Cruises Are Quickly Becoming Top Way For Tourists To Travel To Bali

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Cruise travel in Bali is experiencing a surge in popularity right now and is poised to become a major travel trend in 2026 and beyond.

Over the last five years, Bali has made major infrastructural redevelopments in order to receive jumbo cruise liners and even more tourists. 

In the last week, two luxury cruise liners docked in Bali’s Benoa Harbor at the same time. Benoa Harbour can now welcome three jumbo cruise liners at once, accommodating more than 2,000 people.

The Viking Venus and Silver Moon arrived at Benoa Harbour International Terminal with more than 2,000 tourists and crew. The vessels were the 50th and 51st cruise liners to dock in Bali in 2025. 

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The General Manager of Benoa Port, Anak Agung Gede Agung Mataram, told reporters that the international terminal currently has a capacity of up to 3,000 people, with a 500-meter pier. The pier will soon be extended to 1,300 meters to accommodate four cruise ships simultaneously.

Mataram explained, “Technically, we are capable of handling simultaneous cruise arrivals. Last February, we served three cruise ships docking together. Our terminal is also capable of handling the turnaround of 3,000 people simultaneously. Therefore, we can say that in terms of facilities and services, we are ready to become a home port for tourism.”

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The focus on levelling up Benoa Port to receive more cruise ships is part of the effort to transform Benoa into the Bali Maritime Tourism Hub.

The complex is being redeveloped into a multi-purpose maritime tourism area that will include restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, tourism attractions, leisure and retail facilities. This is all in addition to a luxury yacht marina set to catapult Bali onto the world stage as a luxury yachting destination. 

The Sub-Regional Head of Pelindo Bali, who has overseen the development, Nusra Fariz Hariyoso, shared what can be expected from the Bali Maritime Tourism Hub development in the coming years.

Hariyoso shared, “We are currently developing a marina area in development area 1. This is a collaboration between our subsidiary, PT SPSL, and PT MDI. A pontoon dock will be built at BMTH, ready to accommodate around 180 yachts.”

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Speaking alongside Hariyoso Pelindo’s Senior Manager of Legal and Public Relations, Karlinda Sari, outlined how the Bali Maritime Tourism Hub will integrate with tourism spaces across the island. Pelindo will be forging connections with Bali’s top tourist attractions to make it easy for cruise travelers to explore the inland regions of the province.

Sari shared, “One of them, Pelindo, has prepared its fostered village, Penglipuran Tourism Village, as an international tourist destination, including for cruise tourists who stop by. As a result, approximately 400 foreign tourists who stop by at Benoa Port visit Penglipuran Village every year.”

Data from Pelindo, which has been in charge of Benoa Harbour for years, shows a steady increase in cruise ship visits to the dock over the past three years. In 2023, there were 48 cruise ships with 78,241 passengers.

In 2024, this increased to 56 vessels with 107,717 passengers. The arrival of Viking Venus and Silver Moon brings the total to 51 cruise ship arrivals and a total of 96,013 passengers. The dock is preparing to welcome a further 15 vessels before the end of the year. 

2026 is set to be the biggest year on record for cruise travel in Bali, with 73 cruise ships already scheduled to dock, and more could be added before the end of the year as demand continues to grow.

With more tourist activity in Benoa, Bali Police have increased their presence in the area. In order to provide security support to both tourism vessels and cargo ships arriving at the dock.

Benoa Police Chief, Commissioner Ni Wayan Adnyani Prabawati, told reporters earlier this month, “Benoa Port is committed to continuously improving services and supervision of passenger ship activities to ensure the safety, security, and comfort of all port service users.”