Tokyo to Bali: Cost of flights from Tokyo to Denpasar

Despite the Indonesian island of Bali being a favorite vacation destination for many Japanese, direct flights from Tokyo to the Bali capital of Denpasar are limited. During peak seasons many Japanese travelers may opt for package deals which cover hotel stay and transport to Bali on a charter flight instead. This lack of direct flights from Tokyo to Bali may mean that getting seats around the busy periods is tricky and those that might be available closer to desired departure dates can cost well over 200,000 yen for return flights.

While the idea of spending time in transit may not appeal to Japanese holidaymakers who are typically restricted to vacations of just a few days, those with a little more flexibility should have no trouble getting from Tokyo to Bali using connecting flights. Popular transit hubs include Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

How long does it take to fly from Tokyo to Bali?

At a distance approaching 6,000 km flights from Tokyo to Bali typically take over 7 hours 30 mins out and just over 7 hours coming back. Travelers using connecting flights might be able to get flight times down to around 10 hours, although up to 14 hours will present far more flight choices. Longer transit times can take things to over 25 hours.  

When is the cheapest time to fly from Tokyo to Bali?

With Bali being an all-year-round hot / beach destination the cost of flights from Japan will be subject to significant increases during Japan’s peak holiday seasons of Golden Week (end of April - early May), Obon (mid-August) and the New Year period. As we mentioned earlier, travel during these times can see those direct flights between Tokyo and Denpasar reach well above 200,000 yen return as cheaper seats get booked up.  

How much does it cost to fly from Tokyo to Bali?

Direct and indirect flights depart from both of Tokyo’s international airports -- Narita International Airport (NRT) and Tokyo International Airport / Haneda (HND).

All flights from Tokyo to Bali will arrive at Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) located right in the heart of the tourist scene in southern Bali.  

There are no train services on Bali. Getting to / from the airport will probably mean a taxi or hotel shuttle service for most. Take regulated taxis from the counter outside of the arrivals hall. Prices are regulated and things are generally hassell free. While distances are relatively short to the popular destinations in southern Bali, the traffic is almost always a nightmare. Be prepared for tired frustration.

Ngurah Rai International Airport had a massive facelift in recent years but don’t let this fool you. Such is Bali’s ever increasing popularity the airport already appears in need of an expansion of its facilities. It’s a nice enough place, it just isn’t big enough to handle all the human traffic without keeping travelers waiting in long queues.  

We could only find three airlines operating direct flights between Tokyo and Bali: Garuda Indonesia, All Nippon Airways, and AirAsia. The cheapest direct flights were those from AirAsia at around 38,000 yen return, without any add-ons. Of the flag carriers, Garuda Indonesia were the cheapest way to get from Tokyo to Denpasar with their economy fares at around 79,000 yen return.

The cheapest indirect flights from Tokyo to Denpasar came from budget airline “scoot” and Philippine flag carrier Philippine Airlines, with both of their cheapest fares starting from around 53,000 yen. While indirect flights from Tokyo to Denpasar with Philippine Airlines require a transit in the Philippine capital Manila, waiting times are reasonable. Flying with “scoot” will require changes in both Taipei (Taiwan) and Singapore.

*NB: Some fare aggregator site that we searched when looking at how much it costs to fly from Tokyo to Bali were suggesting that Skystar Airways are the cheapest / most regular airline. However, according to our research the Bangkok-based airline has been out of operation since 2009.

It’s also worth noting that on some booking platforms run by the airline itself, searching for “Denpasar” might not reveal any options. Try entering “Bali” in this case.

Bali is home to some of the world’s best surf breaks and is accordingly popular as a surfing destination. Any airlines flying to Bali would be remiss if they didn’t understand this so surfers should have few problems in flying with their boards. However, the budget airlines like AirAsia and “scoot” my present more limitations in terms of the size of boards that can be carried. Check before you purchase tickets.

*All costs are listed in Japanese Yen and are based on booking directly with the airlines listed, online, around one month before departure.

Cost of direct flights from Tokyo to Denpasar (Bali)

Garuda Indonesia

The only direct flights from Tokyo to Denpasar with Garuda are those that depart from Narita International Airport.

We found that when making bookings through the Garuda booking platform entering "Tokyo all airports" during searches only showed those flights departing from Haneda, all of which required a transfer in Jakarta. Even after selecting the “direct” filter those departures from Narita were not shown, even though they were available.  Enter "Narita" directly, instead.

