To the west, the newer port of Celukanbawang offers more protection and is Bali’s principal port, but its new jetty, port buildings, and sailors’ canteen seem nearly deserted. Check here for Bugis schooners heading for Sulawesi or East Kalimantan.

The port of Benoa, across the bay off the end of the airport runway, is a small boat harbor where foreign yachts moor. Take a canoe out and ask around for a ride or if they need another crew member. The government-owned Pelni ships Kambua, Kerinci, and Umsini, which visit Bali on their various circuits, call at this port.
 
Padangbai, on the east coast, handles marine traffic between Bali and the eastern islands. This small village, with its cheap accommodations and charming restaurants, is a pleasant place to stay a few days. From the port, board a ferry for Lembar on the neighboring island of Lombok to the east. Padangbai is also where cruise ships drop anchor when they call.

Finally, on the island’s westernmost point is the port of Gilimanuk which receives vehicles, passengers, and cargo on ferries from Ketapang, East Java. It you take the last ferry across from Java, you arrive in Bali at first light to see the whole island come to life: mists lifting over tiered pagodas, ducks off to the fields under flags of herders, women yawning in doorways, pots boiling on early morning fires, lines of shadowy people going off to market.