Yes, I have done every aspect of your trip, but as I have family in Jakarta, I tend to stop over there.

1) Emirates is excellent, however, slow as flights to Jakarta stop in any one or two of :Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Colombo en-route to Dubai. Consider Etihad if it has similar fares as it is non-stop from the Middle East.

2) I would NEVER plan a connecting flight from Bali to Jakarta to home via Air Asia. You put yourself at risk of missing your connection, and having to buy a new flight home from Jakarta. Emirates are NOT responsible for you missing your flight should you do so. I would consider a one night stop-over on the return - but not in Jakarta, as it CAN take up to 4 hours to reach central Jakarta dependent on traffic / floods. There is a Sheraton (Bandara) near the airport.

3) Indonesian Air Asia is NOT as reliable or trustworthy as regular Air Asia. Expect to be delayed and messed around. Your travel insurance will probably not protect you for this journey as Indonesian Airlines are prohibited from flying in the EU (seems a moot point, but that's the way it is), and Indonesian Air Asia IS an Indonesian airline (only 49% owned by Air Asia).

I made a decision that I will only let my family fly on Garuda Indonesia, who are head and shoulders above other internal airlines in Indonesia. However, I've flown on practically every airline in Indonesia myself, had few problems, and will be doing again in May.

4) When you've taken all this into consideration, why don't you spend the extra money and fly to Bali? When you say Jakarta is the 'best' option, i'm presuming you mean 'cheapest', which it is, unfortunately. Malaysian currently have a special on in September which will get you to Bali for around £500 inc. tax if you are flexible.

Hi Sam,

Thanks for your help and information

The reason we are looking at using Emirates (apart from the cost) is that we live in North East England, & Emirates fly Newcastle to Dubai. This avoids us having to go through one of the London Airports, which adds a lot of hassle and time to the trip.

To be honest, we have looked at this trip going every way, using all the major airlines that serve Bali, (Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Malaysian etc) and Emirates worked out a fair bit cheaper once we added costs of flights to Heathrow.

Don't know if any other members of the forum have found another way of getting to Bali via regional airports instead of London.

It does worry me what you say about AirAsia's reliability, so we may look at your suggestion of stopping in a Jakarta Airport Hotel the night before we leave.

Hi Jonah,

OK that makes sense if you are coming from Newcastle.

A better suggestion is to look at Singapore then - try Emirates, KLM, Air France, and then book a flight on Valuair to Bali (http://www.jetstar.com/vf/index.html - although Singapore Airlines, Garuda, or Qantas might be competitive as well).

If you end up overnighting anywhere, Singapore is far better than Jakarta - trust me!

I'm actually trying to sort my own Bali flights at the mo, so no shortage of research done!

Hi Sam,

Singapore sounds like a better idea, to be honest I only looked at Jakarta as it was the nearest destination to Bali that Emirates served.

I will check on that link that you posted and see if I can work it that way.

Thanks for your help, hope you get your flights sorted soon!

Jonah

I am going on my third trip to Bali with a stopover in Singapore( one night on way out and two on way back) Singapore is great for a few nights and I honestly think it seems to prolong the holiday.

Thanks for your info Fiona, we did think about using Singapore or even Hong Kong as a stopover .

Unfortunately we are limited to a 14 day holiday, and we really want to spend as much time in Bali as we possibly can!!

However, nothing is set in stone, and we are looking at all possibilities at the moment. There are certainly lots of suggestions just on this forum alone to more than fill our holiday!

We are first timers to the far east, although we have travelled to Goa previously (and loved it!), so any help and information is greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Jonah

Jonah
anything is possible - a fortnight is a long time. I went to Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Mumbai and Goa in 12 days in October If you really don't want to spend time elsewhere it would still be worth an overnight somewhere just to be on the safe side for a connecting flight.

We did 14 nights in Bali a couple of years ago for our Honeymoon. It was plenty of time, and probaly time wasted. As it was our first time in the far east in hindsight I would have used our time better and visited a few more places. At the very least I would have booked a stopover in Singapore on the way home, if only to break up the flight, it was a killer! Flights always seem so much longer on the way home!

Thanks for that Louise, did you stay in just one place in Bali, or did you try a couple of places?

We are looking at perhaps 8 or 9 days at a beach resort, with a few days in Ubud in between.

What was your impression of Bali as a Honeymoon destination, as I have heard mixed reports from some people?

Hi Jonah

We went to Bali last September and had a wonderful time although not on honeymoon , we flow from Manchester with Singapore Airline and did a stop over on the way back which as Louise stated it breaks up the journey. As you are going DIY maybe just have 11/12 night in Bali and a couple in Singapore.

As I said we had a great time and cant wait to return this Sept.

Regards

Jules

we have just arrived in manchester for our flight to Bali tomorrow. It goes via Qatar with Qatar airlines. Same airline for both flights. Booked through Hayes and Jarvis and have been informed on here i got a good price. £714 each i think it worked out at for 2 weeks at the puri santrian in sanur. happy days

Can you go to Bangkok and then Bali ?

try malaysia airlines. They certainly do that route.

Hi Jonah!
We stayed in Sanur when in Bali, at the Puri Santrian (it seems to be a popular hotel on this forum) and this was our base for our stay. Although we had a fantastic time, if we went again I would certainly have a few days in Ubud. There are some fantastic little boutique hotels there, and it has such a different vibe to the coast. What you have planned sounds perfect to me! As far as Honeymoons go I would recommend it to anyone. It gave us exactly what we wanted from our holiday, which was to be able to relax on a beach if we wanted, but also to be able to go out day or night and experience some real culture. It was my first trip, both outside of Europe and to the Far East and I can honestly say I came home having seen a different part of the world!

Hi Jonah,

If you want to go to Bangkok then Thai fly directly BKK to Denpassar - not too sure if Malaysian Airlines fly directly.

Certainly worth a night or two in Ubud - you don't have to spend a fortune (see http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=108251 )

My preference is for Sanur (on the coast) rather than the Nusa Dua area. Lots of good restaurants in Sanur.

Nusa Dua has better (and more) hotels, but Sanur has more character (to me).

Enjoy - September will be a good time to go!

Peter

The only Bangkok - Bali flight is a one daily Thai flight that fills up *very* early. EVA Air also offer it as an add-on from their Bangkok services.

Alternatives include tacking on a cheap Bangkok - Jakarta / Singapore flights with a low cost, then another low cost from those places.

Sanur seems to be the beach resort of choice for most people. However, I certainly prefer Jimbaran & Seminyak, and perhaps a few days around Canggu for some isolated beach actions (but not a swimming beach as a bit rough).

Thanks for all the help!

We have now booked for our Honeymoon, we are flying Emirates Newcastle - Jakarta, then AirAsia to Bali...

10 nights in Sanur, 3 nights in Ubud, and a night in Jakarta Sheraton prior to our return flights (good advice from Travelling Sam!)

Sooo looking forward to it, really thankful for all the help and suggestions from all the Forum Members!

No doubt I will be asking endless moe questions nearer the time, roll on September!!

Jonah

and where are you staying in Ubud and Sanur?

Jonah,

Please check and confirm that you are at the Sheraton Bandara Jakarta (Bandara = airport!) as opposed to any other Sheraton in Jakarta (which could be 4 hours away!)

If you are fab. It's a couple of kilometres from the airport (along the only airport entrance road) and they provide free shuttle buses (so i've read).

Jakarta Airport takes a lot of stick, but I think it's fabulous, spacious, easy to navigate, and clean (a paradise compared to the old Bangkok airport). Plus the open air gateways mean that as soon as you step off the plane you get that wonderful Asia heat / humidity that = holiday!