visa upon arrival in bali
 

has the situation improved for visa upon arrival at denespar? i last did it in 2004 and it took about 1.5 hours in line to accompolish this feat.....with little or no a/c...

i may consider a visa here in usa before i leave if it is still a problem...

thanks

When we went at Christmas in 2004 it took about 15 minutes total to pay at one booth and get the stamp at the next booth. Didn't notice it being particularly hot or anything, either.

I went in Sept. 07 and it could not have taken more than 15 minutes.

Almost forgot - you do need cash and you have to have the correct year if you are using a $100 bill. Really, it was simple.

Visitors from the US bringing American currency should bring $100 bills as they get the highest exchange rate. Also the bills should be later than year 2000 with no tears, stains, ink marks or blemishes. There are also certain ’series’ notes that have been flagged for counterfeit that will not be accepted

I go to Bali 3 or 4 times a year, and rarely have to wait more than 15 or 20 minutes in either of the lines. Jakarta is almost always worse than Bali.

As a previous poster mentioned, bring CASH for the visa - EXACT CHANGE. You don't want to waste one of your $100 on that, as you'll get US$ back in change - and as they said, you don't want to change anything smaller than a 100 if you can avoid it.

Check with your bank on ATM charges for overseas use. If they're not horrific, use an ATM for local currency instead of bringing a wad of 100's. Even so, I usually have a couple of $100 bills tucked away somewhere for emergencies.

I think there's an element of luck in the wait time. If it's a holiday or if a couple of 747s land at the same time, you can sometimes get long, long lines.

They take Visa and MasterCard in Jakarta. I've never gone through the visa process in Bali so I'm not sure if credit cards are acceptable there.

If you obtain the required Indonesian Visa in the USA before heading to Bali, do you avoid the Visa line on arrival for sure?

In other words, are you confronted with two lines when you land? The first to obtain the Visa and then a second line for passport control? Or, is it just one line where you purchase your Visa and they also check your passport? If its the former than maybe we would be inclined just to obtain the Visa here before departing. With my luck lately, I seem always to arrive at immigration precisely five minutes after all the passengers from some 747 have deplaned and gotten into the passport line -- directly in front of me.
Thanks.

robert...when we went if you had your visa already you could just go directly to immigration

Thanks, that is what I wanted to know. I will confirm how long the Visa takes to get here in NYC. A woman from the Indonesian consulate told me at last week's NYTimes travel expo at the Javits Center (a really good expo, with great booths and tons of information from most every country, tour operator, etc.) that it might just take a day or so.

From the NYC consulate website, the paperwork requirements seem like a bit of a pain though....bank letter, employment letter. Has anyone applied for a visa at the consultate or embassy?

Cruisin:
The consulate's website does seem to indicate you need all that information for a tourist Visa. Forget that.

I tried calling the consulate here in NYC to confirm but got only a voice mail box. I'll try again next week. If true, and you need all that info., that solves that question.
Thanks.

We are going to Bali in June and are staying at the Four Seasons. They offer a service for visas, is it worth it?

Below is the description:

On your request, we can arrange a personal meeting service immediately upon disembarkation or in the arivals hall. You can relax and enjoy complimentary refreshments at the waiting lounge while your personal assiatants take care of your immigration, Visa on Arrival (VOA) and luggage claim. A charge of US$40 per person plus 21% tax and service will apply for this seamless service exclusive the VOA stamp. Please contact Reservations for advance arrangement.

We had no problem or delay getting our visa. Paying $48.40 for a non-issue doesn't make sense.

So you are paying for someone else to stand in line for you. It's not worth $40 per person for me. The $40 doesn't include the visa fee, nor apparently, transport to the hotel. Since recent experiences indicate that the average wait time is 15 minutes, you'll have to decide if it's worth paying someone $80 to wait in line for the two of you. That's an hourly rate of $320... maybe a good retirement biz for some Fodorite who wants to retire to Bali.

haha, okay, thanks. I wasn't sure if it was totally absurd or not, sounds like it is!

I arrived in Bali in November on a Sunday night and the queue took almost an hour.

In November arrived around 7 pm from Singapore, thru in 10 minutes, was very fast.

Is it really a surprise to anyone that the OP had a problem entering this country of calm and grace? I don't know how his Bobness slipped through at all. Of course, they rolled out the black and white carpet for the Panda.

We went to Jakarta in Nov 09. We paid $10 for visa upon arrival for one week and we waited no more than 10 minutes in line. Very easy.
As with applying for visa from the Indonesian councilate in NYC, you have to pay $45 for a month visa even if you are only staying for a week. That's what DH paid last summer, and he had to make two trips to the councilate, one for drop off and the other pick up. I think you can do it by express mail. Yes, you do have to show letter of employment, bank statements and air tickets.

Then, is US$45 or US$40 the current amount?

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

$45

As I recently posted, the 7-day visa is no longer available. You must buy a 30 day visa for $25, period. I have heard of people waiting up to two hours to get through immigration. Like most places, it depends on when you arrive. If a couple of 747's land before you, you're gonna wait.