One flight per day from Narita departing at 11:00.  Flight out around 7 hrs 40 mins.  Flight in around 7 hrs 05 mins.

We found around a 20,000 yen cost difference depending on the day of departure.

All Nippon Airways

ANA has direct departures from Narita to Denpasar. Flights out are around 7 hours 40 mins. Flights in 7 hours 5 mins.

AirAsia

Budget airline AirAsia has one direct departure per day from Narita to Denpasar. There is considerable price fluctuation depending on time and date of departure.

Add-ons “Value Pack” (~ 5,000 yen) and “Premium Flex” (~ 11,000 yen) allow for such budget-airline perks as baggage allowance, meals, and seat selection.

While AirAsia has transit flights (via Bangkok) available going out, all return flights appear to be direct.

Cost of indirect flights from Tokyo to Denpasar (Bali)

Garuda Indonesia

There seem to be 4 or 5 flights per day bound for Denpasar, Bali from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Departure times are at 11:45 and 23:30 (at the time of research). All of these flights involve a change at Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

The quicker flights out take around 11 hrs 40 mins (including the 2-hour stop in Jakarta). Longer flights out are around 25 hours with 16 hours of that in Jakarta. It’s a similar story with the inbound flights.  How much do these flights cost?

All Nippon Airways

Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, and Hong Kong are all connecting options for indirect flights with ANA between Tokyo and Bali. Flight times out and in are kept in the reasonable 10 - 12 hour range.

Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines has departures from Tokyo (Narita International Airport) with transfers at Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, or Jakarta. Return flight times are a reasonable 11 - 13 hours. Outbound flights start from around 13 hours and, in some cases, can get up to around 25 hours. Departures are available from Narita International and Haneda.

Premium Economy Saver seats with JAL were an option on outbound flights for the dates we selected, but not on return journeys. Combining this seat type with an “Economy Flex” produced fares around 424,650 return.

scoot

Scoot Airlines have flights from Tokyo (Narita) to Bali (Denpasar) but those for the dates that we checked all required two transfers in Taipei (Taiwan) and Singapore. Flight times are around 25 - 30 hours out and around 14 - 20 hours in. We found the very basic return fares from around 90,000 yen. One way fares from around 35,000 yen.

Philippine Airlines

The Philippine capital Manila seems a logical point of transit between Tokyo and Bali. National flag carrier Philippine Airlines has two flights daily departing from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. It’s a 5-hour flight from Tokyo to Manila and a 3 hour 45 min-flight from Manila to Denpasar.

While the around 8-hour wait on earlier departures from Tokyo may not appeal, the later flight has a transit time of just over 3 hours. One of the return options has a very brisk transit time of just over one hour.

Singapore Airlines

Another popular transit point for flights between Tokyo and Bali, Singapore Air has flights with some very reasonable transit times (1 - 4 hours) at Changi Airport on the way out, and departures from both Narita and Haneda airports. Return flights have the option of a transit time of just over 1 hour. After that, transit times increase dramatically to around 8 - 9 hours.

Notes on Ngurah Rai International Airport

These notes are based purely on the personal experience of the person writing this.

Departures from Ngurah Rai International Airport can be a hassell. As was mentioned earlier, there are so many people traveling to Bali these days that even this relatively new facility is already looking overstretched. 

The departure procedure is a confusing one in the sense that travelers have to go through a security check with all their luggage before they can check in at airline counters. An extra queque basically.  

Space around airline check-in counters can be tight with quesques stretching here, there, everywhere. It isn’t always clear which queue you should be in.

While waiting in the queue, airport security staff made jokes about this traveler’s somewhat worn suitcase suggesting it would be easy for someone to stash some cocaine in without me noticing. Well aware of Indonesia’s draconian rules regarding such things, it brought me out into a cold sweat rather than a laugh.

While Bali is one of the world’s premier surfing destinations, at the time of this traveler’s visit, at check boardbags couldn’t be handled at counters directly. Basically, you just had to leave them in what appeared to be an arbitrary space in the middle of the airport to be collected by staff. If you’re paranoid about leaving luggage unattended you might not like this but there seemed to be no way around it at the time.

Have you ever taken a flight from Tokyo to Bali? How much did it cost? Let us know in the comments.

Further reading ... 

How much does it cost to travel from Narita Airport to Tokyo?

Haneda Airport, Tokyo: A first-timer's guide to international travel

How much does it cost to travel from Taiwan to Japan?

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