310,000 People Leave Bali as Gilimanuk Port Overwhelmed by Exodus Ahead of Nyepi
A total of 310,065 people were recorded leaving Bali during the three-day period of 13-15 March 2026. This surge in exodus traffic triggered severe congestion and prolonged traffic jams on routes leading to Gilimanuk Port.
Data received by detikBali showed Gilimanuk Port as the most congested point, with 195,000 people departing Bali and 81,000 arriving during the period.
The Head of Bali’s Transportation Department (Dishub), I Kadek Mudarta, stated that the peak exodus was predicted to occur on that day itself.
“Our forecast, together with the police, is that the peak occurs until today,” said Mudarta on Tuesday (17/3/2026).
He explained that this year’s exodus pattern differed because travellers chose to depart earlier than anticipated, two days before Nyepi. “Additionally, travellers are indeed departing progressively earlier,” he added.
Besides Gilimanuk, passenger movement was also recorded at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, with 36,000 people leaving Bali and 42,000 arriving. Meanwhile, Padangbai Port remained relatively quiet with 19,000 people departing, or approximately 6,000 per day.
The simultaneous arrival of a large number of travellers created queuing vehicles snaking along the main route to Gilimanuk Port. Congestion was dominated by private vehicles and coach buses headed to Java Island, followed by logistics trucks.
“The majority of people chose to cross before Nyepi. As a result, vehicles arrived almost simultaneously and piled up on the route to Gilimanuk,” said Mudarta.
He added that limited dock capacity further worsened the queues. Although PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry increased the number of vessels from 28 to 35 units, the vehicle loading and unloading process remained time-consuming.
“The number of vessels has already been increased because vehicle traffic is already extremely congested. However, the loading and unloading process of vehicles on ships requires time,” he said.
To ease congestion, Bali’s Transportation Department established logistics truck holding areas at several points along the Denpasar-Gilimanuk route to keep the main route open for private vehicles and coach buses.
“We have prepared holding areas for logistics trucks at several points. The hope is that the main route can be more smoothly used by private vehicles and coach buses,” he stressed.
Mudarta predicted that vehicle volume would begin to decrease on the night of Pengerupukan, though he hoped conditions would not be as congested as the previous days.
“This is only our prediction, hopefully it is correct. Tomorrow should see fewer vehicles compared to yesterday and today,” he concluded.