Bali Tourists Encouraged To Utilize Affordable Public Bus Service In Top Resorts 

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As Bali is about to get incredibly busy this Christmas and New Year holidays, tourists are reminded that Bali’s public bus service, Trans Metro Dewata, is available for both Bali residents and tourists.

This affordable and reliable bus service operates around some of Bali’s most popular tourist resorts. 

Whether hailing a taxi or driving yourself, if you’re going to be in Bali this festive season, encountering traffic congestion at some point during your trip is inevitable.

Tourists are being reminded to leave above and beyond the amount of time needed to travel between destinations and to prepare for delays.

Authorities in Bali have promised to put solutions in place to keep the island’s roads free-flowing, but despite best efforts, there will be traffic jams!

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Bali’s public bus services are often overlooked by tourists, and in fact, very few know that the public bus services are even available. Up in Ubud, for example, the Trans Metro Dewata can be used to travel to Denpasar and connect to resorts like Kuta, Nusa Dua, and I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. 

The Ubud-Denpassar service operates on the 4B Line, which starts at Ubung Terminal in Denpasar at 4.20 am every morning and from the bus stop outside Ubud’s Sacred Monkey Forest at 5.58 am every morning. The route operates until 7 pm in the evening, with the final stop returning to Monkey Forest at 8.28 pm.

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This route is ideal for tourists based in Ubud who want to spend a day exploring all that Denpasar has to offer, which is, in fact, an awful lot! Day trips to Denpasar are a great way to connect to Bali’s cultural heritage, and destinations like Gajah Mada Market are not to be missed. The fare is just IDR 4,400 per person, and payment can be made using an e-money card or QRIS for local residents; cash is not accepted on Bali’s public buses. 

Walking tours of Denpasar have become hugely popular over the last few months and offer tours the chance to explore a side of Bali often overlooked. Though Bali’s most famous temples are located in more rural areas, and the beach resorts are hard to pull yourself away from, a day trip to the heritage sites of Denpasar showcases the cultural riches that made the island a prosperous trading post within the Indonesian Archipelago. 

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For tourists based in the central south of Bali, the Trans Sarbagita Bus service is a great way to dodge traffic jams.

Like the Trans Metro Dewata, tickets for the Trans Sarbagita Bus cost IDR 4,400 for the general public, and departures operate every 30-60 minutes along two routes, the City to GWK Cultural Park Circular route and the City to Batubulan Circular Route.

Full festive season departure schedules can be found on the Trans Sarbagita Bus Instagram page. 

Over the 2024 New Year Holiday, due to huge traffic jams around Kuta, Legian, Jimbaran, and Nusa Dua, the Badung Regency Government laid on a free airport shuttle service from Bali’s busiest resorts. While leaders have not yet announced a similar program for this festive season, it is still likely.

Last year, the shuttle service was only announced at the very last minute as a response to peak traffic congestion. 

However, tourists are traveling through Bali this festive season, so it is best to plan ahead, travel outside of peak traffic hours where possible, and check the weather forecast before setting off.

Flooded roads, flash flooding, fallen trees, and landslides have become major causes of concern in Bali as the island is experiencing one of the most intense monsoon seasons in recent memory.

Rush hour around Bali’s tourist attractions is between 8-10 am and between 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm as both tourist day trips and the working population all begin to head home for the evening.