There are several ways to go from Bali to Lombok – from a quick flight to a slow boat. The middle ground, a fast boat tends to be the most popular way to travel, but you should also consider where in Bali you are and where you need to get to in Lombok. This is a well-traveled route that can take as little as 40 minutes, or as long as 7 hours depending on the mode of transport that you take. We’ve taken two of these different transport options, so this guide covers you on going from Bali to Lombok and why we chose the different transport methods. Here’s our guide on how to get to Lombok from Bali.
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Best Way to Go from Bali to Lombok
Book the fast ferry from Bali to Lombok – its quick, easy and gets you to where 99% of people want to go to.
Where is Lombok
Lombok Island is about 163 kilometers (101 miles) due east of Bali, to the north of Lombok is the Java Sea, and to the south is the Indian Ocean. This is the shortest distance in a straight line, but getting between your start point and end point is obviously different. It’s best to measure this in hours spent traveling rather than the actual distance. As ever with all modes of transport you need to factor in the waiting – for check in for flights, or check in for boats and waiting while your transfer picks up and drops off other people too.
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How to Go from Bali to Lombok – Transport Options
How you decide to go from Bali to Lombok really should be driven by WHERE on the island of Lombok you want to get to. There are several options, you can fly from Bali to Lombok, or you can take a minivan and a ferry. If you opt for the ferry choice then you need to decide which ferry port to leave Bali from and enter Lombok. As I said, look at where it is on Lombok you want to get to, and then pick the route after that. Most people who travel to Lombok from Balia are heading to either Kuta or Senggigi, and I’ll cover which is the best route from Bali to Kuta and also from Bali to Senggigi.
TLDR: These are the best options for
Going from Bali to Kuta, Lombok
So with that said, in our guide on how to go from Bali to Lombok, we’ll cover the fastest way to travel from Bali to Lombok, the easiest way to go to Lombok from Bali, and the cheapest way to get to Lombok from Bali. I’ll also cover the route that we took when going to Lombok from Bali (and why we took that route).
How to get to Lombok from Bali
There are more than 40 boats a day from Bali to Lombok and 3 flights. So it’s not like you’re limited in choice! There are both ferries and fast boats that leave Bali. And the TLDR is that the fast boat is the most popular route to take. (IF, and I repeat IF it’s going to the part of Lombok that you want!). there are two ferry ports in Bali that boats leave from and two ferry ports on Lombok that boats arrive into.
Flights from Bali to Lombok leave from Denpasar (DPS) and arrive at Lombok International Airport (LOP).
To make this a whole lot easier for you I’ve marked the airports and the ferry piers on the map below.
The terms “ferry” and “boat” are used interchangeably, not just in this post, but by the providers. It’s more accurate to say “fast boat” and “slow boat”, the difference in time between these can be up to 5.5 hours (and that’s just the crossing time, not including any transfers at either end!)
The Fast Boat from Bali to Lombok
As it’s the most popular way to go from Bali to Lombok I’ll cover this first. It takes just 90 minutes from boarding the fast boat in Bali to get to Lombok. This is a passenger-only service, so there’s no waiting around for vehicles and cargo to be loaded and unloaded, if speed is your plan then this is for you.
Fast boats leave Bali from either Padang Bai or Serangan. They arrive on Lombok at either Senggigi Pier or Bangsal Pier. Senggiggi is in West Lombok and Bangsal Pier is in North Lombok. Senggigi is the most popular port to arrive at in Lombok.
The best route from Bali to Lombok may also depend on your final destination on Lombok. If you’re going to Kuta on Lombok, then the port of Senggigi is closer. If you’re going to the north of Lombok, then the ferry arriving at Bangsal Pier is closer. Equally, if Mount Rinjani is your destination, Bangsal Pier is closer, although if you’re hiking Rinjani, many of the tour and transport booking services offer a free pickup from Senggigi.
As if there wasn’t enough to contend with there’s a FAST ferry and a speedboat. The fast ferry takes as little as 90 minutes, the speedboat takes 3 hours. (However, the speedboat is NOT the slow boat, which can take up to 7 hours and I’ll cover that next).
The timetable of the various boats depends on the season and it’s best (especially in peak season) to book ahead, you’ll be able to not only pay online by card, but there’s no faffing around buying tickets at the port (and having to arrive early to do that).
Check the timetables and book tickets from Bali to Senggigi here
Check the times and buy tickets from Bali to Bangsal Pier here
There’s no requirement to print your tickets, just show the PDF ticket (that will be emailed to you) when you check in or get collected by your transfer.
NOTE: The fast boat route between Bali and Lombok is subject to a local fee of between 10,000 and 20,000 IDR that is payable in CASH ONLY at the departure port.
The Slow Boat or Ferry from Bali to Lombok
The slow boat, or slow ferry from Bali to Lombok is what you’ll need to take if you’re planning on taking a scooter, motorbike, or bicycle between the two islands. The slow boat to Lombok is the cheapest way to go from Bali to Lombok, it also takes the longest.
However, it may not be convenient location for you to get into. This slow boat to Lombok leaves from Padang Bai, but it arrives in Lembar Harbor on Lombok. It will take about 90 minutes to go from Lembar to Senggigi and about 90 minutes from Lembar to Kuta, Lombok.
The slow boat from Bali to Lombok departs every hour
You can’t book the slow boat from Bali to Lombok online.
