Overall a shambles to be honest which leaves me thinking twice about returning.

I've found a quiet time - 2pm on a Friday. Immigration was quick however on the second visit luggage took 45 minutes. Taxis are more organised but despite increasing the listed fares they still don't honour them (the board now says R70k to "Kuta 2" but they want R100k and even my Indonesian colleague couldn't get below R95k). And there's still a long walk from the booking booth (just before the gauntlet of shops at the exit - note that the only convenient ATM is opposite the booth) to where the taxis actually are.

Had a connecting flight in just two hours after landing and was a bit worried about the long immigration lines after reading some reviews here. All in all the whole experience with many queues i.e. visa on arrival - immigration - collecting luggage - check-in to the next flight - departure tax - immigration again took less than one hour. Most of the queues were short and fast. The only disappointment was that just transiting through the place cost me 56 USD - 35 USD for visa on arrival and 21 USD for departure tax (it is actually 200000 Rp but they use some crazy exchange rate if you want to pay in USD).

The airport is slowly growing with many more shops and gate lounges now in operation. The lounges need departure and arrival screens and PA systems. The departure gates are still constantly changing which needs to be rectified. The arrival situation is a disaster with a two hour period just standing waiting to get through immigration. We spent fifteen minutes total time in Melbourne airport upon our return. Denpasar is a disgrace as far as this goes. Departure from there is not that much better.

I went through this airport twice in the last two weeks both times I landed between 17.30 and 18.30 and left between 7.00 am and 11.00am. There was no waiting at visa on arrival or immigration and it took less then 10 mins to get to the baggage hall. The departure hall is a big improvement over the old terminals. All in all a good experience.

For a brand new airport terminal I was staggered to find out there are absolutely no drinking water fountains and the water in the toilets is not potable. So when you empty your water bottles at the security check point there is no way to refill your bottles before boarding your flight. This is a very handy scam for the shop owners who make a lot of money by selling bottled water. Why they built a new airport terminal without one drinking water fountain beggars belief. Unfortunately like all airports they are monopoly businesses set up to extract as much money as possible from people that must be rich enough to travel therefore no sympathy for them.

Fantastic modern Airport. On arrival progressed swiftly through immigration visa control and baggage checks my baggage already on carousel from landing to sitting in a Taxi it was just 30 minutes. Very friendly officials. Departure baggage and boarding very efficient you enter through very well sited duty free shops before entering the main lounge. Plenty of good hospitality available especially Last wave where you can get your last Bintang. The quality of the food is excellent and although slightly higher priced its well worth the money. Everything is easily accessible plenty of seating areas. Departure was on time and very smoothly run.