When arriving UK at peak times in certain terminals (8p at T3) I head straight to the bus and transfer to a more quiet terminal. No boarding pass is required. Maybe you could try that?

I've actually never used the same one twice, I don't think. I just google "Bali aiport VIP" or something like that. Sorry I can't be more help.

8p is hardly a peak time IMO-being off at 7AM after a flood of international arrivals can be at times worse.
(yes, I have flown the last LIN-LHR flight of the day too.)

It's been a while, but when I'd fly LIN or MXP to LHR on AZ departing late afternoon, my arrival coincided with significant Asian and Indian arrivals. So queues definitely called for a transfer to another terminal. True that if arriving T5 it wasn't too bad.

Just flew to DPS on CX785 with wife.
Lat minute ac change from 747 to 777. Luckily that was a LH ac and our "F" seat was preserved. Two other pax in the F section, both seemed DM.
Landed on time after being on a holding pattern for 15 minutes. New airport is a disgrace.
6 VOA counters and no line (were the first ones to disembark). But a long line for passport control. It is a single line feeding into several counters. We picked one of the many hawkers offering fasttrack. Cost was 2x20 (negotiated from 2x25). We got our passports back in 5 min compared to the 30 to 60 minutes line (my guess). Had no checked luggae but the delivery area is a total mess, glad that we did not check any bag. There seems to be an insufficient number of carrousels and they were not working.
Total of 15 min from ac to car. Of course, we had to wait for the car as the area is also a total mess.
The good thing is that the new highway is opened so that made our trip to Sanur in less than 25 min.
The departure area is a total mess with few seating areas and people packed standing everywhere. A single mediocre and overflowing business lounge. I deeply regret the nice upstairs lounge with a porter taking your carryon upstairs and the outdoor area with loungers where I could smoke my cigar :)

belated update
 

Hopefully this might still be of some usefulness to readers of this thread.

On our Dec 14th flight, the 747 nose section was half-empty. We had our 1K and 1A seats. A couple had row 4 seats but they moved themselves to 2A and 3A after door closed. On the K side there was 1 additional passenger other than my husband. So 4 out of 9 seats were unoccupied.

We had to do a 10 min holding pattern before being allowed to land. We were the firsts to deplane.

We saw other planes arrivals and people coming in from gates as we walked towards the immigration hall.

9 immigration windows were opened. We got out to the reception area in 15 minutes after deplaning and that included a restroom stop.

So absolutely no use if pre-booked VIP service. Good we did not and decided to take a wait and see approach.

At departure the immigration again was a breeze. We flew Air Asia to SIN. Plane was slightly more than 1/2 full. Luggage still took a long time to unload at SIN. Also it took a lot of walking and then catching skytrain from T1 to T2 then to MRT station. Better to take the metro as we arrived near 4pm and it was raining a bit. Traffic on the road surface would be horrendous.

All in all, the DPS airport experiences were a smooth one both coming and going. The Bali island though, is a different story. As mentioned upthread, we had very low expectation coming in, and found we wished we were somewhere else by our 3rd day (we had scheduled 5 days).

Also IC is at a nicer location than Conrad.

FYI, TG431 arrived ahead of schedule, CI771 was late and arrived after you (should have landed 20 min before you). So your statement that "no need to book VIP" should be amended to "no need to book VIP, if willing to roll the dice on the operating integrity of competing airlines". Note in the summer that the spread between arriving flights tightens up considerably, you literally have 4 wide bodies landing at practically the same time. Did you make it out of Nusa Dua at any point? Agree pretty grim over by the Conrad.

We arrived on the 19th. At least one, if not more, wide bodies ahead of us. I went to VOA line while my wife went to Immigration. We were at baggage claim within 12 to 15 minutes. Bags were waiting for us. Cleared through customs in another 2 or 3 minutes. Without two people, one to go to VOA while the other holds a spot in the immigration line, the wait would be considerably worse.

