Bali’s Busiest Christmas And New Year Travel Days Revealed

Share The Article

As December approaches, Bali is gearing up for one of the busiest travel times of the year.

The Christmas and New Year holidays in Bali, known locally as Nataru, are known to be chaotic for domestic and international travelers as demand for vacations on the Island of the Gods soars. 

Indonesia’s Minister for Human Development and Culture, Pratikno, has been speaking to reporters and sharing travel forecasts for the upcoming holidays.

The Minister told reporters, “As we know, we have set the 25th for the Christmas (public) holiday. December 26th, 2024, is a joint leave (public holiday), And it is estimated that the peak of homecoming, according to teams from the Ministry of Transportation, the survey is on December 24th; that’s a Tuesday.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Travel and Classics (@travel_and_classics)

Tourists planning on arriving in Bali on December 24th or traveling by car anywhere on December 24th should be braced and ready for plenty of traffic on the roads.

In fact, while December 24th is predicted to be the busiest day on the island for incoming travelers, peak Christmas and New Year traveler movement can be forecast between December 16th and January 3rd.

Pratikno told reporters, “Therefore, we have to anticipate early, before the peak of homecoming flow on December 24th, that is Saturday, December 21st; perhaps the homecoming flow has also started.”

By homecoming, he is referring to domestic travelers heading towards their family homes, either outside of their cities or very often outside of their usual residential provinces. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bali Life – Best Life 🌴 (@balilife)

Though Indonesia is a majority Muslim country, Indonesia has, in fact, the world’s second-largest Christian population in the Muslim world, home to around 29 million Christians. Christmas, as both a religious and commercial holiday, is widely observed in Indonesia, and Bali is a popular destination for Indonesian families during this time. 

Pratinko also spoke of busy days at bus terminals, airports, ferry ports, and on the roads during the ‘return flow’ of the holiday period. He warned of a second surge of mass travel movement on New Year’s Eve, with many people traveling to Bali, especially for New Year’s Eve celebrations, arriving on the afternoon of December 31st.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BALI LIVIN' (@balilivin)

He explained, “That Tuesday [31st], we must anticipate that once again. That Tuesday, Monday [30th], whether people have started to go home or not. The return flow is predicted to take place starting on January 2nd 2025.”

This week’s leader was annoyed that domestic airfares have been slashed by 10% this holiday season, making it even easier for both Indonesian and international tourists to travel affordably this December. 

The huge influx of domestic tourists over the Christmas and New Year holidays is surpassed by the number of international tourist arrivals during the festive season.

Over one million international tourists visit Bali during December, and in 2023, international arrivals surpassed predictions, which resulted in travel chaos on the roads, especially over the New Year holiday.

Wild scenes on the Bali Mandara Toll Road and surrounding highways show tourists abandoning their taxi rides in order to run with their luggage to the airport, often over a kilometer away, as traffic congestion hits gridlock and flights run on time. 

Management at Bali Airport has already confirmed that they are doing their part to predict and placate travel chaos during the Christmas holidays.

Speaking earlier this month, the General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, told reporters, “Our Nataru preparation has eight main programs. The first is coordination with related agencies. We have held meetings with various stakeholders almost 3 to 4 times, including the Kapolres, Danlanud, and Kapolda [police forces] and other agencies.”

He added, “The main purpose of this meeting was to discuss the challenges we face, especially related to the major traffic jam that occurred in 2023 on the toll road, which has had an impact on the situation at the airport.”

Tourists traveling in Bali, whether to and from the airport or out and about for day trips, tours, and dining reservations, are reminded to follow simple but essential advice: leave more time than you think you will need, bring snacks, and your patience.