Denpasar Bali Airport

Arrived at Bali late afternoon with Malaysia Airlines. Had arranged VIP service so arrival experience was great. Walk straight through the immigration. However if you are not arriving at the peak hours save your money. The queue wasn't too bad at all. I was also surprised how fast they deliver luggage to the belt. The meeting points for pick up was chaotic. I have never seen an airport so busy. Even if you stay at a 5* hotel you might have difficulty in locating your driver. Traffic leaving the airport was bad but that was part of the Bali experience – chaotic order. Leaving the airport was a bit easier. Took a midday flight and it wasn't the peak period at DPS. Before proceed to the check in area we were asked to show our ticket. I was bit amused since nowadays who would have a paper ticket? Luckily they just wanted to confirm that I was actually a passenger so my iphone calendar with flight number confirmed that. Luggage drop was easy no queue and was handled by a very friendly lady. The departure hall was larger than I expected with a lot of shops. Most of them overpriced but that’s the same in all airports in the world. Terminal building is very dark and not interesting so I went straight to the lounge.

The check-in area for international on the ground level is fine but when you get to the departure area through immigration that's where things go bad. Seating is very poor and rather than create areas with windows the airport management have given priority to making it a giant shopping mall full of overpriced goods and people in the walkways continually hassling you for massage services. There are very few seats in the airport despite many empty seats in the numerous eating outlets. If you want to watch the aircraft coming and going you have to go to the gate lounge but you're not allowed into this area until shortly before your flight departs. The cleanliness of the airport is satisfactory and staff are friendly. One other negative thing about the airport is that it is about a 300-500m walk once out of the terminal to the start of the car park. Unfortunately for those of you travelling to Bali - this is the only airport option. On the positive side - there is the selection of a new airport building and a couple of cranes so hopefully in the next 3 - 10 years this will be completed with adequate windows and runway viewing areas.

I really like this airport it really is Bali in a nutshell. I read people complaining about porters and immigration officers who let you walk past the line for $25 extra. Those people have to understand that that is just how Bali and frankly Indonesia in general is. Westerners don't usually understand the approach of these porters they can seem intimidating. In the end it's of course money that makes the world go round but a part of them is genuinely trying to be helpful.

The domestic terminal of this airport is in desperate need of serious upgrades. The waiting areas are overcrowded with seats that are not well maintained. The check in area looks very unappealing. Also the check in staff need to tell passengers to ensure that they pay airport tax as there is no clear signage about it. I had to go back to pay the airport tax before I could proceed airside.

What a badly designed badly run and expensive place to travel through! US$25 per traveller coming into Bali and $15 in Rupiah going out. The drop off/pick up points are a couple of hundred yards from the international terminal. This means you have to run the gauntlet of greedy porters and it also means trouble for anyone with less than perfect physical fitness. Strangely there seem to be pick up lanes just outside the terminal which have been closed off and disguised with large pot plants. Coming into Bali airside you are presented with a line of men in casual clothes who will short cut the immigration line (and also allow you to bypass the mandatory fingerprinting of visitors) if you pay them an extra fee. Then it's a case of fighting through the porters and the mystery of locating the pick up point to leave the campus. Leaving Bali there is the security check as you enter the terminal (not sure why) followed by heaps of expensive shops and several so-called business class lounges which in fact are just lounges which bargain against each other to try and get you to pay enter and use their services. You'll be generally badgered by retailers and lounge staff as you move through. However where staff are genuinely needed at the second set of security checks before the gates you'll find a paucity with the predictable enormously long lines. I arrived 3 hours before my flight and despite doing no shopping or "lounging" I only just boarded my plane in time. The second security check had 3 staff checking hand baggage and passengers for 3 flights. Then another "open your bag" security check at the gate itself. Denpasar is a horrible airport set out to extract the maximum amount of cash from unwary travellers and it can at times feel threatening. I've never been through such a bad experience when travelling. I couldn't come up with a similarly bad airport.

Arrived by Garuda who have really lifted their game. However organised chaos would be a good description. Earlier comments re porters is true airport authorities need to take a more proactive attitude and not be complacent. Departures information boards are sketchy there is practically no public seating so I stood and walked around for 2 hours. Went out to a plane in a bus during pouring rain.

Clearly not designed for the numbers of people it handles. However I was there in low season and I think staff at least make a good attempt at moving people through efficiently. The biggest problem is the huge distance from the terminal to drop-off points with touts all along the way. Also the prices in the airport are the same as western airports (despite Bali being otherwise very cheap).

A total circus at the airport immigration wait was not too bad although very unfriendly at the Visa Section. The Porters are a total joke! We ended up with 5 Porters holding onto our two bags and all demanding copious amounts of US dollars for handling them. We found the Porters intimidating to say the least! Completing the checking in process took an age so my advice would be to leave sufficient time prior to boarding.

Make sure to use the toilets on the plane the next toilets will be before immigration but that could leave you even further towards the end of the queue. It will be hot in the immigration hall and there are no seats. The entry visa of US$25 can be paid in rupiah. Would always recommend to get transfers organized by the hotel not an external company. Departing from Denpasar get there in time as immigration can again take quite a while. Sitting in the final waiting area before departure can get confusing as there are only printed paper signs with your flight number stuck up. Wait outside the boarding gate until the flight has been called a few times.

I got to experience both transfer and local arrival and departure. Arrival was fine. I had read horror stories about Visa on Arrival procedure especially with several flights arriving around midnight but process was smooth and fast. Everything is clearly marked pay for Visa process immigration then exit through customs. All desks were open and took 10 minutes. Transferring to domestic flight had to walk outside to domestic terminal. Domestic terminal is a bit haggard and worn with struggling aircon but well labelled and efficient. Must have Rupiah to pay departure tax. Lots of Taxi touts on exit but just refuse and proceed to taxi desk where rates are preset. Departing from international terminal was smooth but all the shops burning incense inside makes the air quite acrid and there is no place to sit until about a half hour prior to departure when you are finally allowed inside your gate area.