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In Brief
The ferry between Ketapang in East Java and Gilimanuk in Bali is run by the state ferry company, ASDP Indonesia Ferry, and since 2020 its tickets on this crossing have been sold online, through ASDP's booking system, Ferizy. You book a slot to enter the port, fill in each passenger's identity (a passport number for foreign visitors), check in at the port within that slot and show the same ID. The crossing is short, somewhere between half an hour and an hour on the water depending on the source, and Bali's clocks run an hour ahead of Java's. From Gilimanuk, the north coast road begins at the Cekik junction a couple of kilometres from the port and runs east through the national park toward Pemuteran, Seririt and Lovina. Fares and departures change, so they are not on this page; Ferizy shows them when you search.
The ferry terminal at Gilimanuk Harbour. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Crossing at a Glance
- Route: Ketapang port, Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, to Gilimanuk port, Jembrana Regency, Bali
- Operator: PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, the state ferry company
- Tickets: Online, through Ferizy, on the website or the app
- Identity: Every passenger is named on the ticket; foreign visitors enter a passport number and show the passport at check-in
- Time on the water: About half an hour by the national park's figure, about an hour by a reporter's timing
- Clocks: Bali is one hour ahead of Java
- Fares and departures: Shown on Ferizy when you search; they are not given here because they change
- Onward: North from the Cekik junction to West Bali National Park, Menjangan, Pemuteran and Lovina
How the Ketapang to Gilimanuk Crossing Works
Buying a ticket on Ferizy
ASDP stopped selling tickets at the counter on this crossing in 2020. Its own announcement says tickets on the Merak to Bakauheni and Ketapang to Gilimanuk crossings could from then on be bought only online, through ferizy.com, with the vending machines at the port kept for foot passengers. The transport ministry, opening the service formally in July 2020, named Ketapang and Gilimanuk among the four main ports where it applied, and said the point was to let people buy well ahead and to let ASDP see the busy hours coming.
The booking asks for your ports, your service class, whether you are on foot or with a vehicle, and a time to enter the port. You fill in a passenger list as you book. Ferizy's terms require an Indonesian identity number for Indonesian passengers and a passport number for foreign ones, and the ticket can only be used by the person named on it. Once payment goes through, the e-ticket and receipt come by email.
The terms also set how far ahead you can book and until when, and what a cancellation costs. Read them on the site before you pay, since those rules are ASDP's to change.
Check-in and the port-entry slot
Your e-ticket carries a port-entry time, and the whole system turns on it. Per Ferizy's notice, check-in happens at the port and only within the check-in time on the e-ticket. Arrive after it and the ticket expires; you have to buy another. At check-in you show the identity card the ticket was booked with, plus the number plate if you have a vehicle. ASDP describes the slots as a way of spreading the crowd: each hour has a quota, so the wait at the port is more predictable.
The terms also warn that departures and ship names can change with the weather and port operations without notice. On a stormy day, leave slack in your plans.
A ferry on the Bali Strait between Banyuwangi and Gilimanuk. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
On the water, and the hour you lose
West Bali National Park's visitor page gives the crossing as about 30 minutes. A Kompas reporter who made it in June 2023 timed it at about an hour and explained why it can look like two: Banyuwangi keeps Western Indonesian Time and Bali keeps Central Indonesian Time, one hour ahead. A phone will jump forward on arrival. A watch will not. The same report describes ships on the crossing through the day and night, which is why most people simply turn up for their slot.
Getting to Ketapang
The port is in Ketapang, in the Kalipuro district of Banyuwangi Regency. Ketapang railway station, run by the national railway, was built in the 1980s along with a new line to the harbour, to join the trains to the crossing, so arriving by train from elsewhere in Java puts you close to the ferry.
Ketapang ferry terminal in Banyuwangi, with the Ijen volcano in the distance. Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Arriving at Gilimanuk
Foreign visitors owe Bali's tourist levy however they arrive. The Love Bali FAQ says it can be paid online before you travel or at a payment counter at the airport and the port, and it recommends paying before you set off so arrival is quicker. The tourist levy guide explains who pays and who is exempt.
From the harbour, the park's headquarters on the Cekik road is about two kilometres away, five minutes by car. Cekik is where you choose your coast.
The North Coast Road from Gilimanuk
At Cekik the road to Denpasar heads down the south coast through Negara. The north coast road leaves the same junction and runs east. The national roads agency treats it as one stretch, Gilimanuk to Cekik to Seririt to the edge of Singaraja, and a Bisnis Indonesia team who drove it found it quieter and less winding than the southern route, through the national park and on to Seririt.
The first stretch is inside West Bali National Park. The park's own page points out Pura Bakungan, a temple with resident monkeys about 6 km from Cekik on the roadside, and the forest at Teluk Terima where the grave of Jayaprana and Layonsari stands. It names two official gateways: Labuan Lalang, where the park office for the island section is and where the boats cross to Menjangan, and Banyuwedang, where the park's hot springs are.
Dusk at the Menjangan boat mooring. Photo: Clarissaudreylia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
To Menjangan. If the island is your reason to come, you have landed on the right side of Bali. The park lists Labuan Lalang and Banyuwedang as the official departure points, with others at Sumberkima and Pemuteran. The Menjangan Island guide covers the boats, the reef and the park guide who goes with you.
