Gilimanuk Route Severely Congested During Eid Holiday; Governor Koster Acknowledges Road Inadequacy

Severe congestion along the route to Gilimanuk Port during the 2026 Eid holiday exodus has been acknowledged by Bali Governor Wayan Koster as resulting from inadequate road conditions.

“We didn’t anticipate such density either, but our road conditions are indeed inadequate,” Koster said in Denpasar on Monday, 16 March 2026.

Koster attributed the congestion on the route to an increase in population and tourist mobility, with people and visitors entering and leaving Bali. “Additionally, there are many logistics transport trucks that got stuck in traffic. Domestic tourist numbers rose 19 per cent, international visitors increased 6 per cent, so Bali is very full now,” Koster explained.

According to him, logistics transport vehicles have worsened congestion on the Denpasar-Gilimanuk route, which features many curves and inclines. “What causes the congestion is the logistics transport vehicles because the Denpasar to Gilimanuk route has many curves and climbs, and when a logistics vehicle passes, it moves very slowly, and then there’s a bus behind it – it becomes very long,” Koster said.

In the long term, the Bali provincial government will regulate vehicle movement between logistics transport and passenger transport to prevent similar congestion during future Eid seasons.