Cheap flights to Bali for Australians

It costs $624 on average to fly to Bali from Australia, according to August 2021 data from Cheapflights.

According to Skyscanner data you can save as much as 11% on Christmas flights to Bali by booking in the final week of August if you're travelling in from Perth and in the first week of September if you're travelling from Sydney. If you're coming in from Brisbane, you can save up to 10% by booking in July.

Generally, the longer you wait the higher the cost of flights with prices starting to rise dramatically from mid-October.

Flying out on or before 10 December can help further cut costs. However, it's difficult to save much on your return seat, as fares don't start to decline until 25 January.

Direct flights are available to Bali from eight cities, which are listed with their flight times below. If you're coming from a regional airport, depending on where your stopover is and the schedule of your domestic flight, it could take a few extra hours to reach Denpasar Airport.

Eight airlines offer direct service between Australian airports and Bali (Denpasar), with people living in Perth being the most spoiled for choice.

• Jetstar: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
• Malindo Air: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney
• Qantas: Sydney, Melbourne
• Virgin Australia: Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, Port Hedland, Sydney
• Batik Air: Perth
• Citilink: Perth
• Garuda Indonesia: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
• Indonesia AirAsia: Perth

If you're booking based on price alone, keep in mind which airlines offer full-service flights and which offer budget. If you're adding on bags, meals, entertainment or drinks your budget airline may not be so wallet-friendly.

Of the above, Batik Air, Garuda Indonesia, Malindo, Qantas and Virgin Australia offer flights including checked baggage, while Citilink, Jetstar and Indonesia AirAsia don't.

We compared airlines that fly direct to Bali to see what benefits each includes. Flights referred to below are for the lowest possible fare type.

• From Sydney: Several times daily on Jetstar, Garuda Indonesia, Virgin Australia and Qantas (peak only).
• From Melbourne: Several times daily on Jetstar and Garuda Indonesia.
• From Perth: Several times daily on AirAsia, Jetstar, Garuda Indonesia and Qantas.
• From Brisbane: Several times daily on Jetstar and Virgin Australia.
• From Adelaide: Several times daily on Jetstar.
• From Darwin: Several times daily on AirAsia and Jetstar.
• From Cairns: Several times a week on Jetstar.
• From Port Hedland: Once a week on Virgin Australia
• From Townsville:Once a week on Jetstar.

Both budget airlines and standard carriers fly between Australia and Bali and more often than not, the budget airlines will offer more economical prices.

However, this doesn't come without reason as low-cost carrier such as Jetstar will not include extras such as checked in luggage, meals and seat selection in their initial pricing. If you'd like to include these, you will need to pay extra. This might work in your favour if you're planning on a quick trip where all you're packing is a bikini, but if you'd like to spend a little more time on the island or wish to pack an extra pair of shoes, it might be worth weighing up the costs of checked baggage to see if a more expensive seat or carrier works better.

You might also like to consider that while the flight to Bali from Darwin can be as short as 2 hours and 50 minutes, the flight from Sydney is around 6 hours and 30 minutes. For such a long flight, it may be preferable to have a comfortable seat and onboard meal.

Ngurah Rai International Airport, the only commercial airport on the island, is located between Kuta and Jimbaran in Bali's south.

• Kuta: 12 minutes (4 kilometres)
• Jimbaran Beach: 15 minutes (5.5 kilometres)
• Seminyak: 20 minutes (10 kilometres)
• Nusa Dua: 20 minutes (12 kilometres)
• Sanur: 30 minutes (15 kilometres)
• Ubud: 1 hour, 15 minutes (40 kilometres)