In short. Before you fly, keep three QR codes on your phone, ideally as screenshots: the All Indonesia arrival card, the Love Bali tourist levy and the electronic visa. At the airport: the VOA counters come before passport control and are only for those who did not get the visa on arrival online; at passport control show your passport and the QR code, and check the date on the stamp at once; after baggage, customs scans the suitcases, and anyone staying longer than 90 days registers their IMEI there; in the arrivals hall, get a SIM card with your passport and cash from the ATM of a major bank, not from the exchange booth at the exit; then take the official taxi from the counter at a fixed price, Grab or Gojek from the assigned point, or the transfer your villa or hotel offered. This way the airport takes about 40 minutes.
Still on the plane. Open three things on your phone: the QR code of the All Indonesia arrival card, the QR code of the Love Bali tourist levy, and the visa confirmation if you applied for an electronic one. All of this is done before departure, see our guides on the arrival card and the levy. There is Wi-Fi at the airport, but it rarely works at the counter, so screenshots are more reliable. Keep your return ticket at hand: on a visa on arrival they may ask for it.
Step 1. Visa. If you have not arranged the visa on arrival online, your first stop is the VOA counters before passport control: pay by card or cash, and the sticker goes into your passport. With an electronic visa on arrival (e-VOA) or a C1 or D12 visa you do not need the counter and go straight to passport control. What to choose and how to apply for the electronic one is in the e-VOA guide.
Step 2. Passport control. Passport, the All Indonesia QR code, and a return ticket if asked. There are automatic gates for electronic visas, but a live counter is safer for a first-timer: they also stamp the date from which your visa period is counted. Check the stamp at once, before you walk away: mistakes in the date happen.
Step 3. Baggage and customs. After the baggage belt, customs scans the suitcases. The declaration is already inside the All Indonesia card, there is no separate paper. Anyone staying longer than 90 days registers the IMEI of a phone brought from abroad here for free; later it is done with a duty. For a tourist staying a shorter time, the operator registers the IMEI when you buy a SIM card. Large amounts of cash above the limit must be declared, and the threshold and list are shown right in the All Indonesia form. The allowances for alcohol, cigarettes and medicines are in our customs guide.
Step 4. Arrivals hall. Here you find the mobile operators' counters and exchange booths. A tourist gets a SIM card with a passport, and a Telkomsel tourist package can be ordered in advance, see the SIM card guide. Withdraw cash from the ATM of a major bank, not at the exchange booth at the exit: the airport rate is the worst on the island. The tourist levy, if you did not pay at home, can also be paid here, but the queue and weak Wi-Fi make paying at home more convenient.
Step 5. Transport. Three options. The official taxi from the counter inside the terminal: a fixed price by zone, you pay for the coupon at the counter, and the driver is assigned. Grab and Gojek: you order in the app, walk to the assigned pickup point, and the price is visible in advance. A transfer from a villa or hotel: the driver waits with a sign in the arrivals hall, so agree the time and price beforehand. Avoid the people who approach you in the hall with "taxi, sir": they name their own price, and it is twice the counter price.
Step 6. First days. Save the emergency numbers in your phone, check the beach flags before your first swim, and if you rent a scooter, read about licences and the police.
What this means for you. Three QR codes on your phone before departure, a check of the stamp at passport control, and the taxi counter instead of touts: this is enough to get through the airport in 40 minutes without a single extra dollar. Everything else on the island can be sorted out calmly, and not on the first day.