H-4 Eid, Migration Traffic at Padang Bai Port Gets Busy as Evening Approaches

Migration traffic at Padang Bai Port in Karangasem, Bali, on the fourth day before Eid began to intensify during the late afternoon and evening. Travellers planning to cross to Lembar Port in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), chose to depart in the evening to avoid the intense midday heat.

Observations on Tuesday (17 March 2026) showed that most travellers, primarily riding motorcycles, were queuing at Padang Bai Port from 17:30 Wita onwards. A port official noted that the number of travellers increased towards evening, similar to the previous day (five days before Eid).

I Ketut Sugiartono, Head of the Service Unit (Satpel) of the Land Transport Management Centre (BPTD) at Padang Bai Port, confirmed these conditions. Despite the crowds, Sugiartono stated that the queues remained within acceptable limits as all travellers were still accommodated within the port area.

“The night before, the number crossing was quite high, so we increased ferry trips to 15 from the normal 13 trips,” said Sugiartono on Tuesday.

Adrian, a traveller from Central Lombok, deliberately chose to travel at night. He cited the hot weather at Padang Bai during the day as the reason.

“At night it’s more relaxed and cooler, and you can rest on the boat too. When you arrive in Lombok in the morning, you can continue your journey straight away,” Adrian said.

According to recorded data, the number of travellers crossing Padang Bai Port five days before Eid, on Monday (16 March), totalled 7,352 people. This comprised travellers riding motorcycles numbering 2,475 units and cars numbering 218 units.