Here at The Bali Sun, we are seeing a trend emerging. In 2026 we think that the rise of the multi-stop vacation from Bali is going to be huge.
With so much to discover both within Bali Province and around the Indonesian Archipelago, whether tourists stay on the island or adventure across regions, a multi-stop vacation is pretty irresistible.
For many tourists, the easiest way to arrange a multi-stop vacation is to use Bali as the launchpad. With increasingly good international connectivity, flying directly into Bali either on a long-haul or short-haul international flight is both affordable and convenient.
New flight services are being added to the schedule all the time, for both domestic and international routes.
One new flight service that is set to launch in February 2026 doesn’t stop by Bali, but does make a multi-stop adventure between Australia, Bali, and Lombok even more doable.
Australian tourists are Bali’s most frequent international arrivals and travel leaders across the region, including airlines, are always working to increase connectivity and ease of travel between these two area.
Indonesia’s TransNusa Airline is about to open a new direct flight service between Darwin, Australia, and Lombok, Indonesia. Australian tourists, especially surfers and beach lovers, have long doubled up vacation and travel trips between Bali and Lombok, and this new service opens up even more options.
The TransNusa President Director, Bayu Sutanto, told reporters, “We have plans to open flights from Lombok. We currently fly to Jakarta, Bali, and Manado.” Adding “Lombok is the first one we’re opening. The route is Lombok-Darwin, Australia. We’ll open in late February or early March. Besides Darwin, we’ll also open a Lombok-Perth route. That’s a short-term option this year.”
He confirmed that TransNusa is set to operate the service on Comac C909 aircraft with 95-seat capacity. He revealed that there are plans to soon add a Lombok-Perth service later in the year as part of a broader international expansion strategy targeting high-traffic tourist markets, including those in the ASEAN Zone.
Sutanto shared, “Because Australia is close, perhaps also ASEAN countries, because they have a lot of tourists.”
“For example, Thailand, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, because Malaysia has quite a lot, because Lombok is TransNusa’s second home after Bali.”
Adding “As long as we can accommodate them, we’ll sell them according to the conditions, because the fuel (after) is expensive for this aircraft.”
For tourists traveling between Darwin and Lombok, the options to travel onwards to Bali for more vacation time and a return flight, are both cheap and easy to arrange.
There are several short-haul flights daily between Bali and Lombok for those who prefer to travel by air. However, most tourists opt to travel by fast boat between Lombok and Bali.
Crossings take just a couple of hours and cost as little as IDR 300,000, depending on the fast boat provider. Tourists can opt to travel between Lombok and Sanur or Lombok and Padangbai.
One of the benefits of a multi-stop adventure is that transportation costs can end up being cheaper than on a return trip. For example, booking a flight from Darwin to Lombok, followed by a fast boat service to Sanur, and a homeward flight back to Darwin from Bali, can’t be more affordable than a return flight to Bali or Lombok, especially in peak season.
In 2026, tourists are being encouraged to think big and think strategically about their travel itinerary. With so much more accessibility, affordability, and capacity to independently organise travel across the country, this could be the year that more tourists realise their Indonesian travel dreams.
More international flights are being added to the schedule at Bali Airport every month. Tourists planning travel to Bali this year should really keep a close eye on flight deals and snap up cheap tickets as soon as they become available.
Indonesia AirAsia, for example, has just announced a new direct service between Bali and Da-Nang in Vietnam, opening the Southeast Asia region for even more adventurers in 2026 and beyond.
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