To Pemuteran. Pemuteran sits on the same Singaraja to Gilimanuk road, in Gerokgak district, by the Buleleng tourism office's listing. Coming from Java, it is the natural first night in north Bali: the reefs are off the beach and Menjangan is a short boat ride. The Pemuteran guide has the village, and the best villas in Pemuteran has places to stay.
To Lovina. The road carries on past the cliff temple of Pura Pulaki to Seririt, then along the coast to Lovina, about an hour and a half beyond Pemuteran. Most of Palm Living's villas for rent are around Lovina, with a few at Pemuteran; check each listing for its village. The Lovina guide covers the rest.
Gilimanuk or the Mountain Road?
Coming from Java, the ferry puts you at north Bali's western door, and the coast road east is the gentler drive. Flying into Ngurah Rai is a different journey: the north is then about three hours over the central mountains, which getting to north Bali covers route by route. Some visitors do both, flying in and leaving by Gilimanuk for Java, or the reverse; the Love Bali FAQ says the levy is paid once, before you leave Indonesia.
Practical Notes
- Buy on Ferizy before you reach the port. Choose a port-entry slot you can make, since a missed slot means a new ticket.
- Carry the ID you booked with. For foreign visitors that is the passport.
- Allow for the clock change. Set your plans in Bali time once you land.
- Check the weather. Departures can shift with sea conditions, so leave room on a stormy day.
- Arrange your onward ride. A private driver can meet you at Gilimanuk; agree the fare before the day.
FAQ
How does the Java to Bali ferry work? The ferry runs from Ketapang, in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, to Gilimanuk in west Bali. Tickets are sold online only through ASDP's Ferizy site or app. You book a port-entry slot, enter each passenger's ID, check in at the port within your slot and board.
Can you buy a ticket at Ketapang or Gilimanuk port? ASDP moved this crossing to online ticketing in 2020, keeping the port's vending machines for foot passengers, so plan to buy on Ferizy before you arrive. Check-in and boarding passes are handled at the port.
How long is the ferry from Ketapang to Gilimanuk? West Bali National Park gives about 30 minutes on the water, and a Kompas reporter timed about an hour. Bali is one hour ahead of Java, so the clock on arrival reads an hour later than you might expect.
Do foreigners need a passport for the Bali ferry? Yes. Ferizy's terms require foreign passengers to enter a passport number when booking and to show the passport at check-in.
How do you get from Gilimanuk to Pemuteran or Lovina? Take the north coast road from the Cekik junction, a couple of kilometres from the port. It runs through West Bali National Park to Pemuteran, then on through Seririt to Lovina.
Do you pay the Bali tourist levy if you arrive by ferry? Foreign visitors pay it whichever way they arrive. The Love Bali FAQ lists payment counters at the airport and the port and recommends paying online before you travel.
Sources
- PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, ASDP Luncurkan Ferizy, Naik Kapal Ferry Semakin Easy, press release, 2 March 2020 (online-only tickets on Ketapang to Gilimanuk, the online passenger manifest, hourly port quotas), Indonesian, read September 2026
- Ferizy, home page and check-in notice (booking by port-entry time, check-in only within that time, expired tickets, showing the ID and number plate), Indonesian, read September 2026
- Ferizy, Persyaratan dan Ketentuan (terms: named, non-transferable tickets; passport numbers for foreign passengers; the booking window; schedule changes for weather and port operations; cancellation), Indonesian, read September 2026
- Ministry of Transportation, Menhub Resmikan Layanan Pembelian Tiket Online Kapal Penyeberangan, 25 July 2020 (Ferizy in use at Merak, Bakauheni, Ketapang and Gilimanuk since May 2020), Indonesian, read September 2026
- Kompas.com, Lama Perjalanan Kapal Feri Ketapang-Gilimanuk, Jangan Bingung karena Zona Waktu, 25 June 2023 (about an hour on the water, the time zones, ships through the day and night), Indonesian, read September 2026
- West Bali National Park, Umum (the park office about 2 km from Gilimanuk port; Pura Bakungan about 6 km from Cekik; Teluk Terima; the Labuan Lalang and Banyuwedang gateways and other Menjangan departure points; the ferry at about 30 minutes; the Negara road to Denpasar), Indonesian, read September 2026
- Wikipedia, Ketapang railway station (Banyuwangi) (location and the line built to the harbour in 1984 to 1985), English, read September 2026
- Love Bali, Bali Provincial Government, FAQ (the levy paid online or at airport and port counters), English, read September 2026
- Analisapublik.id, Preservasi Ruas Jalan Gilimanuk Tuntas Dikerjakan (the national road section Gilimanuk to Cekik to Seririt to the Singaraja town boundary), Indonesian, read September 2026
- Bisnis Indonesia, Jalur Utara Bali, Alternatif Jalan dengan Pesona Keindahan Alam, 27 June 2017 (the northern route from Gilimanuk through the national park to Seririt, quieter and less winding than the southern route), Indonesian, read September 2026
- Buleleng Regency, Visit North Bali, Pemuteran Tourism Village (Pemuteran on the Singaraja to Gilimanuk road, Gerokgak district), English, read September 2026
Read next: West Bali National Park for the first stretch of the road, Menjangan Island for the reef, and getting to north Bali for the routes over the mountains.
