Bali scraps quarantine for fully vaccinated Australians

Thousands of people are descending on Bali after the pandemic barred them for two years, and the Aussie favourite has made a big change in preparation.

Thousands of people are expected to descend on Bali this week after the Aussie favourite scrapped quarantine for vaccinated tourists and reintroduced visas on arrival.

Bali was largely shut off to the world for the past two years, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Indonesian holiday hot spot is pushing ahead with its reopening plan.

Vaccinated tourists from more than 20 countries, including Australia, will be able to visit Bali without having to quarantine.

Bali opened to tourists from yesterday but was requiring everyone to quarantine for five days, regardless of their vaccination status.

Visa prices have also dropped – with Aussies only needing to pay 500,00 rupiah ($A47) after they land at the airport, instead of $A329 for a visitor visa.

Love news? Stream 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

A large crowd of people watch the sunset at a beach bar on Kuta beach in Seminyak, Bali. Picture: iStock

Tourists will be exempt from isolation if they’ve received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine and have tested negative with a PCR test prior to their flight.

They also need to get tested for coronavirus after landing at Denpasar and show proof of a four-day hotel booking.

If they test positive to Covid on arrival, they’ll need to quarantine for four nights, hence the hotel booking.

Travel insurance, which covers you for up to $100,000 if you catch the virus, is also required.

The loosening comes as a wave of Omicron infections wanes across the southeast Asian archipelago and after some international airlines resumed direct flights in recent weeks.

“President Joko Widodo has agreed to trial a no-quarantine policy for overseas travellers to Bali starting on March 7,” maritime affairs and investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said in a briefing.

Visas on arrival were suspended two years ago when the pandemic first hit Indonesia but will again be available to travellers from 23 nations including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Britain, Japan and France.

“If this trial succeeds, we will implement a quarantine-free policy to travellers from all countries by April 1 or even earlier,” the Minister added.

Bali governor Wayan Koster last week said the reforms were critical to reviving the tourism sector, which used to be the island’s largest source of income.

Almost 6.3 million foreign tourists visited the Hindu-majority island in 2019 but numbers plummeted as Indonesia closed its borders to protect itself from the virus.

“We have to offer competitive travelling rules for overseas tourists as other countries have opened their tourism sector earlier,” Mr Koster said.

“Bali’s tourism has been stuck for two years and it is the time for recovery.”

Balangan Bay in Bali. Picture: iStock

The latest Omicron-fuelled wave of infections peaked last month at around 64,000 daily cases but the number has since dipped significantly to about 25,000 on Sunday.

International flights are now operating again with daily services from Singapore and routes also available between Australia.

Jetstar will resume direct flights next week, with its first flight into Bali’s Denpasar Airport taking off from Melbourne on Monday.

Qantas will restart flights from Melbourne on April 14, with Sydney following a day later.

– With AFP