14-Hour Queues at Gilimanuk Port Leave Travellers Collapsed
A traffic jam spanning more than 32 kilometres, from Gilimanuk Port to Negara City in Jembrana, was reported on Sunday to be the worst ever recorded along the Denpasar-Gilimanuk corridor during the holiday travel season. Dozens of travellers collapsed after waiting approximately 14 hours to board ferries.
At least 17 travellers were reported to have collapsed due to exhaustion and exposure to extreme heat whilst queuing to board ferries on Sunday (15 March). They had not managed to board despite waiting roughly 14 hours.
The victims were predominantly motorcycle riders who had to endure dust and intense heat along the main Denpasar-Gilimanuk route. Medical teams from Jembrana Police Medical Services worked overtime providing first aid.
Aiptu I Gusti Bagus Adi Sadnyana Putra, Chief of Jembrana Police Medical Services, confirmed that by Sunday evening, his team had assisted dozens of travellers experiencing serious health issues.
“All have been treated and all were due to exhaustion. In total, we evacuated 17 people medically,” said Adi when contacted on Sunday (15 March 2026).
Of these 17 people, 16 were diagnosed with heat syncope, a condition characterised by sudden fainting or dizziness caused by exposure to high temperatures.
“Sixteen people suffering from heat syncope have been treated and cleared to continue their journey. One person suffered a lacerated wound,” said Adi.
The traveller with the lacerated wound received medical treatment including wound stitching and medication according to medical protocol.
An infant also had to be evacuated by Jembrana Police personnel on Saturday (14 March 2026) evening. The infant, accompanied by parents, was taken to the Cargo Service Post after showing signs of health problems from being stuck in traffic for hours.
“Yesterday we also provided assistance to an exhausted infant. Police personnel provided priority escort to break through the congestion and reach the nearest health centre so the infant could receive immediate medical treatment,” said Adi.
Seeing the still very long queues, Jembrana Police urged travellers not to push themselves if their physical condition had deteriorated. Police also reminded residents to seek help immediately if they felt unwell.
“If you need medical assistance or are in an emergency, immediately contact police personnel at the nearest security post or call the Police Call Centre 110. This service is free and available 24 hours,” he appealed.
According to detikBali observations, the cargo parking area functioning as a buffer zone appeared crowded with vehicles. Vehicles also snaked along the main Denpasar-Gilimanuk route. Notably, the back of the queue was reported to have reached Negara City, approximately 32 kilometres from the port.
The majority of stranded travellers were motorcyclists who had been queuing since early morning. To ease congestion on the main road, officers directed thousands of vehicles into residential alleys.
Travellers heading to Banyuwangi-Jember shared their experiences. Siti (46), a traveller from Banyuwangi, admitted to being exhausted by this year’s congestion. She departed from Denpasar in a private car with her husband on Saturday (14 March 2026) evening.
“I left Denpasar after breaking my fast yesterday. And got stuck in traffic at several locations along the Denpasar-Gilimanuk route. From Badung to Tabanan it was already congested,” said Siti when met at the port area on Sunday evening.
Siti recounted that she only entered the Hutan Cekik area around 02:00 WITA early morning. However, vehicle movement was extremely slow, so Siti only managed to reach the residential area around 12:00 WITA.
“Only at 17:30 WITA did I enter Gilimanuk Port area, and then I had to queue again to board the ferry. I even had to break my fast and eat sahur inside the car. My husband didn’t fast because he was too exhausted. It was extremely difficult just finding a toilet on the congested route,” she said.
A similar experience was had by Bogie (27), a freelance driver in Kuta who was heading to Jember for the holiday. He even attempted an alternative route via Pupuan, Buleleng, to avoid the congestion, but still ended up stuck at the convergence point of traffic flows.
“I left yesterday at 7 pm, went via Pupuan Buleleng and got stuck at the Cekik-Gilimanuk junction around 10 am this morning,” said Bogie.
Bogie, who travelled using a minibus service, claimed to have lost both time and money. His pocket money was exhausted merely buying food and drinks whilst waiting in the queue.
“My money was spent just buying food and drinks whilst stuck in traffic. As of now (18:00 WITA) I haven’t even boarded the ferry yet,” he said.
By Sunday night, the volume of vehicles at Gilimanuk Port remained dense and crawling. Police and ASDP (national ferry operator) personnel continued attempting to accelerate the loading of vehicles onto ferries to ease the snaking queues.