I still believe that there is "no need to book VIP", but I agree with you that such a service can be handy at times, especially if you are like me impatient and without checked luggage. Twenty USD ia a good value to avoid a 30+ minutes line under rather hot conditions.
BUT there are plenty of guys calling on you to provide the service as soon as you enter the hall (and they compete). Each time I need it to avoid a long line, I just answer one of the hawker and breeze trough immigration. In a way, this is more certain than booking a service that might not be waiting for you or add services (like flowers and drink) that are not needed.

I think this is eminently sensible. I'm sending my wife and kids in on CX785 this summer and will arrange VIP as a courtesy, I prefer them not to endure the (slight) hassle of finding a hawker. But I arrive via SIN a week later at an earlier hour, I think around 0930. In light of your suggestion, I'll probably take my chances and arrange VIP at the airport. I'll need to research schedules first, I haven't arrived on anything other than CX785 since the 90s, in fact I've never arrived in the am before. Thanks for the input, I appreciate it.

Safe travels, Jamie

[QUOTE=jamienbaker;22001768]FYI, TG431 arrived ahead of schedule, CI771 was late and arrived after you (should have landed 20 min before you). So your statement that "no need to book VIP" should be amended to "no need to book VIP, if willing to roll the dice on the operating integrity of competing airlines". Note in the summer that the spread between arriving flights tightens up considerably, you literally have 4 wide bodies landing at practically the same time. Did you make it out of Nusa Dua at any point? Agree pretty grim over by the Conrad.[/QUOTE]

Yes we did. We had a one whole day went all the way to the north (the temple by the lake) and were totally underwhelmed by what we saw along the drive. We did not even bothered to get out of car when we passed Ubud on our way back. The most put off thing is the gabbages everywhere along the roads and the overall dirtiness comparing to other SE places. We subsequently went to Sabah, East Malaysia - much much better than Bali when it comes to overall cleanliness.

Westin has the best location at Nusa Dua, next is the Grand Hyatt.

Overall, the Bali experience is one we felt we have done it just to satisfy our curiosity even though we KNEW it would not be to our liking but since the flight did not cost extra (miles) and the HHonor points not wasted in Bali would be at Koh Samui or somewhere, might as well at Bali and get it over once and for all.

Really fail to see what are the attraction of the island (both in terms of the geographic and the people / culture). Just not our cup of tea.

You have to get out of the car to actually experience any culture. :p
Welcome home Happy.

Bali has been flogged to death the same as Koh Samui and is now so full of tourists you might as well go to a local shopping mall back home and hope they turn the heating up to get the same feeling

I do tend to agree. We stay further and further from Ubud each summer, and in 2014 will be staying at Pemuteran which is still quiet and has some good areas to dive. We aren't beach people but very much enjoy traveling to Asia (long, fun flight, 12 hr time diff from NYC so untethered from electronics during the day). I'm afraid that in another 10 yrs time Bali may have been ruined.

But I also agree you need to get out of the car. Better yet, rent a scooter and explore the island that way. Lots of out of the way places you can find, plenty of secluded beaches, plenty of locals to meet and enjoy. We also did a bike ride, they drove us above the cloud line, we basically rode downhill for 2-3 hours, through small villages, rice patties, more villages, and then emerged on a beach (that yes, had hawkers, but such is life). One last tip depending on length of stay - rent a villa so you can get away from other tourists. Yes, we always stay at the W in Seminyak for a few days to get over jetlag, but after that it is nice to find some place a bit more secluded where you can concentrate on family.

Net net, we still love Bali but it gets tougher every year to stay in love.

Safe travels, Jamie

[QUOTE=Happy;22028400]My kids will be 10 and 13 this August. We've done Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Chiang Mai and Bangkok with them over the years, in addition to 4 trips to Bali. We aren't inclined to sit on the beach for long stretches at a time, and we can ONLY travel in August so need to be mindful of rain (so Vietnam is out, from what I understand). Any ideas are welcome. Sorry Bali didn't work out for you but at least now you can scratch it off your list. Best, Jamie