Bali - Buy Tickets Now or Hold off for a Deal

creesy on 07/04/2026 - 13:33

As the title suggests I am planning a "last minute trip" to Bali in July 2026 with wife and toddler. Would normally plan further in advance but are going to a wedding.

Question is with the Iran conflict affecting everything would you experienced bargain hunters say we are unlikely to see any deals in the near future and probably experience futher price rises instead?

Current cheapest return for 2A and 1C currently is ~$2000 return (20kg checked for one passenger only)

Should I bite the bullet and book now or try my luck? Because honestly if the price gets to $2500-3000 I'll probably pull the pin.

Travel Airfare Asia Bali Indonesia

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  • MS Paint on 07/04/2026 - 13:44
    +73

    If ozbargain has taught me anything about international travel it's:

    ✈️ Book tickets at the last minute
    ✈️ Only travel in school holidays
    ✈️ Leave passport application until 2 days before travel
    ✈️ Don't take out travel insurance
    ✈️ Make a separate post asking about money/travel cards
    ✈️ Complain on ozbargain about expensive overseas travel
    ✈️ Never go to Bali

    • tsunamisurfer on 07/04/2026 - 13:48
      +17

      Not so much learned from Ozbargain but when something bad happens in Bali, start a GoFundMe to get me home.

      • Gunnar on 07/04/2026 - 13:59
        +3

        Beat me to it so I will second this advice.

        It is especially important if you are going and are likely to have dissonance with Balinese traditions and customs

      • Duckie2hh on 07/04/2026 - 15:25
        +1

        That or OnlyFans

      • Dr Phil on 08/04/2026 - 07:46
        -1

        Add the fact that quickly increasing oil prices are pushing up costs everywhere!

        Particularly transportation costs which is what flying is!!!!

        Airfares will be next

    • BOGOF on 07/04/2026 - 13:51
      +9

      Don't forget 'Hire moped without appropriate insurance'.

      • c64 on 07/04/2026 - 13:54
        +4

        nah, insurance is for losers. gofundme offers free medical coverage

      • Onemoredeal on 07/04/2026 - 15:26
        +1

        Hire motor scooter without Australian licence and international licence so insurance is pointless anyway… gofundme and news ltd story to cover any medical expenses

    • cpapi on 08/04/2026 - 10:01
      +6

      ✈️ GoFundMe: Never ridden a motorcycle before, 12 beers deep, thongs on, no helmet, crashed, lost a foot. Urgent medical evacuation needed, recruit family members as social media beggers telling us all how much of a big heart you have

      • sam-1966 on 10/04/2026 - 17:04

        thongs on>

        Do you need to specify which type for insurance purposes? (or American readers?).

    • creesy on 07/04/2026 - 13:59
      +1

      This made me laugh.

      Wouldn't be my first choice of destination for a holiday…been there done that and got the Bintang shirt.

  • Onemoredeal on 07/04/2026 - 15:42
    +6

    Overseas weddings where you make everyone pay their own way seems smart, reduces your headcount by 90%, whilst still getting full credit for inviting everyone. I wasn’t that smart … wasn’t using ozbargain at the time

    • Nalar on 07/04/2026 - 16:02
      +1

      O/S Wedding, 2 Aus people actually showed, maybe 20 headcount total…and we're already in another country for honeymoon!

      Can recommend.

  • BOGOF on 07/04/2026 - 13:50
    +4

    Flying in July would mean prices from now would steadily increase or stay the same. It would be highly unlikely that prices would drop.

  • mskeggs on 07/04/2026 - 14:50
    +4

    Since you have to travel during a set period, and it is 90 days away, it seems a bit of a long shot you will get a sale at the specific time you need.
    But pretty likely prices will trend up.

  • 7ekn00 on 07/04/2026 - 22:10
    +4

    Book it now, will be 50% next week …

    Don't book it now, will be 2x next week …

    The AI dynamic pricing is already tracking you :P

  • cashless on 07/04/2026 - 14:17
    +3

    Wait till price of jet fuel doubles. Again.

  • BangkokBreakfast on 07/04/2026 - 13:53
    +1

    What airline are you booking with, and what city you flying from? This will impact price and availability.

    I’m a Jetstar $450 return kind of person so can’t relate to the pricing you expect.

    Either way I say book now and get it locked in. It’s the known vs unknown.

  • creesy on 07/04/2026 - 13:56

    Cheapest airline currently is AirAsia but the price is pretty much comparable across the "budget" airlines.

    Flying from Melbourne.

    I think that is the right call because prices have probably already risen $300 total between when I first looked a month ago and now.

  • JimB on 07/04/2026 - 15:29

    2A and 1C currently is ~$2000 return is reasonable in my opinion.

    I'd book it rather than risk it increasing

  • Almost Banned on 07/04/2026 - 15:58

    Set a price alert on google flights and see how its tracking.
    You never know.

  • freefall101 on 07/04/2026 - 17:31

    If the US bombs Iran tomorrow, you're going to wish you bought today. If the US and Iran sign a ceasefire tomorrow, you're going to wish you waited.

    If you have family with points I can see there's still some classic reward point flights, although mostly looks like Jetstar and is date/city dependent. Worth checking on flightseats.io for easy searching (since it's within the date range of "free" searches.

    • cpapi on 08/04/2026 - 10:09
      +1

      Hopefully they waited.