You’ll need to book it with a tour operator in Bali, or just turn up at the harbor and buy your tickets there. The slow boat takes up to 7 hours (when we took it the ferry took 6.5 hours) and it goes into Lembar harbor, which is probably NOT convenient for many people. But, if you’re taking a scooter or motorbike with you, then you’ll need to take this ferry, as it’s the only one that has the option for bikes and cars.
Flights from Bali to Lombok
If you’re landing at Denpasar International Airport and heading straight to Lombok, then so long as your flight times coordinate, flying is the easiest way for you to go to Lombok. Flights between Bali and Lombok International take about 40 minutes and there are usually 3 flights a day. The first flight of the day from Bali to Lombok is at 07:10 and the last flight of the day is at 15:10. There’s also a lunchtime flight at 12:50. However, flight times differ slightly with the season, so you’ll want to check the latest timetables here.
It’s easy to get to Denpasar Airport, which is also known as Ngurah Rai International Airport. Just pick up a Grab, or Go-Jek (they’re the ride-sharing services on Bali) and it will take you about 30 minutes from Kuta or about an hour from Canggu.
Flying to Lombok from Bali is the fastest way to go to Lombok – if you’re close to Denpasar and if you’re going somewhere close to the airport on Lombok. You can check prices for Bali to Lombok flights here.
When you arrive at Lombok airport, the quickest way to get to your next destination is a taxi or Grab or Gojek. While these popular ride-sharing services are available on Lombok they’re not as popular as on other Indonesian islands, so it’s best to have a backup plan.
Taxi costs from Lombok airport are (estimates)
- Lombok Airport to Kuta – about 120,000 IDR
- Lombok Airport to Mataram – about 145,000 IDR
- Lombok Airport to Senggigi – about 180,000 IDR
The cheapest way to get from Lombok Airport is to take the DAMRI bus. You can find the latest timetables for the DAMRI bus on Lombok here. Note that the DAMRI bus does NOT go to Kuta Lombok.
Our Experiences of Going from Bali to Lombok
We took the slow boat from Padang Bai to Lembar, with an included transfer from where we’d stayed the previous night (after a very late running flight from Kuching, Malaysia) in Kuta, Bali.
Kuta to Padang Bai
Our bus left Kuta, Bali at 06:00 with about enough legroom for a toddler. Sitting with their legs crossed. (here’s a hint, get on first and snag the front seats, they have marginally more room). Luckily it wasn’t anywhere near full and we were all able to take two seats each and sit sideways. We dropped folks at Ubud, picked others up, and arrived in Padang Bai at a cafe stop and the ferry port (where virtually all the ferries and fast boats leave Bali for Lombok) at 08:30.
After a breakfast of eggs and noodles, we headed to board the ferry.
The Public Ferry from Padang Bai to Lembar
We’re on the 09:00 public ferry to Lembak on the island of Lombok. This ferry goes every hour, 24 hours a day. Most tourists will use fast boats to get to Lombok, but we’re in the cheap seats. It’s a car ferry as well, and there’s one deck for passengers.
There’s plenty of outside sitting space if you like sitting on the deck itself, with some seats that may or may not be in the shade depending on which side of the boat you sit. There’s a snack bar where pot noodles and snacks are for sale. There’s a movie that plays throughout our journey, some seats have tables, and some are just padded benches.
At the back of the snack bar area is a double-decker row of thin, plastic-covered mattresses, which we were told we could lie on for the duration of the trip for 50,000 IDR each. We declined and were offered a “cabin”, which was, we were told, negotiable. We declined that as well and asked a local guy who was laid out across some seats if he could move a little so we could sit down. We were now on the free seats.
The journey passed relatively quickly, it was a smooth crossing, and at 15:30 we pulled into Lembar harbor, where a transfer driver was waiting for us and the others who’d booked a transfer to Senggigi.
Map of Ferry Piers and Airports for going from Bali to Lombok
You can also see the full map for ferries and airports from Bali to Lombok here
Popular Indonesian Routes to Travel
Want to know more about different forms of transport in Indonesia? Our guide to Indonesian transport is here. And here’s how to travel some of the popular routes around Indonesia, your options, and how we did it.
- The Top 5 Scenic Routes in Indonesia.
- How to go from Bali to Lombok
- Going from Ubud to Gilimanuk
- How to go from Banyuwangi to Probolinggo
- How to go from Lombok to the Gili Islands
- Getting to Bromo Independently
- How to get to Kawah Ijen independently
- Going from Bali to Java
- How to get to the Gili Islands from Bali
- Going from Probolinggo to Yogyakarta
- How to get from Banyuwangi to Bromo
- How to get from Surabaya to Probolinggo
The quickest way to get from Bali to Lombok
The time it will take you to get to Lombok from Bali depends on where you’re staying in Bali and where you’re going to on Lombok. Take a look at the map for where the ferry ports and the airports are before you decide which method of transport to use. However, if you’re near Denpasar, then you can fly to Lombok in 40 minutes and you can book tickets from Bali to Lombok here.
The cheapest way to go from Bali to Lombok
The cheapest way to get to Lombok from Bali is to take the slow boat. This is also the transport method that takes the longest time to go from Bali to Lombok, you can’t book this option online.
The best way to go from Bali to Lombok
The best way to go to Lombok from Bali depends on where you are in Bali and where you need to get to on Lombok. We took the slow boat. We returned to Bali on the fast boat. The fast boat is usually the best option for going from Bali to Lombok.
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Final Words on How to Go from Bali to Lombok
Visiting Lombok from Bali is an easy trip to take. You’ll want to look at where minivans and ferries go from and see how far it is from where you are staying in Bali, as it can take as long to travel across Bali as it does to get to Lombok!
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