Padangbai in East Bali is the traditional route to Lombok. Its ferries are large and leave every hour around the clock, allowing motorbikes cars and trucks. For those staying in the Kuta area, take the Bypass towards Sanur, hanging a right-left onto the Kusamba Bypass along the coast. This section of coastal road is complete and runs all the way to Kusamba, meaning you’re about 15km from Padangbai itself. As you enter the town keep going straight and you’ll run right into the ferry terminal.
Boats to Lombok go every 90 minutes, 24/7. Boats to Nusa Penida leave from the middle of the main beach, next to Dharma restaurant, from 7am onwards. The ferries from Padangbai to Lombok take from 4-6 hours, depending on the congestion at the port of Lembar in Lombok. A
ferry ticket is 15,000rp. Bicycles are 17,600rp, motorbikes are 36,400rp and cars from 225,000rp. The Bali cops are waiting at the ferry terminal to politely inform you your registration
doesn’t cover Lombok. They will let you on the ferry after paying a special ‘service charge’. Once in Lombok there is no such proceedure with the Lombok police.
Perama has a once a day boat leaving Padangbai at 1.30pm to Senggigi Lombok. The crossing takes 3-4 hours and costs 100,000rp per person. The boat continues on to the Gili Islands, which takes a total of 5-6 hours and costs 150,000rp. Perama as well as other companies operate buses that travel to Lombok via the public ferry. These buses are advertised around town.
