As you may have seen in the news, as of February 16th 2022 Bali is now welcoming International flights for the first time in almost 2 years.
While i'm sure many of you have been on the edge of your seats ready to book your tropical escape to the island of the gods, there are still a few hoops to jump through to actually make your holiday dream a reality.
In this article i will be sharing some key information on what you actually need to do in order to get to Bali in 2022.
1.Flights
As mentioned, Bali is now open to International flights from airlines all over the world. However, due to the unpredictability of travel during covid, I would strongly recommend booking a flexible flight when planning your trip to Bali, or anywhere for that matter.
Most airlines are aware of the difficulty in predicting International travel rules and have made changes to their fare terms to adjust to the situation, which is great news if you're looking to book flights in advance.
All it takes is for one positive PCR test before your departure date and your whole trip will be put on hold for the foreseeable future, it's also important to note that many countries have been through extended periods of opening up only to be shut down again if a Covid outbreak occurs.
My other advice would be to do something that I have done for years, and that is to wait until the last minute to book your flights.
It may seem daunting waiting until a few days before your travel plans to book an international flight, but we've found that there still isn't a very high demand for airline tickets (you will most likely have the whole row to yourself on the plane) and this will give you the chance to make sure the situation in Bali is still ok for travel.
2. Visa
Unfortunately it is no longer possible to travel to Bali without a visa, or receive the usual 30 day visa on arrival which can be extended.
Tourists wishing to travel to Bali in 2022 will now have to apply for one of the two available B211A visas,
- B211A Business Visa
- B211A Tourist Visa
There is no difference as far as the application process and cost of these two visas, however the business visa does allow you to conduct business in Indonesia and the visa agency will use a business company as a sponsor.
3.Quarantine Requirements
As of writing this article, the current quarantine requirements for foreign internationals entering Indonesia are as follows:
- 3 doses (boosted) = 3×24 hours quarantine (2 nights)
- 2 doses = 5x24 hours quarantine (4 nights)
- 1 dose = 7x24 hours quarantine (6 nights)
Fortunately you can now fly directly into Bali to undertake your quarantine at one of the many hotels offering hotel quarantine packages.
In fact many of these hotels are offering something they call "bubble experiences" where essentially you are free to move around the hotel property while undertaking your mandatory quarantine.
This is a huge perk if you have room for it in your budget (many of the hotels offering this experience are more expensive than the regular hotels) as you won't be confined to the four walls of your hotel room during your stay.
Check out the list of Bali quarantine hotels here
4. What happens if you test positive during your Quarantine?
This is something that perhaps doesn't get talked about as much as it should, when we flew into Jakarta in November 2021 we were blissfully unaware of the consequences of testing positive for covid during our 2 nights quarantine stay.
Although we were aware that if a positive test did come back we would have to quarantine for an extended period, what we didn't know was that we would be moved to a government-approved isolation facility.
Essentially it's much like a hospital mixed with a hotel, from what we've heard the conditions aren't great, the food is pretty average and don't expect to get much wifi or other comforts you may be used to.
Perhaps the most difficult part of the experiences we've heard from others is the uncertainty of when you will be released, the communication isn't the greatest for obvious reasons and upon reading the fine print I discovered that they are entitled to hold you for up to 28 days if you cannot produce a negative PCR test.
It's also worth noting that while your insurance may cover you for Covid if you are asymptomatic, they may not cover you for your forced quarantine.
There is however a very reliable travel insurance that we use that does cover you for any forced quarantine regardless of symptoms but just be warned that the facility will require you to pay for your stay upfront, and the cost has been reported as anywhere from $100-$200 per day.
While the chances of this happening are pretty slim, it's important to know what you're in for if things to go wrong, and remember you are in a foreign country.
While you may not agree with their rules, this is what you signed up for and you have to respect their rules and regulations.