      • creesy on 08/04/2026 - 10:47

        I did but I can't see any saving being passed on pre July. It might mean the price doesn't rise anymore

  • Gorodemon on 07/04/2026 - 17:40

    Here's the cost breakdown of my Bali trip which I did in March 2026. Also 2 adults 1 child.
    -Flight tickets - flew with Bogan Missiles, paid $ 760 for return tickets in total with 20 kg baggage allowance. The price is for all passengers. Bought it 8 months ago during Junkstar B'day sale.
    - Accommodation: For 10 days, on average paid around Rp 2 Million/night ($170-ish) for stays at Indigo Seminyak and Bali Beach. This includes brekkie and other benefits. Most expensive stay was at Padma Legian at $ 250/night.
    -$ 2000 spending money for massage, transport, food including seafood, Waterboom and some shopping.
    - $ 200 for travel insurance for all, no excess.

    Pros: I spent less than $ 5000 for a relaxing holiday where I didn't have to worry about overspending. Slept in luxurious accommodations for only $200/night on average. Back home, for the same amount of money, I would have to stay at a shitty local motel inn infested with spiders. And brekkie will cost extra $$$
    Cons: I had to put up flying with noisy bogans for 5-6 hours. Also some parts of local beach are dirty and filled with rubbish.

  • Powershopz on 08/04/2026 - 09:29

    If $500-1000 price variance on flights is going to cause you to cancel the trip, you are not in a financial situation to book a holiday with the current global situation. Prices of everything can (and probably will) fluctuate over the next year so you need a reasonable buffer to cover those sudden increases.

    If you are going ahead (especially booking over school holidays) book as early as possible. Would suggest booking with a travel insurance covered CC if you have it on the worst case scenario that the airline suddenly cancels your flight.

  • BuddhaBoy on 08/04/2026 - 09:48

    If thats during school holidays, book those tickets now! You ain't getting any last minute deal to Bali!
    Get travel insurance - 100% worth it!

    • creesy on 08/04/2026 - 10:58

      School holidays finishes the 13th July and I'm trying to book for the 14th. Not sure if it being so close to school holidays makes a difference.

      Will definately get travel insurance never leave the country without it, just isn't worth the risk especially when travelling with a toddler.

      • carwashhair on 08/04/2026 - 11:05
        +1

        NSW/SA/WA/ACT School holidays finish 19 July

        • creesy on 08/04/2026 - 11:18

          Given I'm flying from Melbourne and VIC school holidays end on the 13th, would the other states holidays affect the price of flights leaving Melbourne?

          I did some searches and it does seem like flights after the 19th are on average about $70 cheaper PP.

          • gromit on 08/04/2026 - 15:51
            +1

            @creesy: absolutely they affect the prices as families are travelling and that includes to exotic destinations like Vic or using Vic as a jumping point. When I take overseas holidays I look at flights from any of the major east coast cities as its an easy local flight connection.

  • R4 on 08/04/2026 - 10:46

    Looks like Iran/US maybe have a ceasefire.
    If so, oil will fall but airlines hedge on oil price.
    Was the fuel they are using in July bought before the conflict or this week?
    Personally, I'd book now.
    Love Bali. Sure, it has a lot of negatives but you know exactly what to expect and can plan your trip accordingly. There are plenty of places there where there are no Bogans but Bogans can be cool too - at times. Our last trip there was spent in total luxury for under $200 a night - and only a cheap 3 hour flight away. We're going to Esperance in December and that's $400 a night (with no breakfast) and a 6 hour drive.

    • creesy on 08/04/2026 - 11:00

      Hopefully prices come down a bit I think I'll give it another 2 weeks and reassess.

      I don't mind Bali at all but, like most Australia's I've been there done that. I think this will be trip number 5 to Bali.

      • R4 on 08/04/2026 - 11:15

        Cool. Bali is great . If you want to party with Bogans (or are a Bogan) you can do that. If you totally want to get away from everything, you can do that too. Bali is no longer the super cheap destination it used to be unfortunately but still relatively affordable.

        • penting on 09/04/2026 - 09:42
          +1

          they are definitely getting more premium than ever now.

      • gromit on 08/04/2026 - 15:56

        big gamble, I think prices are still likely to trend up even if by some miracle the ceasefire holds as neither side has particular stable leadership

  • mungas on 09/04/2026 - 11:05

    Hey, how much are you expecting the prices of flights to drop by? A couple of hundred? Is it really gambling the chance of a whole trip 'happening' over a couple/few hundred? In my opinion, absolutely not, especially given you're going up against families in the school holidays.

    I would bite the bullet. I did however see some of the prices being apparently paid in earlier posts, I've personally never seen those prices, so if you have an expectation that you'll see these prices come up, don't. You're comparing probably the lowest of peak prices with a peak travel period.

    • creesy on 09/04/2026 - 14:27

      thanks mate sound advice, i will be biting the bullet anyway seeing as the ceasefire lasted like half an hour.

      any recommendation on the best flight search site? webjet etc.

  • creesy on 13/04/2026 - 13:10

    Just for anyone following along. I ended up booking with Garuda for $2400 (I know not very Oz bargain of me) which I think for a full-service airline (included 30kg checked baggage, inflight meals and drinks) isn't too bad considering the next cheapest was around $2100 with Air Asia, Jet Star or Scoot.

    As far as I can tell this actually is a pretty good price for Garuda (maybe only around $100 PP more expensive than the last time I flew with them several years ago)

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