The trick is to not arrive along with several other flights and all disembark at the same time .And that of course is impossible to predict .

Anyone infirm and need a wheelchair ? Injured ? Sprained ankle ?

If the answer is " yes " to any of the above then you will likely be assisted through immigration , as we were last time, as a result of a travelling companion badly twisting her ankle when arriving at the airport in Melbourne .

The airline arranged , prior to our departure , for us to be met at the plane on arrival , our friend placed in the wheelchair and thereafter we were all fast-tracked through the VIP lane with our attendant taking our $ to pay for the visa .

The queues of hundreds of people from several flights faded behind us.Bliss.

I am thinking of injuring myself before my arrival in June .

Since our flight arrives early afternoon and it seems most of the heavies get in late at night, I'm hoping we'll be okay.

But luckily, either way, our hotel offers the concierge/immigration service free-of-charge, so hopefully it'll be a quick trip through.

When flights arrive on time and it's not a holiday the process is fairly painless. However, if a flight's delayed there's no concept of adding on extra staff so it's very slow. Religious holidays in Bali are an accepted part of the culture; someone is always taking a day off for some reason or other. Again, there's not much anticipation or backup.

I'm actually in Bali right now and it's wonderful. The good news is that it's quiet. The bad news is that all the hotels are doing renovations. Brillant blue skies and magnificent sunsets. I'm off to Sarong for dinner.

Marmot, I'm so jealous....we'll be there in 1 1/2 months..can't wait. Is the Legian doing renovations?

barefoot, yes, the Legian is renovating its lobby bar which has always been fairly wasted space. It's not too distracting but I'm annoyed that they didn't advise me when I made the reservation. There's also construction next door so you want to be on the north side of the building.

Otherwise the beach looks as good as it ever has. The W Resort is going up about a mile up the beach which I think will help upgrade that area.

Also some new restaurants -- notably Metis.

Have you checked out the new Banyan Tree yet? I think it soft-opened last month.

Marmot,
I asked for room 432...I believe that it was you who said it was their favorite studio suite. Is that on the north side of the building? We're not arriving until April 26...maybe the worst of it will be over.
We only have 2 nights at the Legian...which 2 restaurants would you recommend for dinner?
Thanks again for all your helpful information.
Enjoy Bali!

I'm actually IN 432 right now! That's the side you want.

I'm sure the Legian construction will be finished by Easter but the resort next door is moving slowly.

For two nights? I'd definitely choose LaLucciola for one. The other would be either Metis or Sarong. They're both beautiful restaurants with good food. Metis is continental. Sarong pan-Asian. KuDeTa for drinks before or after.

I didn't make it to Banyan Tree or Alila Ulu Watu, though I did have an appointment in the Jimbaran Bukit. That area isn't growing on me.

Thanks Marmot for the restaurant recommendations. And I hope I get room 432....I'll look for your "secret" message!

Anyone, is there a way to find out what flights are arriving on a specific date?

On specific dates, I don't think so, but you can look at current flight status here:

http://asia-airports.com/indonesia/d...ght-status.php

And it will show you what flights are scheduled to arrive on the current day. Checking back for a few days will give you a feel for what arrives at the same time you do, and the closer you get to your travel date, the more accurate it will be.

Another vote for Sarong. Great place. Indian and Thai. While the two cuisines are a bit at odds (I would try to focus on one), the samosas there were excellent, as was the snapper green curry. And, they have a tuna starter, small pieces of tuna served in bettel (sp?) leaves that is just great. Have fun.

Thanks Michael BKK....I'll check that out to see if we should spring for the visa service or not. And tengohambre, thanks for the specific food recommendations....think we'll try that one out since it's more Asian.

We usually have Indian at Sarong as we don't like to mix up the cuisines but in addition to Thai and Indian they also have talented Chinese and Indonesian chefs. The concept is truly all-Asian, which sometimes works and sometimes is too confusing.

We like to sit in the garden area -- or near the garden when it rains.

Marmot, could you tell me if the Kumala Pantai renovations are finished, please?
Many thanks

Sorry, no information on the Kumala Pantai. Their neighbor, the Padma, is also undergoing a complete makeover. I hope they don't price themselves out of the family/moderate range.

OK thanks Marmot. If you're looking for a decent coffee, the "Coffee Shop" (LHS heading towards Kuta) is pretty good.

I am not sure about the Kumala but when last there 2 years ago we decided not to go back unless we could be in the old wing. The two new wings facing each other meant lack of privacy and noise as there is a pool bar with music all day between the two new wings .

Unpleasant to say the least when you want an afternoon nap .Luckily we were only booked in for 3 nights .

I understood that the Padma renovations to the chalets are finished as my agent is recommending I stay there for part of my time in June at a cost of A$140 per night and a stay 7 pay for 5 deal .

I will double check with her that new / further renos are not starting there or at the Kumala .

Thanks JohnFitz; I like the room on the top LHS side of the block facing the beach at the reception end of the beach. The trees give some seclusion & it was nice & quiet. Not sure I'm too keen if it becomes another big place like the Jayakarta. We'll see, I guess.