Bali is the cheapest and easiest gateway to Indonesia, especially if you’re heading on to Lombok, West Sumbawa, or other surf destinations. These are the exact tools and strategies I still use to find a cheap flight to Bali, whether it’s for a quick surf trip or a longer Indo adventure.
TRACK FLIGHT OPTIONS ON GOOGLE FLIGHTS
If you’re like me, Google Flights is practically your homepage. You’re checking flights to countless untold destinations everyday. If you don’t yet find tracking airfare prices a particularly satisfying exercise, that’s ok. You can still use Google Flights to score a super cheap flight to Bali for our Lombok Surfari and for any other trip on your horizon.
Start with a calendar. Decide whether you’ll tack on a couple days in Bali or a couple of weeks at another surf locale. Select a couple sets of possible departure and return days from your home airport and then head over to Google Flights. I use Google Flights first because it shows trends across airlines, not just individual deals.
Plug in a set of your hypothetical dates and hit search. Now, here’s the clever part. You can track the prices for these dates across all airlines (or specific ones if you are loyal frequent flyer of a particular airline).
Once you track certain days or flights, Google automatically sends an email to your Gmail account every time there is a change in price. Google will sometime also send you an email when they are confident flights for a certain day will rise and not go back down.
Now you just have to check your email each day and wait for Google to send you the best price. The emails look like the photo below.
If you’re flying into Bali as part of a surf trip, it’s worth planning how you’ll get from Bali to Lombok early, especially during peak seasons.
SIGN UP FOR I KNOW THE PILOT (AUSTRALIA) OR Going (USA)
I also follow a couple of low fare newsletters closely. Generally, when a sale comes up on I Know the Pilot or Scott’s Cheap Flights that affects the dates I am watching on Google Flights, I’ll get an alert. But, just in case and for things like airline wide discount codes, I am registered to receive both. These services work best when combined with Google Flights tracking.
If you live in Australia, Sign up for I Know the Pilot here.
If you live in the USA, sign up for Going here.
STRIKE AT THE RIGHT MOMENT
The most important advice in this post is probably just to book the flight when you see a fare that you believe is as low as it gets. I often procrastinate because I am uncertain about my dates or just scared to lock-it in and miss the best deals. Just do it! If you see fares that are significantly below average for your route, don’t overthink it. Cheap flights to Bali don’t last long, especially in peak surf seasons. If you’re serious about something, ACT.
“LIFE FAVORS THE SPECIFIC ASK AND PUNISHES THE VAGUE WISH”
-Tim Ferriss
A NOTE ABOUT FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMS
If you travel frequently throughout the year, you may want to look into joining a frequent flyer program. Try to determine which airline covers the majority of your favorite travel destinations. Also, check out which airlines serve as partners for that airline. For me, I live in Sydney and travel to Los Angeles, Bali, and Melbourne most frequently. Virgin Australia flies to these locations and is relatively easier to achieve preferred status than Qantas. Features like pooling all our points from each family member into one account have allowed my family to get free upgrades and lounge access. The points game is definitely a hustle, but can be worth it if you work it. Choose the airline that best supports your overall travel pattern, not just one trip.
Check out the guides on Point Hacks or feel free to email me if you have any questions about getting a super cheap flight for our trip!
Bali is your entry point, the real magic often starts once you move on.
Whether you’re heading straight to Lombok, planning a few days there before continuing on to West Sumbawa, or just want to line up waves without the guesswork, having the logistics sorted makes the whole trip smoother.
Happy flight hunting Sea Hearts!
Planning a Surf Trip Beyond Bali?