How to get to the Bali Fire Dance Retreat

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Bali Fire Dance Retreat Taxi Travel Travel Guide Travel info

The Bali Fire Dance Retreat takes place at a private resort around 15 km outside of Ubud — a green, quiet place surrounded by rice fields, palm valleys and temples, about half an hour from the centre of Ubud and a little over an hour from the airport. 🌴

📍 We’ll send you the exact address after registration.

🗓️ The retreat runs 27 April – 4 May 2027, with optional trips and a volcano sunrise hike until 8 May.

Bali has only one international airport, so getting here is refreshingly simple: you fly to Denpasar, and we can arrange to pick you up. Here’s the whole journey, step by step.

✈️ Step 1: Fly to Denpasar (DPS) — Bali’s only international airport
🚕 Step 2: Shared taxi → the resort (~1 hr 30 min)
🌿 Step 3: Arrive, drop your bags, find the pool

✈️ STEP 1 — FLY TO DENPASAR (DPS)

Bali’s airport is I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, airport code DPS. Everyone calls it “Denpasar” or just “Bali airport”. It’s on the south coast between Kuta and Jimbaran, and it is the only international airport on the island — so whatever route you book, this is where you land.

🌍 Getting there from Europe: there are no direct flights from most of Europe, so you’ll change once — usually in Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, or Hong Kong. Total travel time is roughly 16–22 hours depending on your layover.

💡 Booking tips from us:

Flights via the Gulf carriers (Qatar, Emirates, Etihad) and Asian hubs (Singapore, KL, Bangkok) are usually the best value.
Try to land in the morning or early afternoon — the drive is prettier, the traffic is lighter, and you get a swim before dinner. 🏊
Book a flight that arrives on Tuesday 27 April 2027, the first day of the retreat, if you can. Check-in at the resort opens in the afternoon, but you can arrive any time.
Arriving a day or two early? Lovely idea — you can book extra nights at the resort.

The Route: Denpasar Airport (DPS) → the retreat

📍 Distance: ~50 km
⏱️ Duration: ~1 hr 15 min – 1 hr 30 min

The drive takes you up out of the busy south and inland into the hills. The last twenty minutes are the good part — rice terraces, village temples and river valleys all the way to the gate. 🌾

⚠️ About traffic: Bali traffic is real. Between roughly 16:00 and 19:00 the same trip can take 2 hours. Don’t panic if your driver takes a different route than the map — they know where the jams are.

🚕 STEP 2 — WE PICK YOU UP FROM THE AIRPORT

This is the easy bit: you don’t have to organize anything yourself. We arrange shared taxis or a retreat bus from the airport to the resort for everyone arriving around the start of the retreat.

How it works

We group people by arrival time and match you with other fellow travelers landing around the same time.
Your driver waits in the arrivals hall with a sign. Walk out of customs and look for your name.
Ride to the resort with your new friends. This is where the retreat actually starts. 🔥

💰 Cost: around US$20 (≈ €18) per person one way, depending on how many flowmies get picked up together — the more people share, the cheaper (and the more fun) it gets. Pay the driver directly, or add it to your hotel bill.

💬 The WhatsApp group: we create a group about a month before the retreat so you can share taxis and start plotting. Put your WhatsApp number in the form to be added.

Arriving at an odd hour, or on a different day?

No problem at all — just tell us. If your flight lands in the middle of the night or a few days early, we’ll either arrange a private taxi for you or help you get to the resort on your own. You’ll never be stranded at DPS. 🤝

👉 More information: Getting around in Bali

🗺️ WHERE IS THE RETREAT?

A private resort around 15 km outside of Ubud

The resort sits in a river valley in the green inland of Bali, in a stretch of countryside that most visitors never see. It is green, quiet, and full of birds and roosters rather than scooters and bars. 🐓

🧭 What’s nearby:

Ubud — about 30 min
Rice terraces — just up the road 🌾
Waterfalls within minutes 💦
Beautiful temples — a short drive away

💡 This is the reason the retreat feels like a retreat: you’re far enough out to have the place to yourselves, but close enough to Ubud for a café run.

📍 To keep the place peaceful and private, we don’t publish the exact location online. You’ll receive the exact address after registration.

🛣️ ALREADY IN BALI? COMING FROM UBUD?

Plenty of flowmies come to the retreat from somewhere else on the island — a workshop pass holder staying in Ubud, or someone who’s been in Canggu for a month. Here’s how that works.

The Route: Ubud → the retreat

📍 Distance: ~15 km
⏱️ Duration: ~30 minutes

🚗 Your options:

Private driver — the normal way to move around Bali. Around IDR 150,000–250,000 (≈ €7–10 / $8–15) for this trip. Any hotel or warung can call one.
Grab / Gojek apps — cheap and easy in the south and in Ubud, but coverage gets patchy out in the villages. Fine for getting to the resort, less reliable for getting a ride from it.
Scooter — only if you’re genuinely experienced, have an international license, and a helmet. The roads here are narrow. 🛵

💡 Coming from Canggu, Seminyak, or Kuta? Add another hour. From Sanur, about an hour total.

🚌 PUBLIC TRANSPORT (THE ADVENTUROUS ROUTE)

Bali does have public transport, but it does not come all the way to the village. If you want to do it on a budget:

Take the Kura-Kura Bus or a Perama shuttle from the airport or Kuta to Ubud. Routes and timetables: kura2bus.com
From Ubud, take a taxi or private driver for the last ~15 km. There is no bus for this stretch.

⚠️ Honestly? With luggage and props, after a 20-hour journey, the shared taxi is worth every one of those twenty dollars. Take the bus on a day when you’re exploring, not on arrival day. 😉

💡 LANDING IN BALI — WHAT HAPPENS AT THE AIRPORT

The order of things when you land at DPS:

Immigration — have your visa or e-VOA ready. Most nationalities now need one; sort it out before you fly. 👉 Read our Bali visa guide →
Bali tourist levy — a one-time IDR 150,000 (≈ €7 / $8) fee for foreign visitors. Pay it online before you travel and save the QR code (it’s in the visa guide too).
Baggage & customs — declare your arrival card QR code.
Arrivals hall — your driver is waiting with a sign. 🪧

💰 Money: there are ATMs and exchange counters in the arrivals hall. Get some rupiah out for the taxi, water and your first warung meal. Cards work in Ubud, but cash is king in the villages.

📱 SIM card: grab a local SIM (Telkomsel is the most reliable) at the airport, or set up an eSIM before you leave. Having data makes the whole arrival easier.

🧳 Flying with fire props? Kevlar, staffs and poi all need a bit of planning. 👉 Read the fire & LED props flying guide →

🌴 SEE YOU IN THE VALLEY!

That’s the whole journey: one flight to Denpasar, one shared taxi, and then ten days of fire, flow and rice fields. Join the WhatsApp group, and we’ll take care of the rest. 🔥🌿

📚 More Bali Fire Dance Retreat guides:

Questions about your travel? Message Nana on WhatsApp +336 3456 0233 or email .