Denpasar Bali Airport

As a frequent traveller to Bali I have got to know it reasonably well and the key to the experience is when you arrive and depart. If you are fortunate enough to arrive from Kuala Lumpur at lunchtime you will have a much better experience than if you arrive in the afternoon when there is a rush of large planes. Same as when you depart. The midnight flights back to Australia are usually packed so expect long delays when you are departing. The queuing for visas and then the queuing for immigration make this one of the worst airports in South East Asia. There is the corrupt VIP service which allows you to skip the lines if you pay an extra $25 each and families often fork out this to avoid hour long delays in non air-conditioned space. There is no duty free on arrival either and as other reviewers have mentioned beware of the porters. The shops when you are leaving though are excellent.

An openly hostile attitude greets travellers at both immigration and customs but my gripe is that the transit lounge has been closed which means that travellers are forced to purchase a temporary visa (US$25) irrespective as to whether their connecting flight departs in five minutes or five days.

Arrived about 18.30 for our flight to Darwin and had a meal in the main lounge area. The meal was good both my wife and I remained at the cafe for 2 hrs and then moved to the boarding lounge had no problems passing through immigration or any of the security posts. When the boarding call was made for this flight we moved through the check-in down the passage way to the last security post this is where it started to go wrong. A young man on the security check told us we were on the wrong flight during this time he became quite animated using a loud voice. It had now been announced final call and we were still having trouble he maintained that this was wrong and would not listen to us to resolve this I waived an older officer over to sort things out and all was cleared in a matter of minutes.

Depending on arrival time the place can be smooth to get through or backed up for a good hour. Porters are pushy and always around to carry your bag for a fee. Be careful to book your taxi at the counter just outside the greeter area. The airport is sorely in need of renovations. Only two toilets at either end of the terminal shops full of junk smoking allowed in cafes and no wifi. Better hope you have lounge access.

Arrived late after midnight. Visa on arrival + Immigration took at least 1 hour. Bags had been removed from the carousel by relentless porters. They'll grab your bag before you have a chance to get to it. They shouldn't be allowed inside the customs area- we weren't sure if they were legit airport staff. Had one follow us through customs and direct us to money changer (not great rates). We ditched him without tip because we didn't really want him following us anyway. Taxi queue outside was very long and slow moving. Suggest you arrange a transfer in advance.

Pleasantly surprised - both incoming and outgoing - no real hassles crowds or delays - just follow the signs. Arrival to pick up approx 30mins drop off to duty free shopping approx 25 mins. That was in March 2011. Can't say the same about Melbourne arrivals - 1hr 30mins!

Didn't really like the atmosphere around the airport. It was way to crowded and unorganised. There was a very long queue when I had to pay the airport tax and could hardly find anywhere to sit.

I was prepared for the worst when I arrived at Bali airport after reading all those terrible reviews. I was arriving on Malaysia Airlines from KL and our flight was delayed for 1 hour. Maybe that was the reason that there was nobody queuing at immigration and we were outside within 20 minutes after arriving. Immigration and customs took no more than 5 minutes as my passport allows for a visa free entrance to Indonesia. Once you leave customs there is a long row of money changers but don't be a fool and change money there. The rates in town are much better. Our arrival was very efficient and I could not fault it except the long walk from our gate to immigration which took about 5-10 minutes as gate 2 is at the far end. Departure was not as good as you already have to pass through security just to enter the building. Check-in was ok and took a while even though we were already checked in online. Paying the exit tax was pretty straight forward and involved no queuing. Once pass immigration there are a few shops but the prices are not competitive if you compare it to other Asian airports in the region. The airport is old but I have seen worse. You pass through security again at your gate and once inside there is nothing much so do not bother going to early. Boarding was civilized but the infrastructure is really outdated. The gate agents set up a microphone and stereo set to announce the boarding calls as the gate did not have a speaker system. I found I was probably very lucky to have this smooth experience in Bali.

While expensive I recommend using an arrival concierge service. The mid-afternoon is particularly brutal as multiple widebodies arrive within a few minutes of each other. We arrived took our time walking then met by our agent. He took passports and visa fee then escorted us past immigration to where we waited for luggage. Around the time it came off he appeared with our passports. So we're talking 15 minutes top which we killed hitting the ATM and bathrooms. He then helped us to the front of the final xray queue then past the hawkers and helped us locate our driver. $30 per person but worth it.

Horrible experience waited 1 hour at immigration. On top of that they take 25USD visa fee from you to come into the country and 15USD tax to leave the country. Therefore you get an old ugly airport and chaotic surroundings. For me such kind of handling is unacceptable in a popular tourist destination and we will never go there again and spend our money somewhere else like in Thailand or Malaysia.