Highlights of Banyuwangi include the colourful arts and culture of its Lare Osing people, as well as the scenic nature of the surrounding area, from highlands that include forests full of wildlife and coffee and clove plantations around the world’s largest sulfuric crater lake on Mount Ijen. Down on its coastline, there are deserted beaches full of sea turtle nests, while in other areas, such as Plengkung in the bay of Grajagan, aka G-Land, you can enjoy world-class surfing off the Alas Purwo National Park.
how to get from Bali to Banyuwangi
Getting to Banyuwangi from Bali is easy, thanks to public ferries that cross the Bali Strait daily from Gilimanuk port, on Bali’s north-west, to Ketapang Harbour across the strait on East Java. The town and surrounding region of Banyuwangi offers a wide spectrum of attractions that make it a great additional destination to your Bali trip. You’ll need to spare a half day to get there from Kuta, and several days to enjoy most that it offers.
How to Get to Banyuwangi, East Java from Bali
While you can get into Banyuwangi by plane, there are no direct flights from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) to Banyuwangi’s Blimbingsari Airport (BWX). Most domestic airlines, such as Garuda Indonesia, Batik Air, Lion Air and Sriwijaya Air, fly from Bali to East Java’s capital of Surabaya first as transit point, then into Banyuwangi. This is not very convenient when compared to the conventional way of driving overland to Gilimanuk Port in West Bali (4-5 hours), then crossing to Ketapang Harbour by sea.
Ferries, referred to locally as Kapal Motor Penumpang (KMP) or ‘motorized passenger vessels’, depart daily, with fares starting from IDR 6,500 (less than a dollar) per passenger, or from IDR 159,000 (USD 12) per car. The lines of queuing vehicles may be extremely long over the weekends and during holidays such as the lead up to Ramadan, so it’s good to plan ahead to avoid such periods. Crossing over the Bali Strait itself takes around 45 minutes, and unlike the Lombok Strait on the other side of the island, Bali Strait’s wave conditions are relatively calm throughout the year.
Assuming you’re travelling by car, exiting the ferry at Banyuwangi’s Ketapang Harbour is straightforward; you simply navigate your way to your hotel or destination. (For convenient travel, you can consider the tour packages to Banyuwangi available above)
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