How to get to Amed from Ubud or the airport

Amed is three hours from almost everywhere

Where the fares sit, before you pick a route.

The last stretch into Amed is switchbacks and sea. The road leaves Ubud heading east, climbs through Karangasem, then drops onto a dark shore where jukung fishing boats sit nose-up on the sand. Families here harvest sea salt by hand at the salt farms along that shore, and the work is open to watch. ²

Every route lands in the same band of time. Operators' own pages put the drive at 2.5 to 3.5 hours, from the airport, from Ubud, from Canggu and from Uluwatu. A booking site measures Ubud to Amed at 47 km. Over 2.5 to 3.5 hours, that is roughly 13 to 19 km an hour. ^{5, 3, 8, 7}

So the live question is money and party size. A shuttle seat is about USD 12. A private car from Ubud is about USD 36.28 for the whole vehicle. Where you start moves the fare by IDR 300,000, and which operator's page you open moves it by IDR 185,000 on the very same road. ^{7, 1, 11, 5, 4}

How much does a car from Bali airport to Amed cost?

Three named operators, their own published prices, read on 26 September 2026.

The airport is the easiest leg to overpay on. Amed Bali Driver, a driver based in Amed, charges IDR 690,000 for the run from Ngurah Rai. Kuta Transport asks IDR 800,000 for up to five people. Bali Driver Hub asks IDR 875,000 for a standard car. Same road, IDR 185,000 apart, about USD 10.33. ^{1, 6, 5, 4}

Two operators that publish fixed airport fares across south Bali skip this route. Bali Airport Taxi's sample list covers Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur, Canggu and Ubud, with no Amed line. Bali Rent Scooter's airport pricing likewise has no Amed line, though its own list of towns (Seminyak, Canggu, Uluwatu, Ubud) isn't identical to Bali Airport Taxi's. Amed is a long-distance transfer, sold by the operators that run it. ^{13, 14}

Pick the vehicle for the group, then the fare. Bali Driver Hub's HiAce carries up to ten at IDR 1,650,000, which works out at IDR 165,000 a head. Kuta Transport's 16-seat van at IDR 1,450,000 comes to IDR 90,625 a head, the lowest per-person figure on this page. ^{5, 6}

What does an Ubud to Amed driver charge?

Ubud is the cheapest place in Bali to start this drive. Amed Bali Driver charges IDR 650,000. Kuta Transport and MedyTrips both charge IDR 750,000, about USD 41.86. MedyTrips will hold at Tirta Gangga, or another agreed spot in east Bali, for IDR 100,000 more. ^{1, 2, 3, 4}

Book a day ahead. MedyTrips asks for 24 hours' notice and wants to know whether you carry dive or snorkel gear, because the boot decides the vehicle. Kuta Transport's IDR 750,000 covers four people with luggage, or five people travelling light. ^{3, 2}

Is the shuttle bus a better deal?

One shared service, one departure a day, and a fare that lives on a booking site.

Perama runs a shared shuttle down the east coast and prints no price for it. Its own site lists Amed on the Kuta, Sanur, Ubud, Padangbai, Candidasa, Amed and Tulamben corridor, and names the Amed stop as the Amed Cafe Hotel. The booking page is a request form. ¹⁵

The fare surfaces on a booking site instead: about USD 10 to USD 12 a seat, one departure a day, listed at 11:30 on the Amed to Ubud run, and 3 to 4 hours on the road against 2.5 to 3.5 hours in a private car. Treat it as a third-party number and confirm the seat with Perama. ^{7, 2}

• One or two travellers: take the shuttle. Two seats come to about USD 24 against USD 36.28 for the cheapest private car out of Ubud. ^{7, 1, 4}
• Three travellers: call it even. The car splits to about USD 12.09 a head against a USD 12 seat. Decide on luggage and departure time. ^{1, 7, 4}
• Four or more: book the car. The same IDR 650,000 splits to about USD 9.07 each, and the day starts when you say. ^{1, 4}
• Carrying dive or snorkel gear: book the car. MedyTrips asks about equipment size at booking precisely because it changes the vehicle. ³

Coming from Canggu, Kuta or Uluwatu

From the south the fare climbs and so does the clock. Bali Driver Hub prices Kuta to Amed at IDR 850,000, Uluwatu at IDR 895,000 and Canggu at IDR 950,000, each for a standard car. Uluwatu is the long one: 114 to 119 km, and 3 hours 10 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes. ^{12, 8, 11}

Kuta sits closer to Amed than Canggu on the same operator's measure and still takes longer, which is what a morning out of south Bali does to a schedule. Planning the south first? MMT prices a night in Kuta and the cliff bases in Uluwatu. ^{12, 11}

Should you ride it yourself?

The company that sells you the drive spells out what the ride asks for. Kuta Transport's own page on this route names a valid international driving permit, proper safety gear and real experience on a scooter, on a road that winds through shifting traffic. ²

Renting a scooter in Amed for the week is a separate decision from riding one across the island. MMT prices a shore-diving month on that coast in Amed for a diving month.

Can you get a fast boat from Amed to the Gili Islands?

The one leg where the sources actively disagree, as of 26 September 2026.

This is the crossing nobody agrees on. GiliFerries lists two operators leaving Amed at 09:30 every day, Freebird Express and Arjuna Fast Cruise, at an average USD 23 one way in a USD 22 to USD 24 range. GiliTickets says the Amed port has been closed for years and calls the direct listings out of date. ^{9, 10}

The evidence splits both ways. BaliFerries describes the same Freebird Express service sailing from Amed and puts the crossing at 1 hour 30 minutes, against GiliFerries' 55-minute average for the identical route. Arjuna's own booking page sells Sanur and Nusa Penida only, with Amed missing from its ports. ^{16, 9, 17}

One detail worth a phone call: BaliFerries says the Freebird service includes a free hotel shuttle from the Amed area to the harbour. That matters only if the harbour is running on your date. ¹⁶

Book the ride in four moves

Four decisions, and the transfer stops being a question. Every fare on this page is per car, one way, and read from the operator's own page on 26 September 2026. ^{1, 5, 6, 3}

1. 01

   Count the people and the bags

   Kuta Transport's IDR 750,000 Ubud car holds four people with luggage and five without. ²

2. 02

   Price two operators, not one

   The gap between the cheapest and the dearest named quote is IDR 185,000 from the airport and IDR 100,000 from Ubud. Open both pages before you choose. ^{1, 5, 2}

3. 03

   Book 24 hours ahead, and settle the boat separately

   MedyTrips asks for a day's notice on a private transfer. If the Gili crossing is part of the plan, get that departure confirmed for your date before you pay for anything. MMT's Indonesia travel guide covers arrival and island hopping. ^{3, 10}